Knobs and Bosses in Wood Carving

the reader may see many illustra- tions of them in the works of Hulme. Sometimes the knob becomes a small spot or a mere dot, employed to introduce light into a dark ground. The practical theory is that the knob 102 A Manual of Wood-Carving. represents the plain or ornamental head of a nail used to hold the work to the wall, or the rivets of armour, which the Goths transferred from coats of mail to linen and woollen. But the real reason is to introduce points of light. Knobs or bosses may be placed wherever there are wide spaces between patterns. The rule of employing them is either a few large points or many small ones ; they must, however, be used sparingly. The principle of introducing them is of very Fig. 59- Fig. 60. wide extension. Thus, in all kinds of work, especially metal,, grapes, melons, and other fruit are introduced solely that, by their roundness and polish, they may make points of light or " shiners." Old embossed work in leather and wood-carvingoften owes its chief beauty to the polish, which time and use have given to the reliefs on it. Of course the employment of " shiners " or bosses, and of all kinds of smooth polished relief, should, as a general rule, be sparing, subordinate, and judicious. Nevertheless, in certain kinds of work, especially in much flat- H Bosses and Knobs. \0' carving, which is intended to simply ornament a surface, at no great expenditure of labour, just as tiles or tapestry might do, the stems and portions of the leaves, or sometimes all the pattern, may be polished as highly as possible, so as to make a relief against the dark ground. Grounds are pricked or punched or dotted to make them dark, and when the oil soaks into the holes they become permanently darker. Therefore the pattern is to be in contrast ; and when the object is no more Fig. 6i. Fig. 62. than to make a general decorative effect, not perfectly finished, but like a sketch, it may be polished. There is another curious effect given by crossing the pattern alone, or the ground alone, with bars, lines, or stripes. It was very common at one time. In carving, it may be produced with a small gouge or fluter ; though not natural, except where it is given in long and short lines to represent the graining of wood, it has a good effect simply because it distributes shadow evenly. It was probably derived from the effect of "ribs" in cloths, which were much admired by the Venetian painters. I04 A Manual of Wood-Carving. Door-knobs are effectively bosses, that is to say, the same ornamentation maybe appHed to both, as to handles for bureaus, cabinets, and other furniture. Figs. 59 to 62 will give the pupil some examples and ideas for carving knobs and bosses. SEVENTEENTH LESSON. TO REPAIR WOOD-CARVING--GLUE--NITRIC ACID GLUEPREPARING DECAYED WOOD--ARTIFICIAL WOODFILLERS--SPRAYING--TO MAKE GLUE "TAKE." T will sometimes happen to a carver that, owing to bad wood or inadvertence, he splits away or breaks off a piece from his work. In this case he must have recourse to glue. This should be of the very best quality, perfectly light and clean. Glue is made in what alchemists used to call a balneum inarice, that is, of a vessel containing hot water, within which is a smaller vessel. The glue, which is in the inner pot, is therefore to be boiled by the heat of warm water, and not of the fire directly. Before setting it to boil, break it into very small pieces, say of the size of a hazel nut, and let it stand in cold water for twelve hours. It will now be like a thick jelly. Pour off all the water not absorbed, and put the jelly into the inner pot, fill the outer with water and let it boil till the glue is like a thick cream. Use it while in this state. If you add to the glue, while thus liquid, some nitric acid, say io6 A Manual of Wood-Carving. about a tea-spoonful to half a pint of glue, you will have a very superior cement, which holds faster than the plain glue, and is much less liable to crack or split. It dries more slowly, which makes it very valuable for veneering and for large surfaces, where glue often dries before the whole can be applied. Again, when an article fastened with common glue is detached, it is often almost impossible to stick it on again with the same. But with the acidulated glue this is easy. The greatest advantage of this glue is, that if it be kept excluded from the air it will remain in a liquid state for at least a year, and can be used cold. Its disadvantages are a very pungent and not agreeable smell, and the fact that, when corked up, the cork is most certain to get glued to the bottle, and requires to be broken to get it out, rendering a new one necessary. This may be avoided, however, with great care. Stir the acid into the glue with a glass rod or tube. It may happen that a rotten, broken place is found even in the best wood ; or the carver may obtain possession of a piece of ancient, worm-eaten, half-decayed carving, and with