July 10, 1922 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



13 



By J. F. Hirt 



Vice-President Forest Products Engineering Company^ Chicago 



In order that there may be clear understanding between indi- 

 viduals, peoples of nations and in industries the first fundamental 

 requisite is a generally accepted and fully acknowledged code of 

 expression. That is to say — a common language. 



Standardizing nomenclature is the engineering term for estab- 

 lishing a common language or, common terms of expression. When 

 an industry lacks this first fundamental principle, it is obvious 

 that very little if any progress can be made, and this is the very 

 condition existent in the wood-using industries. 



The automotive industry, although one of the latest to spring 

 into prominence, is already far ahead of others in the woodworking 

 field, and the remarkable achievement of the motor car manufac- 

 turers can without question be credited, in no small measure, to the 

 able pioneer engineers and their successors, with whom they sur- 

 rounded themselves. 



The wood-using industries have been waiting patiently, often 

 despairingly, for the day when the manufacturers of the raw 

 material they use would recognize the necessity for standardiza- 

 tion of grades and sizes or multiples thereof which they could 

 understand and which would more closely conform to their require- 

 ments. But they have been told that "it can't be done." The 

 Lord Almighty grows the trees with all the variables which must 

 be passed on to them. 



No one will question that variables exist and we all agree that 

 they are great, but we are not quite so willing to agree that they 

 can not be reduced to conform to properly defined standards. 



Variability Is Endless 



There are variables and even variables of variables in the raw 

 materials used in practically all our industries. The leather-using 

 industries do not buy their raw material on a few vague and 

 indefinite grade names without any identification marks. The 

 variables here are reduced to the most practical and economical 

 point by the manufacturer, who produces first and foremost to the 

 particular requirements of the various industries using his product. 



The greater the number of industries using one basic raw 

 material the more complex are the variables that enter into the 

 manufacture of that raw material, and though lumber is one of the 

 most outstanding examples, practically nothing has been done in 

 the direction of standardization. A No. 1 common board may be 

 required to cut 66% per cent clear, but this means nothing, because 

 we do not know the use to which it will be put. It will cut clear 

 according to the sizes and quality requirements of one or more 

 industries. 



In the past wood-using manufacturers have depended more on the 

 reliability of sources of supply, whether manufacturer or dealer, 

 than on grade descriptions to consistently secure such character of 

 hardwood product as will meet their needs. This is a deplorable 

 situation, and has continued to exist only because of the lack of 

 concerted action either by a group of wood-using manufacturers or 

 by the lumber njanufacturers themselves. 



Perhaps if the people of the United States had known that every 

 time they bought a piece of furniture containing, say, twenty-five 

 feet of lumber, they have actually been paying for more than 

 seventy-five feet, this condition would not exist today. Not only 

 this, but the cost of the skilled labor used in working up this waste 

 is even more staggering. 



Hooveir, tlie Emancipator 

 When the Secretary of Commerce, Hon. Herbert C. Hoover, sug- 

 gested to lunyber manufacturers that their efforts be directed toward 

 standardizing sizes and nomenclature, determination of a system 



of grade branding and other means for affording protection of the 

 public, he may not only have known more about these conditions 

 than the dissenting minority would lead the public to believe, but 

 he has actually prepared and laid a foundation for the emancipa- 

 tion of the lumber industry, which will soon be productive of note- 

 worthy economies to all concerned. The problem should, however, 

 not be considered a mere routine chore; it will take years to estab- 

 lish an efiicient grading system and, in addition, the requirements, 

 just as in other industries, will change from time to time as old, 

 stabilized products are eliminated from manufacture and as new 

 ones are added. The establishment of clearly defined grading rules 

 will only be brought about by giving equal consideration to the 

 available supply of timber and to all the finished products manu- 

 factured therefrom. 



It is evident that mill cuttings will need to be as near clear and 

 usable as it will be found practical to make them. On the other 

 hand, there is at least one serious objection to the manufacture of 

 dimension stock. Dimension stock is not yet successful, because 

 there is no simple, practical method of kiln drying it in use. Every 

 board produced will usually develop some end checking, as the 

 inherent moisture leaves it and the resultant shrinkage takes place. 

 Consequently, the longer the board the less waste in per cent of the 

 whole will result from end checking. This problem therefore must 

 be taken into careful consideration until such time as it may be 

 found more economical to dry lumber scientifically green from 

 the tree. 



Only a Few Eciuipped for Dimension 



There are only a few large manufacturers who can at present 

 hope to profitably manufacture dimension stock according to 

 recently established practices, and these few must undertake and 

 succeed in proving to wood users the merits of this stock through 

 more disinterested channels than their own organizations. 



If we want to consider dimension stock as making not only one 

 unit piece but any number of multiple units, then the term will 

 fit our new grading system to a considerable extent, but it would 

 again be a general term leading to more confusion and therefore 

 should be avoided in the interest of standardizing nomenclature 

 or grade terms. 



In order to establish a grading system that will be of real tangi- 

 ble value it will first be necessary to prepare the following data: 

 Essentials of Scientific Grading 



1. Make a complete engineering product analysis of all articles 

 made of wood in all industries. 



This will consist of: • 



A. Dissecting each article into unit parts. 



B. Classification of all parts according to the kind of wood 

 and dimensions. 



C. Tabulation of manufacturing operations performed on each 

 part and in the sequence in which they are performed. 



The purpose of this engineering analysis is: first, to determine 

 accurately the raw material requirements of all the wood-using 

 industries, and, second, to determine the labor that will be saved 

 by a proper grading system. 



2. Standardization of sizes: 



A. According to products of the various industries. This can 

 be accomplished through enlisting the cooperation of architects, 

 designers and construction engineers. 



B. According to the available timber supply, for not until 

 the requirements of the wood-using industries are known can 

 they be intelligently filled. 



(Continued on page 23) 



