Part 2

Metals may be rapidly colored by covering their surfaces with a thin layer of sulphuric acid. According to the thickness of the layer and the durability of its action, there may be obtained tints of gold, copper, carmine, chestnut-brown, clear and aniline blue and reddish-white. These tints are all brilliant, and if care be taken to scour the metallic objects before treating them with the acid, the color will suffer nothing from the polishing.

FOR CHEAPLY GILDING BRONZES, ETC.

A mixture for cheaply gilding bronzes, gas-fittings, etc.:--Two and one-half pounds cyanide of potash, five ounces carbonate of potash and two ounces cyanate of potass, the whole diluted in five pints of water, containing in solution one-fourth ounce chloride of gold. The mixture must be used at boiling heat, and, after it has been applied, the gilt surface must be varnished over.

HOW TO CLEAN A CHAMOIS SKIN.

When a chamois skin gets into a dirty condition, rub plenty of soft soap into it, and allow it to soak for a couple of hours in a weak solution of soda and water. Then rub it until it appears quite clean. Now take a weak solution of warm water, soda and yellow soap, and rinse the leather in this liquor, afterward wringing it in a rough towel, and drying it as quickly as possible. Do not use water alone, as that would harden the leather and make it useless. When dry brush it well and pull it about; the result will be that the leather will become almost as soft as fine silk, and will be, to all intents and purposes, far superior to most new leathers.

HINTS ON DRESSING THE STORE WINDOWS.

In dressing store windows avoid as far as possible placing cards or note sheets flat; endeavor in some manner to have them erect, leaning against a box or placed upon a small easel. Neither crowd your window nor place things in exact rows. Give each article plenty of space in your window; then you do not need so much to fill up, and on the following week put in the pieces you might have displayed the previous week had you crowded your window.

A VARNISH FOR PAPER.

A varnish for paper which produces no stains, may be prepared as follows:--Clear damar resin is covered in a flask, with four and a half to six times its weight of acetone, and allowed to stand for fourteen days at a moderate temperature, after which the clear solution is poured off. Three parts of this solution are mixed with four parts of thick collodian, and the mixture allowed to become clear by standing. It is applied with a soft hair brush in vertical strokes. At first the coating looks like a thin, white film, but on complete drying it becomes transparent and shining. It should be laid on two or three times. It retains its elasticity under all circumstances, and remains glossy in every kind of weather.

TO REMOVE GREASE SPOTS FROM PAPER.

The following is a recipe for removing grease spots from paper:--Scrape finely some pipe clay on the sheet of paper which is to be cleaned. Let it completely cover it, then lay a thin piece of paper over it, and pass a heated iron on it for a few seconds. Then take a perfectly clean piece of India rubber and rub off the pipe clay. In most cases one application will be found sufficient, but if it is not, repeat it.

PAPER FOR TAKING OUT INK STAINS.

Thick blotting paper is soaked in a concentrated solution of oxalic acid and dried. Laid immediately on a blot it takes it out without leaving a trace behind.

QUALITIES OF GOOD PAPER.

A good paper ought to feel tight and healthy, not clammy and soft, as if a little muscle were required. Paper-makers say that a good paper has "plenty of guts" in it, a forcible if not extremely polite expression. In buying a good paper always look out for the "guts." Clay gives paper a soft feel. Perhaps the first qualification about a good writing paper is its cleanliness and freedom from specks of all kinds. A dirty paper is never salable except to dirty people and firms who don't mind using dirty materials.

PASTE FOR LABELS.

For adhesive labels dissolve 1-1/2 ozs. common glue, which has laid a day in cold water, with some candy sugar, and 3/4 oz. gum arabic, in 6 ounces hot water, stirring constantly till the whole is homogeneous. If this paste is applied to labels with a brush and allowed to dry, they will then be ready for use by merely moistening with the tongue.