a very little skill such pieces can be perfectly repaired. Take a piece of similar wood, and reduce it to fine sawdust by means of a rasp. For this purpose American walnut and dark old oak, or cocoa-nut shell, which is easily pulverized in a mortar, is ex- cellent. Make this into a paste with glue, and repair with it any broken places. This, if properly made, is quite like wood itself, and may be moulded into any shape. It " takes hold " of the ground, and when dry it may be filed into uniformity with the rest. It may also be cut with ease or trimmed to shape, or, in fact, carved. If there is too little glue in it it will break too easily, if there is too much it will be too glazy. But a proper mixture makes it quite like wood. Scratches and chance cuts may be remedied by merely melting them with hot water. But for such small defects ^filler is useful. Kepalrs. J07 This is a kind of paint or liquid cement, the object of which is to fill up the pores of certain coarse woods and make the surface fine. The squeezing wax, described in the chapter on making moulds, is a filler. Others are made by mixing flour with varnish, etc. Any dealer in paints and varnishes will supply a filler suitable to any special work. When a piece of wood-work is so decayed that it is absolutely dropping to pieces, and cannot eveji be handled, it may be pre- served and rehabilitated by the following process. Take some thin glue and water, or mucilage, or size of any kind, and a spray, that is, one of those articles such as are used for spraying perfumes, etc., and which are for sale in most chemist's shops. Spray or sprinkle the glue over the figure, and, if necessary, gradually throw on it fine sawdust or other powder. As it dries it may be shaped and worked more freely. We read continually in the newspapers of the opening of old tombs and ancient subterranean caves, in which are discovered dead bodies, bones, dresses, implements of bone and wood or leather, or even of baked earth, which gradually dropped into dust a few hours after being exposed to the air. And I have never known a case in which these objects could not have been preserved certainly all which I have ever seen could have been. ; All that is necessary to do is to make a thin size, and very gradually spraying or sprinkling it on the objects, allow it to dry, little by little. There are very few cases in which, indeed, the spray cannot be successfully used. It was by the application of this principle that Sir Joseph Hooker preserved the ivory articles brought from Nineveh by Sir Austen H. Layard, and which would have perished but for him. He advised that they should be boiled in gelatine. The student who becomes an expert in such repairing will find plenty to do, and it will be his own fault if it is not profitable. Nineteen people out of twenty have not the least conception of the degree to which repairs io8 A Manual of Wood-Ca7^ving. may be carried. Some years ago a gentleman in America had a very curious and valuable vase from the pyramid of Cholula in Mexico. It was very fragile, being made of the weakest terra- cotta, and having been broken to pieces, the owner was about to throw it away, but gave it to me. Some months after I repaired it so perfectly that the closest observation could not detect a flaw in it. I did this by fastening pieces of paper on the inside with gum, and so gradually bringing the fragments together, edge to edge, and fastening them with the acidulated glue. When all were together, there was, of course, a lining of paper. Where there was a fault or a deficiency outside, I filled it in with plaster of Paris, rubbed it all even, and coloured by " rubbing in " paint. This process would have been much easier with decayed wood. In gluing ordinary wood together, heat the two pieces first. This renders them more inclined to " take " the glue. Some- times it is a difficult thing to hold them together till they " set," that is, adhere so firmly that they will hold. For this the clamp, Fig. 7a, may often be used. In other cases, take two pieces of wood, put one on each side of the parts to be glued, and tie them tightly together ; sometimes clamps may be used to connect the binding pieces, when they are not applicable to what is to be glued. Strong indiarubber rings or gummed paper strips may be used in some cases. But with thought, ingenuity can generally be awakened so as to help one out of any such difficulty. A very perfect resemblance to carved wood may be made by taking cocoa-nut powder or fine sawdust and mixing it with the acidulated glue, so as to make a paste as already described. Then, having ready a mould, either of plaster of Paris or of sunk or incised wood, and oiling it, take the impression. These casts, retouched and glass-papered, are quite like wood, and they may be used for decoration in doors. Repairs. 