Scientific American, Volume XXIV., No. 12, March 18, 1871 by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. OAK GRAINING IN OIL COLORS.
OAK GRAINING IN OIL COLORS.
Condensed from the Building News.
There is a charm and feeling about work executed by the hand, which gives it a value no mere machine work can possess. Machine work, from its very nature, necessitates a repetition of pattern, which cannot be avoided. Hand-work, on the contrary, can imitate every variety, and follow nature so closely that no two pieces need be alike. There is also in hand-work a wide scope for the inventive faculty and the exercise of good taste (both in form and color) and skillful workmanship. As a rule, strong contrasts between the ground and the graining color should be avoided. The figure and grain should of course be seen clearly, but only so clearly as to be distinct, without interfering with the general and uniform quietness of tone necessary to fulfil the conditions required by the laws of harmony and good taste. Violent contrasts and gaudy coloring are always vulgar, brilliancy and richness of color are not necessarily vulgar; it is the absence of the guiding power of knowledge and pure taste in their arrangement which degrades them to the rank of vulgarity. We have before spoken of the importance of good combing, and of the various kinds of combs used; we now proceed to describe how the work is done. The graining color is brushed over the work, in the ordinary manner, with a pound-brush, care being taken not to put too much color on, or else it is very liable to be dirty. A dry duster is now used to stipple with, which, if properly done, will distribute the color evenly; it is now ready for combing. In the real oak it will be found, as a rule, that the grain is invariably coarser on one side of the panel than on the other; this arises from the very nature of the growth of the tree; it is, therefore, well to imitate this pattern, and in order to do so we take first a medium or coarse cut gutta-percha comb, and draw it down one side of the panel; then use a finer one to complete it. This comb will leave the marks of the grain in clear unbroken lines from top to bottom of the panel. We now take a fine steel comb and go over the whole of the previous combing, moving it in a slanting or diagonal direction across the previous grain, or with a quick and short wavy motion or curl; both the former and the latter motion will break up the long lines, left by the gutta-percha comb, into short bits, which of course represent the pores or grains of the real wood. There are several other motions of the comb having the same end in view; and by using the gutta-percha or cork combs, in conjunction with the fine steel, an infinite variety of grain may be produced. Steel combs, with one or more folds of thin rag placed over the ends of the teeth are a style of comb which has nothing to recommend it. A natural variation in the grain may be produced by one comb alone, according to the manner in which it is held. For instance, if we take a coarse or broad-toothed gutta-percha comb, and commence at the top of a panel, with the comb, placed at its full width: if drawn down in this position it will leave a grain of the same width as the width of the teeth: but if we start with the full width, and gradually turn the comb or slightly incline it to one side—that is to say, on its edge, we thereby graduate the grain from coarse to fine at pleasure, and by holding the comb at a certain inclination we may actually make very fine the coarse comb. A very important point is the formation of the joints in the wood, as much of the effect of otherwise good work is lost in consequence of neglect in this respect. In looking at a real oak door, the joints of the stiles and rails are clearly and sharply defined, not by any defect of workmanship, but by the difference in the run of the grain, the stiles being perpendicular, and the rails horizontal. The rails being cut sharp off by the stiles, show a perfectly straight line. The light also acts differently upon the two, simply because the grain or fibre of the wood is exposed to its influence under different aspects. This also tends to produce a difference in the depth of the color of rails and stiles, and panels also. It will be evident that no imitations can be considered really good except they include these seemingly unimportant points.
