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Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



September 1 0, 1 9 1 9 



his men were using glue too cold and 1 called his atten- 

 tion to it. He expressed surprise at my remark and 

 reminded me that heat injures glue. When 1 asked if he 

 had trouble with joints opening, he answered in the 

 affirmative, but laid the blame on the glue. 1 then sug- 

 gested that we watch a man who was doweling by hand, 

 and when he stated that he saw nothing out of the way 

 in what the man was doing, I called his attention to the 

 fact that the workman was putting more glue outside 

 than inside the holes, and that the way to prevent it was 

 to heat the glue to 142 to 148 degrees, as there was 

 little adhesion in the glue, cold as it was. 



We visited another glue room where I found a tem- 

 perature of 1 65 degrees in a glue cooker. I reminded 

 him of his statement a few minutes before that heat 

 injures glue. He saw the point, and acknowledged that 



he was caught, and thanked me for what I had shown him. 

 His glue waste had been running as high as $60 a day. 



Trade papers are paying real money for contributions 

 and editors realize the seriousness of poor glues, improper 

 handling and possible losses. Why, therefore, do you 

 not apply our simple suggestions? If you will do so, 

 there will be little trouble or complaint, and many good 

 glues which are often unjustly condemned on account of 

 improper treatment will, if properly handled, satisfac- 

 torily perform the work. Germany paid quite a price to 

 come to her senses. We are also paying high prices when 

 we ignore modern practices and believe that because our 

 fathers wielded glue brushes and knew little about glues, 

 so to speak, it is not necessary in these day of enlighten- 

 ment to adopt latter day methods. 



ALEXANDER T. DEINZER. 



Lacquered Furniture 



The Finest Work Has Long Been Credited to China and Japan 



A WRITER in the London Timber News recently 

 gave the following history of the manufacture of 

 lacquered furniture, which is interesting at this 

 time because this style of furniture is coming into fashion 

 again and imitations are being put on the market: 



Lacquer work dates back to several hundred years B. C. Al- 

 though characteristically and almost exclusively Japanese, the 

 Chinese have long produced twro or three varieties. These, how- 

 ever, do not rival the work of the Japanese, excepting the larger 

 cabinets and screens, which, if old, are always Chinese. Among 

 the art industries of Japan that of lacquer holds an important place, 

 and it is interesting to note that the post of "Chief of the Imperial 

 Lacquer Department" was conferred upon a subject in the year 

 B. C. 392, and in various provinces where lacquer was made ar- 

 ticles were received in lieu of taxes. Great strides were made in 

 the eighth century, when five different colors were used, and about 

 this time the practice of inlaying mother-of-pearl was introduced, 

 and also of lacquering gold, silver, copper and leather. The prin- 

 cipal ingredient used by Japanese manufacturers is the juice of the 

 "rhus vernicifera" — the lacquer tree of Japan. Some trees are 

 tapped at the early age of four years, but most are left until at 

 least ten years old before being tapped. The trees, some of which 

 are from one hundred to two hundred years old, yield the best and 

 strongest lacquer sap, and this is collected separately and sold at 

 high prices. The tapping of the trees is a lengthy and complicated 

 process, which kills them in one season, although a tree can be 

 made to last another year by making half the number of incisions. 

 The crude mixture is stirred in the sunshine until all water in the 

 sap has evaporated. It is a remarkable fact that lacquer will not 

 dry in the open air. The article which is being treated must be 

 placed after each coat in a damp press (this is an air-tight cupboard 

 damped inside) for a period ranging from six to fifty hours, ac- 

 cording to the temperature and composition. 



Before the article is ready for decorating, many coats of differ- 

 ent lacquers must be applied, and when it is considered that it must 

 be placed for varying periods in the damp press to dry before each 

 coat, it will be recognized that the finished article is the result of 

 extreme patience and hard labor. For extraordinarily good work, 

 the number of distinct applications may extend to as many as sixty. 

 For the highest class of "f-lonii," the time required for drying alone 

 will often exceed thirty days, divided into twenty distinct periods. 



Occasionally small pieces of lacquer found their way into Eng- 

 land in Tudor times, and larger pieces at the end of the sixteenth 

 century came through Holland. Comparatively fe-w pieces found 

 their way in England, owing to trade difficulties with Japan, but 

 "Japanning," as it was then called, became a fashionable pursuit 

 in England. The method adopted was very simple in comparison 

 with that employed by the Japanese. 



The composition was made up of spirits of wine, shellac, gum 

 sandrak, and gum mastic, and it was necessary to work in a warm 

 atmosphere. 



The process generally consisted of applying three coats of either 

 size and v^hitening or sawdust and glue. This was rubbed down, 

 and the article was then given a coating of lamp black. 



Three coats of spirit varnish were then applied, and when this 

 had been rubbed dov^n with oil and powdered cuttle fish, the article 

 was ready to be ornamented. 



Modern Japanese and Chinese lacquer cabinets have been made 

 in such quantities for export, to be sold at a low price, that one 

 must be careful to test the workmanship before buying. The furni- 

 ture made for the American and foreign market is not the result 

 of loving labor, like the antique work, and it comes to pieces at 

 the slightest provocation. 



Ready to Dump Pianos on Us 



The Germans are said to have more than forty thousand pianos 

 ready to ship to this country. They were manufactured during 

 the war and have been in storage. The makers of pianos here 

 naturally feel somewhat uncomfortable with the prospect of this 

 menace hanging over the market. No intimation has been given 

 out that prices are to be cut, but without cutting prices much 

 harm could be done to the manufacturers of pianos by taking 

 away the trade for thousands of instruments. 



Change in Seventeen Years 



A writer in the Lindon Timber and Woodworking Machinery 

 says that it is a curious commentary on the speedy changes which 

 are taking place that in London seventeen years ago veneer went 

 begging for buyers, and now it is sought after on its merits. 

 There was a time when the manufacturer of plywood gave it away 

 to cabinet makers in order to popularize it, but that day haa 

 now passed. 