109 The following are also excellent recipes for glue. Liquid glue. Take of best glue three parts, place them in eight parts of water, allow them to soak for some hours. Take half a part of hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid), three-quarters of a part of sulphate of zinc, add to these the glue, and keep the whole at a moderately high temperature till fluid. Exceedingly strong cement for glass and china. Take gum arable and dissolve it in acetic acid instead of water. It must be melted in a hottish place ; it will be much stronger if this be done. The finest quality of sheet gelatine makes a transparent glue. EIGHTEENTH LESSON. -- -- COLOURING WOOD-WORK OILING--SODA STAINS AND DYES- IVORYING SURFACES-- BLACK DYES AND INK. ARVED or any other wood is often dyed, stained, or toned. Sometimes this is done to make one piece or part match with another or ; it may be to imitate the effect of age, or to give hght woods a colour which will prevent them from showing defects. This is effected in many ways. Oilmg alone is a kind of colouring, for all oiled wood becomes much darker before long. The more frequently it is rubbed in with a pine stick the harder and darker the surface becomes. I have seen walnut tables which had been thus rubbed 1 Staifts, etc. 11 with a stick or a hard scrubbing brush, until a tea-cup wet with hot water on the outside would make no mark on them. Had they been only softly oiled or painted, or varnished, an indelible stain must have resulted. Care should be taken that the oil is A pure, and that no wax has been boiled in it. table which has had wax on it for a polish will always show marks or stains from hot water. Soda dissolved in water, and applied to oak with a sponge or brush, will give it a darker tone, which may be increased by several applications. Dark tea with a little alum is also useful, also porter or beer, also a decoction of walnut leaves. In America butternut gives a very rich indelible dye. Let it be carefully observed that in using these, or any other colours, the following rules must be strictly observed. I. Use a sponge or brush and do not apply the dye profusely or pour it on, as you will run great risk of warping the wood, or causing it to split. II. It may be advisable to dry it near a fire, but in this case exercise great care that the heat be not too great. III. When dry, rub the dye off with a rag or soft old newspaper, or chamois skin. Do this very carefully, and do not be disappointed if it seem very light and to have taken but little dye. Apply the dye again, giving it plenty of time to dry between the coatings. Of course this depends on the dyes used, and the degree of colour required. Stephens stains of different kinds, to imitate all kinds of wood, or those of Mander (Oxford Street, London), are very good, and may now be purchased in every town. As a rule, most of these dyes are very strong, and it is therefore necessary to dilute them with water and make several applications, instead of putting on the whole strength at once. The diluted dye is carefully painted over the entire surface with a full flat camel's hair brush, and a smaller round brush is used in the corners and smaller recesses. After using dyes, and when perfectly dry, the wood should be oiled. 112 A Manual of Wood- Carving. Ammonia. Wood, and especially oak, may be not only stained of a very dark rich colour, giving the efifect of age, by washing it carefully with ammonia or spirits of hartshorn, and then exposing it for some time in a chimney, or otherwise to the fumes of smoke, especially of a wood-fire if it be possible. Strong spirits of ammonia, according to Rowe, may be placed in an open vessel and then shut up with the panel in an air- tight chamber or box, the wood darkening according to the length of time it is left in. The ammonia may have to be renewed, as it quickly evaporates. For small work a glass shade may be used, or a box can be made with a glass lid, and after the panel and saucer of ammonia have been placed inside, the crevices can be pasted over with brown paper. When the depth of colour is obtained, which can be seen through the glass, the panel can be taken out. The wood must be so placed that the ammonia can pass quite round the parts which require darkening. But for ordinary purposes, it will be found quite sufficient to apply strong ammonia with a brush or sponge, and expose it to smoke. Umber. Common powdered umber, which is used by the house painter, is much preferable to the Swiss brown liquid stain to produce an antique brown appearance. The Swiss dye is entirely too rich and uniform, making everything exactly alike, or similar to chocolate. But the umber must be properly applied. Mix it with beer or porter ; strong coffee is also very good and apply it with a brush. ; When dry rub it very care- fully, clean, and apply it again. If it be desirable to make the wood very dark, add lamp-black to the dye, mixing and shaking it very thoroughly. But always let the first applications be of umber alone. By adding the lamp-black