These bands, or bridges, as they are called, serve to hold the stencil together and are connected throughout the design. Though they may be as wide as one desires, it is seldom wise to make them much narrower than one eighth of an inch, as they are easily broken; and, unless carefully pinned down when stencilling, the paint is liable to run under them and ruin the work. In a block print design no connection of the light or separation of the dark parts has to be considered. In the illustration of the stencil observe that the dark and light are reversed as compared with the stencilled pattern—i. e., the dark represents the stencil paper, the light the openings through which the paint is applied.

The Complete Unit.—It will be readily understood that a border may be made up by repetition of one unit which is a complete thing in itself. The unit in such a case may be made very long and narrow, so that in repeating it along the vertical edge of a curtain it produces a narrow band, while along the horizontal edge the band is broad. A border worked out in this way, with perfectly straight and practically continuous margins, is very structural in character, emphasizing, as it does, the vertical and horizontal edges of the drapery. The effect is strong and dignified. The corner in this kind of border presents no difficulty.

The Subordinate Unit.—By studying the illustration in Plate IV it will be seen that the unit of the border in this case is not complete in itself, but that the very conventional flower and stem composing it are joined to the next unit by what might be called a subordinate unit, composed, in this case, of a leaf form. The units are so closely spaced that a structural effect is fairly well obtained—i. e., the upper and lower edges of the border are nearly straight, giving a feeling of restfulness to the design that never accompanies one with broken or wavy edges.

Designing the Corner.—Having planned a design for the straight running border of the curtains, take a reflector and experiment with the corner. The reflector can easily be made by cutting from an old discarded looking-glass a small rectangular piece, 3¹⁄₂ by 6 inches being a convenient size. The edges should be very straight and the corners square. Hold the reflector at various points along the border and always at an angle of 45 degrees. Study these possible corners which will be reflected in the glass, and when one sufficiently strong and interesting is found draw a light line along the edge of the reflector. This line, of course, exactly bisects the corner of the border to be made. Avoid making a border of this kind too deep or, when turned for the vertical edges, it will form a very broad and heavy band.

The Outline Drawing.—The dark and light design having thus been worked out in charcoal, the next thing to do is to make a very careful pencil-outline drawing of the same. It is well to draw the corner and one unit free-hand and trace the rest. To do the tracing, pin a piece of very thin paper over the finished part, and trace with a well sharpened and fairly soft pencil. Turn the tracing paper upside down, fitting a part of the tracing to the drawing underneath. After tacking it down, trace the remainder, using a firm, even pressure and being careful exactly to follow the line. Strengthen the part of the pattern thus transferred by going over it with a sharp, hard point, and continue as before until you have a border of which both the vertical and horizontal sections are from 9 to 12 inches long.

Transfer to Stencil Paper.—Now, take a piece of stencil paper and square up one corner. Fasten the pencil drawing securely to the stencil paper along one edge, slip a piece of carbon paper between the two, and trace the design.

Cutting the Stencil.—Before cutting the stencil for the curtain a beginner should do a little practising upon an extra piece of the paper. Trace a portion of the design upon this piece, lay it upon a sheet of glass or very hard wood, and with a sharp penknife cut along the outline of the pattern. The knife should be held at a slight angle and the cut made completely through the paper. The pieces of stencil paper should never be pulled out but will fall out without aid when the cutting is completed. After a little practice it will be found a simple matter to cut the design with perfectly smooth edges.

Suitable Materials for Stencilling.—For the curtains fine cheese cloth or batiste will be found excellent. Even unbleached muslin will make attractive curtains where expense must be carefully considered. Unless the woodwork of the room is white, the pure white materials will be found less pleasing than those that are quite creamy in tone. Scrim in a charming, grayish tan colour is obtainable, and, if of good, soft quality, makes most satisfactory curtains. It is not advisable to hemstitch this material before stencilling as in case of accident or failure so much work is lost; but the hems should be carefully planned and basted, those along the inner edges of the curtains being narrower than the bottom hems.

The Colours.—The color scheme of the room should be carefully considered in deciding upon the colour or colours to be used in stencilling. If two colours are chosen, they should be of the same value—i. e., the two colours should form equally dark spots in order that the pattern of the border may appear in the same dark and light as the original charcoal sketch.

