observation; breathe upon the lenses, and wipe gently with a circular
motion and blow off any particles which may adhere.
Dry Objectives.—Clean the front lens as described. To examine the rear
and interior lenses use a 2-inch magnifier, looking through the rear.
Remove the dust from the rear lens with a camel’s-hair brush.
Oil Immersion Objectives.—Invariably clean the front lens after use
with moistened linen or paper, and wipe dry.
In applying oil examine the front of the objective with a magnifier,
and if there are any air bubbles, remove them with a pointed quill, or
remove the oil entirely and apply a fresh quantity.
LETTERS, TO REMOVE FROM CHINA: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods,
under Miscellaneous Methods.
LETTER-HEAD SENSITIZERS: See Photography, under Paper-Sensitizing
Processes.
«Lettering»
CEMENTS FOR ATTACHING LETTERS ON GLASS: See Adhesives, under
Sign-Letter Cements.
«Gold Lettering.»—This is usually done by first drawing the lettering,
then covering with an adhesive mixture, such as size, and finally
applying gold bronze powder or real gold leaf. A good method for
amateurs to follow in marking letters on glass is to apply first a coat
of whiting, mixed simply with water, and then to mark out the letters
on this surface, using a pointed stick or the like. After this has been
done the letters may easily be painted or gilded on the reverse side of
the glass. When done, wash off the whiting from the other side, and the
work is complete.
«Bronze Lettering.»—The following is the best method for card work:
Write with asphaltum thinned with turpentine until it flows easily,
and, when nearly dry, dust bronze powder over the letters. When the
letters are perfectly dry tap the card to take off the extra bronze,
and it will leave the letters clean and sharp. The letters should be
made with a camel’s-hair brush and not with the automatic pen, as oil
paints do not work satisfactorily with these pens.
For bronzed letters made with the pen, use black letterine or any water
color. {457} If a water color is used add considerable gum arabic. Each
letter should be bronzed as it is made, as the water color dries much
more quickly than the asphaltum.
Another method is to mix the bronze powder with bronze sizing to about
the consistency of the asphaltum. Make the letter with a camel’s-hair
brush, using the bronze paint as one would any oil paint.
This method requires much skill, as the gold paint spreads quickly and
is apt to flood over the edge of the letter. For use on oilcloth this
is the most practical method.
Bronzes may be purchased at any hardware store. They are made in
copper, red, green, silver, gold, and copper shades.
«Lettering on Glass.»—White lettering on glass and mirrors produces
a rich effect. Dry zinc, chemically pure, should be used. It can be
obtained in any first-class paint store and is inexpensive. To every
teaspoonful of zinc, 10 drops of mucilage should be added. The two
should be worked up into a thick paste, water being gradually added
until the mixture is about the consistency of thick cream. The paint
should then be applied with a camel’s-hair brush.
Another useful paint for this purpose is Chemnitz white. If this
distemper color is obtained in a jar, care should be exercised to keep
water standing above the color to prevent drying. By using mucilage as
a sizing these colors will adhere to the glass until it is washed off.
Both mixtures are equally desirable for lettering on block card-board.
Any distemper color may be employed on glass without in any way
injuring it. An attractive combination is—first to letter the sign with
Turkey red, and then to outline the letters with a very narrow white
stripe. The letter can be rendered still more attractive by shading one
side in black.
«Signs on Show Cases.»—Most show cases have mirrors at the back, either
in the form of sliding panels or spring doors. Lettering in distemper
colors on these mirrors can easily be read through the fronts or tops
of cases. If the mirror is on a sliding panel, it will be necessary to
detach it from the case in order to letter it. When the mirror is on a
spring door the sign can be lettered with less trouble.
By tracing letters in chalk on the outside of the glass, and then
painting them on the inside, attractive signs can be produced on all
show cases; but painting letters on the inside of a show case glass is
more or less difficult, and it is not advisable to attempt it in very
shallow cases.
«“Spatter” Work.»—Some lettering which appears very difficult to the
uninitiated is, in fact, easily produced. The beautiful effect of
lettering and ornamentation in the form of foliage or conventional
scrolls in a speckled ground is simple and can be produced with little
effort. Pressed leaves and letters or designs cut from newspapers or
magazines may be tacked or pasted on cardboard or a mat with flour
paste. As little paste as possible should be used—only enough to hold
the design in place. When all the designs are in the positions desired,
a toothbrush should be dipped in the ink or paint to be employed. A
toothpick or other small piece of wood is drawn to and fro over the
bristles, which are held toward the sign, the entire surface of which
should be spattered or sprinkled with the color. When the color is dry
the designs pasted on should be carefully removed and the paste which
held them in place should be scraped off. This leaves the letters and
other designs clean cut and white against the “spatter” background. The
beginner should experiment first with a few simple designs. After he is
able to produce attractive work with a few figures or letters he may
confidently undertake more elaborate combinations.