HOW TO PRODUCE ENGRAVINGS OR TYPES FOR PRINTING BY PHOTOGRAPHY

The process of producing engravings or types for printing by photography consists first, in making a sharp negative of the picture to be engraved; second, in the photographic printing of a sheet of sensitized gelatine by means of the negative; third, the development of the printed lines upon the surface of the gelatine by water; and fourth, the casting of a copy of the developed gelatine sheet in metal, the metal so produced being used for printing on the press in the ordinary manner. All this is very simple, and in the hands of experienced and skilled persons very beautiful examples of printing plates, having all the fineness and artistic effect of superior hand engraved work, may be produced.

HOW TO SPLIT A SHEET OF PAPER.

Get a piece of plate glass and place on it a sheet of paper; then let the paper be thoroughly soaked. With care and a little dexterity the sheet can be split by the top surface being removed. But the best plan is to paste a piece of cloth or strong paper on each side of the sheet to be split. When dry, violently and without hesitation pull the two pieces asunder, when part of the sheet will be found to have adhered to one and part to the other. Soften the paste in water and the pieces can be easily removed from the cloth. The process is generally demonstrated as a matter of curiosity, yet it can be utilized in various ways. If we want to paste in a scrap book a newspaper article printed on both sides of the paper, and possess only one copy, it is very convenient to know how to detach the one side from the other. The paper, when split, as may be imagined, is more transparent than it was before being subjected to the operation, and the printing ink is somewhat duller; otherwise the two pieces present the appearance of the original if again brought together.

ANILINE INK PAPER.

To make aniline ink paper thick filtering paper is soaked in a very concentrated solution of an aniline dye and allowed to dry; it may then be soaked again to make it absorb more color. With a little attention it will not be difficult to prepare the paper so as to have a known quantity of coloring matter in a square of a given size. Paper prepared as above is very convenient to have when traveling; when one wishes to write, it is only necessary to tear off a small piece of the paper and let it soak in a little water. Aniline blue paper may also be employed conveniently for bluing in washing.

TO MAKE INCOMBUSTIBLE WRITING AND PRINTING PAPER.

To make incombustible writing and printing paper, asbestos of the best quality is treated with potassium permanganate and then with sulphuric acid. About ninety-five per cent of such asbestos is mixed with five per cent of wood pulp in water containing borax and glue. A fire proof ink is made of platinous chloride and oil of lavender, mixed for writing with India ink and gum, and for printing with lampblack and varnish.

HOW TO TAKE PRINTERS' INK OUT OF SILK.

To take printer's ink out of silk without damaging the goods:--Put the stained parts of the fabric into a quantity of benzine, then use a fine, rather stiff brush, with fresh benzine. Dry and rub bright with warm water and curd soap. The benzine will not injure the fabric or dye.

TO REMOVE RULING INK STAINS FROM FINGERS.

Wash in chloride of lime and then rinse hands in a spoonful of alcohol. The operation should be done quickly, as the lime, of course, eats into the flesh. The alcohol renders the hands smooth again, and takes away the disagreeable odor.

TO PREVENT WINDOW STEAMING.

A remedy against window steaming is composed of methylated spirit at about 63 per cent over-proof, glycerine and any of the essential oils, and in some cases amber dissolved in spirit, according to the state of the atmosphere.

About eight ounces of glycerine to about one gallon of spirit, the quantity of essential oil depending upon the nature of the same; but it will be understood that these proportions may be varied. Instead of methylated spirit, spirit of wine may be employed, but methylated spirit is preferable as being the cheaper. In combining the above-named ingredients, the essential is destroyed by being mixed with the methylated spirit or with the spirit of wine, and the liquid is then incorporated with the glycerine. The combination is affected at the ordinary temperature, the employment of heat being unnecessary. This liquid composition is applied to the internal surface of the pane of glass or the lens, either by rubbing it on with felt or with cotton-waste, or by spreading it thereon with a camel's hair brush, or with other suitable appliances, and thus the dull and dimmed appearance of glass usually produced by condensation--known as steaming or sweating--is avoided.

TO RENDER PAPER SOFT AND FLEXIBLE.

To render paper soft and flexible, heat it with a solution of acetate of soda, or of potash dissolved in four to ten times its weight of water. For permanent paper, to twenty parts of this solution one part of starch or dextrine is added. If the paper has to be made transparent, a little of a solution containing one part soluble glass in four to eight parts water is added. To render the paper fit for copying without being made wet, to the acetate solution chromic acid or ferro-cyanide of potassium is added.

