HARDWOOD RECORD 



31 



used is this permissible. It polishes very 

 nicely and takes a mahogany stain well, al- 

 thoufjh more after the manner of poplar 

 ■'inn birch. For ceiling partitions in water 

 i.isots, for the platforms for birch stairs, 

 for the backs of cupboards and fixtures and 

 in short for all the inconspicuous places 

 where birch is specified, it is possible to use 

 tupelo to advantage. A stock of flooring 

 and ceiling of this wood is a profitable thing 

 to have around the planing mill, but it should 

 be kept piled straight and level and cov- 

 ered to protect it as niijch as possible from 

 the weather, for it is very likely to warp and 

 twist badly if it and the weather are al- 

 lowed to play together. 



Perhaps one might think that one wood is 

 never changed for another except to substi- 

 tute a cheaper material, but this is far from 

 the truth, as many substitutions are made 

 to fill otherwise impossible orders, or to im- 

 prove the quality of the work. For instance, 

 it may be possible to get outside balusters 

 from Douglas fir in the solid, while if made 

 of yellow pine, as ordered, they would have 

 to be glued up. Not one carpenter in a 

 dozen would notice the difference, and prob- 

 ably not one in four could pick out the fir 

 from the pine if the lot was mixed. An- 

 other substitution where the dearer wood is 

 used is the making of yellow pine panels and 

 even whole doors of western white pine, by 

 selecting such pieces as show a yellow grain. 

 If these are stained, as so much of the hard 

 pine finish is in this day, no one can tell the 

 difference. 



The mixing of red and white oak in the 

 same job is prohibited by many architects, 

 but if the finish is quite dark it will take 

 an expert to designate the difference after 

 the completion of the job. It is true that 

 there is more difference in the appearance of 

 red and white oak in the quarter sawed than 

 in the plain, the white generally showing the 

 better flake, but with careful selection it 

 is possible to interchange the two with gooil 

 results. 



It should not be inferred that these substi- 

 tutions may be made at random; that any 

 piece of birch will replace any piece of maple, 

 or that any piece of tupelo will be a substi- 

 tute for any piece of white birch. Care must 

 be exercised to match the woods in grain and 

 color. 



Some of the handsomest cherry flooring the 

 writer ever saw was made from selected red 

 birch, and the suljstitution resulted in a de- 

 lighted customer. Such a substitution could 

 hardly be called a fraud, even if the real 

 truth was withheld from the customer, for 

 the beauty and quality of the flooring was 

 up to the standanl of the order and was 

 the only means of filling the order and the 

 only means of furnishing the customer in 

 time for the completion of his job. 



The substitution of ash and elm for oak 

 in furniture is one of the evils of the day 

 for which the manufacturer is hardly re- 

 .spoDsible, for it is not to be supposed that a 

 dealer is dead enough not to know the dif- 



ference, yet it is a common experience to 

 have the two woods mentioned offered as 

 "solid oak." But deception is rife in 

 furniture making. We see in the cheaper 

 grades the pure or grained imitation of 

 quartered oak, and the touching up of the 

 quartered pieces having little or no flake, 

 with a fake flake which would be quite effective 

 if the outline was as natural as the size is 

 generous. Another cute thing in furniture 

 manufacture is the way they wrap a fine 

 quartered veneer around a small column in 

 a beautiful spiral — with a brush! 



And this brings us to another practice in 

 interchanging woods — among those used in 

 work finished in paint, and in these the ap- 

 pearance of the surface to the eye is often 

 subordinated to the utility of the pieces. They 

 may be hard or soft, light or heavy, tough or 

 brash and for interior or exterior work, but 

 the substitute must have the general char- 

 acteristics of the prime. If the job calls 

 for poplar, it may be possible to substitute 

 basswood, Cottonwood, butternut and red 

 or white gum, as these woods compose a class 

 having a similar texture, will not split easily 

 and present a smooth surface for paint or 

 enamel. Of course, this does not mean that 

 if a man orders a piece of work made of one 

 of the above-named woods the maker may 

 substitute any of the others without consult- 

 ing the customer, but it may be safe to in- 

 troduce a certain amount of one of the 

 others if it is necessary to complete the job; 

 or it is often possible to get the consent of 

 the customer to the change, if he has specified 

 the first suitable wood coming to his mind 

 and would be equally satisfied with one of 



the others. Some time ago the writer had 

 an order for insulating molding for electric 

 wiring, the customer saying ho wanted ash. 

