Part 4
What is mission oak stain? There are many on the market, with hardly two alike in tone. The true mission oak stain may be said to show a dull gray, the flakes showing a reddish tint, while the grain of the wood will be almost a dead black. To produce such a stain take 1 lb. of drop black in oil and 1/2 oz, of rose pink in oil, adding a gill of best japan drier, thinning with three half-pints of turpentine. This will make about 1 qt. of stain. Use these proportions for a larger quantity of stain. Strain it through cheese cloth. Japan colors will give a quicker drying stain than that made with oil colors, and in this case omit the japan and add a little varnish to bind it.
One of the most popular of all the fancy oaks has been that known as Flemish, and this in spite of its very somber color, says Wood Craft. There are several ways of producing Flemish finish; you can fill the wood with a paste filler strained with raw umber, and when dry apply a stain of transparent flat raw umber, and for the darker shades of finish use drop black with the umber. Varnish and rub down.
According to a foreign technical journal, French workmen mahoganize various kinds of woods by the following method: The surface of the wood to be stained is made perfectly smooth. Then it is given a coating of dilute nitric acid which is rubbed well into the wood fiber. Then it is stained with a mixture made by dissolving 1-1/2 oz. of dragon's blood in a pint of alcohol, this solution being filtered, and then there is added to it one-third of its weight of sodium carbonate. Apply this mixture with a brush, and repeat the coats at intervals until the surface has the appearance of polished mahogany. In case the luster should fail it may be restored by rubbing with a little raw linseed oil. The description of the process is meager, and hence he who would try it will have to experiment a little.
A good cheap mission effect for oak is to mix together equal parts of boiled linseed oil and good asphaltum varnish, and apply this to the wood with a brush; in a minute or so you may rub off surplus with a rag, and when dry give a coat of varnish. A gallon of this stain will cover about 600 sq. ft.
FILLING OAK
A very good hardwood filler for oak, either for a natural or golden effect, may be made from two parts of turpentine and one part of raw linseed oil, with a small amount of good japan to dry in the usual time. To this liquid add bolted gilder's whiting to form a suitable paste, it may be made thin enough for use, if to be used at once, or into a stiff paste for future use, when it can be thinned down for use, says Woodworkers' Review. After applying a coat of filler, let stand until it turns gray, which requires about 20 minutes, depending upon the amount of japan in the filler, when it should be rubbed off with cotton waste or whatever you use for the purpose. A filler must be rubbed well into the wood, the surplus only being removed. The application of a coat of burnt umber stain to the wood before filling is in order, which will darken the wood to the proper depth if you rub off the surplus, showing the grain and giving a golden oak effect. The filling should stand at least a day and night before applying shellac and varnish.
WAX FINISHING
In wax-finishing hardwoods, use a paste filler and shellac varnish to get a good surface. Of course, the wax may also be rubbed into the unfilled wood but that gives you quite a different effect from the regular wax polish, says a correspondent of Wood Craft. With soft woods you first apply a stain, then apply a liquid filler or shellac, according to the quality of work to be done. The former for the cheaper job. The usual proportion of wax and turpentine is two parts of the former to one part of the latter, melting the wax first, then adding the spirits of turpentine. For reviving or polishing furniture you can add three or four times as much turpentine as wax, all these proportions to be by weight. To produce the desired egg-shell gloss, rub vigorously with a brush of stiff bristles or woolen rag.
THE FUMING OF OAK
Darkened oak always has a better appearance when fumed with ammonia. This process is rather a difficult one, as it requires an airtight case, but the description herewith given may be entered into with as large a case as the builder cares to construct.
Oak articles can be treated in a case made from a tin biscuit box, or any other metal receptacle of good proportions, provided it is airtight. The oak to be fumed is arranged in the box so the fumes will entirely surround the piece; the article may be propped up with small sticks, or suspended by a string. The chief point is to see that no part of the wood is covered up and that all surfaces are exposed to the fumes. A saucer of ammonia is placed in the bottom of the box, the lid or cover closed, and all joints sealed up by pasting heavy brown paper over them. Any leakage will be detected if the nose is placed near the tin and farther application of the paper will stop the holes. A hole may be cut in the cover and a piece of glass fitted in, taking care to have all the edges closed. The process may be watched through the glass and the article removed when the oak is fumed to the desired shade. Wood stained in this manner should not be French polished or varnished, but waxed.
