It was made of two iron cotter pins hooked together, with their ends sharpened into points that were thrust into holes bored at angles through the opposite edges of the boards, after which the points were clinched. They were easily constructed by the local blacksmith. These simple hinges declined in use during the last half of the eighteenth century, disappearing from sight by the end of the century. When the rule joint for drop leaf tables appeared after 1725, special rectangular hinges were fabricated from thin sheet metal, cut into double patterns of each end section. This pattern was then folded over on itself and welded to make one leaf of the hinge. Used throughout the last half of the eighteenth century and in a more refined form during the nineteenth century, these hinges supplanted the H and HL types on cupboard doors soon after the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Castiron rectangular hinges did not come into vogue until the nineteenth century. Thick, heavy, and brittle, they are never encountered on eighteenth century furniture. Casters. Equipped with leather rollers, simple casters were used in England early in the eighteenth century. In the latter part of the same century they were turned out in a variety of forms and early imported into the colonies, along with brass furniture hardware. Some sockets were square, others round, plain cast, or of decorated brass, with brass or iron rollers. repairs Although the restoration of antique furniture often requires ingenious repairing and refinishing operations, many a conscientious restorer, as we have seen, will not resort to the type of repair that requires the addition of visible pieces of material. Under this category come angle irons, mending plates, extra cleats and even, in extreme instances, corner blocks. It is therefore intended to lump together in the following paragraphs notes on a variety of repairs, many of which can be considered entirely "legitimate" for authentic restoration work. In passing, it is well to remember that concentrated gazing at an imperfection during its repair tends to magnify it in the worker's eyes. However, if the repaired piece is put aside for a day and reexamined, its appearance will in all probability seem astonishingly improved. RESTORATION, REPAIR, AND REFINISHING 395 Dents, Gashes, and Various Blemishes. Nearly all wellused furniture will suffer one or more bruises as time goes on. If shallow, the compressed wood fibers in most dents can be coaxed upright by wetting with a few drops of water. In order to insure penetration, however, all vestiges of the waterrepellent finish must be carefully removed from the surface of the dent. If this simple procedure does not effect the desired result, steam may be introduced by means of a heated soldering iron over a damp cloth. When the grain of the dent has risen to the level of the surrounding surface, it can be rubbed up to uniformity by sprinkling a few drops of rubbing (paraffin) or automobile oil on it and polishing it with a pinch of rottenstone.