«Lettering on Mirrors.»—From a bar of fresh common brown soap cut off
a one-inch-wide strip across its end. Cut this into 2 or 3 strips.
Take one strip and with a table-knife cut from two opposite sides a
wedge-shaped point resembling that of a shading pen, but allow the edge
to be fully 1/8 inch thick. Clean the mirror thoroughly and proceed
to letter in exactly the same manner as with a shading pen.
«To Fill Engraved Letters on Metal Signs.»—Letters engraved on metal
may be filled in with a mixture of asphaltum, brown japan, and
lampblack, the mixture being so made as to be a putty-like mass. It
should be well pressed down with a spatula. Any of the mass adhering to
the plate about the edges of the letters is removed with turpentine,
and when the cement is thoroughly dried the plate may be polished.
If white letters are desired, make a putty of dry white lead, with
equal parts of coach japan and rubbing varnish. Fill the letters nearly
level with the {458} surface, and when hard, apply a stout coat of
flake white in japan thinned with turpentine. This will give a clean
white finish that may be polished.
The white cement may be tinted to any desired shade, using coach colors
ground in japan.
«Tinseled Letters, or Chinese Painting on Glass.»—This is done by
painting the groundwork with any color, leaving the letter or figure
naked. When dry, place tin foil or any of the various colored copper
foils over the letters on the back of the glass, after crumpling them
in the hand, and then partially straightening them out.
LICE KILLERS: See Insecticides.
LICHEN REMOVERS: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods, under
Miscellaneous Methods and Household Formulas.
«LICORICE:»
«Stable Solutions of Licorice Juice.»—A percolator, with alternate
layers of broken glass, which have been well washed, first with
hydrochloric acid and plentifully rinsed with distilled water, is the
first requisite. This is charged with pieces of crude licorice juice,
from the size of a hazel nut to that of a walnut, which are weighted
down with well-washed pebbles. The percolate is kept for 3 days in
well corked flasks which have been rinsed out with alcohol beforehand.
Decant and filter and evaporate down rapidly, under constant stirring,
or _in vacuo_. The extract should be kept in vessels first washed with
alcohol and closed with parchment paper, in a dry place—never in the
cellar.
To dissolve this extract, use water, first boiled for 15 minutes. The
solution should be kept in small flasks, first rinsed with alcohol
and well corked. If to be kept for a long time, the flasks should be
subjected for 3 consecutive days, a half hour each day, to a stream of
steam, and the corks paraffined.
There is frequently met with in commerce a purified juice that
remains clear in the _mixtura solvens_. It is usually obtained by
supersaturation with pure ammonia, allowing to stand for 3 days,
decanting, filtering the decanted liquor, and quick evaporation. Since
solutions with water alone rapidly spoil, it is well to observe with
them the precautions common for narcotic extracts.
«To Test Extract of Licorice.»—Mere solubility is no test for the
purity of extract of licorice. It is, therefore, proposed to make the
glycyrrhizin content and the nature of the ash the determining test. To
determine the glycyrrhizin quantitatively proceed as follows: Macerate
1/10 ounce of the extract, in coarse powder, in 10 fluidounces
distilled water for several hours, with more or less frequent
agitation. When solution is complete, add 10 fluidounces alcohol of 90
per cent, filter and wash the filter with alcohol of 40 per cent until
the latter comes off colorless. Drive off the alcohol, which was added
merely to facilitate filtration, by evaporation in the water bath; let
the residue cool down and precipitate the glycyrrhizin by addition
of sulphuric acid. Filter the liquid and wash the precipitate on the
filter with distilled water until the wash water comes off neutral.
Dissolve the glycyrrhizin from the filter by the addition of ammonia
water, drop by drop, collecting the filtered solution in a tared
capsule. Evaporate in the water bath, dry the residual glycyrrhizin at
212° F., and weigh. Repeated examinations of known pure extracts have
yielded a range of percentage of glycyrrhizin running from 8.06 per
cent to 11.90 per cent. The ash should be acid in reaction and a total
percentage of from 5.64 to 8.64 of the extract.
LIGHT, INACTINIC: See Photography.
LIGNALOE SOAP: See Soap.
LIMEADE: See Beverages, under Lemonades.
