p will do no harm and the brush may
be left standing in the cup until required. The important things are
to keep the shellac cup and brush for _shellac only_, (indeed, it is
a good plan to label them "SHELLAC ONLY,") and to keep the
shellac covered so that the alcohol in it will not evaporate. In a
pattern-making shop, where the shellac cup is to be frequently used,
it is well to have cups with covers thru which the brushes hang, like
the brush in a mucilage jar.

Varnish brushes need to be cleaned thoroly after each using. If they
get dry they become too hard to be cleaned without great difficulty.

Brushes for water stains are easily taken care of by washing with
water and then laying them flat in a box. Cups in which the water
stains have been used can also be easily rinsed with water.

Brushes for oil stains are most easily kept in good condition, by
being hung in a brush-keeper, Fig. 245, (sold by Devoe & Reynolds, 101
Fulton St., N. Y. C.) partly filled with turpentine. The same brushes
may also be used for fillers.

Oil stains should be poured back into their respective bottles, and
the cups wiped out with cotton waste. When they get in bad condition,
they can be cleaned readily after a preliminary soaking in a strong
solution of potash. The same treatment may be given to brushes, but if
they are left soaking too long in the solution, the bristles will be
eaten off.

[Illustration: Fig. 245. Brush-keeper.]

EQUIPMENT AND CARE OF THE SHOP

REFERENCES:[*]

Murray, _Year Book_ 1906, p. 69.
Bailey, _M. T. Mag._, 9: 138. Dec. '07.
Robillion, pp. 48-90.
Hammacher and Schlemmer, passim.

[Footnote *: For general bibliography, see p. 4.]

CHAPTER VII.

THE COMMON JOINTS.

Wherever two or more pieces of wood are fastened together we have what
is properly called joinery. In common usage the term indicates the
framing of the interior wood finish of buildings and ships, but it is
also used to include cabinet-making, which is the art of constructing
furniture, and even the trades of the wheelwright, carriage-maker, and
cooper. Since joinery involves the constant use of joints, a reference
list of them, with illustrations, definitions, uses, and directions
for making typical ones may be of convenience to workers in wood.

HEADING JOINTS

_No. 1. A lapped and strapped joint_, Fig. 264, p. 177, is made by
laying the end of one timber over another and fastening them both
toget