For coloring the wood wipe-stain is perhaps the easiest and quickest and is very satisfactory. You can get it at any paint store ready for use. Put it on with a brush of convenient size for the work and immediately wipe off with old rags or waste. It will not show brush marks and do not be frightened if it is much darker than you expected before it is wiped off. If the first coat does not make it dark enough, allow it to dry 12 hours and apply a second coat. After the last coat has dried 12 hours or more, and it is thoroughly hard if on fir or similar wood, you may proceed to polish. If your material is oak or other open grain wood you will need to apply a filler, which you can also, get at the paint store. This should be of the same color as the stain and put on in the same way. When it turns dull, which will be in a few minutes, wipe off all on the surface. This will leave the pores filled. Allow filler to dry at least 12 hours before polishing.

The best and easiest polish, as well as the most beautiful, is wax. To prepare this shave beeswax into a pan, add as much spirits of turpentine as will moisten it through, and powdered white resin, in proportion of one part resin to sixteen parts wax. Dissolve on stove, being careful not to let it catch fire. Stir it up and when cool it is ready for use. Roll some cloths into a ball, smooth on the outside, and use to apply the polish. Put the polish on very thin and evenly, allow it to dry a few hours, then with a clean ball of cloth (preferably woolen) rub at first gently with the grain, then harder in a circular motion and finally a few strokes with the grain. After 12 hours rub again with dry cloth, and if a higher polish is desired apply a second coat of wax as before. This polish will improve with age and occasional rubbing.

Instead of the wipe-stains you can use wood dyes which come already prepared. They sink farther into the wood and do not wear off as soon, but on the other hand are much harder to apply evenly. The filler, however, will take off some of the dye and you can sometimes even up a little any dark spots when rubbing down the filler. The dye does not take so long to dry as the wipe stain, six hours being plenty. Polish as above.

The filler in both cases will darken the color a little. Do not forget this in applying your stain or dye, and in some cases you will not require any other coloring than the filler itself. Of this you can judge by the color you desire and a little experimenting.

The hard glossy finish is not used on this kind of furniture and is very much more difficult to handle. In case you desire to use it on anything proceed as follows: Put into a glazed vessel a little gum shellac, just cover with 90 per cent alcohol. Stir till dissolved, about two hours, though not necessarily all the time. Do not use a tin vessel. Do not allow lumps to settle. When thoroughly dissolved take soft cloths and make a ball about 2 in. in diameter smooth on the bottom. Put on this half a teaspoon of the polish, then around the ball put a piece of cloth about a foot square, holding the ends in your hand. On the smooth side put a few drops of linseed oil and rub your work lightly in a circular motion all over. When it rubs harder put a few drops more oil on the ball and also on the work. Watch carefully. If the cloth sticks to the work, thin the polish on the ball with a little alcohol, first taking off the outside cloth. Replace the outer cloth with the other side out. When the work is all filled with polish and has a good gloss, change the outer cloth for a clean one. Put a few drops of alcohol on it and proceed as before till the oily look has gone. Too much alcohol will wipe off the polish in splotches. When the ball leaves little or no mark rub fast and strong with the grain a few minutes and you are done. This finish improves with age also, but requires practice to apply properly.

To describe the numberless methods of coloring and finishing woods would fill a book several times the size of this one. The above are the best, quickest and most easily learned.