Take the yelke of a new layd egge, and grinde it upon a marble with faire water, so as you may write with it: having ground it on this wise, then with a penne dipt into it, draw what letters you will upon paper, or parchment, and when they are through drie, blacke all the paper over with inke; and when it is drie, you may with a knife scrape all the letters of that you wrote with the yelke of the egge, and they will shew faire and white.
How to sodder upon Silver, Brasse, or Iron.
There are two kindes of Sodder, to wit, hard Sodder, and soft Sodder. The soft Sodder runneth sooner then the hard: wherefore if a thing be to be sodered in two places, which cannot at one time well be performed, then the first must be sodered with hard soder, and the second with soft: for if the first be done with soft, it will unsoder againe before the other be sodered. Note, that if you would not have your soder to runne over any one part of the peece to be sodered, you must rub over that part with chalke that you would not have it runne upon.
Note likewise that your soder must be beaten thinne, and then laid over the place to be sodered, which must be first fitted together, and bound with wyer as occasion shall require. Then take Burras, powder it, and temper it with water like pap, and lay it upon the soder, and let it drie upon it by the fire: Afterwards cover it with quicke coals, and blow them up, and you shall see your soder run immediately: then presently take it out of the fire, and it is done.
Hard Soder is thus made.
Take a quarter of an ounce of silver, and a three penie weight of copper, melt them together, and it is done.
Soft Soder is thus made.
Take a quarter of an ounce of silver, and a three penie weight of brasse, melt them together, and it is done.
How to gild Silver, or Brasse, with water-gold.
First take about ℥. ii. of quicke silver, put it into a little melting pot, and set it over the fire, and when it beginneth to smoke, put into it an angel of fine gold: then take it off presently for the gold will presently be dissolved in the quicke silver, which if it be too thinne, you may through a peece of fustian straine a part of the quicke-silver from it. Note likewise that your silver, or brasse, before you go about to gild it, must be boyled in argol, and beare, or water, and afterwards scratcht with a wyer brush: then rub the gold, and quicke-silver upon it, and it will cleave unto it, then put your siluer or brasse upon quicke coales untill it begin to smoke: then take it from the fire, and scratch it with your wyer brush: Do this so often till you have rubd the quicke-silver as cleane off as you can, then shall you perceive the gold to appeare of a faint yellow colour, which you may make to shew faire with sal armoniacke, bole armoniacke, and vardigrece ground together, and tempered with water.