ORNAMENTAL WOODS.
In the matter of wood working, the amateur has a field as wide and
attractive as the most enthusiastic could wish. Of course, under this
head only those that are ornamental are considered, leaving the plainer
and rougher materials for domestic purposes.
VARIETIES.
Most amateurs ransack the stores of dealers in foreign woods, for rich
and rare varieties, leaving our own native woods for others, of deeper
hue and harder grain. Yet it would be difficult to find more
beautifully veined wood than chestnut, butternut, some varieties of
ash, the root of the black walnut, California rosewood, and oak; all of
which are indigenous.
In foreign woods there are innumerable varieties, but as comparatively
few of them are to be had, there can be nothing gained to the amateur
by mere enumeration. I have said comparatively few are to be had in
shops, and that is true for this reason; the woods the amateur can
readily obtain, are the woods of commerce; that is, those used in the
arts and trades. No one imports woods at a venture, or on chance of
sale. Dealers know their customers, and when, by chance, they find a
captain of some foreign trader, who has a fancy lot which he has
brought over, they send word to their best buyers, who come and view
the lot, and take that which suits them, and the rest, worm-eaten and
“wind-shaken,” it may be, is either burnt up, or thrown on one side for
some button maker, who may find in the short odds and ends a profitable
bargain. I shall, therefore, mention but a few of the leading varieties
of choice woods, and these the most marked and contrasted. Very many
differ only in the name, and, as far as mere exterior goes, are hardly
distinguishable from each other, while others are positively ugly.
SNAKE WOOD.
Prominent on the list of foreign woods is snake wood, or, as it is
sometimes called, leopard wood. The markings and mottlings in this wood
are certainly superb in fine specimens. I have now before me a small
vase, made of this material, which exhibits the most beautiful
cloudings and veinings. The pattern, so to speak, is in alternate black
and red blotches, like those on the back of a snake. When varnished and
French polished, these are brought out in strong relief, and the effect
is very fine. There is one drawback to its use, however, and that is
its brittleness. Notwithstanding the lathe be run at a high speed, it
will frequently sliver and crack in the most unlooked-for and vexatious
manner, and it is unsafe to undertake any very delicate or fine work
that requires time and minute separation on the surface in this
material; for general work, however, which has mouldings and
convolutions on it, it is easily manipulated, and is susceptible of a
brilliant polish. Further: it has the advantage of being “fast colors,”
which is more than can be said of many other foreign woods. Whatever
color may be developed in turning, will be retained to the end of time.
This is not true of either tulip or granadilla wood. Both of these are
brilliant in the extreme, when freshly cut, but by exposure to the air,
fade away into the most sombre colors.
TULIP WOOD.
This is a moderately hard wood, of a peculiar salmon-pink, veined with
reddish brown and gray. The veinings are chiefly parallel with the
grain, not straight, of course, but wavy and mottled. As previously
remarked, it is beautiful when first cut, but gradually fades into a
dingy, reddish brown. It is a handsome wood for contrasting with ebony,
or any dark variety, and is chiefly used for inlaying costly furniture,
such as musical instruments, work boxes, etc., etc. It is undeniably
handsome, however, and by no means to be disparaged.
GRANADILLA.
This is commonly called cocoa wood. It is hard, finely-veined, and
capable of a handsome polish. It is largely used in the manufacture of
table and pocket cutlery, for the handles. It comes in logs, from two
to eight inches in diameter, and is one of the most easily worked
woods. Quantities of it are employed for the handles of seals or letter
stamps, in which instruments its brownish yellow color and markings
must be familiar to many. It fades, however, so that in time it becomes
almost uniform in its tone.
TAMARIND.
This wood is very unfrequently met with. I obtained, by chance, a large
log of a wood-worker, and was highly pleased with it. It can scarcely
be called variegated, except so finely as to be unnoticeable, but for a
rich brown color and tint it is unapproachable. It is chocolate brown
in hue, and so hard and close in fibre, as to rive like the husk of a
cocoanut, while under a burnisher alone it polishes like ivory. It is
seldom one meets with a wood so wholly satisfactory, in its general
nature, for all kinds of work where a hard grain and fine surface is
desirable.
CAM WOOD.
This is a dye wood; that is, the shavings boiled in water, or treated
with alcohol, yield a handsome dye, which is largely used in the arts.
It is moderately hard, in about the same degree as mahogany, and is
plain in surface; it is handsome for inlaying and veneering in contrast
with ebony, but changes to a brown with age.
BOX WOOD.
