The modern wood finisher; a practical treatise on wood finishing in all its branches ...

Front matter

* t5he

Modern ^ Wood * Finisher

Br

Preface

The subscriber wrote a series of articles on wood finishing in all its branches, which embodied his observations of the practice of the same in all the leading furniture factories and large paint shops in the country.

These articles appeared in The Western Painter in 1898 and the early part of 1899, and were well received by the trade. However, as from necessity, caused by want of time, they were hurriedly written and some parts not having received as much attention as they should, it was decided to rewrite these entirely, adding considerably to the text and illustrating the same wherever possible to do so to make it plainer and better understood as, for instance, in the appliances used in wood finishing.

While nearly every branch of "Painting" and "Paper Hanging" has been written upon and have had dozens of treatises published in handy book form, wood finishing has had but few exponents of the art in that form, therefore the conclusion come to to publish this in a handy volume for ready reference or consultation.

While it is not claimed that the practical, first-class wood finisher will receive very much addition to his store of knowledge by the perusal of the contents of this vol-

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ume, yet the great majority of painters and contractors, who have not made that branch of the trade a specialty, will welcome it, will be interested, and, it is hoped, benefitted by adding it to their shop library.

From many letters received from practical painters, it is very evident that there exists a great deal of ignorance among the craft of the simplest principles of wood finishing, or else many queries would not have been made. To all such, and also for those who know but who forget and need a work of this kind as a manual of reference to brighten up the memory, this little volume is

dedicated.

F. MAIRE- Hamilton, III., Christmas, ipoo.

Introduction

The employment of hardwoods in the interior construction of modern dwellings has become so common of late years, especially since the best quality of white pine has become both very scarce and dear and costs very nearly as much for finishing as many kinds of hardwood do, the only item of saving by using it being its greater ease of working by the joiner, so that there are few houses being constructed now, wherein hardwoods are not used at least for the so-called best rooms such as front and back parlors, library, sitting rooms, dining rooms, halls vestibules and stairways. In the better class of structures the whole house, including bed rooms, is now finished in hardwoods, cheaper varieties being used in the less pretentious parts.

This condition is one that has been created not only by Dame Fashion, but stern necessity has had and will have as much to do in keeping it up in the future as anything else, and such use is bound to become more and more universal. Those who are well posted upon the future of the lumber markets say that it does not require a man to be a prophet nor even the son of a prophet to predict what will be the outcome of the present extensive use of white pine in the near future. Our reserves are nearly gone and very little good old-fashioned No. 1 fin-

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ishing lumber is to be found in our markets today. What will it be in twenty-five years?

It is therefore forced upon the house painters or house contractors that they should have a good, or at least a fair, knowledge of how hardwoods should be finished or else they must find themselves at a great disadvantage in the carrying on of their business.

Our large city paint shops usually have a separate department for this class of work; also a separate foreman in charge of it with frequently a separate set of workmen, who do nothing else but wood finishing. It is not, therefore, so much for their benefit that this treatise is written, but for the use of that vast multitude who cannot make a separate department of their wood finishing business and of that still larger class of painters residing in the smaller towns who usually are their own foremen and at times, at least, must be their own workmen, and at all times or places must be at least able to direct them.

All these must possess a personal knowledge of all the details pertaining to wood finishing to enable them to to know how to contract for this class of work at remunerative prices as well as to enable them to do the work in a manner that will be a credit to them as well as pleasing and acceptable to their customers or a supervising architect.

Hardwood finishing may be termed a new thing. At least, in so far as it is now performed it is rather of comparatively recent introduction. There is little or nothing,

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therefore, to find relative to it in ancient literature. The little there is of it is so misleading as to be absolutelyworthless, unless it be to trace the progress made of late years by this beautiful art (?)— pseudo art at least.

Why not an art? If to take a commonplace thing and by skill render it beautiful to look upon constitutes art in other lines, why not in this? A piece of wood finished in the highest degree of polish attainable is a thing of beauty, fully as much so as a great deal of the stuff that goes as art under the high-sounding name of water or oil colors, etchings, pastel work, etc., and is received and accepted under that name by a long-suffering public. Certainly the highly finished piece of hardwood has required as neat, as careful, and as dexterous handling to produce it, and in most cases as much intelligence, technical knowledge and love of the beautiful on the part of the producer as the average production of the so-called artist has.

