HOUSE AND GARDEN 
November, 
1914 
283 
ash, red gum, birch, or even oak, filled with a light filler and 
waxed or varnished. 
To fit a more radical color scheme, the wood might be stained a 
pale, clear color or a brilliant color, or an opaque white filler 
might be rubbed into the pores of the wood after the initial stain, 
or without a stain at all. 
The subject of wood-finishing is complex, but, with the help of 
a painter who is not too opinionated and is willing to experiment 
a little, almost any effect may be produced. 
Small pieces of wood, stained and finished, are gladly given by 
any of the large varnish houses, who show their products in this 
way; or a small piece of picture-frame given to the painter may 
serve as guide for the color and finish. He should make a sam¬ 
ple himself, copying the other, and, if satisfactory, this should be 
broken in two, the pieces signed by the owner as “approved,” and 
one piece returned to the painter. 
Now, wood is finished in many ways, and we will describe a 
few of them : 
The woodwork must first be scraped with an iron scraper, with 
steel shavings or with sandpaper, so there are no rough places, 
such as the plane leaves when it happens to go even, for a short 
space, against the grain. All wood as it comes from the mill has 
portions like this, and hand-planed wood is apt to have them, 
too. The stain will 
sink more deeply 
there and form 
dark blotches. 
After this, the 
finishing may be¬ 
gin, and first in 
order is the Stain¬ 
ing. This is not 
only to give the 
desired color, but 
also to bring out 
the grain or in¬ 
tensify the natu¬ 
ral m a r k i n g s. 
Wood is in layers 
of soft and hard, 
and the stain 
sinks more deeply 
into the soft parts 
and colors them 
darkly. There are pigment stains, in which a powdered pigment, 
such as umber, is used ; vegetable stains , such as a solution of log¬ 
wood, coffee, or one of the lakes; and aniline stains. The pig¬ 
ment stains are somewhat opaque; the aniline not permanent, as 
sunlight may fade them, but the best vegetable stains are both 
clear and permanent, the most satisfactory of the three. For the 
close-grained woods, such as any of the pines, poplars or white- 
woods, the stains are dissolved in oil and known as “oil stains 
for the open-grained hardwoods, in water, and called “water 
stains," better than oil for the following coats of shellac or var¬ 
nish. 
The acid stains or alkali stains act on the tannic acid in the wood 
and so produce the color. The commonest are bichromate of pot¬ 
ash, picric acid, caustic soda or potash, fresh-slaked lime or am¬ 
monia. There is nothing in them, of course, to hide the most 
delicate fibres, but, like the other water stains, they have a ten¬ 
dency to “raise the grain” of the wood or cause certain fibres to 
swell, so when dry the surface is no longer smooth to the touch. 
A little turpentine added counteracts this to a certain extent. 
All these stains are put on with a brush, and, after standing a 
while, the excess is rubbed off with a rag; in the case of chemical 
stains, washed also with water. 
The creosote stains, carbolic acid largely, have in part the 
qualities of both 
chemical and pig- 
mi e n t stains. 
They also act as 
p reservatives 
against dampness 
and rot, and can 
be had in good 
colors, but are 
slow in drying. 
Until dry they 
have a strong, 
penetrating odor; 
therefore, they 
are seldom used 
inside a house, 
but are excellent 
outside. The bet¬ 
ter shingle stains 
are examples. 
( Cont. on p. 324) 
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"Doort 
Window. 
There is no mantel in this instance, the tiles of the fireplace being but slightly raised above the plaster. Casement windows, with small panes, lend distinction. A door of 
the standard make is suitable 
