HARDWOOD RECORD 



i7 



Further, with the small capital invested, a long time investment 

 is not desirable and hence he does not plan for the future. Change 

 of ownership, then, is the only solution of the problem, and event- 

 ually the large pencil companies will undoubtedly acquire the 

 principal sources of supply. They will then be in a position to 

 establish a working plan to insure perpetuation. 



A great deal in the right direction can be done by wood-lot 

 owners if they will stop cutting the better stands of second- 

 growth cedar for posts, etc., and allow them to mature for pencil 

 timber. This refers only to stock growing iu dense stands, which 

 result in clear, straight-grained logs. A comparison of the rev- 

 enues derivable from red cedar iu the form of posts and in the 



form of pencil wood shows that it is absolute folly to cut such 

 stock as will be available for the latter purpose, for. use in any 

 other industry. 



In its report on the subject of management of large tracts, 

 purely for pencil timber production, the Forest Service suggests 

 a gradual weeding out of poor trees and of other species than 

 cedar, ultimately acquiring a pure stand of good stock. This 

 method, if augmented further by thinnings and prunings at the 

 right time and a legitimate amount of replanting, ought eventually 

 to serve as a solution for the perpetuation of the red cedar sup- 

 l>ly. However, it must be remembered that red cedar is of very 

 slow growth, and reproduction will require many years. 



VOTgi^JM;5W^:;t^:t:;agxa«-te>;w*a^B*mi;i^^ ,;ij^tlAi^)'"lia ;^- 



LiOg Shrinkage On the Yard 



It is not onl_v possible but liighly probable that many hardwood mill- 

 men have been overlooking opportunities to administer the proverbial 

 ounce of prevention on the log yard and thus save the pound of cure. 



Xot long ago at a convention, the somewhat startling assertion was 

 made by a veneer man, wheu explaining that he figured his log cost 

 at $20 per M feet on the yard, that the original cost was only 

 $16.50, but considering the shrinkage in scale from the yard to the 

 mill, the deterioration as the summer advanced amounting to fully 

 a third, the final average cost came up to $20. 



^Vhen we consider this fact in the light of the general efforts of 

 the country toward conservation, it looks rather startling and seem- 

 ingly should have had serious attention before now. ■ Certainly thirty- 

 three and one-third per cent of waste between the time of receiving 

 and measuring logs that come to the .yard and the time of cutting 

 them up in the mill is a startling proposition to contemplate. Possi- 

 bh- it is here that the excessive waste which the trade has been trying 

 to locate for several years can be found. There may be oppor- 

 tunities to save some of this waste and thus get more out of the 

 sawmill and at the same time have a better product. 



Probably this waste does not amount to thirty-three and one-third 

 per cent in many instances. It is not likely to be as heavy in the 

 a\erage sawmOl log yard receiving its logs by rail and by wagon as 

 at the average veneer plant where logs are often banked and piled 

 back and stand through a whole year before being worked up. The 

 sawmill that keeps only enough in piles to run a day or two surely 

 has no shrinkage on the log yard, if the scaling is properly done. 



It is a different story, however, with yards that bank heavy runs 

 of logs wliether they get them in by rail or by water. If thev are 



brought in by water during high tides in the spring and then are 

 Ijanked in the mud high and dry, they may deteriorate considerably 

 in the course of the summer months both from sun cracks on the ends 

 and top, and from decay on the bottom. Even if they are kept in 

 booms or iu ponds, that part exposed above the water will decay 

 somewhat, but the shrinkage loss here is seldom as great as when 

 logs are piled out on the dry ground and are left there throughout 

 the summer. 



Where it is part of the order of business to pile up a season's run 

 of logs it certainly should be worth while to take all practical meas- 

 ures of precaution against damage and shrinkage while they are iu 

 stock. It should be worth while to build suitable skidways and get 

 them up off of the ground and then either protect the ends of the 

 logs with paint or shelter them in some way. It also often becomes 

 necessary to protect logs against insects. This is difficult at times, 

 especially where the bark is left on, which is imperative with the 

 veneer log. While peeling the bark off of raw logs when they are 

 yarded often prevents the ravages of insects, it does not prevent 

 season checks — in fact often encourages them. 



It is impossible to give an offhand general prescription for this 

 case of log shrinkage on the yard, because conditions vary so with 

 different mills and with different kinds of timber. But once the 

 attention of millmen is properly turned to this point and there is 

 brought home to them a full realization of its magnitude, some 

 reasonable remedy will suggest itself in nearly every case. It is 

 simply a matter of keeping the thing in mind and doing that which 

 suggests itself as the most practical to relieve this loss in a great 

 measure. .j q t. 



The Mai) Bag 



B 170 — Seeks Tliiu Quai'ter-Sawed Maple 



Two Rivers, Wis., Jan. 6. — Editor Hardwood 

 Hecobd; If you could in any quarter bring us 

 in contact with someone that can saw quarter- 

 sawed maple, drying and finishing it to a thick- 

 ness of one-quarter inch, we would be glad to 

 have you advise us. 



Manufacturing Company. 



The foregoing inquiry is from a well-known 

 manufacturing house producing wood special- 

 ties. Anyone interested in the inquiry can 

 have the address by referring to B 170, and 

 addressing this office. — Editok. 



B 171 — Seeks High-Class Window Frame 

 Stock for Coupe Bodies 



Toledo, Ohio, Jan. 6. — Editor Hardwood 

 Record : In the manufacture of brougham and 

 coupe bodies for electric pleasure cars, we re- 

 quire a wood for window frames that will not 

 warp, will not split easily, one that takes paint 



well, stand exposure to ihr vveatln-r and not 

 rot easily. These frames finish %" thick and 

 from one to two inches wide, largely 1%". The 

 inside edge is grooved in the center to take 

 glass about 3/16" tbick. Most all frames are 

 finished with black paint. 



We have been using Mexican mahogany for 

 tbis purpose and some East India mahogany, 

 but find that while the Mexican has most of 

 the characteristics named above, it seems to 

 be very light and lifeless and has a tendencj- 

 to split when inserting screws or putting in 

 the groove on account of stock finishing only 

 %" thick. 



Would you be able to suggest any other woods 

 that might answer this purpose more satisfac- 

 torily, keeping in mind all that is required of it 

 as stated above? We have in mind such woods 

 as cherry, birch, walnut, beech, chestnut, Cuban 

 mabogan.v, rosewood, Colombian wood, etc., but 

 not having much experience in their use, thought 

 possibly you could give us some information 



regarding same, or if you know of any other 

 wood which you think better suited, would be 

 pleased to hear from you about the same. 



Any information you can give us will be 

 greatly appreciated. 



Manufacturixg Compant. 



The above letter is from a leading brougham 

 and coupe manufacturing house, which has 

 been advised that undeniably the highest type 

 of wood for the pi:rpose it names is Cuban 

 mahogany, which has all the qualities of en- 

 durance, strength and other requisites. It has 

 been told that many varieties of wood are sold 

 for mahogany that are not mahogany, but 

 simply masquerade under that name. This 

 statement applies largely to some of the woods 

 of African origin. 



The correspondent is further advised that 

 next to Cuban mahogany for the purpose 

 named, probably the best materia! is black 

 walnut or cherry, either of which woods has 

 all the necessary qualities for the purpose, as 

 they will stay in place and hold any kind of 

 shellac, varnish or paint finish. 



