Practical Graining, with Description of Colors Employed and Tools Used

CHAPTER V.

HUNGARIAN ASH

This wood may be imitated in oil or water color, but the imitation is commonly done in oil. The colors used are raw sienna and raw and burnt umber; a little burnt sienna may be added to the shading color. In oil color the outline of the work is wiped out with a soft cotton rag and softened lightly, or even stippled with the dry brush, and after the color is nearly dry the lines between those wiped out with the rag are gone over with the fitch tool, the color being darkened with umber. The idea is to bring the wiped work into sharper relief. When dry, the shadows may be put in by using either oil or water color and blending softly. A little Vandyke brown will deepen the color, or thin asphaltum may be used in shading or overgraining. Where circumstances require the work to be finished without overgraining, the work may be mottled or shaded in water color on the ground-work before the oil color is applied, and in that case the work must be put in to suit the shadows and the lights that appear through the oil color.

Hungarian ash varies from very bold to very fine grains, and the finer varieties may successfully be done in oil color, using the fitch tool to put in the grains and wiping out simply the lights and the shadows with the rag. The work looks better when lightly stippled in water color with the blender. In doing the work wholly in water colors, the lights and the shadows are first put in, and after these are dry the grains are introduced with the small fitch tool, lifting the edge of the color lightly with the blender. An ash door with the panels done in Hungarian ash make a very neat job if nicely performed.

Burl ash, or root of ash, is often used in panels, and can be imitated in either oil color or water color, but water color will be found the best. The colors used are raw sienna, burnt umber and Vandyke brown; a sponge with rather small holes is requisite for use in representing the minute clusters of knots. After the work is rubbed in, the sponge (which has previously been faced square on one side) is dipped in some of the darker color and lightly pressed against the work. It is better to use the color a little darker than that with which the work has been rubbed in, and to put it where you wish the darker portions of the wood to appear. After this is dry go over the whole panel with the sponge and some of the darkest color, lightly pressing the sponge against the work wherever you desire the knots to appear. A little growth is sometimes put in by the use of the fitch tool, and tends to relieve the sameness of the work; it must be done carefully and on a small scale. When the work is dry, carefully pass the hand over it and remove the superfluous color which adheres, and the job is then ready to be varnished. It is sometimes shaded after having one coat of varnish, in which case it is necessary to revarnish it; it will require little or no stippling.

In imitating this wood in oil color, the work is first rubbed in and but little color is put on—merely enough to cover the ground-work with a very thin coat; a sponge may then be used to apply the darker color. The sponge should first be thoroughly wet in clean water and wrung out dry before the oil color is applied by it. Have some of the dark color in a shallow vessel and use the sponge as directed in water color, dipping the faced side of the sponge in the color and representing the clusters of knots in this manner. When dry, it may be overgrained or not, according to the shade desired or to the wood to be matched.

Plate 15.

HUNGARIAN ASH, WIPED OUT AND PENCILLED.

Plate 16.

BURL ASH, IN WATER COLOR.

Plate 17.

DARK ASH, PENCILLED AND COMBED.

Plate 18.

HUNGARIAN ASH, WIPED OUT.

CHAPTER VI.

CHESTNUT

This wood is not frequently used as an interior finish, but sixteen years ago it was almost the only hardwood used for interior finish in the New England States; and any grainer who succeeded in matching it was considered very skilful. It is a highly-porous wood, and on that account is undesirable, as, if not entirely protected from the changes in temperature by being thoroughly filled, it will warp or swell; and I have seen doors concave or convex as much as three inches in a two foot eight inch door. It also turns very dark with age, and its hearts or prominent grains are very coarse. I have seen specimens which measured eighteen inches from point to point at the heart. The colors used are raw sienna, burnt umber, Vandyke brown and a little burnt sienna. There is some resemblance to ash in the finer growth of chestnut, but its general characteristics are more angular—that is, the hearts run more to points than those of ash—and in most of the hearts a faint outline appears between the points. The combing also is much coarser than that meant for ash. Chestnut can be done in either oil or water color. I think it can be done best in oil, using the rag to wipe out the color and combing in the edges of the hearts with a rubber comb covered with a thin piece of rag. This comb should not be over two inches in width, and the teeth should be about five to the inch. When the hearts are wiped out and lightly-blended, the fine outline may be put in between the points in the hearts by using a sharp-pointed stick or the round corner of a steel comb. The work, when dry, may be lightly stippled in distemper, or a thin glaze of color without stippling may be applied to bring the work to the desired depth of color; this shading-color may be mixed in oil or water color.