TO REMOVE INK SPOTS.

First moisten the blots with a strong solution of oxalic acid, then with a clear saturated aqueous solution of fresh chloride of lime--bleaching powder. Absorb excess of the liquids from the paper as quickly as possible with a clean piece of blotting paper. Repeat the treatment if necessary, and dry thoroughly between blotting pads under pressure.

ELECTRO GILDING IN COLORS.

Electro-gilding in various colors may be readily effected by adding to the gold bath small quantities of copper or silver solution until the desired tint is obtained. A little silver solution added to the gilding bath causes the deposit to assume a pale yellow tint. By increasing the dose of silver solution a pale greenish tint is obtained. Copper solution added to the gold bath yields a warm, red gold tint. It is best to use a current of rather high tension, such as that of the Bunsen battery, for depositing the alloy of gold and copper.

TO REMOVE OIL MARKS FROM PAPER.

Oil marks on wall paper, where careless persons have rested their heads, may be removed by making a paste of cold water and pipe clay or fuller's earth, and laying it on the stains without rubbing it in; leave it on all night, and in the morning it can be brushed off, and the spot, unless it be a very old one, will have disappeared. If old, renew the application.

TO REMOVE INK STAINS FROM MAHOGANY.

To remove ink stains from mahogany apply carefully with a feather a mixture of a teaspoonful of water and a few drops of nitre, and rub quickly with a damp cloth.

SOLID POCKET GLUE.

Is made from 600 grams of glue and 250 grams of sugar. The glue is at first completely dissolved by boiling with water; the sugar is then introduced into the hot solution, and the mixture evaporated until it becomes solid on cooling. The hard mass dissolves very rapidly in lukewarm water, and then gives a paste which is especially adapted for paper.

TO TEST GLUE.

An article of glue which will stand damp atmosphere is a desideratum among mechanics. Few know how to judge of quality except by the price they pay for it. But price is no criterion; neither is color, upon which so many depend. Its adhesive and lasting properties depend more upon the material from which it is made, and the method of securing purity in the raw material, for if that is inferior and not well cleansed, the product will have to be unduly charged with alum or some other antiseptic, to make it keep during the drying process. Weathered glue is that which has experienced unfavorable weather while drying, at which time it is rather a delicate substance. To resist damp atmosphere well, it should contain as little saline matter as possible. When buying the article, venture to apply your tongue to it, and if it tastes salt or acid, reject it for anything but the commonest purpose. The same operation will also bring out any bad smell the glue may have. These are simple and ready tests and are the ones usually adopted by dealers and large consumers. Another good test is to soak a weighed portion of dry glue in cold water for twenty-four hours, then dry again and weigh. The nearer it approaches to its original weight the better glue it is, thereby showing its degree of insolubility.

BOOK-BINDERS' GLUE.

To prevent book-binders glue from turning sour, add enough of the raw salicylic acid in boiling water to keep it soluble. It is also commended never to keep glue in open pots, but in cylindrical shaped vessels that admit of tight corking.

HOW TO MAKE A CEMENT FOR GLASS THAT WILL RESIST ACIDS.

To make a cement for glass that will resist acids, the following has been recommended:--Take 10-1/2 pounds of pulverized stone and glass, and mix with it 4-3/4 pounds of sulphur. Subject the mixture to such a moderate degree of heat that the sulphur melts. Stir until the whole becomes homogeneous, and then run it into molds. When required for use it is to be heated to 248°, degrees, at which temperature it melts, and may be employed in the usual manner. This, it is said, resists the action of acids, never changes in the air, and is not affected in boiling water. At 230° it is said to be as hard as stone.

CEMENT FOR LABELS.

