Polishing Oil For Mahogany

Take linseed oil, one quart; alkanet root, one ounce; rose pink, half an ounce; stir them well together, and place them near the fire to simmer gently for an hour or two; then strain off in a clean pan. Apply with a brush and let it remain for about an hour; then take of the finest red brick-dust sifted through a cloth or sieve, and dust it over your work; polish it with a piece of woollen cloth by rubbing it well the straight way of the grain: after, finish with saw-dust and a clean cloth.

N. B. - Some prefer polishing mahogany with bees-wax and turpentine, as directed for wainscot.

To Clean Up Deal Panels, Etc

After your work is planed as smooth as possible, apply hot size, or very thin glue, and let it dry; then with a piece of hearth-stone rub it well, and you will produce a very smooth face, which will make the painting, afterwards to be applied, appear smooth and even; this is much better, as well as a more ready way, than that of sand or glass paper.

Stone Paper

As in cleaning of work made of deal, or soft wood, sometimes one process is found to answer better than another, the following will be found often very useful, as it makes a kind of sand paper, which in some cases will answer very well, as it is very fine, and at the same time produces a good face on the wood to which it is applied. Having prepared your paper as directed in the last receipt with glue, take any quantity of pumice stone, and having pounded it, sift it over the paper, through a sieve of moderate fineness, then let it harden, and repeat the process till you get a tolerably thick coat on the paper, which when perfectly dry, will be found to be a very superior paper for polishing your work, as it is not liable to leave scratches, but leaves a smooth and even surface.

Glue To Hold Against Fire Or Water

Mix a handful of quick lime in four ounces of linseed oil, boil them to a good thickness, then spread it on tin plates in the shade, and it will become exceedingly hard but may be easily dissolved over the fire, as glue.

To Make A Very Strong Glue

Take an ounce of the best isinglass, dissolve it by moderate heat in a pint of water, strain it through a piece of cloth, then add of the best glue in cake, which has been previously soaked for twenty-four hours, and also a gill of the strongest vinegar; let the whole dissolve by placing it near the fire; after it is dissolved let it boil once up, and strain off all the impurities; this will make a glue which may be reserved for that part of your work which requires particular strength, or where the joints themselves do not contribute to hold the work together, such as small fillets and mouldings, or carved patterns that are merely held on the surface by the glue.

To Glue Joints

In general nothing more is necessary, after ascertaining your joint is perfectly straight, and as is technically called, out of winding, than to glue both edges, with the glue quite hot, and rub them lengthways till the glue is nearly set, but not chilled; however, when your wood is spungy, or sucks up the glue, the following method will be advisable, as it strengthens the joint, and does away with the necessity of using the glue too thick, which should always be avoided, as the less glue there is between the joint, provided they touch one another, the better, and when the glue is thick, it sooner chills, and we cannot well rub it out from between the joints; the method is to rub with a piece of soft chalk each joint on the edge, and wipe it off again with your finger, so that no lumps remain, and then glue it in the common way; it will be found to hold much faster, particularly when the wood is porous, than when glued without the chalk.