The process of waxing is simple: Cut some bees-wax into fine shreds and place them in a small pot or jar. Pour in a little turpentine, and set aside for half a day, giving it an occasional stir. The wax must be thoroughly dissolved and then more turpentine added until the preparation has the consistency of a thick cream. This can be applied to the wood with a rag and afterward brushed up with a stiff brush.
HOW TO MAKE BLACK WAX
When putting a wax finish on oak or any open-grained wood, the wax will often show white streaks in the pores of the wood. These streaks cannot be removed by rubbing or brushing. Prepared black wax can be purchased, but if you do not have any on hand, ordinary floor wax can be colored black. Melt the floor wax in a can placed in a bucket of hot water. When the wax has become liquid mix thoroughly into it a little drop black or lampblack. Allow the wax to cool and harden. This wax will not streak, but will give a smooth, glossy finish.
THE 40 STYLES OF CHAIRS
There are 40 distinct styles of chairs embracing the period from 3000 B.C. to 1900 A.D.--nearly 7,000 years. Of all the millions of chairs made during the centuries, each one can be classified under one or more of the 40 general styles shown in the chart. This chart was compiled by the editor of Decorative Furniture. The Colonial does not appear on the chart because it classifies under the Jacobean and other styles. A condensed key to the chart follows:
$Egyptian.--3000 B.C. to 500 B.C.$ Seems to have been derived largely from the Early Asian. It influenced Assyrian and Greek decorations, and was used as a motif in some French Empire decoration. Not used in its entirety except for lodge rooms, etc.
$Grecian.--700 B.C. to 200 B.C.$ Influenced by Egyptian and Assyrian styles. It had a progressive growth through the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian periods. It influenced the Roman style and the Pompeian, and all the Renaissance styles, and all styles following the Renaissance, and is still the most important factor in decorations today.
$Roman.--750 B.C. to 450 A.D.$ Rome took her art entirely from Greece, and the Roman is purely a Greek development. The Roman style "revived" in the Renaissance, and in this way is still a prominent factor in modern decoration.
$Pompeian.--100 B.C. to 79 A.D.$ Sometimes called the Grecian-Roman style, which well describes its components. The style we know as Greek was the Greek as used in public structures. The Pompeian is our best idea of Greek domestic decoration. Pompeii was long buried, but when rediscovered it promptly influenced all European styles, including Louis XVI, and the various Georgian styles.
$Byzantine.--300 A.D. to 1450 A.D.$ The "Eastern Roman" style, originating in the removal of the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople (then called Byzantium). It is a combination of Persian and Roman. It influenced the various Moorish, Sacracenic and other Mohammedan styles.
$Gothic.--1100 to 1550.$ It had nothing to do with the Goths, but was a local European outgrowth of the Romanesque. It spread all over Europe, and reached its climax of development about 1550. It was on the Gothic construction that the Northern European and English Renaissance styles were grafted to form such styles as the Elizabethan, etc.
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$Moorish.--700 to 1600.$ The various Mohammedan styles can all be traced to the ancient Persian through the Byzantine. The Moorish or Moresque was the form taken by the Mohammedans in Spain.
$Indian.--2000 B.C. to 1906 A.D.$ The East Indian style is almost composite, as expected of one with a growth of nearly 4,000 years. It has been influenced repeatedly by outside forces and various religious invasions, and has, in turn, influenced other far Eastern styles.
$Chinese.--3500 B.C. to 1906 A.D.$ Another of the ancient styles. It had a continuous growth up to 230 B.C., since when it has not changed much. It has influenced Western styles, as in the Chippendale, Queen Anne, etc.
$Japanese.--1200 B.C. to 1906 A.D.$ A style probably springing originally from China, but now absolutely distinct. It has influenced recent art in Europe and America, especially the "New Art" styles.
