On setting to work after a preliminary
inspection, the careful repairer will fit the parts together as they
are, to ascertain that there is nothing to prevent a close join of the
surfaces, sometimes a splinter will prevent a close fit of the
surfaces; this must be pushed into its right position or, if in the
interior, it may be better to remove it altogether. If the part is lost,
then the bare space must be carefully examined and the direction of
the grain and quality of the surrounding wood matched as closely as
possible; otherwise the most accurate fitting and finishing off will
not make a good restoration. The repairer of experience will have at
hand a large quantity of odds and ends of different kinds of maple,
curled or plain; perhaps old worn out necks or otherwise useless
fragments of relics of a bygone age, and not necessarily of musical
instruments. But sometimes these are not to be obtained, nothing but
new or modern wood, and it may be of good appearance and applicable
excepting for the colour. What is to be done? There is the drawback
to new white wood, that it is difficult to colour down to match the
surrounding wood, when it has been fixed, and besides, if the part
happens to be where there is any friction, the white wood soon makes
itself apparent, if not very conspicuous. It is advantageous,
therefore, to colour the wood artificially before placing in position.
There have been many ways adopted at times for meeting this requirement.
It must be remembered, however, that there is no perfectly successful
mode of artificially colouring wood so as to defy detection, but small
portions such as are under consideration at the present moment may be
treated so as to look tolerably well. Firstly, a well known, often tried,
but very bad method is to steep a piece of white new wood in a solution
of nitric acid and water. When dry, old age will seem to have crept
over and through it, but of a delusive and unnatural kind. The corrosive
properties of the acid still remain and gradually disintegrate the
fibres until the whole mass becomes rotten. It may be fairly termed
premature old age, as the lowering or toning down of the colour in wood
and other materials seems to be caused by similar, if not identical,
constituents of the ordinary atmosphere, but under different
conditions. Another way is lay the pieces of wood upon a stove with
a regulated heating power and watching for the exact degree of change
in the colour with