38 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



'i'hat is what so many men fail to see — tbat a 

 sliarp point is not tlie best thing lor the cut- 

 ting edge of a tooth. To malse a saw to ve- 

 stmbie a plate with a great number of needles 

 cut on its edge and then to imagine that those 

 needles would make a good cutting edge is to 

 have an entirely wrong conception of the prin- 

 ciples which govern the cutting points of saw 

 teeth. Reason th» matter out and it will soon 

 be clear. The cutting action of a saw is to clear 

 a path in the wood a trifle thicker than itself, 

 and the pieces have to be left smooth and paral- 

 lel. Just imagine, for instance, that instead 

 of needles on a plate we had a number of fine 

 chisels, well ground and sharpened, the chisels 

 .just a trifle wider than the plate. The action 

 of the chisels would be to slice out the por- 

 tions of wood tliey came into contact with, and 

 to cut the wood easily, and not to leave rough 

 fibers behind, so dilforent to the needle-shaped 

 teeth. As soon as this is presented it will 

 be seen how much better is the method of hav- 

 ing chisel-pointed teeth lor ripping purposes than 

 to have a great number of acutely beveled teeth, 

 making very sharp pointed ones. This cannot 

 he too much impressed upon the rising genera- 

 tion of woodworkers, that the cutting powers 

 of a saw tooth do not depend on its needle- 

 like point, but whether it is shaped and sharp- 

 ened so that the whole width of the point of 

 the tooth will cut. and the dust that comes 

 irom the saw to be more in the shape of a 

 paring than line dust. This may seem like 

 heresy to some men, but the great success of 

 the inserted tooth saws proves conclusively the 

 advantages which can be gained with properly 

 shaped teeth. It might be said that in ninety- 

 nine cases out of' a hundred the saw Is sharp- 

 ened quite flat upon the top, so that there is no 

 difference from one side to the other. It can- 

 not be said that this is the best way ; there 

 is a very slight advantage in having Just a 

 trifle of bevel on the tooth so that there is 

 just a point, and not to have an entirely flat 

 surface. Trying saws sharpened so that they 

 were flat on the top, it was found that they 

 took a trifle more power than if they were 

 sharpened with a slight bevel on each tooth 

 alternate ways, and they did not last so long 

 sharp for cutting, either. Still, lor all that, 

 there Is a considerable difference between these 

 and the needle-pointed teeth which some of the 

 younger men of the trade seem to think are 

 necessary to a good cutting saw. — The TiMunn 

 Xews. 



Shoe-Last Industry in England 



The woods used in the manufacture of boot 

 and shoe lasts in the Leicester district, says a 

 consular report, are white American rock maple, 

 basswood, and English beech, the maple being 

 largely In excess of cither of the other two 

 kinds. Persimmon is also used, but loss com- 

 monly. English beech is usually purchased by 

 the last-cutter in the tree trunk, and as the 

 trunks vary in size, it is impossible to fix any 

 general scale of prices. The rock maple and 

 other woods come from the United States in 

 rough-shaped blocks, shipped loose without any 

 casing or jjacking. One of the largest manufac- 

 turers reports that the scale of prices is 

 approximately as follows, per 1,000 blocks, the 

 prices being reduced from pounds sterling I" 

 United States currency : 



Description — Trice. 



Women's sizes: ^^^^^ 



■i ; 59.86 



1 ;;.■; 49.88 



Girls' smail size, 12 30.05 



Mf^^''"*--^^ 6,5.08 



9 ; 67.60 



11 ;;;;;;;; -o.io 



Boys' sizes, 7 to 13 "25.04 



The largest last manufacturer in this district 

 [address on file in the P.uri'iiu of Miiniifacturesl 



imports maple blocks almost exclusively, and 

 it is said that the firm desires to make pur- 

 chases up to, say, 300,000 blocks. A very good 

 work on the subject of last making, largely in 

 use here, is published in London. The publish- 

 er's address is transmitted [on file in the Bu- 

 reau of Manufactures]. 



The kind of wood exclusively used in the 

 manufacture of boot and shoe lasts in London 

 is American rock maple. The wood is imported 

 in blocks, which are kiln dried before shipment 

 and are handled loose. The blocks are pur- 

 chased at so much a pair, varying in price ac- 

 cording to sizes, and perhaps averaging about 

 ] 1 cents per pair. A list of London last and 

 tree manufacturers is transmitted. [List on 

 file in the Bureau of Manufactures.] 



An Ingenious Tree Caliper 



A quick, accurate and convenient method of 

 measuring trees has been provided l>y the Frank- 

 lin Caliper Company of Franklin, X. C, who is 

 now placing on the market a caliper which can 

 be used, wlien not in professional use, as a 

 walking stick. The Franklin Staff Caliper con- 

 sists essentially of two parts of the staff and the 

 two tapes inserted in the handle. In working, 

 parallel sides are obtained when the parallel 

 tapes indicate the same inch mark or fraction of 

 an inch mark coming from the tape slot at the 

 same time. The staff parts are made of ash, 

 and a brass plate on the handle shows log scale 

 for a 16-foot log. 



The caliper is made in two sizes — one iVz 

 feet in length and weighing only a couple of 

 pounds will caliper up to 72 inches in diame- 

 ter, while the second, 38 inches long, will cali- 

 per up to 56 inches. The tool has been thor- 

 oughly tested and its accuracy can be perfectly 

 relied on. It weighs but two pounds and is 

 easily adjustable. It Is being used at the Yale 

 Forest School, the Biltmore Forest School, the 

 Ohio State Forest School, and by many engaged 

 in tin- \\or»d trade. 



