CLEANING AND VARNISHING 39 



will not shed much lint while you are rubbing, 

 and wetting it slightly with crude oil, work the 

 strip between the windings as previously des- 

 cribed, but never lengthwise of the joint/Very 

 little pressure is needed, for your object will be 

 to warm the sticky varnish through friction, 

 spread it evenly and bind it, while removing 

 a little from the surface. Passing the palm 

 of the hand over the joint occasionally will en- 

 able you to tell when the work is finished, which 

 will be when the tacky surface gives way to one 

 that is smooth and fairly hard. Any doubt 

 will be dispelled if you will rub the joint length- 

 wise very lightly with a piece of linen or silk. 

 If this sticks in places, those spots must be 

 polished. 



Let the rod stand for a day, then pass the 

 dry silk strip over it lightly, and if all parts 

 are hard, polish with this strip. The high 

 gloss will be gone, but if a thin coat of varnish 

 is put on in a few days, this should bring out 

 all of the beauty of the grain and the wind- 

 ings, and your rod, which seemed to be ruined, 

 will be little the worse for this heroic and 

 perhaps unworkmanlike treatment. We are 

 not all experts, and few of those who love to 

 " tinker at rod building" have just the right 

 sort of workshops and tools, but a little horse 



