'\; j^l:)soa^a■:;s^:>K;yI>50-\:;?^t^:.i;/S^>?>^^.^^^ 



During the last few years considerable attention has been given 

 the subject of preventing sapstain or mildew in freshly sawn lum- 

 ber. It is well known that staining of freshly sawn sap timber is 

 due to attack by a fungus, which requires for development a certain 

 amount of moisture, warmth and food suppl}-. Green sapwood 

 lumber contains an abundance of food matter, and if present in the 

 lumber it is almost certain that fungi will attack the wood. Conse- 

 quently, the most certain and scientific method of preventing the 

 trouble is to annul or neutralize the underlying cause. After con- 

 siderable experimenting it was found that a high grade of bicar- 

 bonate of soda was best adapted to the purpose. Through chemical 

 neutralization bicarbonate of soda kills the sap acid, or, to speak 

 more scientifically, converts the sap acid into a chemical of in- 

 nocuous properties. 



The process is easy enough, consisting simply in dipping the 

 freshly cut boards into a solution of bicarbonate of soda. It is 

 only necessary that the boards be momentarily submerged in the 

 solution, after which they are taken out and stacked on the yard to 

 dry. With reasonable care in preparing the solution and in stacking 

 the lumber afterward, the danger of sapstain is completely obviated. 



Experience and experiments have taught that the strength of 

 the solution must vary with the character of the lumber, and 

 with the mill location. Under 

 certain conditions a solution pre- 

 pared from twenty-five pounds 

 of soda to fifty gallons of water 

 is found sufficiently strong. The 

 amount of soda varies from this 

 up to thirty-five pounds — accord- 

 ing to nature of the wood and 

 climatic conditions; the stronger 

 the solution the more rapidly 

 the boards dry out. 



A thorough solution should al- 

 ways be secured before turning 

 it into the dipping vat. A sepa- 

 rate tank or barrel should be 

 used for preparing the solution. 

 This may be placed with spigot 

 near the bottom over one corner 



of the dipping tank, and the solution transferred to the latter as 

 needed. 



For pine, the temperature in the vat should be maintained at 

 approximately 140 degrees Fahrenheit; for gum and other hard- 

 wood lumber, it should be about 160 degrees. The temperature of 

 the solution is maintained by live or exhaust steam pipes coiled at 

 the bottom of the vat. 



The dipping vat should be cleaned out not less than once a week, 

 and the solution should be kept free from sawdust and sap as far as 

 practicable. 



The illustration shows working plans for erecting a suitable vat. 

 which may be made of concrete, wood or metal — all depending upon 

 the mill operator's taste and desire for economy. A wooden or con- 

 crete vat is made at the mill with local labor. 



A feature upon which too much emphasis cannot be placed is the 

 necessity of keeping the solution at the proper strength. Five 

 pounds of Eagle-Thistle brand pure bicarbonate of soda added to 

 fifty gallons of water will give a one degree solution on a No. 1 

 Beaume Hydrometer, and for every five pounds of soda additional 

 added to fift}- gallons of water the Hydrometer will register one 

 additional degree. Consequently, a solution made from twentj'-five 

 pounds of soda to fifty gallons of water will register five degrees; 

 thirty pounds of soda to fifty gallons of water six degrees, etc. 



Another feature which requires special attention is the proper 

 stacking of the stock on the yard to dry. It should be stacked so 

 as to allow the freest circulation of air possible. This is a matter 

 of the utmost importance to the mill that desires maximum results 



in preventing Siipstain witli the soda-flip process. 



The soda treatment is said to be especially desirable for export 

 stock. Where formerly considerable loss was entailed by damage 

 during ocean transit, many exporters have found that damage claims 

 have ceased since the adoption of the sodadip process. As con- 

 ditions in the hold of a ship are particularly favorable for mildew, 

 untreated stock is in great danger of sapstain. Under the soda-dip 

 process the risk is removed, because the chemical action of the 

 soda permanently neutralizes the sap acid in the lumber, thus re- 

 moving danger of fermentation, providing the stock has been al- 

 lowed to dry out thoroughly on the yard before shipping. 



In the circular issued some time ago by the Forest Service, the 

 government gives its sanction to the soda treatment, proclaiming it 

 to be the most practicable preventative of sapstainiug. If operated 

 by machinery, it is estimated that the cost of soda treatment is 

 from about five to eight cents per thousand feet board measure. A 

 large mill operator in one of the southern states, who has for several 

 years kept a careful record on this point, finds the cost to average 

 about five cents per thousand feet. 



The development of the soda-dip process has moved rapidly since 

 its inception several years ago. Particular attention has been given 



and quickly handling the lumber 

 at the vat. Concerns selling soda 

 for lumber dipping have gone 

 fully into the subject and one 

 of these, the ilathieson Alkali 

 Works of Saltville, Va., is re- 

 sponsible for the design shown 

 in this connection. This arrange- 

 ment has evidently proven itself 

 of great practical benefit in the 

 soda-dipping process. 



to the matter of economicallv 



PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENT FOR SODA-DIPPING LUMBER 



It is the man that uses the 

 saws v.ho ought to know some- 

 thing of their quality, so why 

 not consult him as well as the 

 price when it is time to buy new 

 ones? 



One of the good things that comes with the higher value of 

 lumber is that the buyers will shed and care for it better, and 

 even the millmen should be stimulated to do better piling. 



* * * 



Not only is the fine face veneer business growing steadily in 

 volume each year, but the plain built-up lumber business is doing 

 some husky growing, too. Examine drawer bottoms, furniture 

 backs and big packing box panels for evidence. 



# * » 



Oak stave making and sawmilling ought to go together to make 

 a proper clean-up of stumpage, but there is so much rivalry 

 between them for the best oak timber that they will seldom stand 



to be hitched in double harness. 



* » # 



It is very likely that the scarcity of timber is the only thing 

 that keeps the sawmill machinery men from having more business 

 than they can take care of about now, and even as it is they are 

 probably busier than they have been for a good many years. 



* » # 



The way some of the wood finishers abuse the neutral color of 

 some of our woods to get new effects is about as near to a sin as 

 the way our better halves abuse nature to be in style. 



* » » 



Whenever a crook gets into any kind of business he makes it 

 harder for the others in the business as weU as making a nuisance 

 of himself, and in this the lumber business is no exception. 



—33— 



