Chapter XXVI

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES FOR THE WORKSHOP AND HARNESS ROOM.

TO CLEAN MOULDY LEATHERS.

Remove the surface mould with a dry cloth, and with another cloth apply pyroligneous acid. Leather that has been badly moulded can be restored in this way.

TO PROTECT HARNESS FROM RATS.

Apply a plentiful coat of castor oil. If the harness is to be used, add tallow in the proportions of about one third of the latter to two thirds oil.

WATERPROOF OIL.

Take of lard oil 100 parts, paraffin 50 parts, beeswax 5 parts; heat the oil over a slow fire, and when hot add the paraffin and wax; allow the whole to remain over the fire until the latter articles are melted, and add a few drops of oil of sassafras or other essential oil to preserve it.

CROWN SOAP.

This soap, so much used by stablemen for cleaning harness, is made of whale or cod oil, lye of potassa, and a small quantity of tallow. The oil gives to the soap a dark brown color, the tallow forming white granulations. This is simply the Scotch softsoap; it can be produced at a price far below that asked for the imported article.

BELGIUM BURNISHING POWDER.

Mix together ½ pound of fine chalk, 3 ounces of pipe clay, 2 ounces of dry white lead, ¾ of an ounce of carbonate of magnesia, and ¾ of an ounce of rouge.

POWDER FOR CLEANING SILVER.

Mix together 1 ounce of fine chalk, 2 ounces of cream of tartar, 1 ounce of rotten stone, 1 ounce of red lead, and ½ ounce of alum, and pulverize thoroughly in a mortar. Wet the mixture and rub it on the silver, and, when dry, rub off with a dry flannel, or clean with a small brush.

POWDER FOR CLEANING BRASS MOUNTINGS.

Make a paste of equal parts of sulphur and chalk, with sufficient vinegar to reduce it to the proper consistency. Apply it to the metal while moist, allow it to dry on, and rub with chamois skin. For ornaments or engraved work, clean with a brush.

Another process, and one that gives to the brass a very brilliant color, is to make a wash of alum boiled in strong lye, in the proportion of 1 ounce of alum to 1 pint of the latter. Wash the brass with this mixture, and afterward rub with shammy and tripoli.

A weak solution of ammonia in water makes an excellent wash for cleaning tarnished silver plate. Apply it with a rag, dry with a piece of shammy, and afterward rub with a piece of shammy and a very small quantity of jewelers’ rouge.

PREPARED CHALK.

Pulverize chalk thoroughly, and mix with distilled water in the proportion of 2 pounds to the gallon; stir well, and then allow it to stand about two minutes, during which time the gritty matter will have settled to the bottom; then pour the chalky water into another vessel, being careful not to disturb the sediment, and allow the fine chalk to settle to the bottom; pour off the water, and place the chalk in a warm oven to dry. This is an excellent powder for restoring silver, and it is also useful as a base for other polishing powders.

Spanish whiting treated in the same manner, with a small quantity of jewelers’ rouge added, makes a powder that is a little sharper than the prepared chalk, and which is well adapted to cleaning polished steel articles.

A third powder, and one that is still sharper than either of the above, is made of rotten stone treated in the same manner as the chalk. The addition of bone black to any of these powders will prevent their discoloring the leather.

TO PREVENT STEEL BITS FROM RUSTING.

Polished steel bits, chains, etc., whether in packages or in showcases, may be preserved from rust by dusting them over with quicklime. Those in use should be placed in a box nearly filled with thoroughly pulverized slaked lime immediately after being removed from the horse. The lime absorbs the moisture, and thus prevents rust. Before using, rub well with a woolen cloth. Polished steel, when covered with red rust, may be cleaned as follows: Cover the article with oil, and rub it with a woolen cloth to remove the lighter portion of the rust, after which apply another coat of oil, and allow it to remain undisturbed for two or three hours, then clean off with whiting and a woolen cloth. If the rust has been upon the steel sufficiently long to have eaten into the metal, the surface can be restored only by the use of the emery belt or wheel.

TO CLEAN RUBBER COVERED MOUNTINGS.

Rub the covered as well as the metallic parts with a shammy and a little tripoli, and finish with a clean woolen cloth.