Pinning the Stencil.—When ready for the actual process of stencilling, lay a large sheet of blotting paper upon a board and over this place the corner of the curtain. Pin the stencil securely to the curtain so that the edge of the border when printed shall be about half an inch from the hem and the edges of both shall be absolutely parallel. Use as few pins as possible but enough to keep the stencil close to the cloth.

Testing the Paint.—Having mixed the oil paint with turpentine or stencil mordant, using an old cup or glass for each colour, practise stencilling upon a small piece of cloth. Put blotting-paper under the cloth and pin the stencil down with great care. Use short, stiff bristle brushes for the stencilling, one for each colour. Remove almost all the paint from the brush by pressing it upon blotting-paper. When it leaves scarcely a mark, proceed to stencil the pattern by pounding the brush upon the exposed portions of the cloth, working close to the edge of each spot. If, upon removing the stencil, the edges are blurred, the paint was too thin or the stencil not carefully pinned down. If, on the other hand, the coloured spots look thick and painty, so that upon drying, the cloth is found stiffened in these places, you may be sure that the paint used was too thick or that the brush was too wet. The secret of good stencilling is to use the paint as thin and the brush as dry as possible. Hold the stencilled sample up to the window and see whether, when the light shines through it, the colour appears right.

The Real Process.—When confident that the process is understood and that the colour is satisfactory, proceed to stencil the corner of the curtain. Always have at hand a bottle of turpentine and a clean piece of cloth to use in case of accident. When removing the pins from the stencil wipe each one carefully. Clean the stencil, too, handling it with care that none of the slender bridges may be broken. Replace the stencil, fitting a section of it to the finished work. Put the pins in the holes already made, otherwise the paint will get into them and disfigure the work. Continue the stencilling, a section at a time, until the border is completed. Do not fold the curtains until the stencilling is thoroughly dry. If the threads of the material can be easily pulled, a hemstitched edge will make the best finish; but careful hand hemming will look well upon material like fine batiste.

The Valance.—The curtains should hang in vertical folds from the top of the window to a point slightly below the window sill. They should be drawn back at each side of the window and the space between at the top filled by a valance about a foot deep, perhaps deeper if the window is very high. This valance should have the border stencilled upon it and should be tacked just underneath the edge of the curtains. Sometimes, as in the illustration in Plate IV, a valance running across the entire width of the window is used. In this case it is run upon an extra rod in front of the one from which the curtain hangs. Double rods for this purpose can be bought.

Other Possible Problems.—As stencilling can be employed in practically the same place and upon the same materials as block printing, it is only necessary to refer to the lists given at the end of that section of this chapter for suggestions as to further possibilities in the way of home decoration by stencilling.

EMBROIDERY

Problem: Table Mat.—As in the preceding problems, the first thing to do is to plan the design roughly in charcoal or soft pencil in order to get the dark and light relations and the best proportions possible. If convenient, the mat should be made for use with some special lamp or vase. By measuring the base of this object it is easy to determine the size of the plain central space, which may be either circular or square in shape. The forms in the decorated part may be made of various shapes, but it is well to keep them very simple in outline. Straight lines alone may be employed, as in the mats illustrated in Plate V, or a combination of straight and curved lines, as in the one shown in Plate III. After working out the design very accurately with a hard pencil, the next thing in order is to transfer it to a piece of coarse Russian crash or heavy linen by means of carbon paper, taking great care to get the straight edges of the design even with the threads of the crash.

Desirable Combinations of Colour and Stitches.—The simple running or darning stitch should be employed in embroidering the pattern. Two or more colours may be used. Darning in dull green and outlining with black in the same stitch makes a very attractive mat. Other good combinations are green and white, blue and white, blue and green, soft dull blue, and pinkish orange. This by no means exhausts the pleasing contrasts that may be found. The brighter colour should always be employed in the smaller quantities. The mat illustrated in Plate V was embroidered in dull green and red mercerized cotton. After the darning was completed it was found that the red used in the small circles alone was too conspicuous, although it was very dull in tone. This defect was completely remedied and a perfect unity given to the design by outlining the forms in a couching stitch, using both colours. This was done by laying a green thread along the edge of each spot and taking a stitch of red over it at equal intervals.

