On the same satin finish a silver oxidised effect can be obtained which is very pleasing. For this make a mixture of cholride of silver, one part ; pearlash, three parts ; common salt, one part ; and double washed whiting, one part ; with sufficient water to form a paste. With this on a soft leather, rub over all the parts that are not to be black-do not make them too large -until silvered over. Then apply the blacklead as before, being careful to cover the edges of the silvering, and when blending the two, take care not to rub through to the brass. If carefully done this gives excellent results, especially on small goods.

Where turned work is to be treated special attention must be given to the preparation of the finishing tools, and these are almost invariably hand ones. For flat surfaces a planisher is used, this consisting of a broad edge left dead hard from the forge. Its cutting edge has no rake and is not ground but filed and smooth-papered before hardening, then, after oil-stoning, rubbed lightly with a burnisher along the upper edge. The resulting surface upon the work will be almost a polish in itself, but with the application of a non-gritty polishing paste, applied with a piece of close-woven cloth such as face cloth. The latter point is emphasised because its superiority over rag is remarkable ; soft, clean, old rag should be used only as a final cleaning touch. Use your highest speed and a firm pressure.

Never use emery paper if avoidable for turned work as it leaves a " greyness " that paste cannot eradicate, and further your edges will remain well defined and not have a rubbed off appearance.

What is said of flat work applies to convex and concave surfaces except that for hollows your tool is of course round-nosed and should be shaped to a curve slightly smaller than that of the hollow to be treated. The flat planisher is used for con-vexes also. Drawn metal always polishes better than cast.

Steel cannot be polished readily straight from the tool, therefore an old smooth file and the use of emery papers ranging from F.F. down to French O are essential. Hollows are a matter for persistent papering alone. Always " stagger" your papering to prevent a grain forming.

Perhaps it need hardly be said that the work must be securely chucked and the T-rest secure to obviate " chattering." A strip of leather under the tool helps greatly.

Now as to flat vice work. One of the worst bug-bears here, especially on large surfaces, is the " pinning" of the file. This is caused by metal dust clogging the teeth and forming into minute hard lumps which score the job. These pins are removed by striking them with a corner of brass along the serrations of the file and then brushing out. Slightly oiling the file keeps it fairly clean, but the work is slowed up owing to lack of " bite." In the finishing of aluminium, turned or filed, turpentine or paraffin is absolutely essential.

There is no real equivalent for the planisher in vice work unless one specifies the scraper as a medium between file and paper, of which more anon. Emery paper, therefore, must be employed graded down as advised for steel finishing. " Staggering " is only used here to eliminate the previous papering's coarser lines, but the final touch I must be a fine straight grain ; a firm, flat, straight motion is required. Tear off your emery paper the length of, and twice the breadth of, a really flat, old, smooth file- size according to job-and bend it tightly round the tool. Grip paper anf file firmly with all available fingers. A few light rubs with a clean buff-stick dusted over with dry whiting completes the job, unless " curling " is fancied.

Perhaps the easiest way to "curl" is by means of a thick slate pencil, which is chucked and a blunt, true point turned upon it. Employ water as a lubricant and hold the job firmly against the revolving chamfer, but move the work quickly about so that a jigsaw puzzle effect results. Now repeat the operation at right angles to the former directions. Wash off and dust with whiting in the direction of the papered grain. Really, this is most effective upon a polished flat, which is easily obtained by following up your fine paper with paste on the buff-stick. Millings are cleaned with the stick, an old one preferably, dusted with bath-brick and rubbed along the serrations.

Edges, when rounded or " cheesed," are best polished. The scraper, to which reference has been made, is specially useful for negotiating hollows and rounds in vice work. It is fashioned from an old three-sided file. About an inch and a half is ground smooth on each face and well-stoned for clean edges. Use it with the motion of a carpenter's spoke-shave slowly and firmly to obviate chattering. Just previous to this " draw-file " the job. This is a method of using an old smooth fish-back file again like the spokeshave. Papering follows the scraping.

A burnisher, of course, is just a file ground on one face, then papered and papered until its surface resembles a mirror. With this screw heads are polished. Run the screws into a tapped rod chucked in the lathe, round their heads with an old smooth file, paper fine, rub the burnisher over the brick-dusted buff-stick, and as the screw revolves give it as few as possible hard rubs with the tool. Fine-papering screws is, of course, much easier if a burnisher is not available.