P RE FA C E

E s s e n ti al s C l ea r In presenting thi s
M a de .

b o o k t o s chool shop teachers th e au thor d e sire s

t o mak e clear the fa c t that it is n o t exp ect e d t o
c ov er in an e xhaustiv e mann e r the subj e c t of
wo od finishing N either is it intend e d t o answer
.

all qu e stions that might arise in simpl e problems

of this class . I ts obj e ct is t o consi d e r only those
probl e ms that prop erly b elong t o th e s chool shop
gi v ing only s u c h dir e ctions and inf o rmati o n as are
d e sirabl e for su ch work In this manner it is
.

hop ed t o av oi d ob scuring the need e d in th e need

l ess an d thus en courage a more definit e an d con
t i nu o u s stu dy of wood finishing in th e s chool .

The author hop es t o l ess en greatly the c ommon

practic e of gu e ssing at m e tho ds be c ause n e eded
directions are buried in a mass of general i nf or

mation on all sorts of finishing probl e ms . In

order t o u s e this b ook su c c essfully it shoul d be
t h o r o l y read in t he ord e r writt en ,
studied if
nec essary unt i l underst ood
,
.

M a st e r E a ch P a g e B eginning with thi s pre

.

fac e mast er each p age i n the order giv e n Tea c h .

ers of shopwork or oth e rs wishing exten sive for

4 WO OD F I N I SH I N G

m ulas or direc t ions c an fin d th e m in various large

works on varnishing staining et c , ,
.

O r d e r of T o p i c s . The c ont ents are arrange d

in the order in which they should b e s t u di ed .

We have treat ed d efinit e problems rather than given

g e neral directions without r e gard t o any sp e c ific
c as e
. This makes p ossible v ery bri ef sp ecific , ,

yet readily un derst ood direction s These b eing .

fully compreh en ded t heir appli cation to a large

,

v ariety of probl em s is obvious and easy The .

table of cont ents affords an easy method of learn

ing where each metho d or styl e o ffinishing is
—
treat ed A well arranged index facilitates th e
.

fin ding of any t opi c desired .

Va r i ety o f F i n i s h e s A ltho sp ecific prob l e ms

.

are c onsidere d an d each typ e of finishing de

,

s cribed as 1 t would b e applied t o a sp ecially suit

able arti c l e almost any articl e mention ed migh t
,

b e finished with any of the finishes given .

M a t er i al s
. The various finishing materials are
dis cussed in c onsidering th e pro c esses in which
t hey are first u sed .
 WO O D F I N I SHI N G

C O NTE NT S
Why D o F inishing

The F undamentals

F ool Proof F inish e s

Prep aration o fWo ods

F inishing C utting B oard
Sandp ap e ring F i ni sh

Grinding F inish

Prep aring Sp ru c e and Fi r

F inishing Br e ad B oard
Use of F illers

F i l lers

Stains

Staining Bread B o ard

R ott enst o ne

F inishing B ook R ack

F inishing B ook Trough

F inishing W aste Pap er B ask e t
Varnishing
W h e re t o Get M aterials
Th e I nd e x
 SU C C E SS

Th e b a s i s o fs u c c e s s in a ny l i n e i s to s t art

rig h t a nd tak e e a ch step w i th d e fi ni t e n e s s a nd

p ro mp tn e s s . We s h ou l d avo i d h a s t e , n e v e r p a s s

i ng o v e r a p ro b l e m unt il ma s t e r e d . We s h ou ld
b e ev e r act iv e ,
ne ve r s to pp in g to go ov e r ag a in
th a t wh i c h is al r e a d y co mpl e t e d .
 WO O D F I N I SH I N G 7

WH Y D O F I N I SH I N G

S ev e r al R e a s on s Th ere are s ev e ral r e a s on s

.

why gr e at ca r e should b e taken in the finishing o f

ev en th e first pieces in woo dwork T o finish th e .

pi eces giv es an excu se for ca r e ful tr u ing an d

smo othing The finish adds m u c h t o th e app ear
.

an c e o fthe work prob ably mu ch more in the es

,

t i m a t i o n o fp ar e nts an d fri e nds than of the p u

pils as they ar e more int erested in what th e y
learn than in the proj e c t .

Th e chief reason h owever is that in doing th e

, ,

work of finishing the p u pil l e arns s e v eral prin

c i p l es of large c ons e qu e n c e in all his work an d

learns them qui c k e r an d b e tter than h e can by

doing anything els e Som e of thes e are v ery es
.

s en t i a l t o su c cess in a l l his s hop work and cannot

be t au ght so e f fectiv e ly in any other p art of the

work Thi s is well un derst oo d by t e achers of
.

M e c hani c al Sci en c e .

E du c a t i on al V a l u e A fter a seri e s of mo st
.

careful t e sts th e author is t h o r o l y convin c e d of

the great edu c ational valu e resulting from c orre c t
m e t ho ds of t eaching sh ell a c i ng of the simpl e
pie c es of th e first l essons Wh e re su c c e ss in using
.

shellac is n ot attain ed it will b e foun d that cor

r e c t metho ds h av e n ot b een us ed .
8 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

TH E FUN D A ME N TA LS

S ch oo l s D if
fer Sometimes we s e e work well
.

finished some t imes p oorly finished Sometimes

,
.

near l y all the work of one school will b e quite

satisfactory while that of another will b e quite as
,

dis couraging In att e mpting t o get prop er r e

.

su l t s in any s cho ol the first st e p is to get a clear

understan d ing of the fundam e ntals If on e exam

.

ines very closely the work of some s chools he ,

will noti ce a similarity in the defects of t he work

wh e ther stain e d varnished p aint ed or s h ell a c ed
, , .

The work of an o t her s chool may b e closely i n

sp e c t ed with the result that su ch defects as are

foun d d i f fer mat erially from those of the other

s chool but likewise app e ar to aris e from some one
fundam e ntal error .

M a s t e r F und a m e n ta l s Were we dealing with

.

the probl ems of the commercial shop w e should

fin d these fundamentals so numerou s and so
greatly varie d as t o make our task of considering
t hem a most serious o n e In the s cho ol shop
.
,

however these fundamentals that need to b e con

,

s i d er e d are not numerous an d an earnest t eacher

, ,

willing to do the righ t ought soon to master

,

them and gain satisfa ctory results The chief .

d if ficulty is that habits have b e e n formed that are

in the way of su c cess an d in some cases when one
,

discov ers t hat to su cc eed c ertain fixe d habits

 W O O D F I N I SH I N G 9

mu st b e c hang e d the pri ce is consi der e d t o o high ,

an d th e o l d habit with th e indi f ferent result is

reta i n e d . In o th er c ases some th e ory long held
,

sa c r e d
,
is found to c onfl i ct an d rath e r than giv e
,

u p a the o ry we a c c e pt the co n s e qu ent r e su l ting

inf e ri o r work .

D e p e n d s on P r evi o u s W ork .There can b e

li ttle hop e O f h el ping any w h o ar e not freely w ill
ing t o l ay aside al l pre vi ou s notions that confli c t
w i th prop er metho ds Th e se stat em e nts are mad e
.

pr e p aratory t o stating a fact u sually o v er l o oked

by shop t each ers I t is this 'SU C C E SS I N F I NI S H
.

I N G DE P E N D S P R I M A R I LY U P O N TH E FU N DAM E NTA L
H A B I T S O F W O R'TH A T H A V E B E E N DE V EL O PE D B Y
TH E P U PI L S B E F O R E TH EY A TT EM P T A N Y S O R T O F
F I NI S H I N G U n l ess th i s pr evi ous tra i ning has b e en
.

c orrectly g iv en th er e i s n o ru l e o r metho d p os sibl e

by whi c h we l l fi ni sh ed surfa c e s c a n b e O btained
-
.

If this p r ev iou s training has b een a c c omp li sh e d ,

then th e pupi l in the fifth or sixth grade will use

wh i t e shella c su c c e ssfully as has O ft e n b e e n d e mon
st r a t ed . In fa c t wh ere v e r M e chanica l Sci en c e is
,
'
taught a c c ording t o the author s metho ds pup i ls ,

will b e found in their first y ear O f shop work

g e tting res u lts that ar e thought by O ld li n e t e ach
-

ers t o b e u tterly i mp ossible f o r pupils o fsu c h

grades . It is the r ef o r e v e ry ess ential f or u s t o

r e ali ' e from the v e ry first that unl e ss o u r pupils

hav e b ee n prop erly prep ared t o d o this class O f
10 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

finishing we will n o t get su ch results as t he use of

t his b ook is exp ect ed to give .

P r ep ar a ti on N e c e s sa ry L e t us th e r efore con
.

sider briefly the prep aration n ecessary for t his

work F irst 'The pupil should have learne d to
.

examine a surface or edge definit ely an d system

a t i c a ll y This Should have resul t ed from his
.

study of planing Second ' . H e should have l e arn e d

t o go over his work systematically and thought
fully By the time he is ready t o us e shellac he
.

should hav e formed the habit of knowing exactly

what his hands are accomplishing not in a gener ,

a l way but definitely as to each movement A l l

,
.

rapid thoughtl ess movements so noti c eabl e a t

,

first shoul d have c eas ed and the b oy tho in the

, ,

fifth or sixth grad e should move slowly an d

,

t houghtfully y e t ac complish mu ch Those not .

familiar with t he M echanical Science work should

stu dy carefully the t ext on woodwork for use in
'
t he grades and also t he t eacher s handbook .