After the embroidered pattern is done one may finish the mat with fine, close hemstitching or by button-holing the edge with ravellings of the crash. The latter method is usually more pleasing. The simple darning stitch can also be used to make very attractive borders for table runners, sofa pillows, decorations for work bags, as illustrated in Plate V, besides being used to enrich a great variety of block printed or stencilled articles.

The Satin Stitch.—Another effective and easy embroidery stitch to be used in decorating articles for the home is the over-and-over or satin stitch. When planning to use this stitch upon coarse linen in which the threads can be easily counted, transfer the design, after having carefully drawn it in pencil outline, to paper marked off into little squares. This can be bought where kindergarten supplies are sold. Redraw the outline of the design, following exactly the lines on the paper, and at the same time keep as close as possible to the original form. Let a certain number of threads of linen represent a square of the design and copy the pattern in the satin stitch or even the cross stitch if preferred. No transferring of the pattern to the cloth is necessary.

A pattern worked out on cross section paper in this way can also be crocheted, as illustrated in Plate V, and set into linen or some of its many imitations to decorate numberless articles for home or personal adornment. This crocheted work, if evenly done in fine thread, is quite suggestive of the Italian filet lace.

VI

DRESS AND THE PRINCIPLES OF DECORATION

In considering the dress of the person as related to home decoration one is not so far afield as one may seem to be at first thought. It is true that dress has a variety of functions to perform that have no connection with the subject of decoration; and yet there is much that is common to both. Well-dressed people of whatever age or sex, in the design and general make-up of their costumes, must observe the same laws that govern design wherever it is applied, as an expression of the artistic sense in the affairs of every-day life. Beauty of line and proportion, harmony of colour, adaptation to use and to a great variety of special conditions, simplicity, symmetry, restraint, are all involved in personal attire, as they are in the decoration of a room; and in most cases success or failure in one field has its counterpart in the other. Have we not often remarked of a house or of a room that it looks "just like her" or perhaps "just like him"; and do not attractive costumes give pleasure to others than those who wear them for the same reasons that properly decorated and well-arranged rooms afford similar enjoyment to those who live in them?

Art and the Fashions.—In discussing the parallel between art in clothing and the more stable art of home decoration it must be admitted, of course, that style in dress introduces some embarrassing questions; for the styles, especially for women, suffer wonderful changes with every season. And yet people of artistic feeling and good taste, succeed in maintaining a fair degree of harmony between the changing demands of fashion and the established principles of art as applied in dress.

How to Be Well Dressed.—The well-dressed woman knows how to select her clothes and how to wear them. She must study her own figure and know her defects as well as her good points. With this knowledge she can learn to subdue the one and bring out the other. She should have a clear conception of the ideal figure and strive to adapt herself to it. To acquire this training the principles of the art of decoration must be understood and applied. She should never wear a garment of a certain style simply because it is the fashion, but strive to make it conform to her individual type.

Good Lines.—Decorative design in dress must follow the construction lines of the figure and not destroy them. These are the much discussed good lines of which we hear and read so much. Horizontal lines break the figure and increase the breadth, while vertical lines give the appearance of height. It is the simple lines, conforming to and following the lines of the ideal figure, which are the best. The taste of most women leads them to desire simple clothes; but through ignorance or inexperience many of these women fail to achieve that aim. A stout woman with a round back is sometimes seen wearing a dress with lapels or ruffles over the shoulders. This only serves to accentuate her defect.

Unity and Harmony.—In all forms of decoration harmony is essential—i. e., all the parts that are to be combined must agree with one another and with their surroundings. To secure this in dress is to give unity to the entire costume. A dress hat with plumes should not be worn with a tailored suit in the morning; and yet we often see such a combination. Here the lack of harmony is between the parts of the costume; but the entire costume must be suited to the peculiarities of figure. There are women who never look well in the straight lines of a tailored suit: the severity is not becoming to them. They must tone down the effects of the lines by ruchings, ruffles, a soft stock, or some such softening elements of dress. Others do not look well in fluffy things. Each must know what is becoming and dress accordingly.

Importance of Colours.—Every season we hear that certain colours are to be worn. Many women will choose a colour because they like it without considering whether it is suitable for them to wear. A little attention to a few well-known facts will help them to avoid failures of this kind. It is generally recognized that light colours seem to increase the size. Striped materials should not be worn by the stout women unless the stripes are very indistinct. Dots are also very dangerous for her; but she may choose a pattern with pin-point dots scattered over the surface at some distance from each other. She is always safe in a plain, dark colour.

