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Hardwood Record— Veneer & Panel Section 



April 10, 1917 



out of contact with other objects. The face veneer, how- 

 ever, is constantly bumped about. In the case of dining-- 

 room furniture, such as buffets, the doors are constantly 

 slammed shut, and children playing about such furniture 

 are not known to use particular care as to gentleness. 



Heavy objects are placed on tables. Dishes and 

 other containers are banged down upon them. Sewing 

 machine tops come in contact with scissors and other 

 metal objects, the weight of which, coupled with the force 

 with which they are sometimes thrown aside, is sufficient 

 to come near breaking the fiber of the wood. The edges 

 of the tops and panels are particularly susceptible to in- 

 jury, and it is here, as a rule, that the defect is noticeable. 

 It is true that poor gluing may aggravate this condi- 

 tion. If the veneer is loose at the edges, due perhaps to 

 the use of cauls which w^ere not properly equalized, the 

 shocks and strains which it receives are the more effect- 

 ive in causing it to break, though the writer has seen 

 examples of damaged veneered work where the surface 

 of the veneer was torn off, but the under portion of the 

 material still adhered to the section below, showing that 

 the glue had done all that was expected of it. This 

 simply emphasizes the idea developed above, that every 

 feature of the work is important, and that all rr-ust be 

 right in order that permanence may be achieved. 



The manufacturers of veneers are not altogether 

 without fault in connection with the disposition on the part 

 of consumers to use thin stock. Competition has some- 

 times been based on this feature, one manufacturer, in 

 order to break in, suggesting that the buyer use a some- 

 what thinner veneer, and assuring him that it would 

 give satisfaction. It has even been said, in times gone by 

 — it is hoped that this is no longer the case — that veneer 

 men, meeting unfair competition in the form of stock 

 thinner than it was supposed to be, fighting the devil with 

 fire, and themselves cutting the stock down below the 

 specified thickness in order to meet the price established 

 by the other fellow. 



But v/hatever the reason for too-thin veneers — whether 

 the consumer or the manufacturer is to blame — the fact 

 remains that the tendency should be checked. If the 

 developments in the design and operation of sanding 

 machines do not encourage thicker stock, the manufac- 

 turers of their own volition should establish standards in 

 this respect, calling not for veneers as thin as ■will "get 

 by," but as thick as necessary, the character of the vi^ork 

 and the ultimate satisfaction of the user both being taken 

 into account. 



Comment is sometimes heard that veneered work 

 made in the early days has come down to the present in 

 excellent condition. This is true in spite of the less effi- 

 cient equipment which was available. Hand methods 

 were necessarily in vogue, and without the aid of the 

 powerful and accurate machines now installed the panel 

 man of those days, nevertheless turned out first-rate jobs, 

 as evidenced by the fact that they went into service and 

 stood the wear and tear in excellent style. 



The most conspicuous difference between veneered 

 work of those days and these, it must be said, is that 

 thicker stock was employed. This may have been a vir- 

 tue of necessity, since veneer saws were not able to cut 

 thin stock so readily as those employed today. But what- 

 ever the compelling motive, the fact remains that these 

 heavy face veneers have been able to stand the gaff. 

 They made the name "veneered work" good, and made 

 the public willing to use furniture with veneered tops and 

 panels. Now that veneers are being made thinner and 

 thinner, with only an occasional reaction in favor of thick 

 stock, it seems worth while to stop and consider whether 

 the trade is not approaching the point where "About 

 face!" should be the order of the day. 



G. D. C, Jr. 



Money Often Made in Specialized Industries 



It would be worth the while of many -woodworkers, and pos- 

 sibly this holds particularly true to those working in veneers and 

 thin woods, to make a careful study of import and export data to 

 the end that they niight get a line on many articles which formerly 

 were imported and which now must be made at home if they are 

 to find a place in the American household. Many of these articles, 

 toys of all types and descriptions for instance, have been coming 

 into this country for years and in many cases these articles offer 

 a particularly attractive opportunity to work up a specialized in- 

 dustry so that the organization and equipment of a major industry 

 may be put to the task of using waste and inferior raw materials. 

 This in many cases wrould make possible the purchase of ravsr 

 material which in the aggregate averages a less cost than if the 

 major product alone occupied the attention of the organization. 



It is worth while also for the veneer manufacturer and the wood- 

 working factory using veneers to study the peculiar adaptability 

 of this material, for it is in broadening its uses that it can be made 

 to take the place which it properly deserves in American in- 

 dustrial circles. 



Save This Waste! 



It is obvious that if the woodworker buys a flitch of veneers 

 that has run about eight feet long and through improper piling 

 and inadequate protection to the ends these sheets become split and 

 splintered on both extremities, he is losing in actual money pre- 

 cisely the amount to which the damaged ends when cut off would 

 figure in dollars and cents on the basis of cost per square foot. In 

 other words, if the flitch averages 1 2 inches wide and the \vood is 

 so damaged at the ends that three inches must be cut off each 

 piece, there is an half foot of waste on each sheet of veneer. It 

 wouldn't take long on this basis to make the waste in handling 

 high priced veneer and even in the moderate priced stock run 

 into real money. 



Isn t it worth w^hile to use every possible effort within reason 

 to protect the stuff at all stages of its handling rather than as in 

 some places allowing it to stand out loosely piled with the sheets 

 slipping and spreading around so that everybody who happens 

 through is just as liable as not to take out a chunk from one or 

 more of them by a careless step? 



Natural causes are responsible for enough waste due to end- 

 checking. In fact, so great is the toll from this cause that it 

 would seem but natural for a man who spends his good money 

 for high-priced veneers to do everything he can not only to obvi- 

 ate naturally induced defects, but to prevent any damage that 

 results from other than natural causes. 



