Notes on Wood-StainingSource: The Art Amateur, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Jul., 1883), pp. 40-41Published by:Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25627950 .

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40 THE ART AMATEUR, wrong. Reason at once tells us that it is absurd to waste wood, and that it is stupid not to use it in such a manner as xvill give to our seats strength andc dItira bility, especially when this happens to be the cheap est method of working the material, and when no beauty is gainedl by any departure from what is oh viously right. Yet, in direct opposition to the dictates of reason, we copy ugly chairs from a bygone age, which are formed in a mnanner that we knoxv to be wrong; an(d some unthinking person having led the xvay, others are content to followv for no better reason than that it is saidI to l)e fashioniable to do so.

NOTES OX WOOD-STAIIXNG.

IN an old volume of The (Lond(on) Furniture Gazette xve find some Xvaluable sug gestions in regarcl to woo(d - stain ing. The

writer di vides the subject into two classes --the stain ing or dye ing proper, ancl a sort of

painting in

wVhlich the c o 1 o r i n g

matter, in a liquid state,

l)artially pen etrates the pores of the wvood and is held by them. Dyeing col ors the fibres to a greater

or less depth, in the same

manner as the fabrics are colored by the depo sition of a coating of coloring mat ter in and

upon them, and occa sionally by a c t u a 1 Iy

changing the colors of the fibres them selves. In staining, the pigment usu ally pene trates but a

little way in to the wood, and a scratch

or abrasion of the sur

face wi ll

show the natural color. In (lyeing, the coloring

matter can usually be made to stain the fibres for

some little distance into the body of the wood, an(d thus a more durable color is effecte(l. In the case of

veneers, not over an eighth of an inch thick, it is

possible, by careful manipulation, to produce a toler ably even color throughout the Nvoo l. In general,

wood can be colored in almost any desire(I tint, fromii

red rose, through the blues, to clark black. Most of

the bright colors, however, are liable to fade. At the present time it is often convenient to imitate

the color of some precious Nvoo(d upon one less costly.

Thus we may, upon cherry or maple, imitate rosewvool

or ebony. Ebony, in fact, canl be imitated upoIn a

great variety of Nvoods; the nmethod of producing the

color, however, must be varie(d for the clifferent kinds.

TBooks of recipes are fillecd with instructions for pro

dlucing black walnut stains andl dyeing wvoods to imitate black walnut. A more useless or senseless

practice could hardly be imagined, for black wvalnut is really the last wvoodl in the world wvhich one w-ould \vish to imitate. Its color is bad, and its only recom

menidationi is that it is easily worked, and is consider ably harder than pine.

At the present time, says a writer in Carpentry, mahogany is somewhat difficult to get, and it is

fashionable to use substitutes for it w\vhich are mahog anize(l. Cherry is one of the most commonly use(d xwoods for this purpose. If properly treatecl, cherry is one of the finest cabinet wvoods, and it seems almost a pity to use it for imitating anything else, even though it lbe malhogany. A great number of recipes are given in the books for mahoganizing, but the workman in using t'hem is usually in the (lark, because no

'nip I ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i

CARVED WOO0D PANELS.

ARABIC W\ORK O)F THE SIXTE.ENTH CENTURY.

explanations of the reasons for the (lirections are given. One recipe says, after getting the surface of the wood smooth, rub wvith a solutioIn of nitric acicl

an(d then apply a solution of dragon's 1)loo0(. The solution is ma(le b) dissolving one ounce in a pint of alcohol and( adding one third of an ounce of carbonate of socla or common washing-soda. Sullphuric acid will answer just as well. Its office is to dlarken the wood and prepare it for receiving the dye, which is the (Iragon's bloocl. His own experiments leadl the

,writer to believe that the only advantage of the wash

ing-soda is to neutralize an)y of the aci(d which may

remiiain behind. Another recipe calls for the aci(d

treatmiient of the woo(l first, which is then followed by a liquicl ma(le with two ounces of logwood, eight

ouLnces of madder, one ounLce of fuLstic andI one gaLllon

of wvater. This is boiled two hiouLrs, and then applied

to the wood. Unfortunately, there are no recipes, so far as we know, wvhich give directions for using log wood, dIragon's l)lood, and mad(ler, in the shape in wvhichi they are foundl in the shol). For exaample, in stead of logwood in chips, it is mnuch more convenient to buy a little four-ounce box of the extract of log wvood, anid instead of the madder coming in the old form, it can nowv be obtained in the form of a solid,

which is all ready to be dissolved in boiling water. By dissolving separately the logwood, clragon's blood, and madcler in water, and then, after getting them of good strength, mixing a little of each an(d drying on a 'waste piece of wood, the proper propor

tions necessary to get just the color desired are easily found. It must be borne in mind that the log wood gives a purplish tone to the mixture, and that the others, if kept to themselves, will only produce a

yellow. The stain, wheni pu t upon

cherry with out an aci(d

being l)revi

ously ap plied, will give a sort of

dirty yellow ish brown. If the acid is a(ldcld after ward, the red will spee(lily

make its ap

p e a r a a c e. Besides pro ducinig the red color, the acid has another ef fect, which is valuable in imitating old and dark mahogany -

it darkens the wood very mate rially. The g r e a te s t

amount of clarke n i n g

can be oh

tain*ed by brushing the wood wvith the weak aci dI and

then warm ing it The heat intensi fies the ac

tion of the acid, but if too long con tinued it is possible to scorch the surface, mak ing it look as though a

hot iron hacl passed over

it. Ifnleecl, acid nmay be use(l for staining almost any \vood a (lark brown. It woul(d be possible, by

a combination of yellow and(1 red stains, to produce the color of mahogany on almost any of our common woodis. In Dick's Encyclopwdia are the following (lirections for producing a (lark mahoganiy color: " Boil half a pouncl of maddler and tvo ounces of logwood in a galloni of water; apply with a brush

while the liquid is hot; when dry, go over the whole wVith a solutioni of pearlash made of twvo (lrachnms of pearlash to a (luart of water." There is some doubt

as to the action of this solution on cherry, thoughit might act well enough on other woods. Perman ganate of potash is often mentione(d as being a goocl material for imitating certain kinds of wood. It comes in the form of crystals, which are readily dis solved in water. Whenl put ul)on the wood it pen-.