But be that as it may, let the wood finisher be called an artist or an artisan, as said before wood finishing is rather of recent origin. Only a quarter of a century — twenty-five years — have elapsed since wood finishing has commenced to take its modern development. Previous to that date ordinary furniture was simply varnished with a cheap-made article and turned out in a still cheaper looking way. The medium grades were wax polished and the high priced were finished by the methods now usually known as French polishing. While it is true that by that process a very fine polish or finish is possible, nevertheless

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the process is so tedious and expensive as to make it only within the reach of the rich, and the highly polished surfaces now better known as a piano finish, which has supplanted the French polish almost universally, has made it possible for even the very poor to have at least a few finely-finished hardwood specimens about their homes, and the great medium class of people, who are neither rich nor poor, can indulge their love of the beautiful to their hearts' content in a manner which even the rich would have thought extravagant in bygone days — not only indulging this love for the beauties of nature as developed in the endless variations of the different grains of the wood as enriched and brought out by the finisher in a few specimen articles of furniture, but in the whole woodwork of their dwellings, including wainscot, dadoes, ceilings, doors and casings, baseboards — all the woodwork in short.

This immense extension and addition made of the use of hardwoods has been made possible by the simplification of the processes used in bringing about the highly finished surfaces of the present at a comparatively low cost of production.

While it is true that fine furniture received as fine a polish as any that is produced today by French polishing, even this is of rather recent origin. Certainly not over one hundred and ten or fifteen years ago. It is within the memory of many of the older men yet living when French polishing began to be known to more than a very

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few. In England and in America among artisans of English descent this finish was known and occasionally is still heard of under the name of "Vernis Martin" finish which translated would simply mean that it was finished with Martin's varnish, which may or may not have been correct — in fact was, and is now, incorrect as that firm has ceased to exist for many many years and varnished surfaces were never designated as "Vernis Martin finished" but only such as came under the designation of French polished, so that the terms are interchangeable and could be and are used to designate the same kind of finish.

Wood finishing may be said to have commenced a new era, when a finish was devised that in looks was about equal to French polish — in durability very nearly as good, and that could be finished in one-tenth part of the time. Nevertheless as there are to be found today a very few men who are willing to pay for and still demand this old-fashioned kind of a finish a special chapter has been added to describe the methods to produce French polish. It must be understood that in former times each individual considered himself sole keeper of every process used in wood finishing and kept his method secret, guarding them as closely as possible in order to keep them from becoming public property. Each step was a secret and not a few made good money by going around among the shops selling some of their secret recipes, usually under a rigorous oath of secrecy and for shop use only. Many got as much as $50 for such recipes and as it covered only apart

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of the knowledge necessary, unless the rest was already mastered, it happened that several such outlays were necessary to equip one for the business. So that a wood finisher who was fully equipped to bring the wood to a perfect finish had quite a little capital invested in his knowledge, either as paid out in hard cash for his recipes or in some five to seven years of a rigorous apprenticeship served without pay or received as a legacy irom father or relatives to whom he succeed in the business as heir.

The slowness and uncertainties of the old processes have about relegated them to oblivion and the younger wood finisher, who has learned the trade within the last two decades, can hardly realize that his knowledge is of so recent a date, and when he hears his elders talking over the past most of it sounds like Chinese to him and he only has looks of pity or commisseration to give them.

The above remarks giving a very brief review of the short past of wood finishing conclude all that will be said regarding the history of the trade. Life is too short and space too valuable to devote it to a retrospect that would not be of any use to the inquirer after practical knowledge.

As most processes in hardwood finishing are applicable with some few modifications to all kinds of wood, it has been thought best to consider them under a specific heading regardless of any particular kind of wood, so

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that they will be brought up under the following general headings.

Sandpapering.

Staining and stains.

Filling and fillers.

Shellacking.

Varnishing.

Rubbing.

Polishing.

French Polishing.

First of all the various brushes, tools and appliances used in wood finishing will be treated of and illustrations consecutively numbered will be given so that it may help to obviate any misunderstanding of the descriptive text of such tools or appliances. When it may become necessary to make reference to any such tools in subsequent chapters, the number of the cut only need be given. This will prevent the reader from becoming mixed up.