 When asked why he used ash instead of some 

 cheaper wood, he said that the underwriters 

 would not allow him to use a wood containing 

 any gum or resin, so that hard pine was barred. 

 In the locality where this occurred the red 

 gum was much cheaper than ash, and after 

 showing him a sample of the wood he was 

 satisfied to have the mouldings made from 

 the cheaper wood, as it answered his specifi- 

 cation as well as ash, and any of the short 

 list named would answer as well as gum. 



The substitution of beech for maple is one 

 that is no detriment in many kinds of turned 

 work, and for embossed mouldings it is a 

 happy medium between birch and oak, as it 

 may be used successfully with each and be 

 inconspicuous in color, while it takes the 

 compression with great beauty and smooth- 

 ness. Of course it is much easier to sub- 

 stitute in mouldings of small details than in 

 the wider surfaces, for it is exceedingly 

 difficult to identify the different woods by 

 sight alone when submitted in very small 

 pieces. 



Some of the things to be kept in mind 

 when contemplating a substitution are the 

 weight of the wood, the tendency to warp, 

 the liability to split, the smoothness of the 

 surface, the appearance of the grain in color 

 and pattern and the cost of the lumber. An- 

 other thing to be kept in mind is the cus- 

 tomer, and the successful issue of the work 

 will prove the wisdom of your management. 



— Chables Cloukey. 



Proper Installation of ResaW in 



Sawmill. 



The Record has had several ro(iucsts for 

 plans for the proper method of installing 

 a resaw in a single band hardwood sawmill 

 and is indebted to E. C. Mershon, of W. B. 

 Mershon & Co., Saginaw, Mich., the well 

 known band sawing machinery manufac- 

 turers, for plans outlined in this sketch and 

 for the drawing which accompanies it. 



The various machines and operating de- 

 vices are indicated by letters on the diagram. 

 Located in the train of life rolls which 

 ordinarily convey planks, slabs, etc., from 

 the main sawmill are the transfer chains 

 B; the end projecting within the train of 

 live rolls is usually of the type known as 

 "pick-ups" — that is, the end usually con- 

 sists of a short arm pivoted in such a man- 

 ner that the chains can be raised and the 

 boards or planks transferred from the live 

 rolls by means of the chains. The end of 

 each diain nearest the resaw is stationary. 



Thus, if stock is to be resawn at once, as 

 would be in the case of resawing two-inch 

 plank into one-inch boards, by proper manipu- 

 lation a plank could be transferred to N-N 

 in front of the resaw, passed through the 

 resaw over the dead . rolls E-E, when the 



operator taking away from the resaw would 

 shove the resawn boards over the skids J. 



In the skids J may be located small rolls 

 or what many sawmill men call "dollies," 

 these little castor-like rolls serving to facili- 

 tate the manual transfer of the stock from 

 the resaw to the edger. 



The arrangement just described is the 

 usual ordinary method as practiced by most 

 sawmill men. The novel feature of the 

 installation recommended and shown in this 

 plan is the method for returning stock for 

 resawing a second or third time without 

 interfering with the stock which may be iu 

 the course of delivery toward the resaw from 

 the band mill at the same time. 



To prevent confusion at the resaw and 

 the interference of the one source of supply 

 with the other the skids Y are provided. 

 These skids are pivoted at the end next the 

 live rolls H, and the end nearest the resavr 

 may be raised or lowered at the will of the 

 band resaw sawyer. When the skids Y are 

 elevated, stock being transferred from the 

 live rolls by means of the transfer chains B, 

 will be arrested at some point on the skids 

 Y, because of their elevation, which lifts 