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THE ART AMATEUR. _ _ etrates deeply an( pIro(luces a p)ink color at first, but this, by the (lecomnl)osition of the permanganate of potash itself, soon changes to a dark brown. This is a durable color, consisting of a metal oxide clistribute(I wherever the liquidl has penetrated.

Many woods get their best color by age. Among these are mahogany, oak andl cherry. Usually, byl imitating the chemical actioni to which they are subject in course of time, we mlay prodluce the same results quickly. If Nve wash oak with

lime vater, or, better yet, aqua aml-moniia, we

darkeni its color as thouglh with age. Lime wvater also darkens mahog any, and greatly improves the col ors of some kinds. It also has an effect

on cherry. Maple is easily stainedl wvood, but it al) pears to have been

somewvhat neglect

ed by those who wish to imitate the more valuable wvoods.. The only colors which the Nvriter rernembers havinlg seen upon maple are a dark

blue-gray produc ed by an iron solu

tioin, and a yellowv ish tint due to the varnish.

IN a lecture on

"Every-day Life and Domestic Art," delivered before the Rich mond Athenwum, Mr. Maurice B. Adams, an Eng

lish architect, made some useful suggestions. He said: " If the din

ing-room face a south-west direc tion, it is advisable to keep the general colorings rather low in tone; but

a northerly or anl

eastern aspect will necessitate a warm and rather bright er color. Do not

grain the wood wvork, but paint it throughout, if of pine, in either one or perhaps twro shades of the same color. The eleva tion of the room, if of lofty propor tions, may be di vided out into dado, wvall-space, and frieze. Should the xvalls be lowv in scale, then only two divisions, with either a high or shallowv (lado, wVill be preferable. The advantage of a frieze, be sides increasing the interest of the room, is, that the moulding dividing it from the wall-space forms an adm.irable rail from wvhich to suspend the pictures. The dlado may be flatly painted or paperedl. If papered, a darker shade of color should be used than that employedl for the wall-space over. Good leather paper makees an cxcellent (lado for (liiing

rooms. To fasteni leather paper, it is wvell to paste lbrown paper on the surface to be covered, ancd then Nwith stiff bookbinder's paste the leather paper may be fixe(d; take care not to moisten it too imuch, or

the embossed figures wvill be lost. Superior leather

papers of English make ar-e suitable for better-class

work. The frieze should be lighter thani the general scheme of color in the room, leadting, as it xvere, on to cornice anid ceiling. The wall-space over a high clado

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llIIfiJj I I I__ I__ __ iii1 1I

PART ~ 'L 1FADO NCAVDXO

~~~~~ii ~ ~ ~ ~ AAI WOi'O Tg /['I'HCETUY

may he ma(le very rich by the use of painted tapestry

decoration, which has the advantage of heing easily taken down in case of removal, or -when the rooms are

not in use. The nrame, ' painted tapestry,' is a inost

unfortunate one, as it at once creates a prejudlice against the invention; ancl all the horrors of Berlin wool-work lancdscapes are immecliately suggeste(l by it. The style chosen, too, by the artists of the painted tapestry introduced from France, where it is rather

extensively used, is unfortunate also for decorative

wvork, inasmuch as imitations of real tapestry are

attempted on the one hand, or on the other a far too

naturalistic mode is adloptedl. The principal piece

of furniture in the dining-room besides the table is

the sideboard or buffet. I prefer a sort of clresser, on

wvhich plates and(I blue china, o0l( delft and glass may

be displayed, the main shelf being really a serviceable,

broad sideboard, for small dishes, and for bread and

cheese during din

ner. Good old

sideboards of Adams and Chip pendale date can b)e bought, ancd many new ones of good design are readily purchased. A dinner-wagon of roomy propor tions, and as many

serviceable chairs of good (lesign as may be necessary, complete the fur niture of the din ing-room. If you are able to obtain

a set of Chippen dlale mahogany chairs seated in leather you cannot do better, but for small rooms these chairs are uncom fortably large.

" An angle cup

board in the din ing-room is a use

ful article, though usually the side board wvill provide

cellarets. The coal scuttle may be a

copper one, but ladies rather ob ject to this on ac

count of the clean

ing necessary, so that perhaps, on the whole, a zinc

tray, in an oak or

other hard wood box, lifted by a solid brass handle, is as good as any

thing; only please avoid all brass clips and fanciful trimmings. The carpet is an item of the first import ance, and if you

can afford it do not

hesitate to pur chase a really good Turkey one. Fail ing this or an Ax

minster pile car pet, buy a thick double Kidder minster or Melton. They are far more artistic than the best Brussels. Some people I know fancy that, tor wtearing quali ties, there is noth ing like Brussels

carpet, and if you (letermine on its use, select a pat tern of Indian character, but whatever carpet you choose, avoid, I pray you, those of naturalistic de signs xvith flowvers and ribbons. For bedrooms, many really admirable designs are now made in ordinary Kidderminster. The carpet should not cover the whole floor-space, but, instead, should be made in a square with an edging of carpet border, and so fixed dovn with carpet pinls that it may be easily removed."

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