one can darken the wood almost to blackness, and if it be very carefully done, and not in a hurry, and exposed at intervals to smoke in a warm place, a colour second to none may be thus given. Stains, etc. ^ \ \ Paint. Wood which is to be exposed to the air must of course be painted in the ordinary way. But there is another method of applying oil paint which is not so generally known or practised, yet which gives very good results. This consists of rubbing paint with the hand into wood or on plaster of Paris, papier-mache, or stone. As it is much thinner than with coats laid on with a brush, it appears more like an innate or natural colour. This was the finger painting of the old Venetian artists. The appearance thus produced, when it is skilfully done, is very different indeed from that of an ordinary coat of paint, and in most cases it is much more attractive. Ivorying. Take a panel, the pattern may be carved, or even produced in the lowest rehef by simply indenting the outline with a wheel or tracer. Any degree of relief will, however, do just as well. Apply a coat of thick ordinary copal varnish. When perfectly dry smooth it with finest glass or emery-paper. Then apply the paint ; two or three coats are better than one. See that the last is perfectly smooth. Then work on the dry surface with tracer and stamps, as you would on wood or brass. When finished, take a very small fitch-brush and paint Vandyke brown into all the dots, lines, scratches, and irregularities. Let there be a dark line of brown close to the outline of the pattern. Sometimes the entire ground may be rubbed with brown, allow- ing an indication or a few dots of white yellow to show here and there. When dry give two coats of retouching varnish (that of Sohnee Freres, No. 19, Rue des Filles du Calvaire, Paris, is specially suited to this work). By using olive, dark and light greens, a beautiful imitation of bronze can be thus obtained. In fact, by studying the effects of colour in many kinds of old objects, we may obtain hints for converting very ordinary wood- carving into beautiful objects. Bichromate of Potash, diluted with water to the required shade, is a good dark dye, but great care should be taken not to spill I 114 A Manual of Wood-Carving. a drop of it on the clothing, or to get it on the hands, or even to inhale its fumes, as it is a poison. Apply it with a brush. Black Dyes. Of late years black dyes have been so much improved that ebony is imitated with holly, hickory, and beech, to absolute perfection. The best way for the carver, as regards these and all kinds of dyes, such as red, yellow, green, etc., is to go to a chemist or colourman, who will obtain them for him. For black the following recipes may be used. I. White vinegar Iron filings Antimony (powdered) Vitriol Logwood Steep it in a corked bottle for eight days. i pint. 2 ounces. 2 ounces. I ounce. 3 ounces. II. .... Gall nuts coarsely broken 2 ounces. Rain water i quart. Boil down to one half. [Seatoii.) To stain wood, first apply No. II., when nearly dry put on No. I. and then No. II. again. It will occur to the reader that this is really ink, and, in fact, if he cannot get a stain, good common ink applied a few times and well dried will answer quite as well. After it has been thoroughly put on, and quite dry, oil the surface, and rub it well, and it will be found that it will not wash off from any casual application of water. Some of the writing inks now made are intensely black and almost indelible. NINETEENTH LESSON. MAKING MOULDS OR SQUEEZES FOR WOOD-CARVERS. T will very soon become apparent to every wood-carver that it is easier to copy from a model than a drawing, and that this ease is very much increased when he has made that model in clay himself. However, it is also very advisable that he shall, after a time, practise carving from drawings and sketches also, as this of itself gives great skill and accuracy of perception. But he will very often need or w^ish to have copies ^ of carvings or casts, and these he may obtain with ease, if the relief be not too great or the object too large. This is called "taking a squeeze," and it may be done in two ways. Firstly, by means of squeezing or modelling wax, which is sold by dealers in artists' materials. The use of this and the casting in plaster of Paris is, however,, ^ gienerally tiresome to beginners in carving.. For all practical purposes squeezes in paper- are quite sufficient. Paper squeezes. Take any pieces of soft newspaper. Oil the wood or plaster cast which you wish to copy ; soak, and then press on the paper and, with your fingers and a sponge or a very stiff brush, poke and squeeze it into every cranny of the original. If this be done thoroughly, the hardest part of the work is ac- complished. Now give the paper a brush of flour-paste or gum 1 16 A Manual of Wood- Carving. or mucilage, or paste strengthened with glue, and press on new pieces of paper. To merely copy the original, a