_To Solder Brass._—The processes in soft soldering are the same for all metals, full instructions for which may be found in Chapter XXXIV. Hard soldering (see also Chapter XXXIV) is something different, and in the case of brass it is somewhat different on account of the low degree of temperature at which the metal melts. The solder most commonly used is composed of two parts of common brass and one part of zinc, melted together. Reduce your solder to fine bits by cutting or filing, and then mix with sal-ammoniac and borax, the two latter having been pulverized together in equal parts and moistened with water to form a kind of paste. Carefully clean the pieces to be joined, lay them together, place the soldering compound along the upper edge of the joint, which must be held vertically, and then heat gradually over a charcoal fire until the solder is seen to run down between the pieces. The instant the solder is seen to run remove the work from the fire, tap the work gently with a small hammer to jar the solder into all interstices, and, if the work be so that it can be done, scrape off the superfluous solder and burnt borax with an old file. CHAPTER XIII. ON WORKING IN WOOD. _The Woods Most in Use._—Various woods are now employed for making gun stocks, but among them all, the most popular, perhaps, is black walnut. It is deservedly so from the fact that it is light, works easily, takes a superior polish, has a rich dark color, naturally, and when finished up does not incline to “check.” So popular is it, indeed, that most of the other woods worked into gun stocks are stained and finished up to imitate walnut. In some portions of the country hard or sugar maple (“sugar tree”) is worked quite extensively by the local gunsmiths. It makes a very nice stock, finishing to good advantage, especially “curled maple,” which is really beautiful. Soft maple is also extensively used, stained and finished to imitate either hard maple or walnut. The common dogwood makes an excellent gun-stock, but it works badly on account of the smallness of the tree rendering it difficult for one to get the pieces sawed out in proper shape at the beginning. Holly also makes a good stock, but presents the same objection as the dogwood. Cherry has few superiors, but it is now becoming a very scarce wood. Sweet gum is getting to be quite extensively used for cheap guns, stained to imitate either walnut or cherry. It has fine grain, and works very well, the chief objection to it being that it is wonderfully inclined to warp. _Wood for Gun Stocks._—The wood for a gun stock should combine strength and lightness, and at the same time it is desirable that it be easy to cut. The fibres of the wood should be close and possess great cohesion and should be little liable to split.