The Mechanic's Friend: A Collection of Receipts and Practical Suggestions Relating to Aquaria, Bronzing ...

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William Edward Armytage Axon
Trübner, 1875 - Formulas, recipes, etc - 339 pages
 

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Page 16 - With regard to dyeing ivory, it may in general be observed, that the colors penetrate better before the surface is polished than afterwards. Should any dark spots appear, they may be cleared up by rubbing them with chalk ; after which the ivory should be dyed once more to produce perfect uniformity of shade. On taking it out of the boiling hot dye bath, it ought to be immediately plunged into cold water, to prevent the chance of fissures being caused by the heat.
Page 15 - Ib., shows an elasticity suggestive of compressed air in a condensing pump. One would expect from the appearance of the material, that under heavy pressure it would be pulverised or split into shreds, especially if this pressure was assisted by violent shocks ; but, in fact no such action takes place. A pressure which destroys india-rubber, causing it to split up and lose its elasticity, leaves the cork unimpaired, and, with the machinery in use, it has even been impossible, with any pressure attainable,...
Page 115 - Piaster casts are varnished by a mixture of soap and white wax in boiling water. A quarter of an ounce of soap is dissolved in a pint of water, and an equal quantity of wax afterwards incorporated. The cast is dipped in this liquid, and after drying a week, is polished by rubbing with soft linen. The surface produced in this manner approaches to the polish of marble. When plaster casts are to be exposed to the weather, their durability is greatly increased by saturating them with linseed oil, with...
Page 132 - ... leaving exactly the same space betwixt them as your knowledge in anatomy informs you existed there when the bird was entire; hold the skin open with your finger and thumb, and apply the solution to every part of the inside. Neglect the head and neck at present; they are to receive it afterwards. Fill the body moderately with cotton, lest the feathers on the belly should be injured whilst you are about the following operation.
Page 55 - When the prop is at one end, the weight at the other, and the power applied between them.
Page 135 - The quantity of stéarine to be added is at the rate of half a pound to one hundred pounds of sand. Care must be taken not to add too much, as it would sink to the bottom and injure the flowers. The vessel, with its cover on, and the gauze beneath it, is then turned upside down, and the bottom being removed, the flowers to be operated upon are carefully placed on the...
Page 39 - When this paint has dried perfectly, it will then be proper to cover it with oily varnish, which might dry before it could penetrate quite through the cloth. Simple drying linseed oil will answer the purpose as well as any, provided it be not very fluid.
Page 48 - ... it is then dipped among the welding powder, and again placed in the fire until it attains the same degree of heat as before; it is then ready to be placed under the hammer.
Page 133 - Nothing now remains to be added but the eyes. With your little stick make a hollow in the cotton within the orbit, and introduce the glass eyes through the orbit. Adjust the orbit to them as in nature, and that requires no other fastener. Your close inspection of the eyes of animals will already...
Page 132 - ... the vent, and never mind at present the part from the vent to the root of the tail. Bend the tail gently down to the back, and while your finger and thumb are keeping down the detached parts of the skin on each side of the vent, cut quite across, and deep, till you see the back-bone, near the oil-gland at the root of the tail.

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