After the general description of processes, a short description of the leading hardwoods used in wood finishing will be given. It will consist of a short sketch including the best methods to treat them, but how to proceed to execute them will be found only in the full description given under the special headings. The reader will do well to read and reread these, as it will save him many a misunderstanding afterward.

The line of demarkation between hardwoods and soft woods is an imaginary one, and of necessity it is made an

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arbitrary one. It has become an almost universal custom to place all woods that are not white pine in the hardwood category, leaving only that under the appellation of soft wood. One may say that there is inconsistency in placing cottonwood, for instance, or bass in the hardwood line, but for a general treatment all these have certain peculiarities different from white pine, and as they are so little used in either furniture making or the construction of a house, this incongruous grouping may well be accepted without hurt therefrom.

The same may also be said of open-grained and close-grained woods. Some woods are neither one nor the other, and it would be very difficult to class them, if only two classes of treatment were considered. With general directions and the directions given under each wood to which, of course, the reader must add a good dose of common sense, there is no reason why even a novice may not be able to do a passable piece of work. In this instance the word passable is used purposely, as it is not to be supposed for a minute but that the novice will improve with his word as long probably as he lives — even should he practice daily to a good old age.

Many operations that are simple enough to either look at or understand the description of, such as flowing varnish, for instance, are a good deal easier understood than done. Practice will make a man perfect, and nothing else will.

White pine receives attention under a special head- 12

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ing, as it is frequently finished in its natural color or stained, and on account of its easy working properties and of its cheapness in certain sections of the country, it is still extensively used, and while it lasts will be used until its complete extinction.

Chapter II. General Principles

There are a few general principles which govern the finishing of all hardwoods that should be well understood before proceeding to the ' ' modus operandi. ' ' These principles are briefly laid down in the following paragraphs.

All kinds of woods are made up of fine thread-like filaments, or rather ligaments. When these ligaments are bundled together they form the trunk and limbs of trees. These thread-like ligaments are very fine in some woods while in others they are very coarse. When the former condition prevails the wood is said to be "close grained-" when, on the contrary, it is the latter that is the case, it is known as "coarse grained-" with any amount of variations between the extremes of each class or between the very coarsest and the very finest grained ones.

Again in some woods the ligaments lay together in a straight, close manner as would so many broomsticks bundled up; others are twisted in and out, seemingly crossing each other at all sorts of angles or running along in wave-like motions.

If in the former case the wood is sawn lengthwise in the usual fashion, it will be found that the alternate layers of ligaments and pores have a certain look of uniform -

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ity and the wood is technically known as "straight grained. ' '

If the tangled or wavy-motioned grained wood is sawn in the same manner, the saw will have cut across both filaments and pores and the boards will present a beautifully variegated appearance. These variations make the beauty that distinguishes the various hardwoods and each has some of its own, which it is one of the purposes of wood finishing to develop, enrich and emphasize and to bring to view the most beautiful traits and characteristics.

The woods which are made up of a regular succession of filaments have a somewhat monotonous appearance, such as ash, chestnut, cypress, etc., excepting always, of course, where some obstacle has prevented the regular growth, as where it has been hindered by either knots, curves or natural bendings as where some other tree has fallen across it in the forest, or where it has been done artificially as is the case where timber is cultivated. If, forinstance,the body has been cut into, new layers of ligaments grow over the wounds and when these are severed by the saw the wood will show up a variegated or mottled surface entirely foreign to its ordinary appearance. A very noticeable instance of this is to be found in "Pollard Oak' ' but we see very little of this in America, as the practice of Pollardizing trees is almost unknown here and it is only in imported veneers that we ever get to see it here.

The fibres or ligaments that have not been severed 15

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are hard, (varying with the different woods) form the light part of the woods, and are known technically as "lights." Even in the same woods the appearance of these lights varies very much according to whether they have been sawn in the usual way or whether the same have been "quarter sawn" as it is termed.

The spaces between the filaments are knownas^r^. It is through these that the sap flows, so that really pores are hollow conduits, which, when the wood has become throughly dried and freed from its liquid sap, will absorb liquids.

