The smaller set can be fastened in the same way under lower B or under G if you prefer, at a point near the lower ends of A A.
If you are going to stain the book-rest, it is better to do it before fastening in the springs.
I think ebony stain goes best, and as you can make it yourself, it would perhaps be cheaper.
First you must get some logwood chips (about a teacupful); after boiling them in a pint of water for an hour or so, apply with an old brush (not the chips, but the decoction you have made by boiling the chips!). You can put on two or three coats of this, letting it dry each time.
The next part will perhaps be the hardest. Get some iron rust or old iron filings, put these in strong vinegar or acetic acid and let it stand a day or two; if by this time the liquid is not of a reddish-black color, add more iron rust.
After the two or three coats of logwood, your wood will be of a dark yellow color, but this will immediately turn to a fine black when you apply the iron. Only one coat of this is needful, because it does not soak in. You might try the logwood and the iron on a small bit of wood first, and then you will see if the solution of iron is strong enough for a good black.
When the book-rest is perfectly dry, rub on some thin shellac with a soft cloth: this will make the dull finish now considered so desirable.
This book-rest is very convenient to use round the house at home, and is, as you have seen, very easy to make: but it as an awkward thing to pack away in a trunk if you are going into the country, for instance, or are travelling.
You may like to make another, if you have been successful with this one, and this time you can make it with hinges, so as to fold up compactly, by making the following alterations:
The front will be the same and the back also, with the exception of the uprights E E, being hinged instead of screwed on to upper B.