1. Macerate 5 parts of glue in 18 parts of water. Boil and add 9 parts rock candy and 5 parts gum arabic. 2. Mix dextrine with water and add a drop or two of glycerine. 3. A mixture of one part of dry chloride of calcium, or 2 parts of the same salt in the crystallized form, and 36 parts of gum arabic, dissolved in water to a proper consistency, forms a mucilage which holds well, does not crack by drying, and yet does not attract sufficient moisture from the air to become wet in damp weather. 4. For attaching labels to tin and other bright metallic surfaces, first rub the surface with a mixture of muriatic acid and alcohol, then apply the label with a very thin coating of the paste, and it will adhere almost as well as on glass. 5. To make cement for attaching labels to metals, take 10 parts tragacanth mucilage, 10 parts of honey, and 1 part flour. The flour appears to hasten the drying, and renders it less susceptible to damp.

A COLORLESS CEMENT FOR JOINING SHEETS OF MICA.

A colorless cement for joining sheets of mica is prepared as follows:--Clear gelatine softened by soaking it in a little cold water, and the excess of water pressed out by gently squeezing it in a cloth. It is then heated over a water bath until it begins to melt, and just enough hot proof spirit (not in excess) stirred in to make it fluid. To each pint of this solution is gradually added, while stirring, one-fourth ounce of sal-ammoniac and one and one-third ounces of gum mastic, previously dissolved in four ounces of rectified spirits. It must be warmed to liquefy it for use, and kept in stoppered bottles when not required. This cement, when properly prepared, resists cold water.

A CEMENT THAT WILL RESIST THE DAMP.

A cement that will resist the damp, but will not adhere if the surface is greasy, is made by boiling together 2 parts shellac, 1 part borax, and 16 parts water.

TO MAKE GLUE WATERPROOF.

The best substance is bichromate of potash. Add about one part of it, first dissolved in water, to every thirty or forty parts of glue; but you must keep the mixture in the dark, as light makes it insoluble. When you have glued your substances together, expose the joint to the light, and every part of the glue thus exposed will become insoluble, and therefore waterproof. If the substances glued together are translucent like paper, all will become waterproof; if opaque like wood, only the exposed edges will become so, but they also protect the interior--not exposed parts--against the penetration of moisture.

TWO GLUE RECIPES.

A glue ready for use is made by adding to any quantity of glue, common whisky, instead of water. Put both together in a bottle, cork it tight and set it for three or four days, when it will be fit for use without the application of heat. Glue thus prepared will keep for years, and is at all times fit for use, except in very cold weather, when it should be set in warm water before using. To obviate the difficulty of the stopper getting tight by the glue drying in the mouth of the vessel, use a tin vessel with the cover fitting tight on the outside to prevent the escape of the spirit by evaporization. A strong solution of isinglass made in the same manner is an excellent cement for leather.

A valuable glue is made by an admixture with common glue of one part of acid chromate of lime in solution to five parts of gelatine. The glue made in this manner, after exposure, is insoluble in water, and can be used for mending glass objects likely to be exposed to hot water. It can also be made available for waterproofing articles such as sails or awnings, but for flexible fabrics it is not suitable. A few immersions will be found sufficient to render the article impervious to wet. It is necessary that fractured articles should be exposed to the light after being mended, and then warm water will have no effect on them, the chromate of lime being better than the more generally used bichromate of potash.

POSTAGE STAMP MUCILAGE.

Postage stamp mucilage can be made by dissolving an ounce of dextrine in five ounces of hot water, and adding one ounce of acetic acid and one ounce of alcohol. The dextrine should be dissolved in water in a glue pot, or some similar vessel, which will prevent burning. The quantities in this recipe may be varied by taking any required weights in the proportions mentioned. Dr. Phin says that dextrine mixed with water makes a good label mucilage if a drop or two of glycerine be added to it. Too much glycerine will prevent the mucilage drying; with too little it will be likely to crack.

HOW TO KEEP MUCILAGE FRESH.

To keep mucilage fresh, and prevent the formation of mould, drop into the bottle a few crystals of thymol, which is a strong and harmless antiseptic.

MUCILAGE IN A SOLID FORM WHICH WILL DISSOLVE IN WATER.

