RED SAUNDERS STAIN.
Fill a bottle ⅓ full of red saunders, then fill the bottle with either wood or grain alcohol. The more red saunders you put in, the stronger will be the stain; you can dilute it for the lighter shades. The longer it stands, the more color will be extracted. Always strain through muslin before using.
Red saunders makes a good cherry stain. When used on the bare wood it requires no binder, but when used over filled or oiled wood, put in one-fourth as much shellac varnish as you have stain, to act as a binder for it. If you want it to act as a filler as well as a stain, for pine or other close-grained wood, add 1½ pounds corn starch, to each gallon of the mixture of stain and shellac. Try a little and if it rubs up when dry, add more shellac.
You can mix red saunders stain with asphaltum varnish, to make black walnut and mahogany stains, using more or less of either to give the desired shade by using turpentine to make them mix. The asphaltum acts as a binder in place of the shellac.
The practical painter can get the shades he wants by experimenting on this line.