few thicknesses will suffice. Take the squeeze off and let it dry ; if necessary, touch it up with colour. For this the first coat should be of white paper. To make a cast, keep adding paper till the whole is at least half an inch in thickness. Press it as hard as you can while forming the mould. When it is dry you can paint or rub the inside with any dry powder, such as whiting, or varnish it, and then make a cast with the same material, i.e. paper and paste, or with plaster of Paris. Papier-mache casts, when rubbed by hand with brown paint, form perfect facsimiles of old wood-work. Rubbed with bronze-powders they resemble metals, or they may be ivoried, by the process described in the chapter on dyes. Plaster-casts are very easily broken, and are heavy and diffi- Wax cult to transportf is spoiled almost by a touch, and it readily yields to heat. Papier-mache, when properly managed, with a little practice gives a mould which is equal to either for all surfaces except the most minutely delicate. When dry, such casts may be let fall, or really thrown about, without sustaining any injury, and they are very portable. It is very often possible to easily copy an object with paper when plaster or wax cannot be used at all. The reason why it is not more generally used is because few persons have taken the pains to treat it as a plastic material suitable to the arts, or are sufficiently practised in it to know what can really be done with it. The wood-carver should do this, because it is a very important thing for him to keep copies of his works, or to get those of others to use in his designs. With a little practice, and at no expense, he can make such casts in a material which is almost as durable as wood itself In large manufactories of papier-mache the pulp of paper is .simply mixed with the paste or size, and put into the moulds in Taking Moulds. 117 larg^e masses, and then subjected to pressure. When a good surface is secured with fine white paper, it is not of much consequence how coarse the paper for the backing may be. For this purpose it may be mixed with tow or fibre of any kind, plaster, or fine sawdust, etc., so long as the binder or size be only strong enough to hold all together. But for all ordinary purposes waste-paper and paste, thickened with common glue, will suffice. Case for Papers or Music. TWENTIETH LESSON. SPOT CUTTING. HIS is a manner of orna- menting which can hardly be called carving, and = which would not deserve special mention were it not that it is so exten- sively used, it being the chief method of decora- tion in all the islands of the Pacific, and still ex- tensively practised in Sweden and Norway. It consists of small incised triangles, or " diamonds," made with a skew or ordinary chisel, which are arranged in rows or lines. Simple as the work may seem, it is very effective when artistically employed ; and it has this peculiarity, that no other kind of cutting is so well adapted, with very little labour, to relieve flat surfaces, such as paddles, tankards, spoons, war clubs, and scoops or dippers. The triangular incision is made with three cuts ; by adding two more from the opposite direction we make a diamond, or the latter may be produced at once with only four cuts, Fig. 6^. To these we may add the hemi-spherical or cup hollow, which is made with a gouge, and which, in Scotland at least, seems to have been the earliest pre-historic beginning of ornamentation of flat surfaces. 9 spot Cutting. 11 When these triangles and diamonds are tastefully arranged in lines, and filled in with a composition, or paint, which contrasts in colour with the wood, the efifect is often excellent. Ordinary putty, into which a little mastic has been well worked, or plaster ^ UTATATATAI of Paris with size and a little flour paste, with one drop of oil to an ounce, makes a good filler for such a purpose. This may be An applied to any incised cutting. ivory-like filling, which may Fig. 63. be stained of any colour, and which was once extensively used in Florence, is made with rice, lime, and size. Any pattern which can be drawn in lines may be executed with good efifect in triangular spots, the base of every spot being on the line. They may either join one another or be separated ; both methods produce a good efifect. The spots may be of all sizes, and are generally not larger than those at the top in the above illustration. I20 A Manual of Wood- Carving. Large triangles may of course be used as well as small ones. Owing to the ease with which these spots are made, and the good effect which they produce when blackened, it is not remarkable that so simple a method of decorating wood is extensively practised. By placing a gouge vertically and turning it, as already A mentioned, a cup-like cavity is easily cut. row of these is often very effective. APPENDIX. OBJECTS FOR WOOD-CARVING. " The most difficult part of making is to know what to make." Fi?. 64. N no circumstances