T ru e Su r f a c e With the pupil prop erly pre

.

p ared t o take up the stu dy of finishing there

shoul d be a tru e an d smooth surface on which t o
apply the finish N O matter what gra d e is truing
.

a surfac e i t should b e tru e as un ders t ood by a

mechani c and smo o t h before at t emp t is made t o
, ,

finish it There is absolutely no excus e for p er

.

mi t ting pupils to a t t emp t to finish work t hat has

no t b een prop erly trued an d smo othed .
 WO O D F I N I SH I N G l l

Su i t a b l e P i e c e There is also the furth e r r e

.

q u i r em en t that the pie c e t o b e finish ed s hould be

o fsuitabl e shap e f o r the stu dy O f finishing If .

the p u pil is to l earn something the c on ditions f

, or

l e arning shoul d b e suitab l e To att e mp t to t e ach

.

finish i ng on any piec e that may c ome to hand is

rank nonsense It is therefore a matt er of grea t
.

imp o rtan ce that the probl ems O fthe Shop sho u l d

be sel e ct e d with du e consid e ration of finishing as
well as of woo dworking .

FOOL -
PR O OF F IN I SH E S

W h a t t o A vo i d O ne of th e di f
. ficulties met by
most s cho ol shop t ea c hers is that o fk ee ping away
from thos e finishing mat e rials that are adv e rtis e d
as b eing so simpl e and easy to u se as t o avoid
any p ossibility o fimpr o p er use W e are tol d .

that if we will u se su c h an d su ch stains and coat

ings that we will g e t the v ery b est results every
time as they ar e of s u ch a nature as to g i v e
prop er r e sults in the hands of any pupil Some .

d e al e rs go s o far as t o c all their stains F ool

'
Pro of . The use O f o n e c o at stain s with wax
finish is als o e ntirely out of pla c e f o r most O fthe
s c hoo l work Th e u se of p i gment stains and w a x
.

s hould not b e t o l erat e d in any p art of the school

work A S t eachers wishing t o do our pup i ls

.
,
12 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

some good we should l ook upon al l su ch prepar

,

a t i o n s and the firms who recommend them in the

same manner as we sh ould an arithmetic and th e

firm O f fering it with the guarant ee that any fool
coul d surely work any problem in i t .

Sh e l l a c Su i t a b l e
. Th e o n e essential of every
stain or finishing mat e rial O fany kind for s c hool
use is that it will n ot gi v e prop er result s unless
used in th e prop er manner A n y t o ol or mat e rial
.

that wil l p ermi t of c arel ess or thoughtless use

should b e eliminated from the s chool shop The .

finishing when prop erly carried on by th e use o f

,

suitable materials b ecomes one of the most valu

,

abl e p arts of the s c hool work . This is why

Shellac has n o equ al as a finish for woo dwork in
the fifth and sixth grades That it c an b e us e d
.

su c cessfully has b een so t h o r o l y demonstrated as

to l eave no doubt of its su c c e ssful use by e very
t eacher who employs prop er methods .

L i k e U s i n g a Ke y
. To use F ool Proof fin -

i sh i n g materials is simply t o admit that one does

not know how to t each finishing and is wi l ling to
resort t o su ch a subterfuge in order to make a
showing of work rath e r than to teach the pupils .

A ny t eacher who resorts to the us e of su ch ma

t er i a l s or metho ds shoul d b e classed with teachers
who p ermit th eir pupils t o work probl e ms by the
u se of a key an d then exhibit th e problems as
'
Showing the pupils knowl edg e of the subj ect .
 WO O D F I N I SHI N G

P R E P A R A T I O N O F WO O D S
Di f
f C l a s s e s In prep aring th e surfa c e O f
ere nt .

wood to re c e iv e the fini sh we mu st k eep i n m in d

t hat d i f fer e nt woo ds req u ire di f ferent treatm e nt ,

and also that f o r di f ferent fini shing mat erials and

f e r e nt grad e s o f fini sh the r e shou l d b e a d if
di f f er
ent tr e atment of th e wood surfa c e Prob ab l y t h e .

b ett e r way t o l earn and und e rstand these p r ob

l ems o fth e finish i ng room i s t o stu dy th e m e th
o ds of finish i ng vari ous wo ods b e ginn i ng w i th
soft e ve n t extur e d wo o ds su c h as b as swoo d sof t
,
-
,

pin e gum w oo d and p en c i l c edar

,
.

F ol l o w ing th e s e s tu d i es we may st u dy t h e
finishing O fth e hard pines fir r e d c e dar spr u c e
, , , ,

c ypress a n d similar w o o ds On e c a n readily u n

.

d er s t a n d that su ch wo o ds a s o a k ash c h e st nu t , ,

and mahoga n y c an n ot b e finish e d as r e ad il y as

tho s e o f mor e ev e n t exture R o s e w o o d may b e
.

cons i d e r e d an e xtr e me o fth i s cl a ss .

P r ep ari n g P i n e B eginning w i th s oft pin e w e

.

hav e prob ab l y the e a siest woo d o n wh i ch to b e gin

o ur stu dy o ffinishing B eing s o ft i t i s e a sil y
.

br u is ed o r s c rat ch e d and c o rn ers and e dg e s m ay

b e r u in ed b efor e w e a r e awar e o f ha vi ng t ou c hed
th em Our fir st caution th e r e f o r e is t o p re s erv e
.
, ,

th e c o rn e rs and edge s w i th th e u tm o s t c ar e a s
explain e d i n dire c t i ons f o r sandp ap er ing g iv e n in
“ '
W O O D W O RK F O R TH E G RAD E S That r oun d e d
.
14 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

corners and edges are the mark of the shiftless

workman is n ot the only reason for being careful .

A fter the finish is complet e you will readily re c og

ni ' e the inferior app earan ce of su ch p laces by the
indefinite and inartistic re f l e ctions of light from
places that are not truly up to form .

R e mo vi n g D e f e c t s
. N ext to keeping the out
line i n Shap e is the removal of minute surfac e de
f ec t s
. The M echanical Scienc e pupil shoul d have
no trouble with plane marks for long b efore fin ,

i sh i n g the cutting board th e probl e m of planing

should b e solved and there shoul d b e no no t ice
a ble plane marks t o remov e . It is th e refore only
a matter of following the directions for sa n dp a

p ering an d redu cing the surfa c e t o a velve t y

s moothness with substantially all noticeable
s crat ches remo v ed .

F illi n g D e f e ct s
. Sometimes there will b e de
f e c t s su ch as worm hol es that n eed to b e filled .

T his may b e ac complished in s e veral ways one of ,

whi ch is to us e a lit t le coarse sawdust an d glu e a n ,

o ther is t o use putty . L arge ho l e s should b e plugged

“
a s directed in E LEME NTA RY C A B I N E TW O RK
m
.

P utty The ordinary putty of com erc e is

.

ma d e of whi t ing and oil F requ ently some ma

.

t er i a l is sub stituted for the whiting This usual

.

l y results in a putty that will n ot stick to the

wood A mu ch more durabl e putty is made by
.

mixing into ordinary putty from one four t h t o -

 WO O D F I N I SH I N G 15

n
o e-
half of white l ead A n excellen t way in .

which t o ke e p putty from drying down hard is to

put it into a tightly cover e d glass dish usu ally a ,

—
larg e mouthed bottle Packed tightly in su ch a
.

pla ce it wi ll k eep fairly well f o r years .

F o r s chool u se a v ery smal l amount of putty

should last a y e ar Putty t o use in bad j oints
.

should not b e thought of for in wel l c ondu c t ed ,

M echanical Sci enc e class es there will b e no bad

j oint s T o fill an o c casional worm hole or cov er
.
,

the head of a brad is about the limit O fuse for

putty i n th e s cho ol shop .

In case the putty b ec om e s too hard it may b e

s oft e n e d by working into it a very small amoun t

of li n seed o i l It may b e made by taking the d r v

.

whiting sometimes called put ty p owder and mix

, ,

ing in e nough O il t o g i v e th e d e ired co n sistency s

.

C o l d Wa t e r P utty Ther e are on th e marke t

.

'

s e v era l c old wat er p u tti e s Some of thes e are .

e x c ellent and are to b e preferr e d to whiting putty

b e caus e they dry hard qui cker an d do not shrink
in dryi n g F o r p lugging worm holes e t c t h ey
.
,
.
,

gi v e b e tt er resu l ts than whiting and oil putty .

C o l ori n g P u tty Whiting putty may b e col

.

ored by u se of stain s an d also by u se of common

co l ors ground in oil Some of the cold water
.

putties are colored the same as whiting putty ,

som e tak e th e color o fth e stain u sed on the wo od

S O p erfe c tly as t o require no sp ecial coloring .
16 WO O D F I N I SHI N G

B e sur e in all work using whiting and O i l putty

to do the puttying s ev eral days befor e th e v ar n i sh
ing so that the putty c an hav e ti me to shrink ,

and then b e worked down smooth Th e su rfa c e .

should th en b e r e ady fo r the first c oat o f fini sh .

F I N I SH I N G C U TT I N G B O A R D
Ki n d fW oo d Th i s board F i g 1 1 7 W O O D '
'
o .
,
.
,

W O RK F O R TH E G R A DE S shou l d b e o fp i ne ba ss
, ,

w ood whit ewood or some oth e r s o ft and e v e n

, ,

grained wood B efor e b e ginn i ng the fin i shing the

.

surface should hav e b ee n sandp ap ered a s d i r e ct e d .

