August 10, 1919 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



22a 



delay outside drying until further drying of the center can take place. 

 Tlio cloxiiiK (IV "piiK'liing in" of surface checks toward tlie end of 

 the run indicates tension stresses iu the center, which are liable to 

 produce honeycombing unless the easehardened condition of the outside 

 is relieved. 



Relief of Casehaedening 



Casehardening is relieved by moistening and softening the wood 

 fibers so that they lose their "set" condition. This is done by 

 "steaming" or "sweating," in which treatment the humidity of the 

 air in the kiln is raised to a point where the wood absorbs moisture. 

 Casehardening should be relieved whenever strong tension develops 

 in the center, as shown by inward cupping when stock is resawed. In 

 all eases such a treatment should be given at or near the end of the 

 run. This final treatment will serve both to relieve stresses and to 

 balance the moisture content. 



The time and condition of a "steaming" treatment may vary from 

 % hour with saturated air at a high temperature to 24 hours or longer 

 with a low temperature and a humidity less than saturation, depend- 

 ing upon the thickness of the stock, the depth and severity of the case- 

 hardening, and the stage of the drying. After making casehardening 

 tests and moisture determinations, the operator must use his experience 

 and judgment in deciding the time and conditions of treatment best 



suited to a particular ease, keeping in mind the object — to relieve the 

 set condition of the easehardened zone by moistening and softening 

 the fibers, and to equalize the moisture content. 



Short treatments of from %, hour to 3 hours with saturated air 

 are best adapted for use during the run, from the time the center 

 begins to shrink until a moisture content of about 10 per cont is 

 reached. At or near the end of the run, however, the use of saturated 

 air is liable to cause excessive shrinkage and permanent tension 

 stresses in the outer shell, without relieving the ' ' set ' ' condition 

 further in, thus only balancing the stresses instead of removing them. 



In the final stage best results are obtained with a comparatively 

 long treatment, lasting from 6 to 24 hours or even longer, with air 

 at the final drying temperature and a relative humidity just high 

 enough to cause a slight absorption of moisture, say about 1 per cent 

 of the dry weight in 24 hours. Such a conditioning treatment pene- 

 trates deeply, softening the fibres and relieving stresses evenly, and 

 balancing the moisture content without necessitating much additional 

 time for redrying because of the small amount of moisture absorbed. 

 By this final treatment in the kUn, the wood may be made ready 

 for immediate manufacture without the need of any further con- 

 ditioning in the shop or in heated store rooms, thus often effecting 

 a considerable saving in time, storage space, and other factors. 



Southern Car Shortage Already Acute 



Car shortage, iu acute form, has developed tliroughout the hard- 

 wood producing area in the South and Southeast, both as affecting 

 the inbound movement of logs, bolts and billets as well as the out- 

 bound movement of hardwood lumber and forest products. J. H. 

 Townsheud, secretary-manager of the Southern Hardwood Traffic 

 Association, returned during the past week from Washington where 

 he conferred with the Car Service Section of the United States 

 Kailroad Administration. He explained the situation fully to the 

 gentlemen composing this body but about the only measures of 

 relief that he was able to report on his return involved the follow- 

 ing: (1) That flat cars used in the loading of logs, bolts and 

 billets would not be racked up and turned over to the sugar cane 

 producers until these were actually required by the latter, and (2) 

 that 1,000 low-sided gondolas would be sent into the South for load- 

 ing with logs and lumber as a partial measure of relief. 



The association has assured its members that it is doing every- 

 thing in its power to handle the situation with a view to securing 

 relief and is urging that all hardwood producers make known their 

 requirements so that these may be properly presented to the authori 

 ties. The association is quite well aware of the fact that the 

 industry is facing one of the most acute shortages in its history 

 and that unusually full loading, as well as prompt loading and 

 unloading, will tend to furnish any reasonable measure of relief. 



Manufacturers of hardwood lumber throughout the southern field 

 are already complaining bitterly of the car shortage, especially in 

 box car equipment for the loading of outbound shipments. They 

 .-tre positive, too, that, unless measures for relief are both immediate 

 and practical, the production of hardwood lumber is certain to fall 

 very sharply, despite the fact that hardwood operators have only 

 now reached the time of year when they ought to be doing some- 

 thing like a normal business. Eains interfered seriously with hard- 

 wood output during the first several months of the year, in fact 

 until about the middle of June. Logs are just now beginning to be 

 offered the mills in normal volume but if they cannot be moved 

 the situation will be an extremely unfavorable one from the stand- 

 ]ioint of hardwood lumber output. All members of the trade are iu 

 thorough accord on this point. 



Box cars are still being withdrawn from the southern field to 

 assist in the movement of wheat and other cereal crops and it will 

 not be long until a vast amount of both closed and open-top equip- 

 ment will be necessary to handle cotton, sugar and other agricul- 



tural crops in the southern field. Lumber interests therefore take 

 a very gloomy view of the car outlook despite the efforts that are 

 being made on their part as well as on the part of the U. S. Bail- 

 road Administration to assure maximum service from each car. 



The Valley Log Loading Company reports the loading of 1,627 

 cars of logs on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley and Missouri Pacific 

 roads during the month of July, 1,446 on the former and 181 on 

 the latter. This is by far the heaviest loading for any month this 

 year, representing an excess of approximately 33% per cent over 

 .Tune when the figures were 1,100 cars, in round numbers. The load- 

 ing for July, 1918, was 1,626 cars, so that it is clear that the loading 

 of logs has returned to normal for the first time this season. 



Readers of Hardwood Record are familiar with the handicaps 

 which have surrounded logging and milling operations since the 

 beginning of 1919. It was indicated some time ago that log move- 

 ment could not reach normal before July because of the heavy 

 rains which put the loggers practically out of business, especially 

 during the months of April, May and June, and the fact that full 

 loading did not materialize prior to July bears out the correctness 

 of this forecast. 



Weather conditions have been reasonably favorable during the 

 past thirty to forty days and large quantities of logs are available 

 for loading, more than at any time this year. However, there is 

 already slowing down in the inbound movement of logs and other 

 raw materials for the reason that such a shortage of cars is de- 

 veloping. Efforts are being made to relieve this condition but 

 until it is actually relieved loading of logs must suffer. The extent 

 of the loss in loading will be determined practically altogether by 

 the severity of the shortage of cars and lumbermen, conscious of 

 this fact, are bending every effort toward securing a supply of 

 cars that will make it possible to bring hardwood output up to 

 something like the average for this time of the year. 



Tlie hickory ]iiue grows on high and arid plateaus in Nevada, 

 I'tuh and Arizona. It receives that name because of the slender 

 branches which may be twisted and tied like hickory withes, though 

 they are not so tough as hickory. The whiteness of the sapwood 

 resembles hickory in color. The trees never grow large and are of 

 little value except as fuel and as mine props. Another name is fox- 

 tail pine, a term which refers to the arrangement of the needles on 

 the twigs. The tree belongs to the white pine group. 