should the Avood-carve! be at a loss for a subject to work on, yet this is the commonest source of com- plaint, especially among young artists, that they "do not know what to take up." One result of this is the wearisome production of panels or " fancy pieces " without any definite aim, and a constant imitation of one another's work. Unfortunately there are a great many who cannot understand or form any idea how a pattern would look when executed. They will pass it over in an engraving, but when they see it actually carved and made up they appreciate it. Now the tutor should teach the pupils, and the students teach themselves, to 122 A Mamial of Wood-Carving. think of subjects, to invent them, to sketch and execute them. I have found that all workers are invariably more defective in this respect than in any other, and that it is one in which the direction of almost every art school in the world is either utterly wanting, or else leaves much to be desired. Pupils should be encouraged to look at every object with an eye to ornamenting or decorating it, so far as that can be done without detracting from its usefulness. In every school a list of objects for carving should be hung up, and the workers be frequently requested to think of subjects to add to the list ; outline sketches of furniture and other objects should be supplied. It is not at all understood that even a very little frequent employment of the mind inventing and planning, no matter at what, stimulates all the mental faculties to an extra- ordinary degree. I therefore seriously urge that the wood-carver shall earnestly study the following list of subjects, add to it, and at times take one or the other of them and sketch it with variations. He may remember while doing this, that any of the ornaments given may be varied and applied to different things, as, for instance, the vine on a circular panel may be easily adapted to a square. Full directions for doing this may be found in " The Manual of Design,'" price one shilling, which also contains many patterns perfectly adapted to carving. The first subject to be considered is : What to design or make ; how its surface can be appropriately ornamented and, ; how to produce the best effect with the least work. Mere elaboration is admired only by the ignorant, and the less cultivated a pupil is, the more inclined he will be to densely crowded petty patterns. If the pupil wants a design for any of the objects described in this chapter, and if he can draw at all, and has any skill in ' London : Whittaker and Co. Chicago : Rand, McNally and Co. .<� Objects for Carving. 123 adapting or changing a pattern, as, for instance, to make one which fills a triangle or a square "set" into a circle, or extend to a long panel or a border, he will find something for any of them, either in this book, or in the " Manual of Design " already- referred to. Let him also take pains to collect as many patterns as he can of all kinds, and keep them in a portfolio for reference. Every student of wood-carving should remember that if he has a folding looking-glass, which he can make for himself by cutting in two a square mirror of, say, six inches by twelve, he can, out of any pattern in this book, or from any simple ornament whatever, make (with the least effort of ingenuity or adap- tiveness) a border by repeating it in succession, or a centre ornament which may be multiplied in whole or in part ad infinitum. That is to say, he can fill any given space, be it a panel, ceiling, circle, triangle, or hexagon. Or he can fill such spaces by simply cutting out ornaments from card-board, and placing them together to form vines or outgrowths from one another. A Panels. panel is defined as a board with a surrounding frame. The word is derived from the old English panel, a piece of cloth, Latin pannns, "a cloth or patch " ; from the same word we \i^v& pane. In wood-carving we practically apply it to small boards intended to be set in furniture, or walls, or ceilings, or made into book-covers or box-lids. The uses of panels are without limit, as they may be introduced into almost every kind of furniture, such as the backs and sides of chairs, chests, bed- steads, caskets, window-garden boxes, doors, or wherever a fiat surface can be adorned. When surrounded with a frame or several strips of moulding, any panel becomes improved when the outer frame is not overdone. As a rule the border of a panel should be plain, so as to distinctly define or set forth the pattern. For this reason many very ordinary and even rude A subjects "come out" or look well when thus "mounted." 