LIME AS A FERTILIZER: See Fertilizers.
«LIME, BIRD.»
Bird lime is a thick, soft, tough, and sticky mass of a greenish color,
has an unpleasant smell and bitter taste, melts easily on heating,
and hardens when exposed in thin layers to the air. It is difficult
to dissolve in alcohol, but easily soluble in hot alcohol, oil of
turpentine, fat oils, and also somewhat in vinegar. The best quality is
prepared from the inner green bark of the holly (_Ilex aquifolium_),
which is boiled, then put in barrels, and submitted for 14 days to
slight fermentation until it becomes sticky. Another process of
preparing it is to mix the boiled bark with juice of mistletoe berries
and burying it in the ground until {459} fermented. The bark is then
pulverized, boiled, and washed. Artificial bird lime is prepared by
boiling and then igniting linseed oil, or boiling printing varnish
until it is very tough and sticky. It is also prepared by dissolving
cabinetmakers’ glue in water and adding a concentrated solution of
chloride of zinc. The mixture is very sticky, does not dry on exposure
to the air, and has the advantage that it can be easily washed off the
feathers of the birds.
LIME JUICE: See Essences and Extracts.
LIME-JUICE CORDIAL: See Wines and Liquors.
LIME WAFERS: See Confectionery.
LINEN, TO DISTINGUISH COTTON FROM: See Cotton.
LINEN DRESSING: See Laundry Preparations.
«LINIMENTS:»
See also Ointments.
«For external use only.»—I.—The following penetrating oily liniment
reduces all kinds of inflammatory processes:
Paraffine oil 4 ounces
Capsicum powder 1/2 ounce
Digest on a sand bath and filter. To this may be added directly the
following: Oil of wintergreen or peppermint, phenol, thymol, camphor or
eucalyptol, etc.
II.—Camphor 2 ounces
Menthol 1 ounce
Oil of thyme 1 ounce
Oil of sassafras 1 ounce
Tincture of myrrh 1 ounce
Tincture of capsicum 1 ounce
Chloroform 1 ounce
Alcohol 2 pints
LINIMENTS FOR HORSES: See Veterinary Formulas.
«LINOLEUM:»
See also Oilcloth.
«Composition for Linoleum, Oilcloth, etc.»—This is composed of whiting,
dried linseed oil, and any ordinary dryer, such as litharge, to which
ingredients a proportion of gum tragacanth is to be added, replacing a
part of the oil and serving to impart flexibility to the fabric, and to
the composition a pasty mass the property of drying more rapidly. In
the production of linoleum, the whiting is replaced in whole or in part
by pulverized cork. The proportions are approximately the following by
weight: Whiting or powdered cork, 13 parts; gum tragacanth, 5 parts;
dried linseed oil, 5 1/2 parts; siccative, 1/2 part.
«Dressings for Linoleum.»—A weak solution of beeswax in spirits of
turpentine has been recommended for brightening the appearance of
linoleum. Here are some other formulas:
I.—Palm oil 1 ounce
Paraffine 18 ounces
Kerosene 4 ounces
Melt the paraffine and oil, remove from the fire and incorporate the
kerosene.
II.—Yellow wax 5 ounces
Oil turpentine 11 ounces
Amber varnish 5 ounces
Melt the wax, add the oil, and then the varnish. Apply with a rag.
«Treatment of Newly Laid Linoleum.»—The proper way to cleanse a
linoleum flooring is first to sweep off the dust and then wipe up with
a damp cloth. Several times a year the surface should be well rubbed
with floor wax. Care must be had that the mass is well pulverized and
free from grit. Granite linoleum and figured coverings are cleansed
without the application of water. A floor covering which has been
treated from the beginning with floor wax need only be wiped off daily
with a dry cloth, either woolen or felt, and afterwards rubbed well
with a cloth filled with the mass. It will improve its appearance, too,
if it be washed several times a year with warm water and a neutral soap.
LINOLEUM, CLEANING AND POLISHING: See Household Formulas.
LINOLEUM ON IRON STAIRS OR CEMENT FLOORS, TO GLUE: See Adhesives, under
Glues.
«LINSEED OIL:»
See also Oils.
«Bleaching of Linseed Oil and Poppyseed Oil.»—In order to bleach
linseed oil and poppyseed oil for painting purposes, thoroughly
shake 2.5 parts of it in a glass vessel with a solution of potassium
permanganate, 50 parts, in 1,250 parts of water; let stand for 24 hours
in a warm temperature, and then mix with 75 parts of pulverized sodium
sulphite. Now shake until the latter has dissolved and add 100 parts of
crude hydrochloric acid, 20°. Agitate frequently and wash, after the
previously brown mass has become light colored, with water, in which
a little {460} chalk has been finely distributed, until the water is
neutral. Finally filter over calcined Glauber’s salt.