TO CLEAN RUSSET LEATHER COVERED MOUNTINGS.

Remove all stains and dirt by rubbing the leather with a cloth and a little oxalic acid, and restore the color and finish by the use of salts of lemon, applied with a woolen cloth. Rub the leather until a good polish is produced.

VARNISH FOR COLLARS.

Digest shellac 12 parts, white turpentine 5 parts, gum sandarac 2 parts, lampblack 1 part, spirits of turpentine and alcohol each 40 parts.

TO CLEAN CELLULOID COVERED MOUNTINGS.

Rub the covered parts with a woolen cloth and a little tripoli, and polish with a clean woolen rag.

POLISHING LIQUID FOR OROIDE OR BRASS.

Place 2 ounces of sulphuric acid in an earthen vessel, and add 1 quart of cold soft water; after the heat that is generated has passed off, add 1 ounce each of tripoli and jewelers’ rouge. When well mixed, put in a bottle for use.

TO CLEAN GILT MOUNTINGS.

Gilt mountings unless carefully cleaned soon lose their lustre. They should not be rubbed; if slightly tarnished, wipe them off with a piece of canton flannel, or, what is better, remove them from the harness and wash in a solution of ½ ounce of borax in 1 pound of water, and dry them with a soft linen rag. Their lustre may be improved by heating them a little and rubbing with a piece of canton flannel or a soft polishing brush.

TO CLEAN RIDING SADDLES.

If much soiled, wash the leather with a weak solution of oxalic acid and water, and, when dry, with the watery portion of beef blood. The latter can be preserved by adding a little carbolic acid, and keeping it in a bottle tightly corked.

TO CLEAN STEEL BITS.

Steel bits that are tarnished, but not rusty, can be cleaned with rotten stone, common hard soap, and a woolen cloth.

TO FINISH THE EDGES OF RUSSET REINS.

Use salts of tartar and water. If discolored, first remove the stain with a weak solution of oxalic acid.

TO CLEAN BROWN RIDING SADDLES.

Saddles may be cleaned to look as well as new by the use of tepid water and crown soap; if the latter can not be had, use pure castile soap.

TO STAIN REIN LEATHER.

A rich permanent brown can be imparted to rein leather by treating the hides, after they are tanned, to a bath in a liquor made from equal parts of pine and alder bark. The hides are spread in a vat, with liquor enough to cover them, where they are allowed to remain one week; they are then removed, and fresh liquor is applied; by repeating this treatment three or four times, a very rich brown can be produced. Orange brown is produced by scraping the flesh side after the hides have been removed from the vats for the last time, and sprinkling them on the scraped side with pulverized alum. As soon as each one is sprinkled with the alum, it is laid in another vat, one upon the other, and allowed to remain twenty-four hours; they are then moistened with the alum liquor in the bottom of the vat, and laid upon the beam and well worked, after which they are rubbed with salt and alum, and rolled up and allowed to remain undisturbed for twenty-four hours; this salting is repeated three times, after which the hides are stretched lengthwise and dried; they are then boarded and worked soft, and treated to a coat of hog’s lard and train oil on the flesh side; in about two days they are again boarded, and worked off with a glass slicker. This leather has a fine grain, and retains its softness for a long time.

SMEARY GREASE FOR RUSSET LEATHER.

Mix together 1 part of palm oil and 3 parts of common soap, and heat up to 100°; then add 4 parts of oleic acid and 1¾ parts of tanning solution containing at least ¹/₁₆ part tannic acid (all parts by weight), and stir until cold. This is recommended as a valuable grease for russet leather, and as a preventive of gumming.

TO SEPARATE SIDES OF PATENT LEATHER.

Patent and enameled leather will, if the glazed sides are placed together in warm weather, become stuck together, and, unless carefully separated, the leather will be spoiled. The simplest and best way to separate sides is to place them in a drying or other hot room; when hot, they can be taken apart without injury to the glazed or enameled surface. If a drying room is not accessible, lay the sides on a tin roof on a hot day, and they will soon become heated sufficiently to allow their being separated without injury. Any attempt to separate without heating to a high degree will prove a failure.