$Italian Gothic.--1100 to 1500.$ The Italian Gothic differs from the European and English Gothic in clinging more closely to the Romanesque-Byzantine originals.
$Tudor.--1485 to 1558.$ The earliest entry of the Renaissance into England. An application of Renaissance to the Gothic foundations. Its growth was into the Elizabethan.
$Italian Renaissance, Fifteenth Century.--1400 to 1500.$ The birth century of the Renaissance. A seeking for revival of the old Roman and Greek decorative and constructive forms.
$Italian Renaissance, Sixteenth Century.--1500 to 1600.$ A period of greater elaboration of detail and more freedom from actual Greek and Roman models.
$Italian Renaissance, Seventeenth Century.--1600 to 1700.$ The period of great elaboration and beginning of reckless ornamentation.
$Spanish Renaissance.--1500 to 1700.$ A variation of the Renaissance spirit caused by the combination of three distinct styles--the Renaissance as known in Italy, the Gothic and the Moorish. In furniture the Spanish Renaissance is almost identical with the Flemish, which it influenced.
$Dutch Renaissance.--1500 to 1700.$ A style influenced alternately by the French and the Spanish. This style and the Flemish had a strong influence on the English William and Mary and Queen Anne styles, and especially on the Jacobean.
$German Renaissance.--1550 to 1700.$ A style introduced by Germans who had gone to Italy to study. It was a heavy treatment of the Renaissance spirit, and merged into the German Baroque about 1700.
$Francis I.--1515 to 1549.$ The introductory period when the Italian Renaissance found foothold in France. It is almost purely Italian, and was the forerunner of the Henri II.
$Henri II.--1549 to 1610.$ In this the French Renaissance became differentiated from the Italian, assuming traits that were specifically French and that were emphasized in the next period.
$Louis XIII.--1616 to 1643.$ A typically French style, in which but few traces of its derivation from the Italian remained. It was followed by the Louis XIV.
$Elizabethan.--1558 to 1603.$ A compound style containing traces of the Gothic, much of the Tudor, some Dutch, Flemish and a little Italian. Especially noted for its fine wood carving.
$Jacobean.--1603 to 1689.$ The English period immediately following the Elizabethan, and in most respects quite similar. The Dutch influence was, however, more prominent. The Cromwellian, which is included in this period, was identical with it.
$William and Mary.--1689 to 1702.$ More Dutch influences. All furniture lighter and better suited to domestic purposes.
[Illustration]
$Queen Anne.--1702 to 1714.$ Increasing Dutch influences. Jacobean influence finally discarded. Chinese influence largely present.
$Louis XIV.--1643 to 1715.$ The greatest French style. An entirely French creation, marked by elegance and dignity. Toward the end of the period it softened into the early Rococo.
$Georgian.--1714 to 1820.$ A direct outgrowth of the Queen Anne, tempered by the prevailing French styles. It includes Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton, but these three great cabinetmakers were sufficiently distinct from the average Georgian to be worthy separate classification.
$Chippendale.--1754 to 1800.$ The greatest English cabinet style. Based on the Queen Anne, but drawing largely from the Rococo, Chinese and Gothic, he produced three distinct types, viz.: French Chippendale, Chinese Chippendale and Gothic Chippendale. The last is a negligible quantity.
$Louis XV.--1715 to 1774.$ The Rococo period. The result of the efforts of French designers to enliven the Louis XIV, and to evolve a new style out of one that had reached its logical climax.
$Hepplewhite.--1775 to 1800.$ Succeeded Chippendale as the popular English cabinetmaker. By many he is considered his superior. His work is notable for a charming delicacy of line and design.
$Louis XVI.--1774 to 1793.$ The French style based on a revival of Greek forms, and influenced by the discovery of the ruins of Pompeii.
$Sheraton.--1775 to 1800.$ A fellow cabinetmaker, working at same time as Hepplewhite. One of the Colonial styles (Georgian).
$R. & J. Adam.--1762 to 1800.$ Fathers of an English classic revival. Much like the French Louis XVI and Empire styles in many respects.
