Other requisites, such as bits, spurs, stirrups, and harness furniture are described in Chapter X.
A few reliable recipes for some of the most necessary articles employed in harness making will now be given.
Iron Liquor for Dyeing.—(a) Green copperas, 2 lb.; vinegar, 2 qt.; pulverised nutgall, ¼ lb.; and water, 4 qt. Two weeks after mixing add another 2 qt. of water. (b) Bichromate of potash, ½ lb.; logwood extract, 1 lb.; copperas, 1 oz.; and water, 1 gal.
Saddlers’ Black Wax.—(a) Pitch, 2 lb.; resin, 2½ lb.; seal oil, one pennyworth. In winter add 2 lb. of resin instead of 2½ lb., and never more than ⅔ of the oil until the stiffness of the wax has been tested. (b) Pitch, 1 lb.; resin, 1 lb.; and linseed oil, one pennyworth.
The exact amount of oil to be used in both of the above recipes depends on the season and the weather. A little lampblack may be well mixed in when the wax is required very black. Always melt the pitch and resin together, and then add the oil. Afterwards pour the mixture into cold water, and knead and pull it until it floats. Try a small piece first to ascertain whether there is sufficient oil, and likewise after pulling to see whether it floats.
Brown Wax.—Beeswax, 1 lb.; pale resin, 3 oz.; and white-lead, 3 oz. The wax can be softened or hardened by adding more or less beeswax. Melt the mixture, stirring it, and then pour it into water and pull until it floats.
Flour Paste.—Water, 1 qt., and alum 3 oz. Heat until the alum has melted, and when cold add flour to the consistency of cream; then let the mixture boil, stirring it at the same time. By adding a little powdered resin and a clove or two before boiling, the paste will keep for a year and can be softened with water when dry.
Brown Stain.—Boil equal parts of pine and alder bark in six times their bulk of water until the colour is extracted, and when cold add a little alcohol.
Yellow Stain.—Boil some fustic berries in alum water and darken the shade by adding powdered brazil, which must be boiled with the berries.
Brown, Russet, and Yellow Stain.—Boil a given amount of saffron in water until the colour is extracted, cut a quantity of annatto, putting it into urine, and mix the urine and extract, the proportion of each determining the shade; the greater the amount of annatto the darker the colour.