124 A Manual of Wood- Carving. series of carved panels makes a beautiful frieze for any room. A good general size for most work is a panel six inches by- twelve, more or less, and half an inch thick. In spacing a panel for ornament the pupil may begin by making one circle in the centre and one in each corner, so that the five may fill up the whole space. Convert these into a vine and apply ornaments. There are of course endless variations of this principle. (Con- sult the " Manual of Design.") Chairs. Take any chair, copy it, and then fill the spaces witii ornaments to be carved. Large, square, high-backed, old- fashioned chairs admit of the most panelling, and can be made up by any cabinet-maker or carpenter, vide Fig. 69. It is a very good plan to always have such objects made up in pieces, carve them separately, and then have them i put together. It maybe observed for beginners, and those who are not much practised in cabinet- making, that there is a very sub- stantial kind of furniture once made very commonly in Ger- many, and which has been much revived of late years. It is made entirely without glue, nails, or Fig. 65. screws, by simply cutting holes into which tenons or ends project, which ends are fastened on the other side by holes and pins. On this principle every kind of furniture can be made by any man who is ingenious enough to simply measure boards, cut square holes, and adapt pins to them. Such articles as are made by this process are very much stronger than any others, and they have the great advantage that they can be easily taken apart, packed, or be stored in very small space when not in use ; and the style is of course more adapted to carving than Objects for Carving. 125 ordinary furniture. The writer has in his possession chairs 250 years old made on this principle. The seat is a square nearly two inches thick, in which four holes are bored, into which the legs are simply set, as in a milking-stool. Between the hind legs two square holes are cut, into which similar tenons made in the lower end of the back are fitted. In these tenons two square holes are cut, just exactly on the other side of the seat, into which square pins are driven. Fig. 65. With a very little ingenuity or will, anybody can contrive to make any piece of furniture on the same principle. The seats of chairs and stools, or the faces of tables, should never be carved, for very apparent reasons. There is plenty of space for the carver to work at on the edges and legs, and this may be made striking enough by means of colouring and gilding, Figs. 64 and 66. Boxes. These have formed in all ages favourite subjects for decoration. They vary from the smallest casket to the A chest. box with the lid forms five panels, or. Fig. 66. Console or Bracket. 126 A Manual of Wood-Carving. seen from any point, three. In Italy, of old, they were often carved without and within. Boxes may be made by simply gluing, nailing, or screwing together, but they may be so dovetailed by an expert workman that the juncture is quite im- perceptible. Vide " Forty Lessons in Carpentry Practice," by C. F. Mitchell. Cassell and Co. It is a feat in cabinet-making Fig. 67. Objects for Carving. 127 to do this perfectly, and boxes thus joined are very expensive. The appearance of boxes is much improved by the addition of moulding-strips, bases, and projecting ornaments. The student is advised to carve or buy a few bosses, such as heads of animals or faces, and rosettes, and try the experiment of fitting them to a box or carving them on one, Fig. 6"]. Caskets for Cigars. This appHes also to receptacles into which glasses for flowers may be put. Take a cylinder of wood, turned, or made up like a barrel, and fit a base to it, and a lid. They may be made of very large joints of bamboo, which may also be beautifully carved, and partly coloured in Fig. 68. Tray for Cigar Ashes. the lines, as is common in China. It is best for turned cylinders and bamboo to have them surrounded with metal rings to prevent their splitting. They may also be made square, that is, as boxes. Trays for Cigar Ashes. These are best when carved from 128 A Manual of Wood-Carving. hard wood, such as box, though any other may be used. It is much better that they be made rather larger and deeper than many in use, as ashes are continually being knocked out of small and shallow ones. They may be round or square, like a fish or a small book (with a lid), a shell, a tortoise, or a scooped hand, a face, or a figure of any animal or human being. Fig. 68. Basket-work. This is very easily imitated in wood, and it forms a very pretty and fanciful style for many kinds of objects. Take any kind of basket-work, either that of split osiers, which are half-round, or Italian rush-work, or American Indian, which is made of flat strips of ash or pine-bark interwoven, or Indian rattan, and imitate it with flat gouges or firmers. It is very easy work, and beginners soon become expert in it. It improves the effect, when the work is finished, if dark colour be painted into the depressions. Basket-work may be used for diaper ground. The American Indian basket-work, in flat strips frohi one-third of an inch to an inch in breadth, is easiest to V imitate, and may be executed with a single tool or firmer. Casks, Small Barrels, Kegs. These