Soft Woods (Pine, Basswood, Etc.) In Natural Color

1. Wood perfectly clean and smooth.

2. Apply with a soft brush one coat of hard oil, varnish, or shellac, and put aside to dry.

3. Sand very lightly with No. 00 sandpaper.

4. Apply another coat of hard oil, varnish, or shellac, and put aside to dry. If necessary, apply a third coat.

Soft Woods In Color

1. Wood perfectly clean and smooth.

2. Apply one coat of stain (burnt umber, burnt Sienna, drop black, etc.) with a brush and put aside to dry for about twenty minutes. One coat of stain should be sufficient.

3. With cotton waste or a soft cloth rub the stained surface until an even shade is produced, also see that the rubbing brings out the grain of the wood sufficiently.

4. Apply a coat of hard oil, varnish, or shellac, and put aside to dry. When this is dry, apply a second and a third coat if necessary.

Weathered Oak

1. The wood should be perfectly clean and smooth. Some stains will raise the grain of oak. This difficulty can be overcome by moistening the surface of the wood with a damp cloth. This will raise a fine thread-like grain which can be removed by sanding lightly with No. 00 sandpaper.

2. Apply one coat of some good prepared weathered oak stain of suitable shade. There are any number of good prepared stains on the market at the present time. These prepared stains contain a filler which settles to the bottom of the can. The stain should be stirred before using until the filler dissolves. After applying the stain let it stand until dry. Some of these stains will dry in fifteen minutes, others should stand overnight to dry, or even longer.

3. When dry, rub with waste or a soft cloth until the desired shade is produced. See that the grain is brought out properly.

4. Using a soft cloth, rub with Johnson's prepared wax, or some good wax, until the desired finish is produced.

Light Oak. (A) Dull Finish

1. See that the wood is perfectly clean and smooth.

2. Apply one coat of light oak stain. When dry, sand lightly with No. 00 sandpaper. If necessary, apply another thin coat of stain.

3. Apply a thin coat of shellac, either orange or white, and when dry, sand lightly with No. 00 sandpaper.

4. Apply a coat of prepared filler colored to match the stain. Let dry and apply a coat of shellac.

5. When dry sand again and apply another coat of thin shellac. If necessary, sand again and apply another coat of shellac, or some good hard oil or varnish.

6. Rub the last coat with pulverized pumice stone mixed with raw linseed oil to a thin paste. In rubbing use hair cloth, or a soft cotton cloth.

(B) Polished Finish

1. Repeat 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

2. Apply another coat of shellac, hard oil, or varnish, and when dry rub with pulverized rotten stone and water.

3. Use a shellac pad. A shellac pad is made by wrapping a soft cloth around a small wad of waste. Pour a little shellac on the waste before drawing the cloth around it. In the process of rubbing the shellac should ooze through the cloth slowly. Sprinkle a little pulverized pumice stone over the surface to be rubbed. Dip the pad occasionally in boiled linseed oil. Care should be exercised not to use too much shellac. After a few trials excellent results will be obtained, giving a highly polished surface.

Practically the same process is followed in finishing other hard woods.

Polishing In The Lathe

1. See that the wood is perfectly clean and smooth.

2. Apply boiled linseed oil with a soft cloth. Wood in motion.

3. Use the shellac pad as described above until the desired polish is secured.

Fig. 148 a. Wood-turning exercises.

Fig. 148 c. Joinery.

Fig,. 148 d. Wood-turning exercises.

Fig. 148 e. Cabinet-making exercises.