$Empire.--1804 to 1814.$ The style created during the Empire of Napoleon I. Derived from classic Roman suggestions, with some Greek and Egyptian influences.
$New Arts.--1900 to date.$ These are various worthy attempts by the designers of various nations to create a new style. Some of the results are good, and they are apt to be like the "little girl who had a little curl that hung in the middle of her forehead," in that "when they are good they are very, very good, but when they are bad they are horrid."
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
HOW TO MAKE A PIANO BENCH
[Illustration]
All the material used in the making of this piano bench is 1 in. thick, excepting the two rails, which are 7/8 in. thick. The bench can be made from any of the furniture woods, but the case may demand one made from mahogany. If so, this wood can be purchased from a piano factory. The following stock list of materials may be ordered from a mill, planed and sandpapered:
1 top, 1 by 16 by 36-1/2 in. 2 ends, 1 by 14 by 18 in. 1 stretcher, 1 by 4 by 31-1/2 in. 2 side rails, 7/8 by 4 by 29-1/2 in. 2 keys, 1 by 1 by 3-1/2 in. 6 cleats, 1 by 1 by 4 in.
The dimensions given, with the exception of the keys and cleats, are 1/2 in. longer than necessary for squaring up the ends.
The two rails are cut slanting from a point 1-1/2 in. from each end to the center, making them only 3 in. wide in the middle. The rails are "let into" the edges of the ends so the outside of the rails and end boards will be flush. The joints are put together with glue and screws. The cleats are fastened with screws to the inside of the rails and to the top. The stretcher has a tenon cut on each end which fits into a mortise cut in each end. The tenons will have sufficient length to cut the small mortise for the key.
[Illustration]
The kind of wood used will determine the color of the stain for the finish. This also depends on matching other pieces of furniture.
HOW TO MAKE A MISSION SHAVING STAND
This attractive and useful piece of mission furniture will be appreciated by the person that does his own shaving. The shaving stand can be made at home by a handy man in his spare time as the stock can be ordered from a mill ready for making the joints and attaching the few pieces of hardware. The following is a stock list of materials:
4 posts 1-1/2 in. square by 50-1/2 in. 4 slats 7/8 by 1 by 32-1/2 in. 2 cross rails 1 by 1-1/2 by 15 in. 2 end rails 1 by 1-1/2 by 13 in. 1 top 7/8 by 16-1/2 by 19-1/2 in. 1 bottom 7/8 by 15 by 17 in. 2 ends 7/8 by 12-1/2 in. square. 1 back 7/8 by 12-1/2 by 14-1/2 in. 1 door 7/8 by 6-1/2 by 12-1/2 in. 2 drawer ends 7/8 by 5-1/2 by 7-1/2 in. 1 partition 7/8 by 12 by 14 in. 1 partition 7/8 by 7 by 14 in. 7 pieces of soft wood 1/2 by 7-1/2 by 12 in. 2 posts 1 in. square by 10-1/2 in. 1 bottom piece 7/8 by 1-1/2 by 18-1/2 in. 4 mirror frame pieces 7/8 by 1-1/2 by 14-1/2 in. 2 sticks for pins. 2 hinges 1 lock 2 drawer pulls 1 beveled glass mirror 11-1/2 by 11-1/2 in.
While this piece of furniture can be made in any kind of wood, the novice will find that quarter-sawed oak will work up and finish better than the other woods. The stock list given has dimensions 1/2 in. larger in some instances for dressing and squaring where necessary.
[Illustration]
The tenons and mortises are first cut for the crosspieces at the bottom of the posts, and, as it is best to use dowels at the top, holes are bored in the bottom piece and also the ends of the slats for pins. The bottom piece is also fastened to the posts with dowels. The bottom must have a square piece cut out from each corner almost the same size as the posts. When setting the sides together the end board and posts can be doweled and glued together and after drying well the posts can be spread apart far enough to insert the bottom rail and two slats. The rail and slats should be tried for a bit before putting on any glue, which may save some trouble.