A Self-Evident Proposition 



There are few things that are so important 

 to the profitable operation of a sawmill as the 

 grate. 



Upon the character of the fire it sustains is 

 due very largely the output of the entire plant. 



It is impossible to impart the proper motion 

 to the machinery without an engine of propor- 

 tionate size ; equally out of the question to 

 drive the engine properly without sufficient 

 steam ; impracticable to obtain ample steam 

 without a hot fire ; and, with such fuel as is 

 commonly used in saw mills, exceedingly hard 

 to get a hot enough fire without the Gordon 

 Hollow Blast Grate. 



Such, at least, is the opinion of the Gordon 

 Hollow Blast Grate Company, of Greenville, 

 Mich., and they have apparently established their 

 case. 



Circassian Walnut 



-V writer in the Grand Kapiils Furniture Kec- 

 ord states that the populai'ily of Cii-cassian wal- 

 nut is of more or less recent origin. About 

 thirty-five years ago the burl, an excrescenc<' 

 on the trunk of the Circassian walnut tree, 

 was marketed as French walnut. As the en- 

 tire output was distriluited from Marseilles the 

 name Frencli walnut hecami; attached to the 

 wood. So great was the value of the wood 

 on account of its beauty and scarcity that its 

 use in the finish of veneers became common. 

 Owing to the lack of durability due to tliis 

 extreme thinness, the resulting surface deterio- 

 ration lost its popularity. The Circassian wal- 

 nut of today, however, is produced directly from 

 the lumber of the tree, which possesses ex- 

 ceedingl.v delicate beaut.v of figure and veiniog. 



The tree, technically known as Jki/Iuiis ict/iti. 



is a native of the Caucasus mountains and is 

 found there in the sheltered valleys among In- 

 numerable varieties of fruit trees, and In that 

 country is of considerable Importance as a 

 producer of food. While a great deal of the 

 lumber is taken from these fruit orchards of 

 the old Circassian settlers, the finest wood is 

 found in the region of the Black Sea, where it 

 requires the rich soil of the protected valleys 

 for its best growth. 



While the growth is always sheltered, stunted 

 and gnarled, still it is this very characteristic 

 which gives to it the unsurpassed figure and 

 in cutting the bole is uncovered for several 

 feet under the ground. In fact, the roots them- 

 selves often contain the most highly prized 

 wood and as they are very sizable, the opera- 

 tion of extracating them from the soil Is more 

 than justified by the ultimate price realized 

 for the wood obtained. 



The marketing of the timber after being cut 

 is the most difficult part of the operation as 

 only the crudest mountain pathways are avail- 

 able for hauling, and as the wood Is extremely 

 heavy it very often requires as much as two 

 years to bring it to the market. Oxen are 

 used entirely in hauling and it is often neces- 

 sary to snake the logs over a range of moun- 

 tains in order to finally put them where they 

 are in reach of the market. 



Miscellaneous Notes 



A new concern for Sterling, III., is the Sterling 

 Hearse & Carriage Company, capitalized at 

 '?10,000. 



The Warren Motor Car Company of Detroit, 

 Mich., recentl.y increased its capital stock to 

 .$300,000. 



The Climax Box Company was recently incor- 

 porated at Pittsburg, Pa., with a capital stock 

 of $5,900. 



The Williams Brothers Lumber Company was 

 recently incorporated at Obeiiin, La., with a 

 capital stock of .175,000. 



The plant of the Hickory-Jones Hardwood Mill 

 lit Many, La., was recently destroyed by fire. The 

 loss is partially covered by insurance. 



The Adams Shipbuilding Company was re- 

 cently incorporated at East Boothbay. Me., with 

 an authorized capital stock of !?1(),000. 



The W. II. Mengel Lumber Company was re- 

 cently incorporated at California. Mo., with an 

 authorized capital stock of $12,000. 



A new concern to enter the lumber fraternity, 

 Duluih, Minn., is the Warba Hardwood Manu- 

 facturing Company, capitalized at $100,000. 



The Jlilford Veneer Company of Milford, Inrt., 

 has been incorporated for the manufacture and 

 sale of lumber, the capital stock being $20,000. 



The Bunker Hill Lumber Company of Goss. 

 Marion County, Miss., was recentl.v capitalized 

 at $3,000 by Wm. M. Goss and J. B. Johnston. 



The plant of the Pelican Oar and Handle 

 Company, Denham Springs, La., w'hich was re- 

 cently destroyed by fire, will be rebuilt at an 

 early date. 



The Universal Chair Company of Union City, 

 Pa., recently filed a petition in bankruptcy. Its 

 assets are given as $3,700 and its liabilities at 

 $13,472.27. 



Articles of incorporation were recently filed 

 with the secretary of state by the King Furni- 

 ture Company of Saginaw', Mich. The company 

 has a capital stock of $10,000. 



The Giant Furniture Company of High Point, 

 N. C, was recently chartered with a capital 

 stock of $150,000 by E. A. Snow and others, for 

 the manufacture of furniture. 



The White Lake Flooring & Lumber Company 

 is a new concern for Houston, Tex., capitalized 

 at $200,000. Those interested are M. B. Wil- 

 luun, W. C. Lund and D. H. Handley. 



A new concern for Hugo, Okla., is the Shelton 

 Lumber & Manufacturing Company, capitalized 



