HARDWOOD RECORD 



17 



Second Hand Machinery. 



V 



The average prospective man- 

 ager of a woodworking estab- 

 lishment would take the neces- 

 sary precaution in guarding 

 against any weak points in the 

 construction of his building. 

 He sees to it that the steam 

 power plant is first-class in 

 every respect; no expense is 

 spared in the wiring of the 

 building; modern devices and 

 conveniences, such as elevators, 

 ventilating fans, etc., are se- 

 cured from the best manufac- 

 turers, and in fact everything 

 is added to make a substantial 

 and convenient factory. But 

 when it comes to buying the 

 machinery for the plant, ex- 

 penses have been heavy and the 

 need of curtailing often leads 

 to the purchase of second-hand 

 machinery. Partially worn ma- 

 chinery may be all right in the 

 textile mill, in some lines of 

 shoe making, or the lighter 

 lines of manufacture, but for 

 operation in hardwoods it is 

 often worse than useless. Of 

 course, we must take note of 

 the fact that some so-called sec- 

 ond-hand machinery has by no 

 means served its usefulness. 

 For instance, a mill ceases op- 

 eration. The machinery is not 

 worn, and it is put on the mar- 

 ket and bargained oif at very 

 low rates, buyers securing' the 

 machinery making a good trade. Then mills 

 often change machinery to suit new conditions 

 of work and the machinery which is discarded 

 usually is in good condition. Certain types 

 of rebuilt woodworking machinery are per- 

 fectly suitable for further service. All such 

 cases are excluded from this discussion; we 

 refer principally to energetic superintendents 

 who go nosing about the junk shops for dis- 

 carded woodworking machinery which from 

 the very fact that it is sold so cheap proves 

 it to be worthless. 



In one case I noticed a party was fitting up ■ 

 a mill in a building which was first class. 

 The power and machinery plants were of 

 high order and correctly installed. But in 

 connecting the steam plant with the ma- 

 chinery in the mill second-hand shafting, with 

 hangers and wheels, which had been secured 

 at bargain-counter rates, was used. One 

 wheel tilted on its shaft as at A, Fig. 1. 

 The bushing was badly worn. The belt would 

 not remain in line on the wheel and after a 

 day's work the carpenter rigged up the belt 

 guide B, B, as shown, which served fairly 

 well to keep the belt in place. But the mo- 

 tion was unsteady, the belt wabbled, and 

 power was lost; finally the wheel was re- 

 moved and a cast babbitt metal sleeve was 





n^i 



riveted inside the bore to take 

 the place of the worn portion. 

 The mechanism never worked 

 right and considerable belting 

 was destroyed. In securing the 

 hangers of the shafting, it was 

 found that the adjusting screws 

 were badly scored at the threads 

 as at E, Fig. 2. Thus the ad- 

 justment could not be main- 

 tained. I was told that re- 

 aligning the shafting was nec- 

 essary at frequent intervals, 

 which entailed a considerable 

 loss of time. Quite a number 

 of the bearings of the boxes of 

 the hangers were found to be 

 badly worn or not true. Fig. 3 

 illustrates the position of one 

 of the boxes due to the slipping 

 of set-screws and the wear of 

 parts. In fact the second-hand 

 equipriient of shafting had to 

 be regularly inspected, the weak 

 points strengthened and new 

 parts substituted for worn ones. 

 Later I visited the same mill 

 and was told that practically 

 all the second-hand parts of ma- 

 chines had been replaced with 

 new. 



In another shop I was shown 

 a lever of a rotary veneer cut- 

 ter patched as in Fig. 4. There 

 were two pieces of sheet iron 

 riveted on either side of the 

 fractured slot as at G, and to 

 further support the elbow the 

 rod H was put on. Second-hand machinery 

 dealers who make a specialty of woodworking 

 machinery almost always furnish machines to 

 the trade in very good order. They go over 

 and rebuild weak parts, refitting junk shop 

 machines very thoroughly, so that they often 

 give good service for years. Excellent bar- 

 gains are often made with reputable dealers 

 in second-hand machinery. I have seen old 

 machines so thoroughly overhauled by ex- 

 perienced second-hand people that the ma- 

 chines were brought quite up-to-date. Pro- 

 miscuous buying is what is dangerous. 