In imitating this wood in water color the work should first be stippled in very fine and allowed to dry; then put in the growths with the small fitch tool, and use the overgrainer for the same purpose as that for which the comb is used in oil color to follow the edges of the hearts, and to produce the "combed" work; a piped bristle over-grainer will be found useful for this purpose.

To my mind, this is the most beautiful of our native woods, and it is a shame that it is often cut down for firewood; however, it seems to be growing in favor among the furniture-makers, and is far more generally used in the interior of horse-cars and railway-cars than it was ten years ago. The colors used in representing maple are raw sienna, raw umber, a little Vandyke brown or ivory black and a little burnt sienna, to be added to the color when over-graining or putting in the pencil-work and the eyes.

Plate 19.

BIRD'S-EYE MAPLE, OVERGRAINED.

Plate 20.

CHESTNUT.

Plate 21.

BIRD'S-EYE MAPLE, MOTTLED, READY FOR THE EYES.

This wood is almost invariably imitated in water color, as oil is too slow in drying to be used with any success. Stale beer is the best vehicle with which to apply the color. The implements needed are a good sponge, a piece of soft cotton rag or chamois leather, a brush to apply the color, a large and a small mottler or cut tool, a badger blender, an overgrainer and fitch tool, and a camel's-hair pencil. First dampen the ground-work over with the sponge, which has been wrung out of clean water, or of beer and water; then rub in the color, doing a panel or a small piece at a time, and while wet wipe out the high lights and put in the shadows with the sponge or the mottler or the backs of the fingers, or draw the color up into small bunches or clusters with the blender or mottler and blend lightly crosswise. When the lights and the shadows are dry, the eyes are put in. By observing the real wood it will be found that the eyes invariably appear in the darker portions of the grain, and that the shadows seem to slope away from them. Very often the shadows all slant one way and the eyes in the same way; this must be taken into consideration in imitating maple. Do not have all the eyes and all the shadows slanting the same way in different panels, as is often seen in the interior of cars, but reverse the style, bringing the opposite panels to balance with each other.

The best manner of imitating the eyes is a matter of doubt among practical workmen. The amateur grainer will tell you that he can put them in by striking the ends of his fingers against the color while wet; this is the way the wood is most frequently misrepresented, and such work looks feeble compared with that done by either of the following methods: After the lights and shadows are dry take some of the dark color from the bottom of your pot and add to it a little burnt sienna; the color should be put in a shallow vessel, such as a saucer. Thin the color, so that it works freely; then take a medium sized camel's-hair pencil which has been "docked" by cutting off the hair about one-quarter of an inch from the quill with a sharp knife, leaving the ends of the hair perfectly square. Then burn out the centre of the brush with a red-hot wire, leaving the hair round the circumference with which to represent the "eyes." The pencil is then dipped in the darker color, and the eyes are put in where desired.