This is so well known to be a fine-grained, buff yellow color, and
easily worked wood, as to need little further explanation of its
characteristics. It is becoming scarcer and dearer every year, but is
of little general value to the amateur from its monotonous sameness;
one piece being like all the others; whereas, with snake wood, or
granadilla, perpetual surprises await one. Refuse box wood, in
odd-shaped pieces, can be bought very cheap from those who make it a
business to fit up blocks for engravers, and also from wood-type makers.
LAUREL ROOT.
This is a peculiar wood, and, in my opinion, more peculiar than pretty.
It has a singular feeling under the tool, cutting much like cheese or
gum; like any thing else, in fact, but wood. In veining, it closely
resembles brier wood and bird’s eye maple; pipes have been made of it.
It is quite sound, but cannot be said to be handsome. It is the root of
the common swamp laurel, I am told, and requires long seasoning and
drying to be manipulated.
WHITE HOLLY.
This is a pure white wood, very easily bent, turned, and cut, straight
of grain, and very useful for inlaying. Quantities of needle cases,
fans, and such wares, are made of it. It is a native of this country,
though the best is said to come from England. This seems quite
unnecessary, for I have picked out of my wood-pile quantities of white
holly, as handsome in color and in grain, as one could wish to see.
EBONY.
Every one has his prejudice, and I have no doubt but that many will
consider me lacking in taste if I condemn this wood. It has one sole
redeeming feature—blackness—which renders it indispensable in many
cases. Yet I have seen rock maple dyed black, that put ebony to shame
for richness of color and fineness of grain. No ebony that I ever saw
was _black_, naturally. It was brown, and became black by oiling and
varnishing. There is a variety, called “bastard ebony,” which is full
of whitish brown stripes, and is soft like pine, but the true ebony is
not to me a precious wood, although it is expensive, and, in some
cases, undeniably handsome. In spite of all selection, aided by good
judges, I have frequently found my “black ebony” any thing but black;
it is full of season streaks and cracks, and splits in the most
perverse and unexpected manner.
OLIVE WOOD.
This is the wood of the olive tree, and is chiefly valuable for its
odor; that is, to those who like that odor. In color it is like white
wood, and is without any marked feature, except that of scent.
SANDAL WOOD.
This is a fragrant wood, light buff-colored, and very soft, and
straight in grain. In general it is like pine wood, splitting straight,
working easily, and valuable solely for its odor.
ROSE WOOD.
This is an exceedingly beautiful wood, and is so well known, in its
general nature, as to need no recommendation. In marking, it is so
delicate as to admit of the finest work, and yet retain the beauty of
the pattern.
CURLED MAPLE.
This is one of the most beautiful of our native woods; in point of
color, and power of retaining it, in marking and in variety, it is, to
me, one of the most beautiful of all woods. The vein has a sinuous
sweep and curve to it, which is heightened by varnishing and polishing,
to a marked degree. All of the handsome woods, however, have a peculiar
intractability, so to speak, which renders them slow and tedious to
work. In fact, it is just this stubbornness of grain which renders them
beautiful, for, by running in all directions, interlacing the fibres,
so that the end of the grain is alternately presented side by side with
the parallel grain, the light is caught and retained on dead surfaces
that absorb it, making those beautiful contrasts which the most
uncultivated admire.
BIRD’S EYE MAPLE.
This is also a handsome wood, full of round spots interspersed with
circular markings, the whole forming a handsome contrast when well
handled. Pear and apple tree woods are also handsome, but none of the
native woods exhibit so great variety in tint and markings, as those
which grow in tropical countries. There is no occasion to continue a
mere list of woods which can be found in any shop, and this branch of
the subject will be dropped.
TREATMENT.
The first thing that occurs to the workman when he possesses or sees a
handsome piece of wood, is: What shall I make with it? Many kinds of
wood show well in large works, but in smaller wares, such as sleeve
buttons, and napkin rings, they look like common wood; it is,
therefore, labor lost to spend time in working out a nice job to show
the veining and marking of the wood, because such veining is not
brought out fully. The first care is to select sound wood. It is one of
the most vexatious things in the world to have a nice job nearly done,
and find a large worm hole extending right through the center of it,
interfering with the tool and destroying the beauty of the piece. In
such a case, the only resort is to plug it up, but no matter how
skillfully this is done, the plug is certain to show, and always mars
the appearance. Some kinds of foreign woods are almost always worm
eaten. Snake wood, for instance, is very liable to that fault, and too
much care cannot be taken in examining it. Ebony is not so liable to
it, and native woods are peculiarly free from it.