Colour and Complexion.—In deciding on a becoming colour one must take into account the colour of the hair and eyes and the tone of the complexion. It has been thought that young girls can wear clear, light shades and that older women should keep to dark, quiet colours; yet there are older women who wear pale gray, mauve, and lavender charmingly and many young girls who cannot wear blue or pink. It is quite impossible to make accurate colour rules, because it would be hard to find two complexions that require exactly the same colour setting. It is well, however, to study combinations of different colours with the idea of finding the right colour, to use in any costume, the amount of each, and the best arrangement to give a proper balance.

Proportion.—The importance of the principle of proportion is often overlooked, but beauty of dress is never possible if it be neglected. A well-dressed woman, in selecting her hat, must have given consideration to the relation of the size and shape of the head to the lines of the entire figure. Strictly speaking, a hat is a covering for the head, and it should seem to belong to the head, to protect it, and, through harmony of colour and proportion of line and mass, to improve the appearance of the whole costume. The artist, when drawing a figure, uses the head as the unit of measure. Therefore in choosing a hat one should select a style that is in good proportion to the size of the head and to the height of the figure. If the mass of the head is increased disproportionately by too large a hat, the entire figure is apparently shortened and the natural proportions destroyed. One often wonders why photographs of people with hats on look so old-fashioned and sometimes so ridiculous. It is because the hat is not in good proportion. The Gainsborough and Reynolds ladies with hats never look queer. Their hats bear the right relation to the head and the figure.

Appropriateness.—The general proportions of a hat or a gown may be good, but the addition of the decoration may destroy all the good effect obtained by securing the right relation of line and mass. The aim of all decoration should be to harmonize and strengthen the whole. Beauty of dress, therefore, depends upon simplicity and appropriateness of the material used as well as upon the form and arrangement of the material. Wherever ornament is used it must fulfil the condition of fitness to place; otherwise it is not really decorative. In trimming a hat, the one who is to wear it should take her seat before a mirror, and place the hat comfortably upon her head; then with the aid of a hand glass she should try the trimming in different positions until the best effect is obtained.

The designs in trimming should be appropriate to the garment. The size of the design and the kind of form used should be considered. Simple forms are the best for all decorative art work. In fact, there is great advantage in plain materials. They always work to greater economy than stripes or plaids.

Influence of Occupation.—The well-dressed woman should realize how great is the influence of occasion and occupation. Some gowns were intended only for afternoon wear in the house; but we often see them worn on the street cars or for shopping. I have always approved of the rule in many shops which requires the clerks to wear plain black gowns. Formerly it was the old finery which was used for every-day wear. Now the business woman to be successful has to exercise more thought upon her clothes than the woman at home. Her clothes have harder wear and must be appropriate for her work.

The dress of school-girls and children must not be overlooked. It should be as simple as possible and above all else it should be comfortable. It should never bind or pinch; indeed, the clothing should not interfere with any function of the body. But we often see children dressed with much lace, with many ruffles, and even with jewellery; and we have seen school girls wearing net waists, plumed hats, and high-heeled shoes. What an infraction is this of the principle of appropriateness in dress!

VII

FURNITURE MAKING

The chief purpose of this chapter is to outline the most important general facts upon which good furniture making is based and to give specific directions for working out a number of typical problems, following designs which have been proved in completed articles made, for the most part, by school-boys and tested by use. No attempt is made to give this great subject complete and systematic treatment; for this would involve many problems in constructive design and a corresponding number of working drawings, with specifications for the selection and preparation of materials and for the work of construction—a subject so extensive that it would easily overrun the limits of a single chapter. The aim is rather to select a few of the most suggestive lessons of experience in constructive work with special reference to our main subject of household decoration.

It is taken for granted that the interested reader is familiar with the use of the common hand tools for woodworking or that he can, with some assistance, perhaps, easily command their use. It is not thought necessary, therefore, to describe in detail the proper method of using tools, but rather to offer practical suggestions on the selection, preparation and constructive use of woodworking materials and, in the series of problems which follow, to give some helpful hints on the way woodworking tools should be used. It is also assumed that in most cases the very great advantage of woodworking machinery may be utilized, especially in preparing the materials and bringing them within easy reach of the hand-tool processes. The true art-craft spirit, which always honours handwork as the supreme method, may not hesitate to command the services of machines so long as it does not become slavishly dependent upon them.

SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF STOCK

The first thing that should claim the attention of the artistic woodworker is the selection and preparation of his materials, commonly known as the stock. The sculptor selects his marbles with the greatest care. So should the cabinet-maker make sure that his woods are taken from the right parts of selected timber and that they are properly sawed and well seasoned. The importance of this cannot be overestimated. Hard wood boards, cut from the sides of a tree, will in drying, invariably curve across their grain. It is only those that are cut from the centre to the outside of the tree that may be depended upon to remain approximately true; for, after this cutting, the grain runs directly through the thickness of the board, or nearly so. Boards taken from timber in this way are said to be "quarter sawed"; those cut by sawing through the logs from side to side, as is always done with soft woods and often with hard woods, are said to be "plain sawed." This is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Quartered Oak.—In the case of oak, the quarter sawing not only maintains a flat surface but greatly improves the appearance of the stock when finished. The popularity of quartered oak for furniture may therefore be said to be well founded, for it is the sincerest of woods. It is as good as it looks.

Quarter sawing, however, is very largely confined to oak because the appearance of the grain and the strength of most woods is far from being improved by this method of cutting. Thus ash and gum wood and all the softer woods sometimes used in furniture making are plain sawed. We shall, therefore, generally find stock from these woods curved and twisted badly so that it will be necessary, in selecting material for large surfaces such as table tops, to pick out the straight parts for these surfaces and save the remainder to be cut into the smaller pieces which will always be needed. These pieces can be easily planed without much loss of thickness.

Kiln-dried Lumber.—This bending and twisting of the boards does not take place as soon as they are sawed out of the log, but gradually during the process of seasoning; and, unless the lumber is kiln-dried, the more gradual the seasoning the less the bending. Lumber is kiln-dried by stacking it, with air spaces left between the boards, in steam-heated closets or kilns, where the process of drying is carried on evenly though rapidly. Kiln-dried lumber, therefore, retains its shape quite as well as that which is dried slowly in the lumber pile. But whether kiln-dried or not, it should be allowed to remain in a dry place as long as possible before using it so that it will have a chance to change all that it is likely to and so lessen the subsequent shrinking and warping. A good cabinet-maker never undertakes to make furniture from stock that he does not know to be perfectly dry and well seasoned, not only because unseasoned lumber is more likely to shrink, warp, and crack, but also because it cannot be depended upon to hold the glue, take varnish well, or respond readily to other methods of finishing.

Planing Down to a Flat Surface.—Since boards are seldom perfectly flat, even if one has taken the greatest pains to select well-seasoned stock, it will almost invariably be necessary to work them down to a plane surface when they are glued up or joined together in any way. To accomplish this result it is necessary to plan the arrangement of the pieces in such a way that the concave of the bend shall fall on the same side, as shown in the illustration, and thus provide for the final working down with the least possible removal of stock. They can be arranged on a level bench top or floor with the convex side down so that they will lie as flat as possible. The boards should then be taken out one by one and their edges should be carefully planed so that they will match together in the position in which they are laid. It will be necessary to take each board from its place and return it several times in order that this matching may be made as perfect as possible. The object of all this is to prevent the entire arrangement from springing—i. e., from acquiring any new bend or twist when the parts are glued up. In joining boards to form large pieces of glued-up work, like table tops, it is customary to strengthen the joints by means of dowel pins. Small table tops and similar work may be safely glued up without dowelling.

Fastening Glued-up Work. It will be readily understood upon a little reflection that all plain glued-up work should be allowed to move slightly upon the framework to which it is attached; for even after it is well seasoned and well finished all woods will swell slightly in a damp atmosphere and shrink slightly when the air is dry, the greatest movement being across the grain. Solid table tops, therefore, should never be fastened down firmly upon the framework with glue or with screws, but should be secured by means of buttons screwed to the under side of the top which travel in grooves cut in the framework and thus allow for expansion and contraction. A drawing is shown to illustrate the method of attaching the table-top buttons. Much of the warping and splitting of furniture is due to the failure of the designer or maker to observe this precaution.