Another way is to cut a piece from a block of soft rubber, make a hole through it and with a sharp knife trim the edges of the rubber till it can be used to take up the dark color. Make the eyes in the same manner as with the pencil brush. The eyes can be put in with a small pencil by describing circles, but care must be taken to have them of uniform size, or nearly so. Another—and probably the best—way is to take a thin piece of chamois leather or a soft piece of cotton rag and wet it in the graining-color; then take a piece of wood four or five inches long and not over half an inch thick; whittle it round and taper it to a point at one end; then wrap the rag or the leather around the stick, keeping a folded edge at the sharp end of the stick; and when the cloth or leather has made one circuit around the stick at the sharp end, wind it farther up the stick, so that only one circle of the folded rag or leather is at the sharp end of the stick. Some of the thick color may then be placed in about the middle of the rag, and by keeping the rag or the leather well wet above the thick color and squeezing the rag as often as necessary, so that the color descends toward the point of the stick, the eyes may be rapidly and accurately put in by striking the end of the folded rag or leather against the work; and a pair of panels may easily be done by once filling the rag with color. This method has the advantage of making any sized "eye," from the largest to the smallest, by simply altering the thickness of the folds; or the eyes may be made in any shape desired, from a circle to an oval. After the eyes are put in the work is over-grained, the color mostly being burnt sienna. The heart grains are put in with a camel's-hair pencil. Some grainers use a crayon pencil for this purpose, which should be soaked in beer or vinegar and used moist; the various over-grainers are also used in putting in the heart grains. The "eyes" should always be noticed—that is, the over-grainer should describe some part of a circle in passing the "eyes," so as to have them in harmony with the general features of the wood. All water-color work should be lightly gone over when dry with the hand, to remove any roughness in the graining-color. Some grainers prefer to touch up the high lights around the "eyes" with some of the ground color after the graining is dry, but it must be done very carefully or it shows badly.

Plate 22.

BIRD'S-EYE MAPLE WITH THE EYES.

Plate 23.

CHESTNUT.

somewhat resembles bird's-eye maple, and is often used in the same piece of furniture. It differs from bird's-eye in having but few, if any, "eyes" in it, and is mostly mottled and over-grained. A five-inch mottler that will cover the stiles of an ordinary door is a very necessary tool, as one that is not wide enough necessitates going over the work twice, and then it will not look so well as if done with a brush of sufficient width to cover the whole stile. The colors used for bird's-eye maple will answer for this wood, but the general tone is darker.

This wood is represented by using ivory black for the graining-color; the groundwork should be almost white. The work is mostly mottled and very lightly over-grained. Eyes are sometimes put in, and the effect of the work is very showy when carefully done.

CHAPTER VII.

SATINWOOD

This is a very delicate wood, of the maple family; it probably derives its name from its resemblance to folds of satin. It is seldom represented in America, but is frequently imitated in England, being used in connection with maple in some of the principal rooms, such as drawing-rooms, parlors, etc. The panels of the room are done as satinwood, the stiles as maple, and sometimes the mouldings as a darker wood, such as dark oak, walnut or rosewood.

Plate 24.

SATINWOOD MOTTLED.

Plate 25.

SATINWOOD MOTTLED AND OVERGRAINED.

Plate 26.

CURLY MAPLE MOTTLED TO OVERGRAIN.

Plate 27.

CURLY MAPLE OVERGRAINED.

Plate 28.

POLLARD OAK.

Plate 29.

POLLARD OAK.

The same groundwork and the same graining-colors may be used as in representing maple, but a little ivory black may be added. The tools are similar, but a piece of buckskin or chamois leather is substituted for the bristle mottlers used for maple. A roll of oil-putty is sometimes used to take off the color in making the high lights; the putty should be rolled along the panel lengthwise of the grain, and then the panel blended crosswise. Care should be taken to have the graining-color light, as the effect is lost if the color be too dark. The lights are quite prominent, and it requires no little skill successfully to imitate them. When the mottling or lights and shadows are dry, they may be very lightly over-grained with a fine bristle overgrainer, the bristles being separated by a comb and the color used very thin. The over-graining should not be blended, as it will look too prominent and spoil the effect of the lights and the shadows. A piece of soft cotton rag will answer the same purpose as the buckskin or chamois leather. When using either of them with the intention of making the mottled effect of the wood, first wet them in clean water or in beer and wring them out nearly dry; then, after the color is rubbed on the work, roll them over them over the surface as directed. The result will be that the leather or the rag will take off the patches of the wet graining-color. Then blend softly, and when dry overgrain.

CHAPTER VIII.

