In applying the filler, it is not necessary to lay it smoothly, for when its surface has dried so that it resists slightly when rubbed with the finger, it should be cleaned off with excelsior or shavings by rubbing across the grain wherever possible and by digging it out of the corners with a properly shaped stick and finishing with a soft cloth. Care should be used that the filler is not too dry or it will not rub off properly; if it is too moist, there will be too little left in the cells of the wood to fill the grain after the moisture has evaporated.

This filling may be applied to floors, standing finish, furniture, etc., of any open-grained wood after the filling has been brought to the proper shade or tint by the use of dry color.

(K.) For finishing close-grained woods, such as cherry, maple, birch, etc., the grain should be filled to prevent the finish from soaking in. This filling may consist of a coat of shellac, rubbed down, but there are substitutes in the market which are efficient and much cheaper and, for everything but the finest work, are perfectly satisfactory. These surface dressings usually are not intended for finish coats, as they will not stand rubbing, but simply for a surface upon which finishing coats of shellac or varnish are to be applied.

(L.) In finishing floors the nails should be set below the surface, and the cracks and imperfections thoroughly puttied; if finished in the natural wood, the pores and cells should be filled as above described, and the finish applied upon the surface thus prepared.

There are many good floor finishes upon the market, some of which are for finishing in the natural or stained wood, and others for painting the floors.

A good floor paint or finish should be tough, elastic, and able to resist the wear to which a floor is subjected.

(M.) Do not thin shellac with turpentine; alcohol or wood alcohol should be used for that purpose. Shellac is a gum dissolved in alcohol and is used to give a fine permanent finish to woodwork. Orange or brown shellac should be used for dark woods, and white or refined shellac for all light colored woods, or where it is desired that the finish shall make as little change in the color of the wood as possible.

Considerable skill is needed in spreading it smoothly. It should be laid with moderately thick coats and rubbed down to a surface with #00 sandpaper, or pulverized pumice stone, after each coat. The last coat should be rubbed down in oil, and polished with a soft cloth. Though quite expensive, shellac makes a very satisfactory finish for a nice floor, if not exposed to water.

(N.) Do not thin varnish with alcohol, use turpentine. Varnishing always should be done in a room, the temperature of which is not less than 70 degrees; the room should be free from dust and drafts, and these conditions should be maintained until the varnish has set.

(O.) Paint and varnish brushes should be cleaned in benzine or turpentine; shellac brushes in wood alcohol; and if they are to be laid away they should be washed in warm soapy water, and rinsed in clean water. If paint brushes are to be used again soon, they may be hung in a vessel partly filled with water, so that the bristles do not touch the bottom. Shellac or varnish brushes may be suspended in a covered shellac or varnish pot.

57. Hardware. - The grade of hardware purchased for a house is generally in keeping with the kind of house being built, and is a fair index of the quality of the house throughout. However, expensive trimmings do not always indicate the true value of a house, because unscrupulous carpenters use them often with the purpose of deceiving.

(A.) Wire nails have but few points in their favor in comparison with cut nails; however, they drive more easily, are not so apt to split the wood, and as there are more in a pound, the original cost is less.

For the reason that wire nails do not resist the effects of moisture so well as do cut nails, the latter should be used for outside finish, though upon ordinary work this is not considered important, as the heads of the nails are painted, and are not exposed to the moisture so much as the nails with which shingles are fastened. If the best results are desired in shingling a house, cut nails should be used, especially in places near the salt water, where wire nails will sometimes allow the shingles to blow off a roof within three years from the time the roof was laid.

(B.) The trimmings, or the door knobs, window fasts, and other exposed hardware, should not be of plated ware, as the plating soon comes off. Brass or bronze trimmings are the best; bronzed iron trimmings are used upon common work where economy, rather than durability, is the object.

(C.) For locks, nothing is more secure than the time-honored bolt; our modern locks are simply applications of it, improved to meet modern demands. A lock which fastens automatically is called a spring lock, and one which has to be fastened and unfastened is known as a dead lock.

(D.) In putting on Yale or similar locks, the workman should follow the directions which usually accompany each lock. It is a good plan to set them back from the edge of the door a little, say 1/16" or less, to allow the door to be jointed at some future time if necessary.

(E.) Loose-pin and loose-joint butts or hinges are shown may be removed for jointing more easily than if the loose-pin butt were used, and many workmen think that the loose-joint butts may be put on more rapidly.

Suggestive Exercises

56. What are the proportions used in mixing the priming coat of paint? How should all nail holes and cracks be treated? At what stage of the work should this be done? Why? What are the proportions for the succeeding coats? What kind of oil should be used for outside work? Why? Compare mixed paints with a mixture of white lead and oil. How should mixed paints generally be regarded? What is the best test? Compare the economy of using the cheapest and the expensive mixed paints. How should knots in pitchy wood be treated? What kind of oil should be used upon a metal roof? With what should metal work be painted? How should rusty metal work be treated before painting? What is a satisfactory roofing paint? What characteristics should a good roofing paint possess? Should a shingled roof be painted? Why? How should shingles be treated? How should wood adjoining masonry be treated? Is it a good plan to paint green or wet wood? Why? How should paint be prepared for inside work? Should a pure white paint be used? Why? How may old paint be removed? What is the objection to burning it off? What is the objection to some paint removers? How should open-grained wood be treated to prepare it for finishing? What was the old method of filling the grain? Why is that not necessary now? How may a wood filler be mixed? How should the filler be applied to the wood? How should it be treated afterwards? How are close-grained woods treated? What characteristics should a good floor paint possess? With what should shellac be thinned? How should it be laid? With what should varnish be thinned? What conditions are necessary for doing a good job of varnishing? Discuss the care of paint brushes.

57. What generally governs the grade of hardware purchased for a house? Compare wire nails and cut nails. What kind of nails is best for use upon outside finish? Why is this considered unimportant? Why should cut nails be used to fasten shingles? What is apt to be the result if wire nails are used for shingling in a damp climate? Is there any objection to plated ware for the trimmings of a house? What kind of trimmings is best? Is a modern lock any more secure than a bolt? What is meant by a spring lock? A dead lock? Is it a good plan to set a lock exactly flush with the edge of the door? Why? Describe and compare the loose-joint butt and the loose-pin butt.