In planing up stock, whether it be a single piece or several glued together as just described, the cabinet-maker planes off one side first and then, using this side as the working face, gauges to the required thickness and planes off the other side if necessary. If the work be upon glued-up stock, it is well to plane off the projecting edges of the concave sides first, as that is generally somewhat easier and may be all the planing that will be necessary. If it be single pieces of stock that need to be planed up, the natural twist or "wind" is first planed out to a flat working face on one side before putting the plane to the opposite side.

The Surface Plate.—Planing to a flat surface requires some device to guide the eye. If the surface be very uneven at first, a beginning may be made in the planing without much assistance; but a point will finally be reached when neither the unaided eye nor the hand can determine whether or not a surface is flat. To determine this a surface plate, as it is called, is needed. This consists of a block of cast-iron, thick enough to prevent it from being bent—i. e., an inch or more—and with a somewhat rough but perfectly flat surface on one side. This surface is well chalked over. When the wood surface which is being planed down is laid upon this chalked surface and slightly moved it is readily seen that the highest places on the wood will become marked with the chalk and so indicate to the cabinet-maker what parts are to be removed. By making several tests of this kind he is able to plane to a good flat surface.

Winding Sticks.—If the amateur's workshop is not provided with a surface plate, a simple means of testing for a flat surface is by means of two narrow straight edges or "winding" sticks, placing them on their narrow edges across each end of the piece, as shown in the illustration, and sighting across their upper edges. The slight projections in the surfaces of the board can be determined in this way and planed off until the two top edges of the sticks are found to be level. These winding sticks are simply wooden strips, accurately made, with opposite faces parallel. Their dimensions may be 1 × 2¹⁄₂ × 30 inches.

Importance of True Surfaces.—It may be well to add that all this care to produce flat and parallel surfaces is not merely for the purpose of giving a good appearance to these surfaces. True surfaces are necessary for the good of the work as a whole, for they form the basis from which other surfaces are gauged and other parts "trued up"—i. e., made square or otherwise geometrically correct. When the main surfaces of a piece of cabinet work are properly shaped, all the framework and other parts may be brought into line without bending or twisting. All such strains should be religiously avoided in good cabinet work. The natural curves, twists, or projections of the stock used should be removed by the use of the proper tools and never be strained to force any of the parts into their proper places or shapes. Such efforts produce strains which are transmitted to other parts, displacing them, causing new defects or a general failure of the parts to support each other.

A Systematic Plan of Work.—When the cabinet-maker undertakes to make either a single piece of furniture or several pieces, he goes about it in a very systematic way. Consulting his working drawing he makes an accurate list of the different pieces that will be required. For example, if he is to make a Morris chair he notes the fact that he will need four legs or posts 2¹⁄₂ inches square by 22³⁄₄ inches long, a front rail and a back rail each ⁷⁄₈ × 2¹⁄₄ × 22 inches, two side rails ⁷⁄₈ × 2¹⁄₄ × 24 inches, and so on until the list of necessary parts is completed. With this list in hand he makes a careful selection of the lumber and prepares the pieces in the rough, allowing economically for the necessary working waste. Economy of time and labour is also secured by keeping together all parts on which similar work is to be done. Thus, if several parts are to be sawed to the same width or fashioned to the same curves, it is generally the best plan to work these parts out together while the machines and tools are set for this purpose. Such a plan not only saves time but, partially at least, it obviates the danger of mistakes. It is important also to follow a systematic order of work. All sawing to rough dimensions should be done before the pieces are dressed to drawing dimensions, and the latter operations should generally all be completed before laying out and cutting the joints. As the work progresses toward completion great saving of time and much comfort will result from keeping the completed parts in good condition and so arranged that they can be easily assembled.

GLUING

Necessity of Good Joints.—After the selection and preparation of the material for the stock, the next important general process that demands attention is gluing; for good cabinet work implies good glue and a knowledge of how to use it. Prepared glue, such as is sold in bottles, is unsatisfactory for work of any consequence. A good woodworker always has his own glue pot and sees to it that it may be made ready for use on short notice. The glue should be fresh, thin, and hot. It should be applied quickly in a warm room and the parts to which it is applied clamped up quickly before the glue chills. It is the glue which penetrates the wood that holds the parts together and not a layer of glue between the joined edges or surfaces. It is therefore evident not only that joints and surfaces should be well smeared with glue, hot and thin enough to be quickly absorbed, but also that the parts should be clamped up quickly while the glue is still hot so as to prevent any surplus from remaining in the joint. This is an additional reason for making close fits in all joints—in those which are to be glued up as well as in those which are not. It is a common fault of beginners to be satisfied with loose mortise and tenon joints, counting upon the glue to fill up the spaces. Much of the furniture found in the markets falls to pieces for the same reason. Such work should never be allowed to pass. It is based upon an entirely mistaken notion of the true office of glue and is nothing more nor less than a falsehood in wood.