C are should b e tak e n that th e l ast sandpap e r

u sed is fine enough t o remo v e a l l the readily
V isib l e scrat ch es N o p ap e r is fin e eno u gh not t o
.

s crat ch th e surfac e F o r finishing thi s board we

.

use white shella c b ecau s e long exp er ie n c e i n

s c h ool sh opwork has d e monstrat e d that it is
by far the b est mat e r i a l t o use in th e first l ess o n
on finishing .

Sh e ll a c .Shellac is pro c ured from a tre e o f

India . I t has many us e s other than tho s e i n the
finishing room There are t w o forms O f sh el lac
.

o n th e market They ar e u sually di sti n guish e d

.

by the color O n e is yellow and is sold in flak e s

. .

The oth er is whit e and is sold in l arg e sticks o r

rop es v ery similar in b oth c olor and app e ar a n c e
to th e large mass o fwhit e ta f fy candy as it is
being pulled in th e candy shop .
 8 WO O D F I N I SHI N G

T herefore , be ever on the a l ert t o j udge whether

‘

t he coating applie d was correct or too thick or

too t hin .

Sh e l l a c i ng Place t he b ottle O fsh e llac where

.

i t can b e reached easily while holding the b oar d

SO t hat t he ligh t will strike the surfa c e and b e

refl ected t owards t he eyes as shown in Fi g 1 . .

D i p the brush int o the shellac so as to take up a

c onsi d er abl e
su r p l u s and ,

then remo v e
t hat on the
o u t s i d e of the
b r u s h by wip
ing b oth si d es
on the mou t h
of the b ottle .

T he r e is great
d an g e r O f wip
ing the brush
too mu ch as
w ell as t o o
l i t t l e U nless .

su f ficient shel
lac r emains in
Fi g I Sh l l i ng
e ac
. . .

the b l ush t o ‘

flow ou t freely t he coa t ing will be uneven B egin .

nex t t o one edge a t a dis t anc e from the t op en d

,

of t he back surfac e L ower t he brush whil e

.
 WO O D F I N I SH I N G 19

moving it towards th e b ottom end A s it mov e s .

t owards the l o w e r e nd press a little hard er so

t hat the same amount of sh e llac will leave the
brush at ea c h
p oint C ontin
.

u e the stroke
entir e ly out t o
the b O t t 0 m
end ,
Fi g
. 2
.

The c o m m o n
m i s t a k e in u s
ing sh e llac I S
c arel es sn e ss in
going ov er the
s urfac e a nd
t hen att empt
i ng t o remedy
t he m i s t ak e s
by going b ack
over th e pla c e s
Fi g 2Sh l l i ng
e ac
that hav e b e e n . . .

mi s s e d or attempting t o brush o u t thi c k pla c es .

Th e she ll ac dri e s s o rapidly that it sh o u l d be brush ed

onto the s u rfa c e evenly the first tim e If ther e i s
.

any o c c a sion t o go back o ve r the fr e sh l y sh ell a c ed

surfa c e great care should b e taken to bru sh the Shel
lac out e v enly at b oth e nds and sides A t the fin .

i sh i ng O f the strok e reli ev e th e pressure enuf to a

void scraping the brush ov e r the lower edge F o l .
20 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

l ow th e do w n stroke with an u p stroke F i g 3 b e

- -
,
.
,

gin n ing near the center and passing the brush

entirely to the top end F i g 4 Page 2 1 . .
,
.

C ontinue
th i s pro c ess
brushing the
shella c first
d ownward
t h e 11 u p
ward each
t im e c o ver
ing a strip
a little l e ss
in w i d t h
than the
w i d t h of
the brush .

A l w a y s be
sure t o lap
the s t r o k e s
Fi g 3 Sh l l i ng
e ac
b O t h at t h e
. . .

en ds and at sid e s so t h a t t h e r e will b e no thin

or u nc overed sp ots .

H o l d i n g Pi e c e
. Only by the m o st t h o t ful ,

definit e syst ematic work can the b est finish be

produced The on e feature that in school is
.

likely t o ca use more troubl e than any other is to

get the pupil t o hold the pie c e so that the surface
and shellac are always clearly visible .
 WO OD F I N I SHI N G 21

Av o i d D t A ft e r c overing the entire surfa c e

us .

i n this mann e r the b oard may b e laid in the

b e n c h drawer t o dry i f th e pupils ha v e individu
,

a l draw e rs If not i t should at once b e p l a c ed

.
,

in the wal l c ase away from the d u st D ust do e s .

n o t e ntire l y rui n su c h a finish but it do es inj ure

it. W ere it v arnish a very little dust would en

t i r el y sp o il it .

E x a m
i n i n g Su r
f
ace The
.

surfac e may
be e x a m
i n ed b y h o l d
ing i t up to
th e light in
b oth hands
and moving
it ab out u n
t il the l ight
h as b e e n r e
fl e c t e d fro m
every p or
t i on t o th e
ey e s .

Fi g 4
. . Shel l a c i ng .

Sh el l ac i ng the shel l ac o n the

E dg es . A fter
b ack surfac e has dri e d which will u sual ly require ,

but an hour o r so the edg e s and se c ond o r front

,
22 WO OD F I N I SH I N G

si d e should b e sh el l a c e d B egin by sh el l a c i n g the

.

far t her end next the left hand edge then the
, ,

nearer end I n order to apply t he shellac

.

t o an edge t he brush shoul d b e turne d e d ge

wise to th e length of the edg e and shoul d
be moved very car e fully t o avoid workin g
t he shellac over ont o the si d e A ny streak of
.

shellac on the side at th e edge will add a

grea t deal t o the lab or of finishing an d therefore
great care Should b e taken in sh el l a c i n g the edges .

Sh e l l a c i n g S e c on d Si d e A fter the t wo ends

.

and edge are sh el l a c ed proceed t o the fron t side

, ,

going over it systematically b eginning a t t he lef t,

hand edge The right hand edge is t he las t sur

.

fac e to rec eiv e the Shellac By this time the .

young finisher should b egin to no t i ce carefully

t he e f fect of each stroke of t he brush H e .

should also notic e the ef fe c t of l eaving more or

less shellac on th e bru sh and the n eed of care
fully wiping t he end O f the brush on the edge of t he
bo tt l e The pi ece shoul d n o w b e laid away un t il
.

r eturning to class n ext day It should then b e

.

sandp ap ered as describ ed un d er the n ex t topi c

“ '
S AN D PA P E R I N G F I NI S H.

These directions for sh ell a c i ng the cutting

board apply to all simpl e one piece obj ects mad e -

of cl ose even grained woo d F o r directions for

-
.

s h el l a c i n g t abor e ts
,
t abl es and similar O bj ec t s ,
“ '
see SH E L LA C I N G TAB O RE T .
 WO O D F I N I SHI N G 23

SA N D
P A P E R I N G F I N I SH
Sand p a p e r i ng Fi n i s h The cutting board or
.

some similar one piec e O bj ect made O fclos e even

— ,

grained woo d shoul d b e the first on which to

st u dy sandp ap ering a finish B efore att emp t ing t o
.

d o finishing on e shoul d have t h o r o l y mast ered

sandp ap ering of plain woo d surfac e s bot h with ,

t h e blo ck and without It will th e n b e readily

.

u n d e r s t ood
t hat n o b lo c k
Sh oul d b e u s ed
in sandp ap er
ing a finish .

H o l d in g
Piece .T ake
a p i e c e of
s a n dp a p e n
not more than
one fourth
-

sheet in th e
,

hand as shown
in F i g 5 and
.

go o v er th e
s u r f a c e light
,

l y at first and
Fi g 5 S ndp p i n g . . a a er

always p ara ll el
with th e grain A lways hold the piece so
.

that th e light is refl ected directly t o the eyes

as show n G radually increase t he pressure up on
.
24 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

the p aper until it cuts as rapidly as it c an w ith

o u t heating and pulling up the shella c .It will soon
b e noti c ed that directly under the pla c es wher e the
most pressur e i s applied th e sand pap er rapidly fills
with the sh e llac It is therefor e necessary fr e quent
.

l y t o change th e p osition of the fing e rs s o that

every p art o f the sandp ap er will b e u sed eq u a l ly .

Rub b i n g Th i c k P l a c e s
. A ft e r a very littl e rub
bing it wi l l b e noticed that some p arts o fthe sur
fa c e ar e mu ch rougher than oth ers Thi s n ec es
.

s i t a t es the careful ob servation O f th e w o rk an d

extra rubbing over the thi ck o r rough pla c es .

This i s really the imp ortant and d i fli c u l t part of

th e proc ess but should b e readi l y l earn e d if o n e
,

has first learn e d t o u s e sandp ap er o n th e u nfin

i sh ed surfa c e .

U s i n g S c rap e r on Fi n i sh
. D u st ev e n dirt in
, ,

the atmospher e of th e s choo l shop is u sually u n

a v oidab l e and therefore some will find its resting
p l ace o n the freshly sh ell a c e d surfa c e s In a t .

t empting to smooth s u rfac es in which du s t h a s

settl ed and b e come emb edded it will b e quite
di f fi c ult to smo oth down the dust and the small
raised sp ot of finish ab out it without c u tting
away t o o mu ch of the finish on th e adj o ining sur
fac e Th e same is tru e O f ex c ep tionally thi c k
.

s p ots O f finish . It is ther e fore nec essary t o r e

m o v e these ex c eptionally high p la c es by some
means that will n ot hit the level surfa c e This .
 26 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

same directions for using the sandpap er so as t o

avoid round corners as in the sandp ap ering O fthe
“
woo d b e fore s h ell a c i ng See
. W O O D W O RK F O R
'
TH E G R A DE S ,
F igures 1 2 3 to 1 2 7 .