TO CURRY RUSSET LEATHER.

The hide to be curried is placed upon a table, and a warm iron is rubbed over the flesh side; it is then turned over, and the grain side is moistened with water and rubbed with a copper slicker until it is nearly dry, after which coloring matter, made of Brazilwood and yellow berries, is applied to the grain, and it is once more rubbed with the slicker; it is then spread out to dry, and the final finish is given by rubbing the grain with a glass slicker. This produces a very fine grade of leather for riding bridles, russet reins, etc.

TO COLOR EDGES OF SADDLE FLAPS.

Use a strong solution of soda, apply it to the freshly cut edges, and, when nearly dry, rub with a woolen rag until a good polish is produced.

HARNESS OIL.

An excellent oil for team and farm harness is made of beef tallow and neat’s-foot oil, as follows: Melt 3 pounds of pure tallow, but do not heat it up to a boil; then pour in gradually 1 pound of neat’s-foot oil, and stir until the mass is cold; if properly stirred, the two articles will become thoroughly amalgamated, and the grease will be smooth and soft; if not well stirred, the tallow will granulate and show fine white specks when cold. The addition of a little bone black will improve this oil for general use.

INDEX.

B
PAGE
Belgium Burnishing Powder, 318
Bitting Harness, 288
Bits, 281
Buckles, 271
Buying Leather, 37

C
Care of Harness, 206
Celluloid Mountings, to Clean, 321
Cleaning Brass, 318
Coach and Wagon Bridles, 181
Coloring Edges, 325
Crown Soap, 317
Currying Russet Leather, 324
Cutting Harness, 45
Cuttings for Harness, 64-104
Adjustable Tree, 94
Bitting, 100
Breast Collar, Single, 68
Cart, 102
Double Road, 74
English Four-in-hand, 80
Express, 84
Express, Heavy, 80
Hame Collar, 70
Heavy Coupé, 72
Long Tug Coach, 78
Long Tug Farm, 90
Long Tug Team, 83
Mule, 103
Pennsylvania Wagon, 96
Road, Single, 66
Short Tug Coach, 76
Short Tug Butt Chain, 104
Stage, 98
Tandem, 82
Track, 64
Wagon, 92

G
Gilt Mountings, to Clean, 321
Grease for Russet Leather, 323

H
Halters, 205
Harness Leather, 21
Harness Loops, 161
Harness Mountings, 249
Harness Oil, 325
Horse Boots, 224

L
Leather, Blacking and Stains, 302
Black, Anilin, 307
Ball, 303
Crown Soap, 306
Finishing, 306
Flesh, 308
German, 306
Hatters’, 303
Leather Mountings, 308
Liebig’s, 305
Liquid, 305
Logwood, 302
Patent, 305
Patent Leather, 307
Restoring, 307
Vinegar, 302
Waterproof, 305
Stains, Brown, 310
Crimson, 311
Orange Yellow, 307
Red, 310
Yellow, 309
Yellow-Red, 309
Varnishes, Black, 313
Black Ball, 313
Collar, 321
Elastic, 312
German Leather, 312
Shellac, 311
Waterproof, 313
Polishes, French, 315
German, 316
Liquid, 315
Patent Leather, 315
Wax, 315

M
Making, Breast Collar Harness, 112
Gig Saddles, 139
Ornamented Truck Harness, 136
Pads, Coach, 149
Soft, 153
Plain Hard, 156
Plain, 159
Team Harness, 128
Truck Harness, 122
Measuring for Harness, 58
Miscellaneous Recipes, 317
Mouldy Leather, to Clean, 317

P
Patent Leather, 40
Patent Leather, to Separate, 324
Prepared Chalk, 319
Preparing Leather for the Fitter, 53
Prevent Steel from Rusting, 320
Polishing Liquid, 321
Polishing Powders, 318
Powder for Cleaning Silver, 318

R
Rein Leather, 322
Repairing Harness, 240
Riding Bridles, 197
Riding Saddles, to Clean, 322
Round Reins, 133
Rubber Covered Mountings, to Clean, 320
Russet Leather, 33
Russet Leather Mountings, to Clean, 320

S
Stitching Harness, 168

T
Trimmings, 105-111