Small holes, scars, and blemishes in veneer, as well as in solid stock, can be successfully hidden by skillfully applied diamondshaped patches. In order to insure clean, sharp edges, the "grave" cut in the veneer, or solid member around the blemish, should not be cut at right angles to the grain. Therefore, although the patch need not be an exact diamond, it should in general conform with the shapes suggested in Figure 7.3. Obviously, the grain of the patch must conform with the grain of the surrounding wood. To this end a templet of cardboard covering the patch and outFig. 7.3. Veneer patches. lined in pencil will prove a valuable aid. Keeping carefully inside the penciled lines, the grave is then cut out with a sharp knife or a longbeveled chisel, so that the cuts slant outward from the bottom. The piece of veneer that is to be used in the patch is then laid over the veneer surface so that the grains coincide, and marked off around the templet. If the patch is to be jigsawed, the table can be tilted so that the cut edges will slant inward; the same type of cut can be made with scissors if they are sharp enough. If the shade of the original veneer surface cannot be duplicated, a lighter wood can be used and stained to match. A careful gluing job will render such a patch almost indistinguishable. Inlays-which came into use after 1725-can be repaired in the same manner. Missing pieces of inlay can often be replaced by stick shellac of the proper color. Pins. The pins used in early furniture were always made of hardwood such as oak, maple, beech, walnut, or cherry, and were seldom perfectly round. Usually the section to be inserted first was roughly rounded, gradually becoming rectangular or square near the head end. In this way when the pin was driven in. the corners of the head end bit into the hole to form a tight, firm joint. Pennsylvania furniture often utilized a sharply oval pin not often encountered elsewhere. The pins were seldom glued, and often projected beyond the surrounding wood. In repairing or restoring operations that require the removal of this type of pin, the best procedure is systematically to lay aside and mark each pin in such a manner that it can be returned to its original position in its proper hole. Broken pins should be replaced with whittled and filed replicas that are as exact as possible. с Fig. 7.4. Moldings. RESTORATION, REPAIR, AND REFINISHING 387 Moldings. The usual types of small moldings empolyed in early furniture were of three simple shapes. Of the cross sections shown in Figure 7.4, the earliest is the single arch (detail A). The others are known as the double arch (detail B) and the canal mold (detail C). Edges. A moment's thought should convince the most enthusiastic restorer that unless an old piece of furniture has been kept in a glass case the greater part of its existence, all of its edges that have been subjected to wear will show varying degrees of roundness.