Sh e l l a c i ng
,
S e c on d C o a t A ft er all surfaces
.

and edges hav e b een worked down smooth and

even wip e t he board t h o r o l y an d apply another
,

c oat of shellac t o the b etter surfac e only Shoul d .

th e piec e b e chamfere d t he ends and e dges ,

should b e sh el l a c ed . But one surface is ful l y

finishe d as the back side is to b e used for c u t t ing
up on an d t herefore should no t b e highly finished .

R ep eat the process of s h e ll a c i n g and rubbing

d own with sandpap er until the surfa ce is well and
evenly covered wi t h shellac This usually will .

require t w o or three c oa t s Then after the sand .

pap ering use pumic e s t one as directed under the

“ '
si d e head ,
U SI N G PUM l C E ST O NE .

GRIN D IN G F I N I SH

P u mi c e Ston e A fter the O O sandpap er has

.

b e en used on the second or third coat of shellac

t he surfac e will yet b e far from smooth O n the .

firs t c oa t s the sandp ap er will b e su f

ficient as i t
will l eave the surface smoo t h enough to receive
.

the su c cee d ing coa t of finish but as the finish ,

nears comple t ion more care must be taken to

“

have a smoo t h surfac e to receive th e coating an d

 WO OD F I N I SH I N G 27

t he final rubbing down must b e far b e t ter than

can b e ac complished with 0 0 sandpap er It is .

t herefore nec essary to prepare t he work t o r e

c ei v e the las t c oa t of shella c or varnish by rub

bing down t he finish with pumic e st one The .

Same proc ess is rep eated on the last coating .

G r a d e s o f P u mi c e St on e P u mic e stone mav

.

b e ob t ain e d in three grades of powd e r e d stone

and also I n bricks F o r school u se only the
.

p owder e d is re quir e d A convenient form in

.

whi c h to purchas e it is in ten p ou nd p a c kages .

“ ' “ '
The coars e st is marked F the finest F FF
,
.

Whi ch grad e to use mu st b e learned by use and

exp eriment The c oarser the grade the faster i t
.

will cut but if t o o coars e it will leave unsightly

,

scrat ches in the finish that cannot b e r e moved .

“ '
The b eginner may we ll use FF for preparing
th e surfac e for the l ast c oat and FFF for rub
bing the last c oat This may b e considered as
.

b eing on the saf e side .

R ub b i n g O i l . B y using the p owdere d pumice

stone dry littl e could b e ac c omplished Some .

liq u id mus t b e u s e d to mak e it work freely A l .

most any liquid that wi ll not di s solve t h e finish

may b e used Water is n o doubt th e cheapest
. .

C heap oils of v ari ou s s o rt s are also u s e d I t is .

w e l l for the shop teacher t o exp e riment with such

as are at hand There is also to be had an oil
.

“ '
e s p e c i a ll v for this purp ose ca l l e d rubbing oi l .
28 WO OD F I N I SHI N G

It is a t hin and rather in exp ensive O i l and f or ,

most s chools its use will b e fo u nd pr eferabl e to

that o fwater or other O i l s C ommon machi n e
.

oil thinned with k e rosene c an b e us e d when bu t

littl e is needed and n o othe r i s at hand .

O i l C an s The r u bbing oils are best us e d

.

fr o m a small machin e O il e r T o a v o id th e t roub l e

.

that follows c o nf u sion wi th th e c ans us e d at th e

O ilstones the c an containing the rubbing o i l may
b e p aint e d b l ack B l a c k shella c c an b e used f o r
.

this purp os e .

U s i n g P um i c e St one Tak e a small wad o f

.

cotton wast e o r a sma l l pie c e of rubbing felt and

p our a li tt l e oil up o n it D i p this into th e b ox o f
.

pumi c e stone or sprinkle a l ittl e of the p owder o n

,

t he finish . R ub over the entire surfa c e using a

circ ular motion A ft e r working in this mann e r
.

for a short time wip e th e su rfac e c lean and ex

,

amine it L ook f
. o r the thi ck o r rough plac e s .

Tak e mor e O i l and p owder and rep eat th e rub

bing using the c ir c ular motion unless th e nature
,

of the high p l a c e s r e quires a di fferent movement .

Aft e r the first insp e ction o n e should b e abl e t o

see fairly well w here rubbing is required withou t
having t o c l ean o f fthe oi l and p owder T O O i r e
.

qu ent cl e aning of the surface is a waste o f b oth

time and mat e rial .

The pro cess of grinding with pumic e stone f ol

lows so closely i n principles that of using sand

 WO O D F I N I SHI N G 29

p ap er that on e who has l earn ed to us e sandp ap er

should have little diffi culty in u sing pumic e ston e .

This is esp ecially true in regard t o ke e p i ng

e dges sharp u sing the wast e o r felt so it will n o t
,

overhang the corners or chamfer and in working ,

d own the high sp ots a l ong t he c orn ers b efo r e

compl eting the c entral part o fth e surfa c e If the .

sandpap e ring h a s not b een t h o r o l y mastered the

directions shou l d b e r eviewed whi l e using the
pumi c e stone .

Li st en f o r G r i nd i n g If the O il and p u mi c e
.

ston e are in prop er quantiti e s th e grinding should

b e distin ctly h e ard Th e prop er prop ortioning o f
.

th e t w o i ngr e di e nts t o form a th i ck p aste i s a

ma tt er o fc hief imp ortan c e an d c an b e l e ar ne d
only by exp eri en c e By listening f
. o r th e sound

of gr i nd i ng and changing th e prop ortio n t o mak e

this sound as dist i n c t as p ossibl e wil l so on resul t
in the prop er u se O f the mat erial I t also must
.

be born e i n mind that pumic e sto n e i s rapidly

used up . M or e p owder and mor e O i l must b e
ad d ed freq u e nt l y .

H o w Lon g t o G ri n d The grinding sh o uld b e

.

c o ntin u ed u ntil the shellac o r varni sh i s c u t to a

s mooth mirror l ik e surfa c e
-
unl e ss by so doing it
,

wil l b e cut down t o o c los e t o the wood If th e

.

finish is not thi ck eno u gh t o p ermit o fb e ing

groun d down to su c h a smo oth surfac e it sho ul d
b e work e d t o as smooth a surfac e as will b e safe
30 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

without cutting thru to the wood It th e n sh o uld '

b e t h o r o l y clean e d o f all O i l and p owder and hav e a n
o ther c oat O f finish appli e d Oft en i t i s n e c essary
.

to do a large part of the rubbing p arall el with

the grain as in sandpap e ring .

Numb e r o fC o a t s . This applying of finish

a n d rubbing down Shoul d b e c ontinu ed unti l the

d e sired smoothn e ss of surfac e is obtained If

.

s hella c is used it may require s e veral rep etitions

o fthe rubbing and sh el l a c i n g Varnish u su ally

.

has a greater b o dy than the shellac and ther e fore

do e s not usually requir e so many appli c ations .

D O n o t mak e th e mistake o fl ea v ing too thi ck a

c o ating of finish after the first sandp ap e ring or

first grinding See that ev e ry p art is as thin as

.

it can b e mad e without c utting thru b efore a p

plying another coat .

G r i nd i n g Tw o C o a t s a t O n c e A ft e r on e has
.

b ecome exp ert in applying and rubbing finish two

o r mor e c oats may be applied f o r each sa n d p a

p ering o r grinding Thi s wil l sa v e time and yet

.

result in a good finish i f the workman is su f

,
fi
c i ent l y skilled t o apply the c oats e ve n ly . This
should n o t b e attempted until o n e has had c on
si d er a b l e exp eri e nc e i n working on e c oat at a
tim e It is sometimes advisab l e i n finish i ng
.

O p en grained woods t o apply a p art o f

-
the shellac
acro s s the grain The last coat should always
.

b e applied p arallel with the grain .

 W OO D F I N I SHI N G

P R E P A R I N G SP RU C E A ND FIR

H ar d a nd f
S o t G ra i n e d
-
Woo d s
N e xt t o t h e .

smooth surfac ed woo ds are those that are in on e

sens e sm oo th yet di f ,
fi cult t o finish b ecause they
are mad e up of two distinctly di f ferent sorts O f
grain o n e hard and sm o oth the oth er v e ry soft
, ,

an d smo o th .

D if fi c ul t i e s i n Fi n i sh i n g Th e se two kinds of
.

grain do not smooth or finish a l ik e Th e first a p .

p e a r a n c e O f di f
fic u lty in working su c h woo d is i n

p l aning The plane must b e sharp or i t will not

.

c ut the two grains t o an e v e n surfac e Some o f .

thes e woods s u ch a s fir sp r u c e and W ashington

, ,

r e d c e dar ha v e s u ch a soft grain that it is ex

t r em el y diffi cult t o s andpap er th e surfac e witho u t
cutting away th e soft grain mu ch faster than the
o ther an d thus pro du c e a p eculiar roughness that
makes goo d fin i shing impossible .

