Boiled linseed oil will hold the coat open for at least half an hour; japan drier will speed up the drying process. The thickness of the mixture will depend upon the coarseness of the pores to be filled. The filler mixture required for the more common woods is suggested below: Heavy Medium Thin None Philippine mahogany Walnut Maple Cedar Oak Mahogany Gumwood Pine Ash Cherry Birch Basswood Chestnut Rosewood Beech Poplar Elm Redwood Fir Alder Spruce Cypress Obviously, the larger the pores to be filled the thicker the mixture must be, and vice versa. As received, the paste filler must be well spaded with a putty knife and thinned to brushing consistency for the job in hand. Relative measures 320 FURNITURE MAKING AND CABINET WORK for the three types of mixture are indicated in the following table. Properly thinned a quart of filler should cover approximately 70 sq ft. 1 Qt Mixture Paste Thinner Heavy (16lb base) Medium (12lb base) Thin (8lb base) 2 lb iji lb 1% lb I pt Г pt 2 OZ i Уз pt Application. Assuming that a dark shade of filler has been selected to highlight the grain figure in walnut, mahogany or oak in order to distinguish it from imitations on gumwood, poplar, beech, and other inferior woods, the first step before the actual filling operation is to apply a wash coat of white shellac, diluted 1 part shellac to 6 parts of denatured alcohol. This will prevent the oil in the filler from darkening the wood. Meanwhile the filler is mixed to a creamy brushing consistency, regardless of whether it is of 16 or 8lb base. When the wash coat of shellac sealer has completely dried, the filler is liberally applied by means of a shortbristle brush with the grain. Because of later operations it is wise to limit the brushingin to a maximum of about 10 sq ft at a time. Within 15 or 20 minutes the sheen of the filled surface will have flatted sufficiently for wiping. This is accomplished by "towingoff" all surplus filler, wiping across the grain with clean burlap rags. If the filler has commenced to harden it can be softened by moistening a rag in the naptha thinner. For cleaning out carvings, headings, and corners a picking stick whittled from a 6 in. length of %in. dowel and sharpened to a pencil point at one end and to a sharp wedge at the other is useful under a burlap layer. After all surplus filler is towedoff, a final wiping with a soft lintless cloth along the grain will insure complete cleansing. The filler must then be allowed its full drying time. Rather than risk sealing a damp sealer it is advisable to increase the minimum drying time by one half; thus the socalled "4 hour" fillers should be permitted 6 hours and those retarded by turpentine and linseed oil allowed a full 36 hours. A light sanding with 30 paper followed by a dusting with compressed air from a vacuum cleaner or empty spray gun will insure a smooth surface for sealing. The hobbyist will encounter socalled "liquid wood fillers" on the market, which are little more than colored sealers for softwoods.