It must be apparent, then, to everyone that wood must be entirely free from sap or must have become thoroughly dried if a durable finish is to be expected, for if it has not, no matter how careful one may have been throughout the whole process of finishing, trouble will surely come and that before very long.

These pores, as one can readily see, vary very much in size according to the thickness of the fibres of the various woods. Now, if varnish be applied to the wood, no matter how carefully it may have been laid on, sandpapered or rubbed, it will be found to have sunk into the wood through the hollow conduits or pores. While a portion of the varnish has disappeared through these, there will be a fair portion of it that will adhere to the top as well as the sides of the fibres, presenting to the eye when dry, anything but a perfect level, but rather a succession of hills and valleys.

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Subsequent coats of varnish applied over it and rubbed will hardly improve its appearance and will not level it. It is, of course, within the possibilities by giving a sufficient number of coats of varnish and of rubbing them down between each coat to finally bring the surface to a level, but such a way of obtaining it would be both slow and expensive.

It is a fact well worth remembering, and one of the fundamental first principles of wood finishing, that the less varnish applied to wood for the purpose for which it is used, i.e., to give it a lustre, the more transparent and beautiful will the grain of the wood appear. Numerous coats of the most limpid varnish greatly affect, mar and detract from the clearness which the same wood would present had it been finished with only one or two coats instead— put on according to right methods over a proper preparation for it.

It will bear repeating even to a tedious degree that for good finishing only a minimum amount of varnish should be used; that the clearness and bright appearance of every detail of the wood is the brighter for a lesser amount of varnish; that if one coat will do this, it is folly to apply two to undo it While one coat will not always do nor be sufficient to rub and polish, two will, and those who apply three and four to get a good polish have not attended to the perfect preparation of the wood to receive the varnish.

One may well and readily conjecture from the read- 17

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there should be a perfectly level or filled-up surface (filling of the above that it is of the utmost importance that ing up of the pores) so that when the varnish is applied it will flow upon a perfect, glass-like surface. The surface must be not only perfectly level but in addition perfectly non-absorbent, for if it is not the object for which the filling has been done has failed of its object or rather of one of its objects, i. e., to prevent the absorption of the varnish into the wood and to make it bear up instead.

It goes without the saying that this important operation is known under the name of " Filling." It will be treated at length under that heading, for it is absolutely indispensable that this operation be well understood and well performed to make a success of wood finishing.

It was seen that the wood should be well filled and leveled before varnish is applied to it, therefore it stands to reason that any change in the color of the wood that is to be finished must necessarily take place before the filling is performed.

As water stains are usually used in coloring woods, and as these open up the pores of the wood in such a way that it requires sandpapering to level it up again, it is absolutely necessary that it should take place before the filling. The relative merits of various methods of staining in either water, spirits or oil is not a question for us to consider now as this will receive attention under its proper heading; it is simply noted here that such an operation must take place previousto filling if done with water stains.

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These few general principles constitute the ground work upon which wood finishing is built up. When one understands the nature of wood — of its component parts, he must see that the pores must be closed before any permanent polishing materials can be applied. He must also now understand that no varnish is so limpid but that it will become viscid if many coats are applied and mar the beautiful finish instead of helping it out.

Bearing these points in mind will enable one to comprehend nearly all other operations or processes that will be hereafter described. It will enable one to at least see the why and wherefore of most of them.

Chapter III. Tools And Appliances Used In Wood Finishing

To do good work one must have suitable tools to do it with. There seems to be a diversity of opinion as to what are the best tools to use, and the same may be said concerning the brushes employed in wood finishing, as well as in every method of doing a given piece of work; and it is probable that no two manufacturers of furniture nor any two head finishers have exactly the same methods for doing a similar kind of finishing nor do they use the same tools. If this disagreement proves anything it is the fact that there is more in good workmanship than in the tools themselves, and that a man who has become an expert at handling a certain kind of tool, need not be in a hurry to give it up, simply because Mr. So and So tells him that he is behind the times in using what he says he would not have in his shop under any consideration.

It may be noticed daily in the furniture manufacturing sections, that there are men who do the best of finishing with tools that are condemned by others as worthless, so that the great amount of praise that is given by one man for a certain tool may be, after all, that it only has a fancied superiority over another.

