descriptions of material?

LESSONS III. AND IV.

TOOLS USED IN GRAINING AND MARBLING.

10. Brushes. The brushes required for the laying on of the “ground colors” are the same as would be used for similar work in interior painting. A good oval 6-0 varnish makes a fine tool for the purpose. Some prefer the flat brush for laying on color; any good 3-inch flat brush that will lay color smoothly.

11. For “rubbing” in the graining colors in oil some use half worn-out, flat brushes—others again prefer the round or oval, and again some rubbers-in use a brush that has been well broke in but not worn much. It is largely a question of habit. If the “megilp” is just right, the rubber-in can take almost any kind of a brush and rub out well with it, but the advice of using an old worn-out brush which is seen in some of the old-time books on graining should not be followed too implicitly. A half-worn brush will probably suit more “rubbers-in” than any other extremes. None of the above need illustrating as these brushes are in constant use in all paint shops. Besides a number of kinds are shown in Vols. I and II of the red series.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

12. Walnut stipplers. This tool is a thin, flat, long bristle brush and Fig. 1 shows it to perfection. They run in width from 2½ inches up to 4 inches. They are indispensable in graining such woods as black walnut and others which show up a large number of coarse pores. It is also known under the name of flogger, the latter seemingly the more appropriate of the two.

13. The “Badger blender” is an indispensable tool used in all distemper graining to a greater or lesser extent. It is also used in marbling. Fig. 2 shows it. This is the best shape for it; it is set in glue and has a bone head; the old form of it is also shown in A of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3

14. The “fan overgrainer” is a brush that cannot be dispensed with. Every kit should have several sizes of them. Fig. 4 illustrates it well. They run in sizes from 1 inch wide by half inches upward to 3½ inches. Some grainers prefer to make them themselves, but little is gained thereby. They usually have to have some of their bristles cut away to suit the different purposes they are needed for. They can be clipped off with scissors much quicker than the making of one out and out. They are so cheap that one’s time cannot be profitably employed in making a fan overgrainer.

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

15. In Fig 5 are shown a few mottlers and in Fig 4, also under letters B, C, E, K, H and M, each varying in forms so as to meet the various uses to which mottlers are adapted and to suit the various ideas of the operators.

16. A few camel pencils of various sizes, flat and sharp pointed for veining completes the list of brushes specially used for graining and marbling, to which must be added also the varnish brushes to put on the finishing varnish coats. These may be any of the numerous bristle varnish brushes fully described in Vols. I and II. It is a matter of choice and convenience, no special shape or build being necessary for these.

QUESTIONS ON LESSONS III. AND IV.

10. What kind of brushes are required for the laying on of ground colors?

11. What brushes are used for “rubbing in” graining colors in oil?

12. What is a stippler or flogger?

13. What are the badger hair blenders used for?

14. What are fan overgrainers?

15. What are mottlers?

16. What other brushes are useful in graining and marbling?

LESSON V.

TOOLS USED IN GRAINING AND MARBLING—CONTINUED.

17. The mechanical aids to graining are quite numerous and some are valuable. For the graining of many kinds of woods the devices which are shown below will finish the work completely, and in the graining of others will partially do the work, which may afterward be improved by hand work in the finishing. It is not claimed for these tools that they will do as good work nor as varied as can be done by hand, but that in the hands of one who is used to the proper handling of them they will do better work than the average hurried up hand work that is usually seen, and which has probably had no small share in disgusting people with graining.