TO LINE WOODEN BOXES WITH TORTOISE-SHELL.
As many of my readers may wish to line their snuff-boxes with tortoise-shell, I think it needful to give some instructions in the best method of doing it. Cut the shell into very thin leaves with a sharp fine saw, then divide these into the size you wish for the inside of the snuff-box, leaving a very little extra for the joint. Take a new rough file, and scrape away a little of the two ends of the narrow strip of shell, so that they can lie one upon another, and fit so closely that the aperture is hardly perceptible. Plunge the tortoise-shell into warm water for a few minutes, and it will become quite soft. Have ready on the lathe a piece of wood a little less in circumference than the inside of the box, and perfectly round and smooth. While the shell is soft, place the joints together, wrap a wet piece of linen tightly over them to hold them fast, and press them firmly together with the finger and thumb. Then heat a pair of tongs to a proper heat, (which is known by trying them on writing paper; if they brown it, they are too hot; if they only turn it yellow, they are right,) and with them compress the joint of the tortoise-shell. The water, the heat, and the pressure united, will make the two parts join firmly. When finished thus far, file away any roughness that may remain, and steep the shell into hot water till quite soft, then slip it upon the piece of wood before mentioned, and see if it fits it perfectly; if not, try with pressure to give it the requisite shape; and if this does not succeed, take the wood out of the lathe, leaving the tortoise-shell upon it, and hold them over a brazier, turning them frequently and quickly between the hands, that the heat may equally penetrate all the parts; then strike the side that bulged out with a mallet, and with a little care it will soon assume the required form. You may finish it on the lathe, observing only to place it so that the tool does not catch the lap of the joint, which might cause it to open; and when you take it off, plunge it in cold water to make it retain its form.