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Yet there are some tools that are better than others for doing certain kinds of work, and to give the reader a good idea of what he wants or needs to have for the finishing business is the purpose of this chapter.

The tools used in wood finishing are mainly "brushes" yet there a few articles and appliances that are indispensable to the finisher, and every shop should have a supply large or small according to the amount of work done, of the following, to wit:

Pulverized Pumice Stone — (Italian.) — Make sure of this, as the home article, which comes mainly from Utah, scratches and is not fit for good finishing. It comes in different degrees of fineness, the sizes mostly used in finishing being FF, F, 0, and 0}4, FF being the finest.

Sandpaper — Use the best only. Some of the cheaper kinds have only one ply paper for a backing. As sandpaper has to be split occasionally this would be impossible with the cheap grades. Beside it cracks badly and has no elasticity. Sandpaper numbers most used are 0, j4, 1, and 1)4 , being the finest named.

Rotten Stone — English — Pulverized and in brick form.

Tripoli and Polishing Powders.

Silex — finely pulverized — Light-colored for making a transparent filler; dark-colored where it is to be used in filling dark-colored or stained woods.

Curled Moss.

Horse Hair (curled) and Hair Cloth. 21

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Excelsior shavings, and soft wood sawdust for cleaning off fillers.

Cotton waste for same purpose.

Hemp or flax tow, also for cleaning off fillers.

Chamois skins.

Old soft silk, cloth or handkerchiefs.

While it would seem that some of the above should have come in under the heading of "material" and would have been more appropriately mentioned and described there, yet in a way they partake of the nature of appliances used in preparing the wood for the finishing material that remains and becomes a part of the finish.

As it has been stated before, there are as many different views as to tools as there are finishers to express them. To note and describe each and every one would swell this chapter far beyond the limits intended for it, so only the most worthy of mention are noticed.

Among the appliances which are used in the making or the handling of water stains is the* Vessel" which is to contain them. As the materials from which stains are usually made are either corrosive, acid or alkaline and seldom neutral, vessels made of iron and unprotected are forbidden for the purpose. Nothing better will be found for such a use than "porcelain lined" kettles or tanks. They can be readily cleaned, for their surfaces are as smooth as polished plate glass and a lot of valuable time will be saved in keeping them clean. Where the staining is done by dipping, porcelain lined tanks will also be

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found the most effective for the same reasons as are stated above. The next best vessels made are "wooden" ones, that have been smoothly finished inside. The one greatest trouble with wooden vessels, however, is that they shrink when not constantly used, the consequence being that there is more or less trouble caused by leakage. Even when well made, if one will take into consideration the extra time needed in cleaning them and in keeping them in good condition for future use, they will be found fully as expensive as the porcelain-lined metal tanks. As the proper form to give these is a matter of fancy and convenience and as each one must settle for himself according to the size of the pieces he wishes to dip as to what is best for his use, no directions need be given further than what has already been said. There are many concerns in the market who make a good variety of small and large porcelain-lined tanks and who make any specially designed ones to order.

Rubbing Felt is another indispensable article much used by the wood finisher. There are many qualities of it made, some with a hard texture, others with a soft, with many variations between these extremes. The medium hard is what is mostly used. The sheets of felt vary in thickness from % inch to 2 inches. The kinds mostly preferred by rubbers are one inch thick and upward, some using the two inch thickness exclusively. The felt is usually cut up into pieces 3x5 inches in width and length. There is a considerable difference in the

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Jt\ prices asked for felt. There is probably no article used in wood finishing that possesses greater adaptabilities for

adulteration with as little chance oi detection by either "the feel orthe looks." It is always in order to feel suspicious, if it is offered at a price below what is asked for good qualities in the open market.

Fig. 1— Rubbing Felt.

It is all important that it should be uniform in texture throughout. If it be mixed with a cheaper material, it will surely wear unevenly and trouble is sure to come of it. In Fig. 1 is given an illustration of sheets of felt running from thick to thin.

Scrapers — Wide steel scrapers will be occasionally required to remove finished parts that for some reason or other have become blemished or any finish which for any reason has to be re- Fi £- 2— Varnish Pot.