Smo o thi n g .Th e r e ar e variou s ways o fov e r

c oming this diffi cu l ty among th e s e i s the one
,

that shoul d n ev e r b e o mitted that O ftaking a ,

finishing c ut o v er th e surfac e with a v e ry sharp

p lan e If a s crap er i s to b e us e d i t also shou l d
.

b e v ery sharp On all su c h surfac e s but l i tt l e

.

sandp ap er i ng should b e don e Sometimes th e .

b e tt e r metho d is t o g o ov e r the surfa c e with a

c oat of li qu i d filler o r sh ell ac p ermitting this ,

c oat t o dry hard an d thus hard e n the soft grain .

32 WO OD F I N I SHI N G

A fter t his it will b e found mu ch e asier to use

either the s c rap er o r sandp ap er .

St a i n i n g B e f or e Sh e l l a c i ng If th e piec e is
.

t o b e stain e d it will b e nec e s sary to det e rm i ne

wh e ther stain should b e u sed b efor e o r after th i s
hardening coating In some c ases stain should b e
.

appli e d b oth b efor e and aft e r It will be notic e d

.

that after th e surfac e i s sh ell a c ed s tains are n o t as

readi l y ab sorb ed and therefor e wi l l not gi v e the
same ton e O f c o l or as wh e n appl i e d b efore the
sh e llac .

A fter a surface is pro du c ed o n these hard and

soft grained wo ods in this manner they may be
-

finished th e sam e as basswoo d e tc of the first ,

.
,
“ '
group . SE E F I NI S H I N G C U TTI N G B O A RD .

F I N I SH I N G B RE A D B OA RD
K i nd f Woo d Should
th e bread b o ard
'
o .
,
“
Fi g 1 4 3
. W O O D W O RK F O R TH E b e of
pine b asswood o r similar close even grain e d wo o d
, ,
-

it may be finish e d in th e same manner as the

c utting b oard We will therefore consid e r on l y
.

the finishing of su c h bread b oards as are made o f

o a k mahogany or similar op en grained woo ds
,
-
.

P r e p a r i ng O a k T o prepare prop erly o a k and

.

other op en grained woo ds for finishing in the bes t

-

manner is a somewhat di f ficult matt er The first .

di fficul t y is to produ ce an even surfac e It is so .

34 WO O D F I N I SHI N G

F I L LE R S

P a s t e Fi l l e r s The usual m e thod of filling

.

thes e op en grains i s by u se o fw hat is k n own as

past e filler s These may b e obtain e d at any
.

paint store pr ep ared f o r use ex c ept that th e y r e

quire thinning U sually direct i on s f

. o r u se wi ll b e

found up on th e lab el o r wrapp er Th e proc ess O f .

using them can be stated in a few words and a p

p ears t o b e quite simpl e y et the b est resu l ts ar e ,

usually not O btained excep t by the exp eri e n c ed

finish er By ha v ing c l early in mind w hat i s to b e
.

a c complish e d by the fill e r and then pro ce e ding

carefully noting the e f
,
fect o feach part o fth e
work one should soon b e able t o d o fair l y good
,

filling o n any kind o fwood .

P r ep ari n g Fi ll e r O n op enin g the can th e fil l

.

er usu ally will b e found s e ttl e d and quit e hard .

Perhaps it can b e softene d by stirring into it the

liquid probably O il found on t o p
,
If not r e
,
.
,

move a p ortion of the mass t o anoth er suitabl e

r e c e p tacl e and p our o v er it enough O i l or t ur
p entine t o make a thin cr e am l ike liqu id wh e n ,
-

t h o r o l y stirred .

Th i nn i n g F i ll e r If the wood to b e fill ed is

.

to retain its natural c ol or u se for the thinn er t u r ,

p entine otherwise linse e d oil may b e u sed also a

, ,

little drier a liq u id prep aratio n whi c h is used i n

,

paints fill e rs et c t o cause them t o dry m o re

, ,
.
,
 WO O D F I N I SH I N G 35

rapidly Wh e r e a variety of small p i e c es ar e t o

.

b e fill ed a s in the s c ho ol shop it is probab l y b et

t e r to us e an all turp enti n e fill e r .

L i n s e e d O il . This is o ft w o kind s r aw a n d ,

b oil ed . If sp a c e and funds ar e l imited only t h e ,

b o il ed O i l sh o u l d b e used This is a l i tt l e thi c k er

‘
.

an d dri e s a litt l e quick e r than the raw o i l It .

c a n b e used for a ll th e purp oses of t he s chool shop .

Tu rp e n t i n e . O nly th e pur e turp e ntine shoul d

b e us e d I n th e s chool shop F o r t h e o rdinary
.

s c hoo l shop i t may b e purchas e d a ga ll on at a .

time It i s high l y infl ammabl e and should b e

. .

k e p t in a plac e se c ure from heat o r liabi li ty O f

fir e or ele c tri c sp ark s Th e pla c e in wh i ch i t is
.

kep t sho u ld b e a l ways clean O f dirt o r d u s t a n d ,

cott o n wa st e cloths o r simi l ar mater i a l s shoul d

,

n o t b e k e pt in the same b o x o r c u pb oard If it .

c an b e arrang e d it shoul d b e k ept in a metalli c

, ‘

case o r a sb est os o r sheet metal l in e d cabin e t .

B oth alcohol and li ns e e d O i l shou l d b e k ep t i n

similar c abi n e ts .

C o l ori n g Fi l l e r s Th e fi ll e r may b e c o l o r e d b y
.

us e of ordinary pigments su ch as rose l ak e b u r nt ,

si enna b u rnt u mb er e t c Th e s e ar e most e a si l y

, ,
.

us e d when gro u nd in oi l and may b e pur c has e d

in sma ll c an s .

C o l or s i n O i l F i g 6 t ells b etter tha n word s

. .

how su c h c o l or s ar e put u p H alf p o und and

.

p oun d tins ar e l arg e e nough qu antiti e s t o p u r

36 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

chase at one time F ew o fthese c olors are r e

'

quired The usual list contains only Burnt

.

U mb er Burnt Sienna and R ose L ake

,
T o these .

may b e added for variety su ch oth e r c olors as

'

circ u mstances may suggest The cans should b e .

kept as tightly closed as p ossible and the pig

ment should b e kept cover e d with oil o r turp en
tine either o fwhich may b e used for thinning
,
.

Fi l l i n g A fter the filler has b een t h o r o l y

.

Fi g 6
. . C o l o r 'i n Ti n C an '

mixed thinned and colored i f required it should

, , ,

b e applied with a sti f f br u sh D o n o t try t o .

p a int it ov e r the surfa c e as o n e would apply a

coat o fpaint but rath e r rub it onto and into the
,

surfac e rubbing in all directions and l e aving but

,

little on the surface .

Ru b b i n g Fi ll e r G O ov e r a small surface in
.

this manner and then wait until the filler b e

c omes s o dry as to rub up o n the surfa c e in a
 W O O D F I N I SH I N G 37

th i ck p a s t e W i th a bit o fwast e or c l o th rub

.

o v e r th e surfa c e v aryi n g the mo ve m en t from

,

c r o sswis e t o c i r cul a r and l e ngthwise ha v ing in ,

min d that the O bj e c t is to g e t as m u c h as p ossib l e

Of th e fil l er into th e p ore s o f the wo o d .

C l e an i n g Su rf ace N ext r u b all th e surp l us

.

fi ller o f fth e su rfac e finish i ng by r ubb i ng lightly

,

but t h o ro l y w i th c l ean waste B e v e ry c areful .

that th e fi l le r i n th e p o r e s is n o t r u bb ed ou t .

Thi s pro c e s s O ffi lli ng sh oul d p ro du c e a su rf ac e

s ui tab l e f or s h el l a c i ng or v a r n i sh i ng .

San dp a p e ri n g Fi l l e r A ft er th e fil l er h a s thor
.

o l y d rie d th e sur fa c e sh oul d b e gone o v er l ight l y

w i th sandp ap er B e c a r e fu l t o r u b down any

.

rough p l a c e s o r sp ot s of fi ll e r that ha v e not b ee n

p r op e r l y cl e a ne d f ro m th e surfa c e Som e t i m e s .

th e fi ll ing pr o c e ss w il l ra i s e th e grain o f the wo o d .

I n that c a s e c o n si d er ab l e s a n dp ap erin g wi ll b e
r e qu i red f o r all th e ra i s e d g r a i n m u s t b e w orked
“
down s m o o th See t o p i c RA I SI N G TH E G RA I N
. .

St a i n i n g O v e r Fi ll e r B e fore th e sh el la c i s
.

app li ed a s ta i n may b e u s e d either to i ntensify the

,

c olo r u s e d in th e fi ll e r o r i f th e fi ll er h as b e e n l e ft
,

w h i t e t o do all the c o l or i ng aft er the fil l ing h a s

,

b e en don e . Oft e n a ll th e c ol or is gi v e n by th e fi l l er ,

thus a v o i d in g th e e xp e nse and t i m e of a sp e cial

coat of s tain Wh en stain s a r e u s e d they shou l d
.

b e s e l ec t e d an d app l i e d a s dire c t ed in th e fol l ow

ing c hap t e r on s tains .
 WO O D F I N I SHI N G

ST A I N S

Ki n d s o fSta i n s
Th e re are fo u r kinds of
.

stains known t o paint e rs and v a r nishers They .

are 'F irst Oil Stains 'Second Wat er Stains

, , '
Thi r d Spirit Stains '
,
an d F o u rth Ch e m i cal Stains,
.