It is a common practice for grainers to imitate a broad piece of heart or sap of oak, upon the back rail of almost every door they do, and many of them are not even content with that, but daub the stiles over from top to bottom with it also. There is nothing so vulgar or in such bad taste. It should only be done upon those parts of the work on which it would appear on a real oak door, namely, on the edges of the doors and on mouldings. There is a vulgar pretentiousness about what we may call the sappy style of work which is very undesirable. The figures cross the grain more or less abruptly and of course are of different shapes, sizes, and forms, a knowledge of which can only be acquired by study of the real wood. The figure may be wiped out with a piece of soft rag, held tight over the thumb nail. This should have two or three folds over the nail, the superfluous rag being held by the other hand to prevent it hanging down and smearing the grain; and every time a figure is wiped, the rag should be moved slightly, so that the same part of the rag will not be used twice, thus insuring clean work. It will often happen that the thumb-nail will get broken, or is too weak to stand the work; in these cases, or, in fact, in any case, a good substitute or artificial thumb-nail may be made of gutta-percha, thus: A piece of thin sheet gutta-percha is put into warm water, and, while soft, is wrapped around the end of the thumb up to the first joint. It is then pressed with the hand, so as to fit and take the shape of the thumb and nail. This cannot be done at one heating, but will have to be put into the hot water again, and the end pinched and squeezed into form to the shape of the nail, and to fit easily upon the thumb. When this gets hard, it may be trimmed into perfect form with a penknife. This artificial nail will answer the purpose admirably if properly made; and even when the natural nail is good, the gutta-percha will serve to save it from injury. Good figuring may also be done by using the blank end of the steel comb with a rag folded over its edge. We have also used a piece of gutta-percha to take out the lights. This should be square-ended, about one inch wide, and three or four inches long, and will do successful work of a certain class, but not of the best. Many grainers use a piece of thin horn, in shape something like a spatula, about three or four inches long and three quarters of an inch wide, with rounded ends, and quite flexible. With this tool the figure is cut or scooped out—a sort of quick, side-long motion, very difficult to describe, and requiring a very considerable amount of practice before it can be worked with any success. There is, however, the same objection to this tool as may be urged against the gutta-percha for figuring, namely, that neither of them take the color clean away, but leave an accumulation of color on the edge of the figure, which is fatal to good work; and therefore we cannot honestly recommend the use of any method but the wiping out with the thumb-nail or its substitute. When the figure is wiped out it will require to be softened. By softening, we mean the imitation of those half shades seen upon and about the figures in the real wood. Between and around the lights or figure in oak, there is always a lighter tint of color; this is imitated by doubling a piece of rag into a small roll, and with the side of this the grain is partially wiped away, but not to the extent of taking off the whole of the grain. A recent but most admirable system of graining oak, by means of over-combing, is worked exactly the reverse of any of the foregoing methods; that is to say, the figure is first wiped out, and the combing or grain is done afterwards, when the graining color is dry, in this wise: The graining color is mixed somewhat thinner than for ordinary graining, and is brushed over the work sparingly, leaving it just sufficiently strong to show a clear distinction between the ground and the color. The light or figure is then softened by drawing the end of a flat hog-hair fitch, or a small thin mottler, across each figure, and slightly softening with the badger-hair softener. The figure is broken up a little with fine lines across it in parts, such as may be seen in the real wood; but previous to wiping out the figure, streaks of light should be wiped out and softened on one side of the panel or across the stiles, in imitation of the reflective lights seen in oak. The color should also be partially wiped off the rails or stiles at their junction; this tends to define the joint. The color is now let to dry hard, when it will be ready for over-combing—that is, combing or graining over the figure (hence its name), and this will have to be done somewhat differently to the ordinary combing. As thus: The color is rubbed in as before, and combed solely with the gutta-percha combs, but these are specially cut for the purpose; they are best about 2 in. wide. The first must be cut with teeth about three-sixteenths of an inch in width, the next one-eighth, and the third about one-sixteenth. The broad-toothed comb is first used, and must be drawn down the panel, with a wavy motion, in short or long curls; either will answer our purpose now. The next size of comb is then drawn straight down—the straighter the better. This has the effect of breaking the wavy combing into short and long straight bits, similar to the pores or grain of the real wood. Both the first and second combing may be varied by holding the comb in a slanting direction, and may be fine or coarse, according to the width of the combs used; now take a soft rag folded, and with this partially clear off the grain which runs over the figure, leaving only a sufficient quantity crossing the light or figure, to be just distinguished, exactly as it appears upon the figure in real oak. The grain is also wiped off in parts on the plain spaces between the figure, in order to break it up and take away any formality. If this method be well and probably done, a thoroughly deceptive imitation may be produced; and except this end be kept in view, no really good work will result.
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