THE CRAFTS 
WOOD CARVING AND PYROGRAPHY. LEATHER AND METAL. BASKETRY, ETC. 
Under tlie ninnagemcnt of Miss Emily Peacock, 6 Brevoort Place, Brooklyn, N. V. All inquiries iii regard to the various 
Crafts are to be sent to the above address, but will be aiiswered in the niagasine under this head. 
SIMPLE FURNITURE 
IV— FINISHING 
Elisabeth Saugstad 
THIS is an exciting, interesting and anxious time, for in 
spite of fine wood, good design and trvie workmanship, 
the right kind of finish is of great importance, and an otherwise 
beautiful piece of furniture niaj^ be quite spoiled by ill colored, 
muddj^ stains and cheap looking, shiny surfaces. 
The objects in finishing are to protect the wood from 
changes in the atmosphere, by filling the pores and covering 
the surface; to protect it from marks and bruises, for 
vmfinished wood soils and dents more readih' and is more 
difficult to clean; to lessen the chances of chipping and splinter- 
ing; to make it more agreeable to the touch, and to bring out 
the beautj^ of color and grain. 
In the ideal finish the color is clear, transparent and mellow, 
not clouded and streaked, or as if the pores were filled with a 
dark sediment; the wax is rubbed in and the shellac or hard oil 
is rubbed down until they seem more in the wood than on it; 
the lustre maj^ be soft or bright, but never shiny like glass, nor 
does it feel like glass, but smooth and satiny under the fingers. 
Volumes innumerable have been written on the subject, 
so I can only hope to put the beginner on the right track for 
experiments on his own account, and give him some simple 
directions and recipes which I found satisfactory. Every- 
thing should be tried first on small pieces of the wood to be 
finished until the exact color and effect desired are attained. 
The simplest and most satisfactory process for darkening 
oak is Idj" fuming, which is really but a hastening of the natural 
way. The piece of furniture is put in a large box or closet and 
saucers of concentrated anunonia are placed on the floor around 
it. All cracks should have paper pasted over them, even a 
closet door unless very close fitting. Twelve hours ought to 
give a mellow, medium tone, and two or three days may l3e 
required to make it very dark. It does not look much darker 
until oiled, and several small pieces of wood should be put in so 
that the progress may be tested on them from time to time. 
When dark enough it is finished by oiling and waxing. A 
little green paint, ground in oil, mixed in the wax gives a 
charming bronzey tone over the brown of the fuming. 
There are two kinds of stains, oil and water. The latter 
are more transparent, more like dj^e, while the oil stain seems 
more on the surface, and the particles of color, not being in 
solution, settle in the pores, especially in woods like oak and 
ash where the porous grain alternates with smooth, hard sur- 
faces. On soft woods like pine and white wood it does very 
well, being more imiformly absorbed. The chief difficulty 
with water stains is that they raise the grain, which makes it 
necessary to go over the work again, lightly, with fine sand- 
paper, taking great care not to take the color off in spots, or 
on the edges, which it is easy to do and hard to retouch again 
satisfactorily. 
The three following recipes come under the head of water 
stains: 
A good brown one is made b3^ putting a couple of handfuls 
of rusty nails, tacks or iron filings in a quart of vinegar. It 
.should stand for a weelc or so and be occasionally shaken. It 
keeps indefiniteh', but grows darker with age. It should be 
applied evenly with a brush or rag, and when it is dry, oiled. 
It is a ])articularly good brown for ash, simply waxed after the 
oil is dr5^. Several coats of a very strong solution will blacken 
oak, if it is washed over with a strong boiled decoction of tea 
leaves, oiled, filled with a black filler and waxed. 
Tincture of iron makes a good green stain on oak and ash, 
then oiled and waxed. 
A stain for giving the tone and color of age to light, new 
mahogany is nrade from a saturated solution of Bichromate of 
Potash — about 4 ounces to a quart of water. One part of this 
to 3 of water gives a deep reddish tone when it is oiled. A 
stronger solution or two applications of course darken it more. 
After oiling it may be waxed, several thin coats, and vigoroush" 
rubbed; but I think that shellac or hard oil bring out its lights, 
color and grain better. \\Tien so finished a mahogany filler 
follows the oil. 
Boiled linseed oil thinned with about a third part of 
turpentine, which makes it dry more quickly, is used for simply 
oiling, well rubbed in with a brush or rag. It should dr}^ at 
least 24 hours. This is the best way to treat walnut, using 
wax as a polish. If the walnut is grajash or dull in tone, mix 
a very little Burnt Sienna in the oil or wax. 
The oil and turpentine nrixture is the medium into which 
colors are mixed to make oil stains. These colors may be the 
powdered ones, those ground in oil which come in small tin 
cans, or artist's tube colors. Black, Burnt Sienna, Van Dyke 
Brown, Burnt Sienna and Deep Chrome Green are the best of 
the first two kinds. There is a wider choice of iDetter colors 
in the last. 
The green can be modified to a pleasant graj' tone by the 
black, or to a warmer more bronzey color by the browns. The 
Burnt Sienna will give a reddish tone to the browns, and vice 
versa. The black is only usefrd in modifying the others. 
Fillers are used to fill up the pores and so make a harder, 
more even surface which takes a smoother finish. It is always 
advisable tousethein under shellac or hard oil. When wax is used 
it acts as filler itself, unless the wood is very coarse grained. It 
is best to get a readj' made filler for the kind of wood to be 
finished. It is rubbed in, across the grain, with a pad; allowed 
to get slightly stickv, then rubbed off with a bit of excelsior or 
burlap. 
Wax is the simplest, easiest and most satisfactory polish 
for most woods that a beginner can use, and it is both inex- 
pensive and artistic. 
To prepare it, melt j^ellow beeswax, about 4 oz. will malce 
enough for several pieces of furniture, in a vessel in hot water, 
or on the back of the stove. \A/lien it is liquid take away from 
the fire and stir in an equal quantity of turpentine. When it is 
cold it should be about the consistencj^ of soft butter. The 
object is to have it sink into the wood, fill the pores and leave 
a film on the surface which will take a good lustre. 
The piece of furniture should be rather warm when the 
wax is put on, which ma}' be done with a rather stiff brush or a 
rag that is not linty. It must be put on thinly and evenly and 
well rubbed in. After it has dried, which will take several 
hours, it is read}^ to be polished with a soft flannel cloth (not 
linty), an old silk handkerchief or piece of chamois. For a 
simple work this will be sufficient, but if a finer finish and 
brighter lustre are desired, more coats will be necessary — and 
the more rubbing the better. 
Shellac is a good finish where there is no danger of damp- 
ness, as it is apt to tiu^n white under such a condition. It is not 