O i l Sta i n s These are similar to a c olored

.

varnish are difficult to apply satisfa c tor il y and

, ,

do n o t give a high quality o ffini sh They are .

more i n th e nature o fa p aint up on t h e surfa c e of

the wood than a stain to e nter and col o r the
wood fibres They are n o t s u itab l e for scho o l u s e
.

and should b e avoid e d On the oth er hand altho

.
,

very diffi c u l t f o r the b eginn er t o apply one who ,

has l earned th e prin c ipl es of app l yi n g finishes as

taught in the u s e of shella c should with a li t tl e ,

practi c e b e able to follow the dire c tions f

,
o r ap

plying O i l st ains ' the diffi c ulty is to apply them

evenly so as t o avoid thin sp ots and lap s .

W a t e r St a i n s Thes e are o n e kind o fchem i

.

cal stains as they dep end to som e extent up on

,

the a c tion O fthe stain up on th e wood fibres .

They also act as a dy e o r c oloring matt er Su ch .

stains ar e pro du c ed in a very great v ari e ty of

shades and of a great v ari e ty o fmaterials Some .

g i v e good r e sults and ar e mu ch u s ed while other s

—
give lifele s s mud l ike coating s
,
.

The only safe way is t o purchas e only sampl es

o r very small qu antities at first A ft er finding .
 WO O D F I N I SHI N G 39

thos e that are suitab l e b e cautiou s ab out c hang

,

ing D ir e c tions for u s e wi l l u su ally b e fo u nd on

.

the p ackag e .

M i x i n g W a t e r St a i n s . F o r most water s tains

the p owd er i s mix e d with wat e r and then app l i e d
w i th a br u sh or cl o th A lmo st any way by wh i c h
.

th e su rfa c e of the woo d i s w e t t h o r o l y and ev e nly

al l o v er w il l g iv e a s go o d r e sults as the st ain i s
cap ab l e o f produ ci ng W ith some wat e r stains it
.

makes l itt l e dif f eren c e wh e th e r the liq ui d i s a p

plied ev enl y i fi t i s t h o r o l y w i p e d b e fore i t dr i e s .

Sa n dp ap e r i n g W a t e r St a i n s . Su ch stains ra i s e
th e grain and th e r e f o re th e woo d mu st b e w el l
sandp ap ered aft er the stain is t h o r o l y dry Th i s .

wi ll u su ally n e c e ssitat e an o ther app li c at io n o fth e

stain and anoth e r go i ng o v e r with sandp ap e r .

Th e grain may b e r a i s ed b e fore apply i ng the

stai n See topi c RA I SI N G TH E G R AIN
.
“
.

Fi n i s h i n g A f t e r St a i n i n g
. A ft e r th e d esir e d
c ol o r h as b e en o b tain e d and th e w o o d mad e
smooth th e fin i sh may b e completed by apply i ng
,

a c oating o f wax as d es c rib ed und er th e top i c

“ '
W A X F I NI SHI N G o r it may b e c o v er e d by som e
thing i n th e natu r e o fa v arnish s u ch as Sh ella c
, ,

some o fth e c omm e rc i al sub stitutes f o r sh el l a c o r ,

a varnish A s a matt er o feconomy v arnish

.
,

sho u ld b e prec e d e d by a p aste or liq u id fi ll e r .

Sp i ri t St a i n s
. Th i s class O fstains is u s e d v ery
l arg e ly as well a s th e wat er stain s . Th e y c o n si st
40 WO OD F I N I SH I N G

of a liquid and a coloring matter mixed ready for

use They dry quickly Th e e ssential qua l ities
. .

'
o fdurability
“
,
brillian ce or lif e vary greatly
w ith di f f erent makes and with di f ferent c o l o rs o f
th e same brand .

S el e c t i n g St a i n s
. It I s n o t s afe t o buy th e se
stains on the recomm e ndatio n o fdea l ers or O f
pra c tical workmen Th e r e qu i rements O f the
.

school ar e su ch that ordinary commer c ial require

ments are n o t a guide f o r s election The c o m
.

m er c i a l shop might us e a stain b ec au s e i t is a few

c e nts cheap e r p er gal l on o r b e caus e it dri e s t w o
,

o r three ho u rs sooner . In the s chool shop where

each proj e c t requires su c h a small amo u nt the
quality should not b e sa c rifi c ed t o pric e I n dry .

ing no stain wil l dry in time to re c ei v e th e next

c o ating the same class p e riod and therefore if it
dries in time f o r the recitat i on O f th e su c c e eding

day i t i s quit e su f fi ci e nt The on e matter of

.

q u ality shou l d control .

This i s e ssential no t simp l y f o r the sake O f the

app earanc e o fthe c ompleted finish but b ecause ,

in p u tting on and working with a high grade

fini sh ther e is mu ch mor e f o r a pupil to l e arn .

Th e c l e ar high qu ality stain o f f e rs an opp ortunity

for car e in working it into the surfa c e that is n o t
p ossibl e with the dull muddy pr e p arations ,
.

Av oid the u se O fsu ch c olor s as c ov e r up the

grain and nat u r al beauties of the wood .
42 WO O D F I N I SHI N G

t hat O fthe c utting

b oard Therefore aft e r the
.

s h el l a c i n g h as been compl e ted and the la s t coat

rubb ed down with pumice ston e a final p olish ,

may b e giv en the surfa c e by us e of r o tt e nstone .

R OTT E N ST O N E

Wh e n to Us e R ott en s t on e U nless th e woo d

.

is v ery car e fully smooth e d and th e sh el lac o r

varnish has pra c tically a p erfect surfac e th e use
of rottenstone will only increase the apparen t
r ou ghness .If the finish is suffi c iently p erfe c t to
p ermit of a high p olish the use of rott e nstone
and oil will gi ve the finishing tou ch o f b e auty and
glos s that for most work is quite de sirable .

There i s but o n e grade of rott e nstone It is t o .

b e o btained in either powdered form o r c hunks .

F o r school use a l ways purchase the p owd e red

r o tt e n stone On l y a smal l amo u nt will b e r e
.

quired .

Us i ng R o tt e n s t on e In using rottenstone
.

pro c ee d th e s am e as in u si ng pumic e ston e .

F inish by rubbing caref u lly p ara l lel with the

grain U se great care t o keep i t fre e fr o m dirt or
.

dust and avoid using waste o r p ads that have

b e e n used with pumice st o n e Th i s shou l d com
.

p l et e th e finish and lea v e the surface smo oth and

mirror like A v oid placing anything against su ch
-
.

a surfac e for se v eral days as the rubbing has a

t en d ency t o soften the finish .
 W O O D F I N I SH I N G 43

F I N I SH I N G A T AB O RE T
P r e l i mi nary St u d y I n many ways finishing a
'
.

taboret F ig ur e s 1 80 and 1 9 2 W O O D W O RK F O R
'
,
'
T H E G RAD E S is th e same as finish i ng a cutting
b oard o r bread b oard Ther e for e al l the d i r e c
.

tion s giv en f o r those prob l e m s shou l d b e t h o r o l y

mast e r e d b e for e attempting a tab oret .

Fi n i s h i n g i n A n g l e s Th e top O f th e tabore t
.

may b e fi n i sh e d b e for e b e i n g fast e n e d t o the rail s .

I n that cas e i t wou l d b e finish ed th e sam e as the

breadb oard e x c ep t b e ing l arger a l itt le more
, , ,

c ar e wou l d b e nec e s s ary I n finishing th e rai l s

.

and l egs w e m e et w ith th e diffi c u l ty o f working

o n s u rfac e s that j o i n oth er su rfa c es so as t o form

angl es that ar e n o t e asi l y rea c h e d If we hav e .

d o ne our pre v io u s wo rk w e ll th i s n e w probl em

w ill b e readi l y s o lv e d T h e c hi e f factor i s t o
.

apply the fi nish to th e ang l e first and th en wo r k

o u t towards th e c e nt er of th e ra il b e ing c areful ,

to hav e th e sh ell ac or o th er mat e ria l spread

ev en ly . R e m e mb e r that any su rp l u s fini sh close
u p in th e ang l e i s v ery diffi c ult to r ub down
when dry the re fo re w ip e th e brush t h o r o l y and g o
, ,

ba c k t o the angl e s and c l ean them o u t at on c e .

P ro c e e d Sy s t e ma ti c al l y G O o v er th e w ork
.

s y s t e mat i c a ll y so that n o p arts wil l b e ov er l o o ked .

B e g i n at a p oint that wil l p erm i t o f ha n dling th e

frame until th e l a s t surfa c e h as b een c o v e red In .
44 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

sandpap ering o r r u bbing with p u m i c e stone work ,

in to th e ang l es first and then o u t up o n th e larg e

surfaces Sometimes the pum i c e stone c an b e
.

worked in the a ngl es by using a pine stick or

paddle instead o fthe u sua l pad o r c otton wast e .

Fi n i s h i n g B e for e P u tti n g T o g e th e r The fin

.

“ '
i sh i n g of F i g 1 9 5 W O O D W O RK F O R TH E G R A DE S
.

may dif fer from that of F i gures 1 80 and 1 9 2 by

b e ing all done while the l e gs ar e s e p ar at e d f ro m
b oth the rails and shelf th u s a v o i d in g finishing
,

in angl e s Th e r e ar e many other proj e c ts il lu s

.

