—Clean the saw, or whatever tool you want to etch your name on, with a hot solution made by dissolving some sodium carbonate, commonly called soda, in water and be careful not to touch the cleaned surface with your fingers.
Next cover the cleaned surface with a thin layer of melted wax or paraffin and when it is cold scratch your name clear through it with a darning needle or some other sharp pointed tool so that the steel is exposed and the acid solution can act on it.
Put ¹⁄₂ an ounce of water into a glass stoppered bottle and add ¹⁄₂ an ounce of nitric acid.[8] Shake the solution well to mix it, dip a splint of wood into it and touch the scratched in letters with it until the acid covers the exposed parts of the steel.
[8] Nitric acid is a poison and you must so label the bottle containing it. Do not pour the water into the acid as it will splash about. Be careful not to get it on your clothes, but if you should, brush some ammonia over it as this will neutralize it and stop its action.
Let the acid solution stay on for a half or an hour and then wash it off with hot water, scrape off the paraffin and you will find your name etched on the steel exactly as you marked it.
Kinds of Wood to Use.
—There are many kinds of woods and each one has its special use in the arts and crafts. For carpentry and cabinet making you will probably not use more than half-a-dozen woods and these are, (1) pine; (2) cedar; (3) mahogany; (4) oak; (5) birch and (6) walnut.
Pine.
—This is a good wood for making things in general. There are two kinds of pine and these are (a) white pine and (b) yellow pine.
White pine is very soft, light and straight grained and it is a pleasure to use it even if it is only to sit on a fence and whittle it with a pocket knife. (I wish I could do it again.) You can make benches, boxes, toys and a hundred and one other things out of it but it is too soft for furniture and cabinet work.