32 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



It will be surprising to know that the wood (.'ar building demand 

 amounts to more than four hundred million feet annually, and that 

 boxes and crating consume- nearly as much in quantity. The other 

 large factors of lumber consumption are involved in the sash, 

 door and interior finish industry, farm machinery, furniture, pianos 

 and organs and cooperage. 



Getting down to similar factors of consuiniJtion, it is surely sur- 

 prising to note that nearly twelve and a half million feet of lum- 

 ber are consumed in Illinois annually in the making of handles; 

 that nearly eight and a half million feet are consumed in the 

 manufacture of laundry machinery and accessories; that electrical 

 apparatus consumes more than seven and a half million feet, and 

 refrigerators nearly six million feet. 



More than three million feet of lumber are remanufactured into 



the form of ladders; nearly three million feet into trunks and 

 sample cases; more than two and a half million feet into sport- 

 ing goods; and nearly two and a half million into meat blocks, etc. 

 Wood utilization is certainly an interesting study in this great 

 central state of wood consumption, and it must further be 

 recalled that the city of Chicago alone consumes more than sixty- 

 two and a half per cent of the annual total of 1,781,536,12(1 feet. 

 The office of Wood Utilization of the Forest Service is continuing 

 this work in securing similar data in other chief wood consuming 

 states of the country, and already has figures together for nearly 

 the entire range of territory that constitutes the large wood con- 

 suming area of the United States. Supplemental reports covering 

 various states from this data will be published in Hardwood 

 Record from time to time. 



' '^ : i;^v;<>^^j/:v:;^v.:;:/:i:>^^^^i^)ib:W.<si^^jiKSxv.^'■Mj^^^^ 



Veneer and Its Uses 



VENEEES IN CASKET MAKING 

 All things come to him who waits, says the proverb, and while 

 it is probably true that the waits required in order to secure a 

 number of desirable things would be prohibitive, considering the 

 allotted span of life on this mundane sphere, it occasionally hap- 

 pens that things turn out all right just by letting them develop 

 along natural lines. A case in point is the coffin industry in its 

 relation to the use of veneers. . 



Not many years ago the makers of caskets called on the veneer 

 people to supply them with stock for their curved ends, where 

 solid material could not be used without ditficulty, and where the 

 built-up piece served the purpose well and was also cheaper. The 

 business was sizable, although not large, and the manufacturers 

 of thin lumber suggested to a good many members of the consum- 

 ing business that built-up stock could be used to advantage in the 

 remainder of the work. 



"What are you trying to hand us?" just about expressed the 

 typical casket manufacturer's attitude. "You can't give us 

 veneers that will enable us to produce coffins any more cheaply; 

 if anything, the cost will be considerably in excess of solid wood. 

 We get an advantage by telling our trade about the rich solid 

 mahogany and quartered oak work we are turning out, and do 

 you think we are going to throw this away simply to use veneers, 

 which will cost us more anyway?" 



The veneer trade put up some prett}' good arguments, but ap- 

 parently did not bear fruit very readily. So the manufacturers 

 sat down and waited, contenting themselves meanwhile with 

 taking care of the business in other lines, and managing t6 exist 

 without being called on to furnish more material for coffin manu- 

 facture than the curved ends referred to. And the waiting was 

 to good purpose. 



Gradually a coffin manufacturer or two figured the thing out, 

 realizing that the use of solid material did not produce especially 

 fine results, as far as appearance was concerned. For example, 

 when a mahogany casket was being made, it was usually neces- 

 sary to use two boards in order to get the full fourteen inch 

 widths which were required. This resulted in a combination of 

 figure that did not provide uniformity-. There was immediately 

 apparent the fact that the material was not from the same log 

 and probably not even from the same tree. 



Then, too, there was the matter of waste. Cutting lumber to 

 dimensions and working it into shape for use created a lot of 

 offal, which could not be utilized and which was consequently 

 burned. Careful figuring showed that oven from a standpoint 

 of economy it might be wise to look into the use of veneers, in 

 which there would be little or no waste, and which could be 

 bought, cut to dimensions, at a price which would make their 

 use practicable, at all events. 



They began to try out veneers, and found that they could use 



them to advantage. In some cases the final cost proved higher 

 than when solid lumber was used, but this was more than made 

 up for by the great beauty of the resulting work, and the abso- 

 lute uniformity in figure and texture of the face material. Instead 

 of having a casket made up of wood which, while of the same 

 general stock, varied sufficiently to prove the lack of uniformity, 

 the veneers, matched up exactly and appearing in all parts of the 

 casket, were absolutely alike, as was to have been expected. 

 In addition, of course, much more handsomely figured stock was 

 obtainable under this process than it was possible to secure in 

 any other way. 



Those who were putting out veneered coffins were able to show 

 their trade handsomer goods than were ever seen before. The 

 demand for work of this character soon became quite decided, 

 and manufacturers who had been contenting themselves with 

 using the dull figured solid mahogany and quartered oak, had 

 to bestir themselves and come into the market for veneers in 

 order to keep in line with the new demand. 



In order to continue their hold on the trade, some of the more 

 progressive manufacturers of caskets have been making use of 

 other woods than quartered oak and mahogany in veneers, and 

 Circassian walnut and figured gum are now being utilized. This 

 is by no means general, but a good many manufacturers are 

 trying it out on their own trade, and have found the results to be 

 all that could be desired. It is probable, in view of this, that the 

 Tnanufacturers of veneers will have a more varied and substantial 

 trade from the casket industry in the immediate future than has 

 ever been tho case in the past. 



It is not to be assumed from the foregoing that the casket 

 people have had a sudden change in attitude, nor that manufac- 

 turing methods have been entirely revolutionized. As a matter 

 of fact, some of the largest factories are continuing to use the 

 old-fashioned methods, and assert that they cannot make use of 

 veneers to advantage except in the way which has been referred 

 to; and on account of the number of ends with straight lines, 

 in the shajie of hexagons, for example, being designed, the de- 

 mand for this kind of work is not as large as it was a number 

 of years ago. 



"I tried out veneers several years ago," said the manager of a 

 big casket factory recently, "and found that I got excellent re- 

 sults, as far is the appearance of the work was concerned. It was 

 not any cheaper, though the increase in expense was not great, 

 and T was thoroughly satisfied with the results. Tho powers that 

 lie, however, told me to quit using veneers, saying that they be- 

 lieved the trade wanted solid work. That is why wo are turning 

 out that kind today instead of the work with built-up sides and 

 top." 



The decline in the use of the cloth-covered casket is another 

 factor which seems to favor the growth of veneer consumption 