Systematic Methods Required.—As in the preparation of stock and working it up, so in gluing, system is all important. The hand screws or clamps should be made ready and adjusted to the required width so that they may be quickly placed in position as soon as the glue is applied. The whole process must be managed as quickly as possible because the joints must be tested before the glue has had time to set. A carpenter's large square should be used for testing the right angles, since it is more reliable than the small try squares. It will frequently be found necessary to hold framing pieces square while the glue is hardening. This can easily be done by nailing small strips of waste stock across the parts, as shown in the drawing. A beginner should be cautioned not to attempt to glue up too many joints at one time. Two opposite corners of a framing piece should be glued up separately and left to set before the attempt is made to glue the whole rectangle together. The two remaining joints, however, should be glued and clamped together at the same time.

PICTURE FRAMING

Inexpensive Framing Stock.—Picture-frame stock can be easily obtained of dealers in artists' supplies and in furniture stores in a great variety of styles. Much of it is so well prepared and so nicely finished that it leaves little to be desired. It is, therefore, often best to secure the stock for frames in this way. It is, however, somewhat expensive, so that, when economy is important, it behooves the young woodworker to prepare his own framing stock.

Very satisfactory frames 2 inches in width or less may be made from matched oak flooring, a section of which is here illustrated, by planing off the tongue and cutting away one side of the groove to furnish the inset for the glass. Wider flat frames of any thickness can, of course, be cut out from the ordinary stock. A special tool for cutting the inset is desirable but not necessary. A ¹⁄₄-inch saw cut may be made with a circular saw or even with a hand saw and the necessary removal of the wood accomplished by means of careful chiselling.

Mitres.—Frames may be joined at the corners in various ways. A common way is by the mitre joint illustrated in the drawing. To secure good joints of this kind it is necessary that the mitres be cut on an angle of exactly 45 degrees and that the pieces for the corresponding sides of the frame be precisely of the same length. Hand sawing is generally not exact enough to produce angles of sufficient accuracy even when an ordinary mitre box is used. Hand-sawed mitres, therefore, will require a little truing with a small plane. Great care must be exercised also in fitting the corners together. The common bench square is not large enough to prove the work. A better way is to lay a carpenter's framing square on the bench and fit the two pieces of the frame against the sides of the square, testing each corner in that way.

Gluing the Joints.—If the corners are unusually well fitted, a good joint can be made by first sizing the ends with glue and then firmly pressing the pieces together upon a true surface, leaving them undisturbed for four or five hours until the glue is hard. By sizing the ends of the joints is meant thoroughly filling the end pores with glue, rubbing it into the pores with another block. Generally speaking, however, it is necessary to make use of a mitre-clamping device. If a special clamping device is not available, one can be easily made by gluing small soft wood blocks to the parts of the frame near the corners, as shown in the accompanying drawing. In a half hour or so these blocks will become firmly set so that the mitre joints may be glued together, clamping them up with a hand screw. As already explained under the general directions on gluing, it is good practice for a beginner to glue up opposite corners and not attempt to glue up the two remaining corners until the first two are well set. When the first two corners are well set they should be nailed; and before the two remaining corners are glued it is well to try the parts together to see if they do not require a little correcting before gluing. These joints also should have light nailing after the glue has been set. In nailing, small holes should be made with a brad awl or drill in order to avoid splitting the corners, and long finishing nails should be used.

The Defect of Shrinking.—With proper tools the mitre joint is the easiest one to make, but it has one unavoidable defect, especially in wide frames. It is very difficult to get stock well seasoned and almost impossible to get it perfectly seasoned, so that wide frames, however well finished, must be expected to shrink a little after they are joined together. As most of this shrinking is across the width of the stock it is evident that it will tend to open the mitre joints on the inside of the corners. This is what happens almost invariably with joints made in this way from wide stock in picture framing. The same defect is also frequently observed in the interior finishing around windows and doors.