POLLARD OAK

THIS wood is a great favorite with British grainers, and is often splendidly imitated by them. The wood itself is from old gnarled trees or stumps and has a variety of grain almost equal to French walnut. It may be represented in either oil or water color, or may be done partially in both distemper and oil, which I think is the better way; the best job I have ever seen was executed in this manner. It is first done in oil; the colors necessary are raw and burnt sienna, burnt umber, Vandyke brown, and sometimes a little ivory black or ultramarine blue. The wood varies from pieces comparatively free from knots to others almost filled with them, like the root of walnut, etc. The grains are first done in oil, the knots, etc., being somewhat subdued; and when this is dry, the whole is gone over in water color and left in the color it is intended to have it remain. The knots and shadows are touched up, etc. After the water color is dry the fine champs may be put in by using a slice of raw potato in the same manner as that in which the thumb-nail is used on larger work. A camel's-hair pencil is needed properly to finish the work. A great deal of time may be spent in representing this wood, and yet but few may succeed in faithfully imitating it. Since the fashion has changed in Boston and its vicinity from walnut and cherry front-doors to oak doors, we begin to see panels of pollard oak; sometimes whole doors are veneered with it, and the effect is superb.

This wood is naturally but little darker than ash, yet the popular idea of what its hue should be is of a color nearly as dark as that of mahogany. Cherry is frequently misrepresented by staining whitewood or pine with burnt sienna, etc., but, it being impossible to conceal the grain of the whitewood or the pine, the deception is easily discoverable by any one at all familiar with the grains of different woods. For this reason a much better imitation can be obtained by graining to imitate cherry (or any other wood), rather than by staining, as the grainer, if competent, can represent both the color and the grain of the desired wood.

Cherry may be imitated in either oil color or water color, and an excellent job can be done either way. My preference is for oil color. The natural wood may be matched by employing raw and burnt sienna and raw umber, but the stained cherry requires the use of burnt sienna, burnt umber and Vandyke brown for the very dark veins, also, in some cases, crimson lake, to be used as a glazing or shading-color. The tools needed for oil color are the flat brush, combs, fitch tool or fresco-liner, sash tool and a piped bristle overgrainer. When a piece of work is rubbed in, it may lightly be stippled with the dry brush (or the stippling may first be done in distemper before the oil color is applied). It may be mottled by wiping off the color with a rag, or by applying a little color with the sash tool and lifting the color with the flat brush. The growth may then be put in with the fitch tool, the flat brush being used as a blender. The growths are put in across the mottled work previously done. The growths or hearts can also be wiped out with the rag in the same manner as in imitating ash, and the fitch used to interline the points of the hearts; but the growth of cherry is seldom as bold as that of ash, and, to my mind, it can best be imitated by the use of the fitch tool. Where the hearts have been wiped out with the rag they should always be gone over with the fitch tool and blended, as the effect is decidedly better than if they are left without pencilling.

Plate 30.

CHERRY MOTTLED IN OIL BEFORE BEING OVERGRAINED.

Plate 31.

CHERRY MOTTLED AND PENCILLED IN OIL.

Plate 32.

CHERRY MOTTLED AND PENCILLED IN OIL.

Plate 33.

CHERRY MOTTLED AND PENCILLED IN OIL AS FINISHED.

Some grainers prefer to imitate cherry wholly in distemper, in which case the tools used are much the same as those for oil, substituting the badger blender for the flat brush in finishing the work. First dampen the work with a sponge and rub in the color with a flat brush; the mottled parts may be done light, with the sponge, or dark by using the mottler or the sash tool. The hearts are put in with the fitch after the mottling is dry, the overgrainer being used in same manner as that in which the combs are used in oil color. The best vehicle for the distemper color is stale beer; it may be diluted with one-half water, and in cold weather a little alcohol may be added. The work may be shaded or overgrained when dry, whether the graining has been done in oil or in distemper. If done in oil, the shading color may be applied in either oil or distemper; but if the work has been grained in distemper, the shading color (if applied immediately to the work before varnishing) must be in oil. In some cases the distemper color is varnished before being overgrained; this, of course, necessitates revarnishing.