[Illustration: Shaving Stand Complete]
After the sides are put together, the back is put in and glued. The top is then put on and fastened with cleats from the inside. The partitions are put in as shown and the door fitted. Two drawers are made from the ends and the soft wood material. The drawer ends may be supplied with wood pulls of the same material or matched with metal the same as used for the hinges.
[Illustration: Mirror Frame and Standards Details]
The pieces for the mirror frame must be rabbeted 1/2 in. deep to take the glass, and the ends joined together with a miter at each corner. The two short posts are tenoned and mortises cut in the bottom piece for joints and these joints well glued together. The bottom piece is then fastened to the top board of the stand. This will form the standards in which to swing the mirror and its frame. This is done with two pins inserted in holes bored through the standards and into the mirror frame.
After the parts are all put together, cleaned and sandpapered, the stand is ready for the finish.
A MISSION WASTE-PAPER BASKET
[Illustration: Waste-Paper Basket to Match Library Table]
The basket shown in the accompanying sketch is designed to be used with a library table having slats in the ends and wooden handles on the drawers. The finish is made to match that of the table by fuming, when completely assembled, in a large-size size, clean garbage can, with fumes of concentrated ammonia.
[Illustration: Detail of Waste-Paper Basket]
The following quarter-sawed white-oak stock should be procured in the exact dimensions given. This may be had, planed and cut to lengths, from a mill for a slight extra charge. It is advisable not to have them sandpapered, as the very coarse sandpaper generally used, gives a bad surface for finishing.
4 posts, 1-1/4 by 1-1/4 by 16-1/2 in., S-4-S. 4 rails, 3/4 by 3 by 10-1/4 in., S-2-S. 4 rails, 3/4 by 2 by 10-1/4 in., S-2-S. 12 slats, 3/8 by 2-1/4 by 9-1/2 in., S-2-S. 4 handle pieces, 1 by 1 by 2-1/2 in., S-4-S. 2 handle pieces, 1/2 by 1/2 by 6 in., S-4-S. 1 bottom, 3/8 by 9-1/2 by 9-1/2 in., S-2-S.
See that the posts are absolutely square cross section. Mark with a pencil--not gauge--the chamfers on the ends of the posts and plane them off.
Carefully mark the tenons on the ends of all the rails with a knife and gauge lines. Be sure that the distance from the tenon shoulder at one end of rail to the shoulder at the other end is exactly the same on each rail. Cut the tenons, using a backsaw and chisel.
Arrange the pieces as they are to stand in the finished basket, and number each tenon and mortise. Mark all the mortises on the posts, being sure to keep the distances between the top and lower rail the same on each post. Cut each mortise to fit the correspondingly numbered tenon. Next, mark the mortises for the slats in the rails, allowing the whole slat to go in 1/4 in.
The handles are next in order. The pieces going into the rail should be fastened with a round 1/2-in. tenon cut on one end and glued in place. The crosspiece should be mortised all the way through these pieces and held in place by a brad from the under side.
Now put the whole basket together without gluing, in order that errors, if any, may be detected.
If everything fits perfectly, the basket is ready to be glued. For best results hot glue should be used. First glue up two opposite sides with the slats in place. Clamps must be used. When these have set for at least 24 hours, the other rails and slats may be glued in place and clamped. It is a good idea to pin the tenons in place with two 1-in. brads driven from the inside.
The handles are then glued in place, using hand screws to hold them until the glue sets. The bottom should rest on thin cleats, without being nailed to them, so that it may be removed when the basket is to be emptied of small papers, etc.
Before applying the stain, see that all glue spots are removed and all surfaces sanded to perfect smoothness. If a fumed finish is not desired, any good stain may be used, after which a thin coat of shellac and two coats of wax should be applied. Allow plenty of time for drying between the coats.
A CELLARETTE PEDESTAL
[Illustration: Plain-Oak Cellarette Pedestal]
The illustration shows a unique article for the den. It serves as a pedestal and has one side which opens on hinges allowing the inside to be used as a smoker's cabinet or cellarette. All the lines are straight and the corners square, making it easy to construct. White oak will make up best, although ash, birch or southern pine may be used with good effect.
Stock of the following sizes should be bought, surfaced and cut to width and length: