Toilet boxes were next in order, and there seemed no end to them; glove boxes, collar boxes, handkerchief boxes, boxes for storing away photographs, etc. Those for collars were square, viewed from the top, while glove boxes were made long and narrow.
The construction of these called for the use of carpenters' tools, and Ralph was not ready to start his pupil on this branch of woodwork yet, for several reasons.
In the first place, it meant a halt in the fascinating work of carving, and they had not yet exhausted the possibilities of knife work. So they tried the plan of buying ready-made boxes from the stores. This was not entirely satisfactory, as most of them were of basswood, soft, and easily carved, but so white that it became soiled too readily. This difficulty finally led to a unique scheme. They stained the wood a dull ebony, and found that the design showed very clearly in gray pencil lines, easily carved.
The carving came out white on a black background, and proved quite satisfactory for the coarser designs. The finer work, however, did not show to advantage, and the method was adopted of leaving certain portions of the surface plain.
One of the glove box designs is shown in [Fig. 83].
The lines made in this black and white carving by the veining tool are very effective.
Fig. 83. Design for glove box
The boys had just gotten nicely at work one afternoon when Harry remarked very seriously: "On what subject shall our lecture be this afternoon, professor?"