SM
Painting Tips and Advice
Painting and Decorating Concourse
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The
Concourse eStore
OAK GRAINING
(In Oil Colors)
Part 2
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION, ART, SCIENCE, MECHANICS, CHEMISTRY, AND MANUFACTURES.
NEW YORK, MARCH 18, 1871.
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Clean joints and color variation of each board
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 fiber 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.
Heart grain
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 moldings. 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.
Figuring quarter sawn oak
(negative figuring)
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.
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