«Adulteration of Linseed Oil.»—This is common, and a simple and cheap
method of testing is by nitric acid. Pour equal parts of the linseed
oil and nitric acid into a flask, shake vigorously, and let it stand
for 20 minutes. If the oil is pure, the upper stratum is of straw
yellow color and the lower one colorless. If impure, the former is dark
brown or black, the latter pale orange or dark yellow, according to the
admixtures to the oil.
The addition of rosin oil to linseed oil or other paint oils can be
readily detected by the increase in specific gravity, the low flash
point, and the odor of rosin on heating; while the amount may be
approximately ascertained from the amount of unsaponifiable oil left
after boiling with caustic soda.
LIP SALVES AND LIPOL: See Cosmetics.
LIPOWITZ METAL: See Alloys.
LIQUEURS: See Wines and Liquors.
LIQUOR AMMONII ANISATUS: See Ammonia.
LIQUORS: See Wines and Liquors.
LITHOGRAPHERS’ LACQUER: See Lacquers.
LITHOGRAPHS: See Pictures and Engravings.
LIVER-SPOT REMEDIES: See Cosmetics.
LOCKSMITH’S VARNISH: See Varnishes.
LOCOMOTIVE LUBRICANTS: See Lubricants.
LOCUST KILLER: See Insecticides.
LOUSE WASH: See Insecticides.
«Lubricants»
«Oil for Firearms.»—Either pure vaseline oil, white, 0.870, or else
pure white-bone oil, proof to cold, is employed for this purpose, since
these two oils are not only free from acid, but do not oxidize or
resinify.
«Leather Lubricants.»—Russian tallow, 1 pound; beeswax, 6 ounces; black
pitch, 4 ounces; common castor oil, 3 pounds; soft paraffine, 1/2
pound; oil of citronella, 1/2 ounce. Melt all together in a saucepan,
except the citronella, which add on cooling. Stir occasionally.
«Machinery Oils.»—I.—The solid fat, called bakourine, a heavy lubricant
which possesses extraordinary lubricating qualities has a neutral
reaction and melts only at about 176° to 188° F. It is prepared as
follows:
A mixture is made of 100 parts of Bienne petroleum or crude naphtha,
with 25 parts of castor oil or some mineral oil, and subjected to
the action of 60 or 70 parts of sulphuric acid of 66° Bé. The acid
is poured in a small stream into the oil, while carefully stirring.
The agitation is continued until a thick and blackish-brown mass is
obtained free from non-incorporated petroleum. Very cold water of 2 or
3 times the weight of the mass is then added, and the whole is stirred
until the mass turns white and becomes homogeneous. It is left at rest
for 24 hours, after which the watery liquid, on the surface of which
the fat is floating, must be poured off. After resting again from 3 to
4 days, the product is drawn off, carefully neutralized with caustic
potash, and placed in barrels ready for shipping.
II.—Melt in a kettle holding 2 to 4 times as much as the volume of the
mass which is to be boiled therein, 10 parts, by weight, of tallow in
20 parts of rape oil on a moderate fire; add 10 parts of freshly and
well burnt lime, slaked in 30 or 40 parts of water; increase the fire
somewhat, and boil with constant stirring until a thick froth forms
and the mass sticks to the bottom of the kettle. Burning should be
prevented by diligent stirring. Then add in portions of 10 parts each,
gradually, 70 parts of rape oil and boil with a moderate fire, until
the little lumps gradually forming have united to a whole uniform mass.
With this operation it is of importance to be able to regulate the fire
quickly. Samples are now continually taken, which are allowed to cool
quickly on glass plates. The boiling down must not be carried so far
that the samples harden on cooling; they must spin long, fine threads,
when touched with the finger. When this point is reached add, with
constant stirring, when the heat has abated sufficiently (which may be
tested by pouring in a few drops of water), 25 to 30 parts of water.
Now raise the fire, without {461} ceasing to stir, until the mass comes
to a feeble, uniform boil. In order to be able to act quickly in case
of a sudden boiling over, the fire must be such that it can be removed
quickly, and a little cold water must always be kept on hand. Next,
gradually add in small portions, so as not to disturb the boiling of
the mass, 500 parts of paraffine oil (if very thick, 800 to 900 parts
may be added), remove from the fire, allow the contents of the kettle
to clarify, and skim off the warm grease from the sediment into a
stirring apparatus. Agitate until the mass begins to thicken and cool;
if the grease should still be too solid, stir in a little paraffine oil
the second time. The odor of the paraffine oil may be disguised by the
admixture of a little mirbane oil.
