A MAHOGANY STAIN.
For a light stain, mix two ounces of madder and one of fustic in a quart of water, and boil them all together; a darker stain is made by using half an ounce of logwood in the place of the madder, and then brushing the wood with a weak solution of potash.
All hard woods are easily polished; first, they are made perfectly smooth and even, with the turning tools, after which rub them with sand paper, then with Dutch rushes, which, to prevent their breaking into small pieces, should be steeped in water. While using these, make the lathe turn quickly round, sometimes one way, sometimes the other, to prevent any unevenness, and keep moving the sand paper, &c. &c., or the edges are apt to cut lines. When this is done, and the work looks smooth, rub over it a drop or two of olive oil, wipe it clean with its own shavings, take it off the lathe, and brush it with a very hard brush, the same as those used for blacking leather.
As it is impossible to turn well unless your tools are in good order, great care must be taken to keep them very sharp. If a bit of the steel splits away, as is frequently the case in turning hard woods, grind it down till it becomes even again, then rub it on the Turkey stone, with a little olive oil, till the edge is so sharp that you cannot see it; for the gouges and hollow tools, thick Turkey stones, rounded at the edges, are sold, which enter into the groove, and the outer edges are rubbed on the flat stone.
As soon as the turner becomes quite master of his tools, he will find ivory much pleasanter to work than wood; it is not so liable to split, it turns smoother, polishes with less trouble, and shows any ornamental work much better than wood. But then it is very expensive, and very difficult to obtain good and white. New ivory may be bleached by exposing it in the sunshine, and wetting it constantly, or it will crack; but till the ivory is cut up, you cannot tell whether it will be good or not. Pieces may be bought cheaper that have a hollow in the middle, they serve very well for pedestals of vases, by screwing another bit into the hole, or for boxes, by gluing in a piece of ebony to fit the hollow. Ivory is polished before ornamenting, with putty powder, ground very fine, rubbed on with a piece of linen dipped in water, dry it, and rub very hard with a bit of felt, and the polish will be beautiful. But after it is ornamented, polish only with a brush dipped in water and chalk, or even in plain water.
For dying ivory, it is first necessary to cleanse it from the grease which it always contains, more or less, and which would prevent its receiving the stain or dye. For this purpose, mix half a pound of nitre in an equal quantity of water, tie a string round the pieces of ivory, and dip them in while the liquor is hot, then plunge them into cold water.