'
t r a t e d in W O O D W O RK F O R TH E G RAD E S that ar e
esp e c ially d e sirab l e for s c ho o l shopwo r k b e c au s e
th e y may b e finish e d entirely b efor e putt i ng t o
g e ther W ork p l ann ed i n this mann er may b e
.

v e ry h i gh l y fini shed o r p o l ish e d by p u pils in th e

s ev enth o r e ighth grad e s A l l of these arti c l e s
.

may b e p olish e d with r o tt e n s to n e .Se v eral o f

“ '
t h e proj e c ts in ELEME N T ARY C A B I N E TW O RK may
b e finished b efore assembling .

F I N I SH I N G BOOK RA C K

W o o d Thi s b o o k rack F I G 2 0 9
S el e c t i n g .
, ' .
,

W O O D W O RK F O R TH E may b e made o f
any cabinet woo d F o r o u r o wn purp ose in
.
-

t eaching th e u s e o fan oi l fin i sh we will make it

of some hard and dark c o l or e d wo od su ch as ros e
-

wo o d O r b l ack waln u t .
 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

O i l Fi ni s hi n g .The wo o d sho u ld b e prepared

in the sam e manner as for oth e r finishes T ak e .

l inseed oil either th e raw or b o i l ed and c oat th e

, ,

rack t h o r o l y W e re many to b e fin i sh e d they

.

might b e dipp ed in th e oil and th e n tilt e d u p t o

dra i n and dry A fter b e c oming p art i al l y dry the
.

entir e su rfa c e s sho u ld b e t h o r o l y rubb ed If this.

d o es n ot r e s u lt i n a su ffi ci e nt am o unt o f fin i sh a n
oth er c o at O foil may b e appl i e d a n d simi l ar l y
r u bb ed Th e mo r e rubbi n g th e b e tt e r
. .

D if ferenc e in Oil s The b oi l ed O i l dr i e s a

.

li ttl e q u i ck e r than the r a w O il E ither may r e

.

c ei v e a li ttl e dr i e r Probab l y th e r a w O i l w ill

.

g i v e th e b e tt e r s ur fa c e if one i s wi lli ng t o apply a

s u ffi ci ent numb er of c oat i ngs and do e nough r u b
bing Oi l finish m u s t not b e confu s e d w i th
.

ha r d o il fin i sh wh i ch i s r e ally a kind o f
'
v ar ni sh .

Wh e r e U s e d . O i l finish may b e u s e d on a n y
p r oj e c t b u t i s n o t as d e sirabl e f o r larg e pi e c es as

f o r small on e s b e c aus e i t d o e s n o t p r ot e c t t h e
w oo d from th e ef f e c ts o fh e at and mo i st u r e a s
w el l as a sh ell a c finish o r a good varni sh .

F I N I SH I N G B O O K T R O U GH
W h e r e Wa x Fi n i sh i s U s e d W e ha v e i n th e
'
.

b o ok tro u gh F I G 2 4 1
,
. W O O D W O RK F O R TH E
,

an a r t i cle w ell suit e d to a wax fi ni sh .

Wax fin i sh e s may b e u s e d on alm o st any p i ec e o f

46 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

hard wood furniture but are bett e r f,

or some
styles than for others .

P r ep a ri n g Su rf
ac e The surfa c e f
. o r a wax fi n

ish should b e prep ared in th e sam e manner as f or

other finishes altho it is not likely that small i m

p erf ec tions of mat e r i al or workmanship will b e as
noticeable in a wax finish as in a v arnish finish .

V ar i ou s M e th o d s o fWa x Fi n i sh i n g Several .

methods of u sing the wax may b e followed de

p ending u p on what grad e o f finish is desir e d The .

wax may b e us e d dire c tly o n t he woo d withou t

s tain ,
filler or any under c oating whatever I t .

a lso may b e u s e d over a c ar efully filled and

s tained surfac e Op e n grained woods may b e
.
-

t h o r o l y prep ar e d as if for varnishing so that the ,

w a x wil l form an even and glossy p olish .

A pp l yi n g Wax F i n i s h Howe v er the surface is

.

p rep ared th e wax which may b e a common fl oor

, ,

w a x i s rubb ed o n and th e n t h o r o l y rubb e d down

,
.

S ome wax prep arations ar e in liqu i d form an d

m a y b e applied with a brush They also d i f
. fer in
c olor . On dark op en graine d wo od use a dark
,
-

colored wax There is little danger of having any

.

t roubl e in putting on su ch a finish I t is ther e.

fore a very p oor finish for school use as a pupil

m a y l e arn nothing worth while t h e sp ending days
in rubbing it Wax finish is the extr e me O pposite
.

o fa shellac finish as a problem f o r th e school

s hop .
 W O O D F I N I SH I N G 47

F I N I SH I N G W A ST E P A P E R B A SK E T
f
Sui ta b l e
o r V a rn i s h We may take as a s ui t
.

able example f o r a v arnish finish the waste pap er

, ' .
“
bask e t F i g 2 8 1 W O O D W O RK F O R TH E G R A DE S '
'
A s d u st i s v e ry i nj urious t o v arni sh w e will need
i n ou r s ch o o l varn i shing t o app l y it to som e O b
j e c t smal l eno u gh t o b e qui c k l y pla c e d i n to a
cl e a n c as e or b o x .

P r e pa ri n g W o o d F o r o ur v arn i shing l e sson

.

we will u s e mah o gany for th e sta v es o fthe bask

et . They mu s t b e v ery c arefully p l aned and
s andp ap er e d . W e hav e alr e ady s e e n h o w the
grain o fth e wood i s r ai s ed by applying some
kind s O f fini sh . If w e wish t o do an e xc eptionally
fi n e pi ec e of w or k w e must rais e the grain a n d
then s m oo th i t by another sandp ap e ring b e for e
w e app l y a n y fi ni sh .

R ai si n g t h e G r a i n This is a c comp l i sh e d by
.

s p onging th e su rfa c e w i th warm wat er Some .

u se th e m er est tra c e o f gl u e i n th e wat e r . This ,

h ow e v e r i s not ne c essary un l e ss the fibres of th e

,

w o o d ar e i n cli ned to t e a r up o r b e come fu ' 'y.

In tha t ca s e the g l u e t ends t o harden th e m so

that they wi ll work smooth e r Th e wat er must .

no t conta i n su f fi cien t g l u e t o l eav e any p er c ep t

i b l e trac e o n th e surfa c e f o r it would affec t the
,

Su c c ee ding c oating s I n the u s e O fsome spirit

.

s tai n s th e use of any glu e what ev e r will a f fect th e

48 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

finish B e careful to u se b u t moi s t u re e nough to

.

wet th e surface D ry it t h o r o l y and th e n r ub

.

down with s andpap e r to a p erfe c t s urfa c e It .

should s e em e v en smoother than b e fore sponging .

Fi ll i n g f o r V arn i s h i n g Th e surfa c e i s now

.

ready t o pro c eed with th e finishing If an op e n .

grain as woul d b e th e c as e with mahogany i t

, ,

should b e fill ed with a p aste fill e r See F I NI S H .

I NG B READ B O A RD It may also b e sta i n e d and

.

after the staining it may b e finish e d by shella c

ing In thi s cas e w e ar e to u se varnish and
.

ther e for e we should u se but o ne coat of sh e l l ac

and th en u se th e v arnish We may omit ev en .

o n e c oat of she ll a c using i n stead som e prep ar

,

at i on that wil l form a s u itab l e basi s for the fi r s t

c o at O f varnish Th e r e ar e many preparations on
.

th e market f o r this use They may al l b e c lass e d

.

as liquid fill ers Their u s e is req u ir e d b e c aus e

.

two things are n e c e s sary i n preparing the s u rfa c e

of wood f
“

or varnish The s u rfa c e shou l d b e

.

smooth I t also should b e c ap able of holding th e

.

v arnish out . Op en grained w oods are fi l l e d w i th

-

p ast e fi ll er to give a smooth surfa c e the same as

th e cl ose o r e ven gra i ned w o ods
-
.

P u rp o s e o fLi qu i d Fi ll e r Sho u ld a coat o f .

v arnish b e applied t o su c h a surfac e a larg e pr o

p ortion of it would sink into th e wood In som e .

sp ots it would stay o u t thus making a very u n ,

even surface and requiring a large amo unt O f

50 WO O D F I N I SH I N G

T ro u b l e F rom D Th e re is o ne i nsu rmo u nt

u st .

abl e di f
fi culty i n most scho ols t o the doing of
‘

good varnishing This is the la c k O fa dustless

.

room I t is therefor e necessary t o confine this

.

work t o the quick drying varnish e s These are .

not usually the b est and most durabl e y e t th e ,

gen eral m e thod O f u s e is su c h that wh e n one has

learned t o apply and finish thes e quick dry i ng -

varnishes o n e should have little di f fi culty in using

a ny var nish if c o nditi o ns are favorab l e
,
.

V A R N I SH I N G

Wh e n to Us e V a rn i s h In n o case should th e
.

use o fvarnish pr e cede that o fshellac This is .

not b ecause shella c is easier t o apply but b e ,

cause it is th e b etter material to use in teaching

the fundamentals of finishing and v arnishing .

E xp erienc e has shown that pupils will r e adily d o

varnishing after having used sh e llac .

Sh e l l a c i ng a n d V a rn i s h i n g C o mp ar e d The .

essential differen c e between sh ell a c i ng and var

ni sh i n g is that the varnish being slower drying
, ,

can be gone over several t imes if necessary I t .

also may be put on in an ex cessively thick coat

ing and then taken up by going over a s e c on d
“

t ime t hus insuring a full coating on all p arts

,
.