«For Cutting Tools.»—The proportion of ingredients of a lubricating
mixture for cutting tools is 6 gallons of water, 3 1/2 pounds of soft
soap, and 1/2 gallon of clean refuse oil. Heat the water and mix with
the soap, preferably in a mechanical mixer; afterwards add the oil.
A cast-iron circular tank to hold 12 gallons, fitted with a tap at
the bottom and having three revolving arms fitted to a vertical shaft
driven by bevels and a fast and loose pulley, answers all requirements
for a mixer. This should be kept running all through the working day.
«For Highspeed Bearings.»—To prevent heating and sticking of bearings
on heavy machine tools due to running continuously at high speeds, take
about 1/8 of flake graphite, and the remainder kerosene oil. As soon
as the bearing shows the slightest indication of heating or sticking,
this mixture should be forcibly squirted through the oil hole until it
flows out between the shaft and bearing, when a small quantity of thin
machine oil may be applied.
«For Heavy Bearings.»—An excellent lubricant for heavy bearings can be
made from either of the following recipes:
I.—Paraffine 6 pounds
Palm oil 12 pounds
Oleonaphtha 8 pounds
II.—Paraffine 8 pounds
Palm oil 20 pounds
Oleonaphtha 12 pounds
The oleonaphtha should have a density of 0.9. First dissolve the
paraffine in the oleonaphtha at a temperature of about 158° F. Then
gradually stir in the palm oil a little at a time. The proportions will
show that No. II gives a less liquid product than No. I. Quicklime may
be added if desired.
«For Lathe Centers.»—An excellent lubricant for lathe centers is made
by using 1 part graphite and 4 parts tallow thoroughly mixed.
«Sewing Machine Oil.»—I.—Petroleum oils are better adapted for the
lubrication of sewing machines than any of the animal oils. Sperm oil
has for a long time been considered the standard oil for this purpose,
but it is really not well adapted to the conditions to which a sewing
machine is subjected. If the machine were operated constantly or
regularly every day, probably sperm oil could not be improved on. The
difficulty is, however, that a family sewing machine will frequently
be allowed to stand untouched for weeks at a time and will then be
expected to run as smoothly as though just oiled. Under this kind of
treatment almost any oil other than petroleum oil will become gummy.
What is known in the trade as a “neutral” oil, of high viscosity, would
probably answer better for this purpose than anything else. A mixture
of 1 part of petrolatum and 7 parts of paraffine oil has also been
recommended.
II.—Pale oil of almonds 9 ounces
Rectified benzoline 3 ounces
Foreign oil of lavender 1 ounce
«PETROLEUM JELLIES AND SOLIDIFIED LUBRICANTS.»
Petroleum jelly, vaseline, and petrolatum are different names for the
same thing.
The pure qualities are made from American stock thickened with hot air
until the desired melting point is attained. Three colors are made:
white, yellow, and black of various qualities. Cheaper qualities are
made by using ceresine wax in conjunction with the genuine article and
pale mineral oil. This is the German method and is approved of by their
pharmacopœia. Machinery qualities are made with cylinder oils, pale
mineral oils, and ceresine wax.
I.—Yellow ceresine wax 11 parts
White ceresine wax 6 parts
American mineral oil, 903/907 151 parts
Melt the waxes and stir in the oil. To make white, use all white
ceresine wax. To color, use aniline dyes soluble in oil to any shade
required.
II.—Ceresine wax 1 pound
Bloomless mineral oil, Sq. 910 1 gallon {462}
Melt the wax and add the oil, varying according to the consistency
required. To color black, add 28 pounds lampblack to 20 gallons oil.
Any wax will do, according to quality of product desired.
«White Petroleum Jelly.»—
White tasteless oil 4 parts
White ceresine wax 1 part
«Solidified Lubricants.»—
I.—Refined cotton oil 2 parts
American mineral oil, 903/907 2 parts
Oleate of alumina 1 part
Gently heat together.
II.—Petroleum jelly 120 parts
Ceresine wax 5 parts
Slaked lime 1/2 part
Water 4 1/2 parts
Heat the wax and the petroleum jelly gently until liquid; then
mix together the water and lime. Decant the former into packing
receptacles, and add lime and water, stirring until it sets. For
cheaper qualities use cream cylinder oil instead of petroleum jelly.
«WAGON AND AXLE GREASES:»