This section is from the book "The English And American Mechanic", by B. Frank Van Cleve. Also available from Amazon: The English And American Mechanic.
Camphene, 1 pint; add all the India rubber it will dissolve; currier's oil, 1 pint; tallow, 7 lbs.; lamp-black, 2 oz. Mix thoroughly by heat.
Beeswax, 8 oz.; tallow, 1 oz.; melt, and add powdered gum arabic, 1 oz., and lamp-black to color.
Gutta percha, 1 lb.; India rubber, 4 oz.; pitch, 2 oz.; shellac, 1 oz.; oil, 2 oz.; melt and use hot.
Ivory black, 4 lbs.; molasses, 3 lbs.; sweet oil, 1 lb.; oil vitriol, 3 lbs.; mix, and put in tins.
For red, steep it in alum water, then pass it through a warm decoction of Brazil wood; blue steep in an indigo vat; purple, steep the skins in alum water, then put it in a warm decoction of logwood.
Turmeric, 1 drachm; gamboge, 1 drachm; turpentine, 2 pints; shellac, 5 oz.; sandarach, 5 oz.; dragon's blood, 8 drachms; thin mastic varnish, 8 oz.; digest with occasional agitation for fourteen days; then set aside to fine, and pour off the clear.
First stain in tallow; then take spirits turpentine, l pint; cream of tartar, l oz.; soda, l oz.; gum shellac, 1/2 oz.; thick paste reduced thin, 2 quarts. Mix well. This will finish 11 sides.
Brazil wood, 11 parts; alum, 4 parts; water, 85 parts. Boil.
Logwood, 7 parts; blue vitriol, 1 part; water, 22 parts-Boil.
Logwood, 9 parts; sulphate of iron, 1 part; water, 25 parts. Boil.
Verdigris, 1 part; vinegar, 3 parts. Dissolve.
French berries, 7 parts; water, 10 parts; alum, 1 part. Boil.
Logwood, 11 parts; alum, 3 parts; water, 29 parts. Boil.
Take a common wooden pailful of scraps (the legs and pates of calf skins are best), and put a handful each of salt and alum upon them, and let them stand 3 days; then boil them until they get a thick paste; in using, you will warm it, and in the first application put a little tallow with it, and for the second time a little soft soap, and use it in the regular way of finishing, and your leather will be soft and pliable, like French leather.
A marble in the form of trees may he done by bonding the boards a little on the centre, Ming the same method as the common marble, having the covers previously prepared. The end of a candle may be rubbed on different parts of the board to form knots.
 
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