r6 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



claimed that it was too hard to be worked 

 with their tools and the logs were rolled into 

 the garden out of the way. Here they lay 

 for a long time, apparently discarded, until 

 one day the physician had need of a candle 

 box and suggested 

 that the mahogany 

 logs might furnish 

 good material. But 

 the cabinetmaker com- 

 plained as the others 

 had done that he could 

 not work the material 

 with his tools. The 

 doctor then interested 

 himself and ordered 

 that heavier tools be 

 made. The eandlebox 

 was finally completed 

 and proved to be so 

 handsome after being 

 finished and polished 

 that a bureau was 

 made from another of 

 the logs. Thereafter 

 a craze for mahogany 

 set in which has con- 

 tinued even to the 

 present day. 



There are so many qualities that have con- 

 tributed toward putting mahogany in the 

 exalted position it occupies today that it is 

 almost impossible to state which is the most 

 important. The great beauty of the wood as 

 regards color, figure and texture, its hard- 

 ness, durability and unusual size, make it 

 the ideal wood for furniture, railway cars, in- 

 terior finish and a variety of uses requiring 

 the highest class wood. Mahogany seasons 

 readily, warps so little after proper season- 

 ing as to be almost free from that trouble- 

 some trait, and is without a peer in the mat- 

 ter of taking glue. For these reasons, to- 

 gether with the unusually large size of the 

 tree, it is especially valued for veneers and 

 panels, and a very large percentage of the 

 mahogany consumed is utilized in this form. 

 For railway car panels, counter tops, store 

 trimmings, pianos, high-class furniture and in 

 fact for every purpose where veneer of large 

 size and excellent quality, beauty of figure 

 and color is required, mahogany is the wood 

 chosen. 



Mahogany is a rich red in color, rather 

 light but darkening gradually with age and 

 exposure. This fact has led dealers in furni- 

 ture to impregnate the new wood with stains 

 and finishes which give the darker tone of 

 the old, much-used wood. This practice was 

 indulged in originally to imitate Colonial 

 furniture, but it has become very common 

 and not only is a vast quantity of mahogany 

 furniture now so finished, but cheaper woods 

 are stained the same dark hue and sold as 

 ' ' real mahogany. ' ' During the last two or 

 three years mahogany furniture in the natural 

 finish has come into vogue, and it is probable 

 that this mode of finish, which is really the 

 more beautiful as the wood acquires the dark- 

 er hue in time and vsnth a mellowness of tone 



that cannot be imitated, will eventually take 

 first place. 



Considering the heavy cost of cutting and 

 transportation and the high class of the wood, 

 mahogany is sold on the markets of the world 



lilAXT MAH0G.4NY TREE, BLUEFIELDS, CENTRAL AMERICA. 



today at remarkably low values. In the 

 United States the use of the American spe- 

 cies is more general, owing, of course, to the 

 fact that the source of supply is so near our 

 borders, although of late years the African 

 wood is being widely introduced, as is also 

 the beautiful vermilion mahogany of India. 



JIAIIOGANT FRUIT, ONE-THIRD ACTUAL 

 SIZE. 



In the School of Experience. 



Deflection in Wood. 

 M'ith 100 pounds placed in the middle of a 

 stick 2x2 inches. 4 feet long, supported at botli 

 ends, the stick will deflect about Vs inch on a 

 medium grade of ash ; 200 pounds will bend it 

 14 inch ; .'JOO pounds, 

 % inch. This proves 

 that deflection varies 

 according to the 



weight ; liowever, a 

 point is reached where 

 an additional 100 

 pounds add more than 

 % inch to the deflec- 

 tion. When this is the 

 case, the limit of elas- 

 ticity has been reached. 

 Talie anotlier piece of 

 the same straight 

 grain, and perfectly 

 plain planli, and the 

 same size as given 

 above, but S feet long 

 instead of 4. A load 

 of 100 pounds will de- 

 flect this piece 1 inch; 

 double the length re- 

 duces the stiffness 

 eighrfold ; stiffness, 



therefore, decreases as 

 tlie cube of^ the length 

 increases. 



Cutting out a piece 

 2x4 inches, 4 feet long, 

 and placing it flatwise, 

 so that it is double the 

 width of the tiirmer stick ; then load this with 

 100 pounds, and it will bend 1-16 inch only. 

 Doubling the width doubles the stiffness. — Car- 

 riage Monthly. 



Inlaying. 

 A writer in the Practical Carpenter says that 

 everyone has noticed that in ordinary inlaying 

 there is a very ugly glue joint, equal in its width 

 to that of the saw used, which runs around the 

 wliole of the inlaid pattern. This, of course, 

 looks bad, and further it involves the use of a 

 very tine saw to reduce the width as much as 

 possible. This again involves the use of com- 

 paratively thin wood. To avoid this, tilt up the 

 saw-table a little on one side — say the right ; 

 with it in this position cut out tlie right side 

 of a letter — say the capital I ; obviously the 

 uppermost of the two pieces of wood on which 

 we are operating would have its eye slightly 

 broader than the bottom one. Then finish the 

 letter, being always careful to make the cut 

 "sun about," as the phrase Is — i. e., in the same 

 direction as the hands of a clock move. We 

 now have an I cut out of the top piece slightly 

 iiroader and longer than that cut out of the 

 lower one ; if we have proportioned the amount 

 of tilt to the table, with due regard to the 

 thickness of the saw and of the wood used, the 

 upper eye will Just fit neatly and tightly into 

 the space left in the lower piece. Apply plenty 

 of glue and gently tap the letter or monogram 

 Into its place, and we have a glue joint which 

 will be barely visible. The amount of slope re- 

 quired in the table is very slight, and one soon 

 tinds out the happy medium. 



To Clean Hardwood. 



Spread paralHn oil on the soiled wood and let 

 it stand for an hour or more to soften the dirt, 

 then wash with soap and warm water and wipe 

 dry. 



Next rub on a mixture of paralfln oil and 

 turpentine — one-third turpentine and two-thirds 

 oil. Polish with soft old flannel. Let it rest 

 an hour or two. then polish with soft old linen. 



If the surface is very dull, dirty and scratched, 

 instead of washing with soap and water, add 

 more oil and sprinkle powdered rotten stone 

 over it. Kub gently and regularly, flrst with a 

 circular motion and then with the grain of the 

 wood. When the surface is smooth and bright 

 wipe off the rotten stone and finish as you 

 would after washing with soap and water. — Ex- 

 change. 



