Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/144

116 seat must be cut out around the back legs.

Clean it up and apply the same finish that was used on the desk table.

The seat is covered with leather, padded over curled hair, as the detail shows. First the hair is carefully picked apart, and placed. Then a piece of cloth slightly smaller than the leather is tacked tight "over the hair, and finally the leather is placed. It runs under the front and back edges, where common tacks are used, and along the edges on the top it is fastened with gimp tacks. These edges may be turned under, or a piece of gimp braid used under the tacks to cover the cut edges of the leather.

As this is the first project of this series that has required the use of leather, a few words on this very interesting subject will not come amiss.

Leather is the skin of any animal that has been tanned and cured. Cloth covered with any substance, and finished in any way is not leather. Thus we differentiate between genuine leather and its imitations.

There is no imitation that is better than genuine grain steer or cow hide leather, but there are a number of imitations that are better than some split leathers. A question that has been asked in printed matter circulated throughout the country is, "How many hides has a cow?" This question, written by a manufacturer of a leather substitute, was concocted to start the public thinking upon the subject of split leather. In itself, the question is certainly foolish, but it has undoubtedly accomplished its purpose. If the one hide of a cow were to be tanned and curried, it would be too thick to use for tufting loose cushions—in fact, any branch of furniture upholstering. Therefore it is necessary that the leather be split. As to "how many" times it can be split, there is some doubt. One leather manufacturer claims that he is able to split one steer hide into fifty whole parts, each about as thick as a sheet of tissue paper. Of course, such sheets of leather have no commercial value, whatever, but a performance such as this would serve to answer the foregoing question.

The usual method of splitting a hide, is as follows: First, the "top grain" — the best part of the leather, is removed; second, "special deep buff"—not as serviceable as top grain; third, "extra split"

— used for very cheap leather furniture; and fourth, a "slab" that is left, of uneven thickness—used for inner soles of shoes, etc. This, the usual procedure, varies exceedingly in practice with the different manufacturers and the different kinds of hides. Comparing these with substitute leathers, we are very much of the opinion that no imitation win ever approach "top grain" in points of beauty, utility, and service. "Special deep buff," properly grained and enamelled, is, no doubt, much better than any imitation now on the market, but this is a debatable question, and we will leave it with the manufacturers to settle. An expensive imitation surpasses "extra split," especially for furniture purposes, but the cheaper, thin grades, are not to be recommended for any purpose. Of course, the "slab" is of no account for furniture work, and hence we will not consider it.

The making of good furniture leather is an interesting process. The green hides come to the leather manufacturer from slaughter houses in a wet salted condition. First the eye holes, nose, lips, ears and leg shanks are trimmed—these trimmings being later sold to manufacturers of soap greases and glue. The hides are next washed in clear water to remove the salt and dirt, and soften the texture. The fat is now removed from the meat side, and shipped to manufacturers of neat's-foot oil. Following this the hides are limed; that is, worked in a lime bath for a number of days in order to dissolve the fatty hair roots which will permit the hair to be easily removed. This by-product goes to makers of cushion fillings, etc. Next, the fleshy material remaining on the meat side is scraped off—this being sold for glue stock—and the hides are thoroughly cleansed of all lime and bacteria.

Now the hides are ready to be tanned. They are placed upon pivoted frames which are constantly agitated in a weak solution of tan liquor—oak bark, usually. Each day the strength of this liquor is increased, until on the eighth day the hide has received sufficient tan-