February 10. 1917 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



33 



Paneling That Makes Good 



Beauties of Interior Woodwork Create Field for Built-up Stock, 



But Care Is Needed. 



ITHOUT ANY QUESTION at all, the greatest 

 opportunity for the extension of the markets 

 of manufacturers of veneers and built-up 

 work is in the architectural field. There are 

 several reasons for this. In the first place, veneered 

 products have been used up to the limit, one might 

 almost say, in the furniture and cabinet trades gen- 

 erally. Consequently, it is hard to see much additional 

 growth of an extensive nature in this line, especially 

 when one recalls how metal furniture for office and 

 bank use has been coming to the front during the past 

 few years at the expense of wood. 



On the other hand, more fine woodwork, in the form 

 of fancy veneers facing glued-up panels, is going into big 

 and costly edifices now than for generations. The 

 public appreciation of beautiful woods has been mightily 

 stimulated, and architects have decided that when the 

 warm, rich atmosphere created by w^ood paneling may 

 be had at less expense than the cold and more or less 

 repellent walls of marble, there is little argument in 

 favor of taking the latter. A number of lumber asso- 

 ciations have been doing their share to educate the 

 architects on this subject, and individual manufacturers 

 of veneers and built-up work have been exerting them- 

 selves to present the advantages of more wood in in- 

 terior construction, so that the architects are specifying 

 material of this kind to a much greater extent than 

 formerly. 



Tliat is why one is fully justified in saying that 

 the biggest potential market for veneered work is in 

 the building field, because this is one place, at least, 

 where appreciation of wood is on the increase, and 

 where the possibilities for increasing its use are far from 

 being exhausted. But at the same time it is necessary 

 to add that if those interested in the development of 

 veneering in the interior trim field wish to see the busi- 

 ness grow, they must give the owner and the architect 

 a run for their money by seeing that the work is properly 

 done. 



Without seeking to criticise unduly, it is easily true 

 that more examples of faulty veneered work can be 

 found in large public buildings, such as hotels, clubs, etc., 

 than anywhere else. It is rather infrequent to run across 

 a piece of furniture, whether made for the home or office, 

 that shows signs of definite defects of construction, yet 

 perfect workmanship on wood panels placed in large 

 buildings is the exception rather than the rule. The 

 reader can demonstrate this for himself by making a 

 fairly close examination of the next room of this type 

 that he happens to be in. 



Unless it falls into the list of exceptions, which are 

 noteworthy enough to deserve study, he will will prob- 

 ably find that the veneers have checked and cracked; 

 that the joints have opened up, and that the surface, 

 instead of being a smooth and perfect specimen of the 

 panel-maker's art, is rough and unsightly. True, it is 

 necessary to make an examination of the work in order 

 to detect these defects, for they are all minor, as far as 

 the general appearance is concerned. One could look 

 about the room, without devoting attention to any one 

 portion of it, without realizing that the panels were not 

 all that they should be; but the very inviting appear- 

 ance of such work, and the very beauty that they sug- 

 gest, often leads to a closer inspection, with resultant 

 disappointment, which is all the keener on account of the 

 expectations which had been aroused. 



No lover of fine wood likes to see it displayed under 

 conditions which reflect discredit upon the material and 

 upon those who were responsible for its manufacture. 

 The enthusiast for mahogany or oak or walnut or figured 

 gum who delights to point out to his friends, less initiated 

 in the mysteries of the craft, the special characteristics 

 of these various fine woods, is always disappointed when 

 he finds it necessary to apologize for the obvious defects 

 of manufacture w^hich have accompanied the installa- 

 tion. Naturally, too, the necessity for qualifying enthu- 

 siastic comments about wood paneling in general with 

 explanations concerning the particular work which is 

 under inspection does not help the cause of built-up work 

 for interior use to any decided extent. 



It would not do to make statements of this kind with- 

 out saying that the fault is not always, or indeed often, 

 with the manufacturer of the veneered work. The panel 

 maker who turns out this material, dealing in large sizes, 

 which necessarily have to be caiefully handled, is often 

 justified in feeling proud of his handiwork — before it 

 goes into the building. After that it is a matter of 

 chance, and whether or not the result is satisfactory is 

 something that is entirely out of the hands of the manu- 

 facturer. 



It is unfortunate that this is true, because his interest 

 in the work, from the standpoint of future business and 

 the good name of his trade, does extend further than 

 its actual delivery and acceptance by the contractor. If 

 the concern which lays the veneers and builds the panels 

 according to the specifications of the contractor were 

 able to determine the conditions under which this work 

 would be installed in the building, the situation would 

 be immensely simplified. But this is not the case, and 

 that is why, as explained, work which leaves" the- factpry 



