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Woods Used by Wagon Makers 



Tlie making of heavy wagons is only a part of the general Annial L'se of Woods in Illinois fou Wagons axd Heavy Vehicles 

 vehicle manufacturing business, but it is an important part. Many Average 



other kinds of vehicles are made, including carriages, buggies, and ^^.^^^^ ^^ ^^.^^^,_ Quantity B. M. lOMfeet 



automobiles; and it is not easy to separate them into classes at white oak 7.941,000 $43 69 



the factories which make them, because the same factory may turn Hickory 6,109,000 53.13 



out several kinds. However, business wagons, including farm Cottonwood .-...■J91.000 43.26 



,. , T X. ' L- 1 / Tfc 4. 1 ■ 1 „ lellow poplar .-..089,000 60.22 



wagous in particular, and heavy vehicles o± diflerent kinds, con- Longleaf pine 4 430 000 30 1- 



stitute a fairly well defined and a very largo class. Some factories Shortleaf pine l',225,000 24.02 



specialize on wagons of this kind. Some make farm wagons, others R^^ gu™ 1.240,000 29.53 



coal, stone, and ore t\ agons, some turn out dravs, others carts, but „ ^ ^' ,"^ 1.142,000 36.23 



' , . ,. ^. ■ V 1 i- , Red oak -. 574,000 45.79 



all are for business purposes, as distinguished irom pleasure Basswood • 503 000 4'> 00 



vehicles. The dividing line is not always clear, but the general Sugar maple 418,000 35.42 



divisions are recognized. Redwood 250,000 38.00 



Getting out the stock and converting it into finished products is j"\ "'' ^ 95,000 33.63 



^ , ■ IV . I,- T • - • ■ r 1 '"*'^=^ sprue.. 60,000 45.00 



a large and varied business which is oocommg more specialized. chestnut oak 45 OOo "00 



Formerly wagons were made in small shops scattered about the Cypress .35.000 38.34 



country, in small towns and at country crossroads. The wagon Willow oak 30,000 55.00 



maker" usuallv cut his own stock in the neighboring forest, or it ^'';'"'^ P'"*^ • -?'00" 65.34 



" " Osage orange 27.000 l'>4 63 



was cut under his immediate direction. The stock for a whole year xorway pine 15 000 35 00 



might be stored in !iis shop loft or shedded in his back yard; and Sweet hirch 14,000 39.64 



he slowlv worked out the different parts of the wagons by hand, Lohlolly pine 10,000 37.50 



, ^, ^, ' , , ,, . " I.odgopole pine 8.000 G5 00 



both the wood and tnc iron. ^,.^.^„ ^,^^ _^^^^ ^^-^^ 



That method is no«' a thing of the past, except in a few remote Tupelo 1,000 58 00 



districts where the 'rdividual worker still plies his wagon-snaking 



trade and supplies a 'ew customers. The business has been trans- Total 35,686,000 $43.91 



fened to the factory. Things are done on a large scale. The Illinois, the state which uses these woods, grows only 2.2 per 



individual wagon maker, that is, the man who knows all parts of cent of them, and that small amount is made up principally of 



the operation, is now a rare individual, and his place has been 'nir oak, white elm, white oak, hickory, eottonwood, and sugar 



divided among numerous workmen who specialize on certain parts. maple. The three states, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, 



In the old days the owner of the shop gave his personal attention supplied 2.5 per cent, consisting chiefly of basswood, sugar maple, 

 to cutting and collecting his material. It is done in quite a dif- white pine, and Norway pine. Six and a half per cent came from 

 ferent way now. Then it was usually possible to get all the wood, Indiana, Ohio, and "West Virginia, and white oak, yellow poplar, 

 of different kinds, within a mile or two of the country or village and ash constituted nearly the whole quantity. Missouri, Ken- 

 shop; now, the length and breadth of the nation are searched for tueky, and Tennessee supplied 32..5 per cent, and nearly an equal 

 wood by the enormous wagon factories. They think nothing of amount came from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. Three other 

 bringing it from a distance of from one hundred to five hundred southern states, Jlississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, furnished 1.5.7 

 miles. In fact, they do not expect to find it any nearer. When the per cent, the Pacific coast .9 per cent, consisting wholly of redwood 

 old time wagon maker (often called a wheelwright) bought by the and Sitka spiuce, v.lule the remainder came from regions not 

 cartload or cord, the 'uodern factory purchases by carload or train- specified. 



load. It formerly required little business ability or foresight to White oak is the leading wood for heavy vehicles, and it prob- 



keep the shop supplied with material; but it now taxes the ably has been the leading wood in this industry ever since wagons 



resources 01 able and experienced business men. They must look were made in this country. It is placed where strength and 



far ahead, not only to anticipate their wants, but to ascertain durability are demanded, that is, in the wheels and framework 



when and how the?e wants may be supplied. The wheels of the of the wagon. No wood is an altogether satisfactory substitute 



factory must be kept going, and no manufacturer takes chances by for large hubs, though for small ones a number of woods take the 



presuming that supply will be equal to demand in the time of need. place of white oak. Manufacturers in Illinois draw pretty largely 



He sees to it that the material is on the road to the factory long on the South for oak hubs. A good many come from as far south 



before it is actually needed. How this is done is an interesting as Alabama. That is not necessarily because the best oak is in 



g^Qi.y_ that region, though it is excellent — but because the hub-making 



Take, for example, the wagon factories in one state— Illinois. industry is well represented there, and factories can get what they 



It is a large state with up-to-date establishments; but it is not want. Sizes of oak hubs range from 714x81,2 inches to 10%xl2, 



the leading state in wagon making. Pour are above it in vehicle with extra sizes for those who want them. Oak is a common 



output, first Ohio, nexc Indiana, New York third, Michigan fourth, material for bolsters, which run in lengths 4 feet 1 inch to 4 feet 



then Illinois. The woods bought in one year by wagon makers in 6 inches by 3x4 up to 4x6 inches in cross section. Sandboards are 



Illinois are shown in the table which follows. These woods were the same length as bolsters, and in cross section are 2%x3ii inches 



for beav\- wagons and vehicles only, not for carriages, light wagons, to 4x5 inches. Reaches run in length S to 14 feet long, 2x4 up to 



and automobiles. Thov show at a glance the kinds and comparative 2i,i.x5 in cross section; poles are 12 feet long and in cross section 



amounts of woods demanded in the making of wagons. The 2i,l.x4 up to 314x0. Twenty-six felloes make a wagon, twelve for 



average cost at the factory of the different woods is shown. front wheels and fourteen for rear. Sizes vary greatly, but usual 



These prices hold only for Illinois, and for the year when the dimensions run from l%x2% inches in cross section up to 3x4% 



statistics were collected, 1909. Figures will vary from year to inches. . They must be cut in segments of the required circle which, 



year, and will not be the same in different regions for the same of course, varies with the size of the wheel and the length of the 



vear. felloe. 



It cannot yet be accurately determined what effc-t the automobile White oak is th.<! wood commonly used as spokes of large wagons, 



is having on the wagon industry, but there is no questfon that manu- and the rules governing grades, sizes, shapes, and defects allowed 



facturers are carefully watching developments as they occur. and not allowed, are many and strict. The piece of wood which 



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