A case came to my notice recently where 

 a manufacturer of hardwood novelties bought 

 a sanding machine, and for some time was 

 annoyed by the irregular motion of the cage. 

 An investigation showed that the rocking 

 rod was loose in the head of the connection 

 and that a steel strap had been put on as at 

 I, Fig. 5, in hopes of overcoming the weak- 

 ness. The rivets had worked free and the 

 combination seemed ready to break apart. 

 The machine was allowed to remain idle un- 

 til a new connecting rod end was secured. 



Fig. 6 illustrates another instance of 

 trouble with warped shafting and worn wheel 

 hubs which a mill man had secured at fasci- 

 nating prices from a dealer who was in a 



hurry to get the junk off his hands. A post, 

 L, was used to brace a weak hanger, and a 

 shaking coupling with the bolts exposed as at 

 M was badly in need of attention. The 

 worst part was the wheel K, which inclined 

 to one side, and the belt in being transmitted 

 from wheel to wheel lapped over the edge. 

 In order to keep it in place the block of 

 wood, J, was nailed up. A collar was broken 

 as at N on this shaft, and a ring of steel 

 shrunk on as at 0. Fig. 7 represents a wheel 

 on this line of shafting which was in very bad 

 shape. Apparently at some time a weight 

 had fallen upon the wheel, rupturing a sec- 

 tion of the rim. Some ingenious individual 

 had riveted three pieces of metal on either 

 side of the break, next to the hvib, as at P, P, 

 thus securing the piece temporarily. The 

 rivet heads had become loose and were play- 

 ing havoc with the leather belt. Nor was 

 this all. Following along the line of this 

 shafting I noticed screws that were valueless 

 because the threads were worn off as at R, 

 Fig. 8. So it is, there are all kinds of sec- 

 ond-hand machinery. I have seen some sec- 

 ond-hand machinery from the shops of rep- 

 utable dealers, well worth the cost; and 

 again some not worth its weight as scrap- 

 iron. "Observkr," 



Forest Utilization. 



The Hakdwood Record is indebted to the 

 author, C. A. Schenck, Ph. D., director of the 

 Biltmore Forest School and forester of the 

 Biltmore estate, for a volume entitled Forest 

 Utilization, Mensuration and Sylviculture. 



Although forest utilization shows a higher 

 development in the United States than in any 

 other country, there has been, up to the present 

 time, no American handbook upon the subject. 

 The term "forest utilization" comprises all acts 

 by whicli forests, the immobile produce of 

 nature, are converted into movable goods or 

 commodities. Considered as a science or as an 

 art, forest utilization constitutes the major part 

 of forestry now practiced in this country. Dr. 

 Schencls's work covers exhaustively logging oper- 

 ations — labor, work of cutting, and transporta- 

 tion — and the manufacture of wood products, 

 treating of power transmission, technical quali- 

 ties of trees, sawmills, veneer plants, box mak- 

 ing, cooperage, tannery, wood pulp production, 

 and all the various phases of the woodworking 

 industry. 



By "forest mensuration" is meant the deter- 

 mination of the present and future product of 

 the forest. In the department of the book 

 devoted to tliis subject, all its phases — the 

 volume, age, increment and stumpage values of 

 trees, parts of trees and aggregate of trees — are 

 dealt with plainly and exhaustively. 



Several chapters on sylviculture, or the rais- 

 ing and tending of forest products, are pre- 

 sented, covering ecological principles, facts and 

 definitions, the genesis of the forest, the peda- 

 gogy of the forest, the sylvicultural forms, etc. 



It is rare indeed that a worthy contribution 

 to lumber literature is produced, and Dr. 

 Schenck is to be congratulated on having com- 

 piled a handbook of interest and rare value to 

 students of the subject he handles in so com- 

 prehensive and authoritative a manner. 



The Clinton Saw Mill Company has been 

 granted a charter to engage in the manufacture 

 of wagons, carts and buggies, implement han- 

 dles, furniture and sash, doors and blinds at 

 Clinton, La. The company is capitalized at 

 $20,000. J. W. Strong Is president ; J. C. 

 Dozier, vice president, and D. E. Ellis, manager 

 of the concern. 