Mucilage in a convenient solid form, and which will readily dissolve in water, for fastening paper, prints, etc., may be made as follows:--Boil one pound of the best white glue, and strain very clear; boil also four ounces of isinglass, and mix the two together; place them in a water bath--a glue pot will do--with one-half pound of white sugar, and evaporate till the liquid is quite thick, when it is to be poured into molds, dried, and cut into pieces of convenient size.

MUCILAGE FOR PASTEBOARD.

Persons are often at a loss for a very strong mucilage having sufficient power of tenacity to fasten sheets of pasteboard together. The following cement is recommended by a scientific authority. It has the additional advantage of being waterproof. Melt together equal parts of pitch and gutta-percha. To nine parts of this add three parts of boiled oil, and one-fifth part of litharge. Continue the heat with stirring until a thorough union of the ingredients is effected. Apply the mixture hot or somewhat cooled, and thinned with a small quantity of benzole or turpentine oil.

A PORTABLE INK.

The aniline colors, which possess great tinctorial powers, can be conveniently used in the preparation of a portable ink. Saturate white tissue paper with an aniline violet, or with aniline black, by dipping the sheets into a saturated alcoholic solution of these colors; then dry and pack them in suitable parcels, and you will have a portable ink, either violet or black.

INDELIBLE INDIA INK.

Draughtsmen are aware that lines drawn on paper with good India ink well prepared cannot be washed out by mere sponging or washing. Now, however, it is proposed to take advantage of the fact that glue or gelatine, when mixed with bichromate of potassa, and exposed to the light, becomes insoluble, and thus renders India ink, which always contains a little gelatine, indelible. Reisenbichler, the discoverer, calls this kind of ink "Harttusche," or "hard India ink." It is made by adding to the common India ink of commerce about one per cent, in a very fine powder, of bichromate of potash. This must be mixed with the ink in a dry state; otherwise, it is said, the ink could not be easily ground in water. Those who cannot provide themselves with ink prepared as above in a cake, can use a dilute solution of bichromate of potash in rubbing up the ink. It answers the same purpose, though the ink should be used thick, so that the yellow salt will not spread.

TO MAKE COPYING INKS.

Dissolve in a pint and a half of writing ink (violet or any other color) an ounce of lump sugar or sugar candy. A copying ink, so slow drying that writing in it can be copied by the use of no greater pressure than the hand can produce when passed over a sheet of paper, may be made by boiling away nearly half of some ordinary writing fluid and then adding as much glycerine.

A GOOD PASTER.

Let a little starch lie in vinegar over night. Pour in boiling water, stirring briskly till it thickens. It will keep better if a few drops of carbolic acid are added. A very little corrosive sublimate will keep out insects. A little glue dissolved in the vinegar will make it stronger. It leaves the pasted scrap-page flexible, adheres firmly, dries quickly, and does not give a varnishy look to even the thinnest print paper.

A PASTE WHICH WILL NOT SPOIL.

A paste that will not spoil is made by dissolving a piece of alum the size of a walnut in one pint of water. Add to this two tablespoonfuls flour made smooth with a little cold water, and a few drops of oil of cloves, putting the whole to a boil. Put up in a glass canning-jar.

ELECTRIC PAPER.

Electric paper may be made thus:--Tissue paper or filtering paper is soaked in a mixture consisting of equal quantities of saltpetre and sulphuric acid. It is afterwards exposed to dry, when a pyroxyline (a substance resembling gun-cotton) forms. This is in the highest degree electrical.

A SILVER SOLDER.

To make silver solder melt together 34 parts, by weight, silver coin, and five parts copper; after cooling a little, drop into the mixture 4 parts zinc, then heat again.

AN ALLOY FOR GLASS OR METAL.

The following alloy, it is said, will attach itself firmly to glass, porcelain or metal.--Twenty to thirty parts of finely pulverulent copper, prepared by precipitation or reduction with the battery, are made into a paste with oil of vitriol. To this seventy parts of mercury are added, and well triturated. The acid is then washed out with boiling water and the compound allowed to cool. In ten or twelve hours it becomes sufficiently hard to receive a brilliant polish, and to scratch the surface of tin or gold. When heated it is plastic, but does not contract on cooling.

AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF PHOTO-ENGRAVING.