are useful for waste-paper boxes, or to contain canes and umbrellas. When carved and coloured they form very attractive articles of furniture. They may be used for garden seats. Heads of animals applique to these, some for handles to lift them, or else holes must be cut in them for this purpose, vide Fig. 56. Frames for Pictures or Looking-glasses. These give a wide range to the wood-carver, for all borders are suitable to frames. Heads may be applique io corners and centres of frames. It is very much to be desired that designers and carvers would exert their inventiveness and endeavour to break up the monotony and feebleness which characterize most frames, vide borders and photograph frames. Horns. Horns may be carved, as previously described, and imitations of them in wood are easily made. They are orna- 1 Objects for Carving. 129 mental objects, and useful when hung up to contain small objects. They can, by steeping in hot water, be softened and flattened, vide initial to Fifteenth Lesson. Tiles. These are really panels. They are pieces of wood from half an inch to an inch in thickness, the size of ordinary tiles, carved in bold relief with free hand, coloured or not, and are very useful for house decoration, chimney-piece borders, cornices, and corners. The tile when employed with much repetition becomes the diaper ornament. Witidow Gardens to contain flower-pots. These are square chests, as long as the window is wide, and from a foot to eighteen inches in depth. They may be made with two or three panels, or one long panel in front, with one at each end. They form admirable subjects for decoration. Albums, Portfolios, Book-covers. These are panels, and afford an infinite range of design and effects in wood-carving. They may be very beautifully and easily ornamented in mere stamping and outlining {vide Lesson IL), or by putting in diaper grounds, or basket-work, or by very low relief carving, in which case there should be a border in a little higher relief to protect the pattern from being rubbed. Fig. 70. Canoes. In many countries large or real canoes are made from one piece of wood and elaborately carved. Very pretty miniature canoes may be made from one to three feet in length from any kind of wood, and covered with any kind of ornamentation. It is not necessary to excavate them from a single block or log, as they may be made from two or more pieces. They form useful receptacles for many objects. Panels of Doors. These might be generally ornamented. Every kind of wood-carving is applicable to them, but it should be remembered that for all such decoration a large, free, and bold style is absolutely necessary, and that it is unwise to make mural work, which should be visible at great distances, out of K I30 A Manual of Wood-Carving. A pretty flowers or too delicate work. room with good bold door-panels, wainscot, or dado and a frieze, seems half furnished, while triflmg and feeble ornaments detract from such appearance. -^v Fig. 69. The great secret of the attractiveness of mediaeval and savage decoration is its energy. Even eccentricity and grotesqueness lose all that is repulsive in them when they are simply and vigorously set forth. Carved patterns in low relief may be applied to door-panels. Fig. 70. Album Cover. 132 A Manual of Wood-Carving. Foot-stools. These are really small panelled boxes, unless made with supports or legs. Benches. Simple benches are seldom de- corated, but they are admirably adapted to it. Never carve the seats, unless they are made to fold up to protect them from the rain, in which case the under ornaments of choir-seats or misereres may be appropriately used. When the bench has a back it becomes a rude sofa or settee or settle (Anglo - Saxon setl, a seat). Properly speaking a settle is a long bench with a high back. This may be carved in panels. There was an old Saxon and early English double chair made to seat two, which is like a short settle. HangingBoxes. These are boxes generally Fig. 71. Hanging Box. made with a back, which IS the longest piece, and which goes above and below the recep- Objects for Carving. 133 tacle part. They are useful for newspapers or letters. Every kind of carving is applicable to them, Fig. 71. Key Boxes. These are small hanging cabinets. In every family there are many loose keys of trunks and furniture lying about loose, and hard to find when wanted. If there were a key box they would always be readily found. Make a box or frame, let us say eighteen inches in length by ten inches width, of four strips of deal or any wood. These strips may be half an inch in thickness by an inch in width. Nail or glue them together so as to form the four sides of a box. Then take one or two or three strips of thin planed board, and neatly nail them on to form a back to the shallow box. Now take a panel, which is to form the lid or door of the cabinet. It will be better to make a narrow frame of four strips, and set the panel in this, as