Often it is b et t er to apply the varnish acro ss th e

grain t hen p arallel with the grain an d finish by
, ,
 WO O D F I N I SH I N G 51

going over i t very syst e mati cally wiping up w i th ,

the brush all e x c e ss . E ach tim e the bru sh i s

raised in wiping u p it sh o uld b e wip e d acro ss t h e
,

wire of th e varnish c an .

Va rn i s h i n g Fi r s t Si d e In th e ma i n the a p p li
.

c ation of varnish i s the sam e as that o fsh el la c .

Th e refore r ev i ew c arefully th e directions f o r shel

lacing the cu tting b o ard Plac e a stick i n a

.

s c rew ho l e o fon e of th e s i des o fth e was t e pap er

basket a n d v arn i sh th e edges and on e s u rfa c e .

Pla c e th e pi e ce at on c e in a cas e away from dus t .

Va rn i sh i n g S e c on d Si d e A ft er this side is
.

dry enough t o hand l e varnish the oth e r si d e

, .

Wh e n dry e nough t o work sandp ap er down c are

,

fu ll y and app l y anoth e r coat C ontinu e v arnish

.

ing and rubbing down th e same as i n sh el l a ci ng

exc e pt that t w o or three c oats shoul d b e s u f fi
c ient t o g i v e an ex c ellent fin i sh .

C o ve r i n g V arn i s h e d W ork Varnish may b e .

us e d on a great v ari ety o fwork altho carvings ,

.

and intri c at e shap es c an b e b ett e r finished i n

shella c A s i n sh el l a ci n g all c orn e rs must b e
.
,
“ '
work e d c ar e fully t o a v oid crying o r thick sp o ts .

If th e p i e c e must dry in th e shop ro o m c o v er it ,

at onc e w i th a hea v y clean p ap er held o f

,
ft h e ,

surfa c e b ut c los e eno u gh to excl u de d u st C o v

,
.

ers may b e made f o r this purp os e o f hea v y wrap

ping p ap er bu il ding p ap e r O r tag b oard
,
Wh e n .

not in us e th ey will fold u p flat .

52 WO O D F I N I SHI N G

W H E R E T O GE T M A T E R I A L S

B e st P l a c e Th e b e st pla c e at which to buy

.

anything is o fyour lo cal d eal e r pro v iding h e has

,

th e article that you need and sells it at a reason

able pri c e So m e times lo cal dealers p ersist in
.

keeping on l y su ch lines as are entirely un suitabl e

fo r schoo l shop w ork .

S e cu r i n g L i s t o fM at e r i al s If y o u ar e u n
.

ab l e t o get su i table mat erials in your local mar

k e t o r ar e in doub t as to wh at makes o r grades
,

to purchase th e publishers o fthis b ook will send

,

y o u a list o fmat e rials and addresses o ffirms of

whom they may b e pur c hased providing tw e nty,

c e nts in p osta l mon e y ord e r o r stamp s is en

c losed with yo ur i nquiry o r if an order for books
,

t o the amount o fo n e dollar o r more is s e nt w i th

c ash remittan c e no c harge wil l b e mad e for a d
v ice and lists O f materials .

In writing b e s ure t o t e ll e xa c tly for what the

mat erials are wanted We should know th e kinds
.

and am o unts O f w o od y o u are using th e number ,

o fpupils in e a c h grade and also wheth e r yo u r

r o om i s wel l light e d and well h e ated .

 W OO D F I N I SH I N G 53

I ND E X

B A C K SHE LLA C
B LAC K W AL N U T
B o ok R A C K — F I N I S HI N G
,

B O O ' T R O U GH
B R E AD B O ARD
C LA S SE S O F WO O D S
C O LD W A T E R PU T TY
C O L O R I N G F I LL E R S
C O L O R I N G PU TT Y
C U TTI N G B O ARD
D E F E C Ts — RE M O VI N G
,

D E PE N D S O N PR E VI O U S WO R K
D US T
E D GE s , — SH E LLA C I N G

E DU C A TI O N AL VALU E O F F I N I SH I N G
F I LL E R S
F I LL I N G GRA I N
FI R
FO O L PR O O F F I NI SH E S
F U N DAME N T ALS I N F I NI S HI N G
GR I N D I N G F I NI SH
H AB I T S
H O LD I N G P I E C E
LI N S E E D O I L
M A H O GA N Y
M A TE R I ALS — W H E R E To B U Y
,

NUM B E R O F C O A T S
54 WO O D F I N I SHI N G

OA ' 32
O I L F I NI S H 45
OI L, ' —R
UBBING 27
—
P I N E PRE PA R I NG 13
,

PRE PA RA TI O N N E C E SSARY 10
PRE P AR ATI O N O F W O O D S 13
PUM I C E ST O N E 2 6 , 28
PU TT Y 14
RAI S I NG GR AI N 47
R O SE W O O D 44
R O TT E N S T O N E 42
RUBBING O I L 27
SA N D PAP E R I NG F I NI S H 25, 33 , 39
SAW DUS T A N D G LU E 14
SC RA PI N G F I NI S H 24
SH E LLA C 1 2, 16
SH E L LA C I N G 1 3, 26, 50
SM O O TH I N G WO OD 1 3, 1 6, 31
SP RU C E AN D F I R
STAI NI N G O V E R F I LLE R 37
STAI N S 38 , 41
SU I TAB LE P I E C E 11
—
T AB O RE T F I NI S HI N G 43
,

TRUE SURF AC E 10
V A R NI S HI NG 50
W A S T E P A P E R B A SKE T 47
WA X F I NI S H 46
VVH I TI N G 14
WH Y D O F I NI S HI N G 7
 WO O D F I N I SH I N G 55

W O O D W O RK F O R TH E G RA D E S

This is the b o ok u sual l y r e ferred t o i n W oo d

F inishing . It i s the b ook for th e b e ginn e r in u s
ing t o ol s no matt er i n what grade B ei ng v e ry
,
.

c omp l e t e in b oth t ext and ill ustrati o ns i t is th e r e

fore a n e xc e pti o nal b o ok for th e hom e me c han i c ,

o r the b oy wh o has a f e w t o o l s and wi sh e s t o

lea rn t o u s e them corre c tly With th i s b o o k at .

hand th e p arent t h o n o t a m e c hani c sh oul d b e

, ,

ab l e t o int e r e st and dir e c t th e young me c hani c t o

‘

su c h an ext e nt as t o r e sult in first class work a n d

als o i n l e arning m u ch of va lu e ab out to ols a n d
the i r corre c t u se .

Th e m e chan i c a l drawings are arrang e d and

grad e d with gr e at c ar e s o that the a v erag e b o y
will i n u sing the b o ok l earn t o read drawing s,

with o ut any sp e c i al e f
,

fort Th e r e are c ompl e t e

.

working drawings o fa l arge numb er o fproj e c t s

f r om si mp l e o ne pi e c e proj e c ts su ch as shelves
-
,

c utt in g b oard s e t c,
t o c hairs t able s and scr e e ns
.
, ,
.

Th e vari e ty o f d e signs in foot st ools tabor e t s and -

,

b o o kra c ks is su f fi c ien t t o a f
ford work for the b oy
beginner a s w ell a s prob l ems s ufli c i ent l y c ompl e x
f o r th e grown up -
The b ook is m e e ting with
.

exc eptiona l su c c e ss in b oth s c hool and hom e .

WO O D W O R K F O R T H E G R A D E S w il l b e ,

sent by mai l pr e p aid t o any address on re c eip t o f

o n e do l lar .

TH E M A U D SLA Y P R E SS
V a l l e y C i ty, North D ak o ta .
56 WO O D F I N I SHI N G

TH E M E C H A NI C A L S C I E NC E SE RI E S

This s eri e s O f t e xt s pres e nts th e w o rk o fthe

s ch o o l sh o p a s a defin i t e s c i e n c e rath er than as

to ol pro ces s e s o r methods O fmaking things Th e .

e ntire c our s e is arranged in d e fin i t e division s wi th

each di v i si on arrang e d ac cording t o a definite a n d
l o gi c al s e quenc e bas e d o n the d e mon stratio n of
the fundamental principles of working so li d ma
t eri a l s .A ltho this restr i c ts the c ours e t o ve r y
d e fin i t e p ortions o fsubj e ct matter yet th i s sub ,

j e c t matt e r may b e studi e d and th e n e ce s sary

demonstrations mad e by us e of a great v ariety of
mat e rials and proj e c ts Thi s v ari e ty is largely
.

provid e d for by many s u ggest i ons i n the t e xts as

t o modifi c ations o fd e sig n s u sing o f di f
,
f ere nt
w o ods and variou s m e thods o f finishing .

Th e imp ortant and e sp e c i al l y int e r e sting fact

in regard t o the M E C H A N I C A L SC I E N C E
SE R I E S is that its prop er use invariably yi el ds
r e su lts fa r b eyond that O f a n y other l ine of s c ho o l
shopwork It n o t only res u lts i n a gr e at er i n
.

t er est and fa r b etter ex e c u t e d pr o j e c t s but al s o ,

yield s a v a lu e in prep aring for industria l o c c u

p a t i o n s that has n o t b een approa c h e d by any
oth e r l in e o fs c ho ol shopwork .

F o r c o mplet e i nforma t i o n in r egard t o th e se

text s ,
addr e ss ,

TH E M A UD SLAY P RE SS
V all ey C i ty ,
Nor th D a k o ta