22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



the stock iu course of transit from the chains 

 B; this gives ample opportunity for stock to 

 be returned by means of the driven return 

 rolls X-X. 



Suppose :i lianhvood log has been com- 

 pletely sawn up to the last two planks or 

 flitches. Suppose also that the large log 

 mill cuts this last cant into two planks 4x10 

 inches in size; drop these on the transfer 

 chains B so they are delivered on the idle 



PLAN SHOWING PROPER INSTALLATION 

 OF RESAW IN BAND SAWMILL. 



rolls D; the skids Y are then elevated so as 

 to prevent any more stock being delivered 

 to the resaw until the sawyer is ready for 

 it, and while the sawyer for the big band 

 mill is loading another and is slabbing it, 

 etc., the resaw sawyer spreads his feed 

 rolls so as to split the first 4-ineh plank in 

 the center, following it by the second 4-inch 

 plank sawn in the same manner, and the 

 man taking away from the resaw sends the 



two rosawn 2-inch planks back over the rolls 

 X-X to the point D, on the dead rolls D-D. 



The resaw sawyer immediately takes 

 plank number one and shoves it back upon 

 the end of the skids Y, adjusts his rolls to 

 L' inches, and resaws plank number two. The 

 otf-bearei now sends back the two remain- 

 ing resawn 2-inch planks, numbers three and 

 four, which are sawn into 1-inch boards in 

 their turn. When the skids are lowered 

 plank number one is delivered on the rolls 

 D and resawn, and the accumulated supply 

 from the new log is also delivered at the 

 resaw. 



It will be noted that this accumulation is 

 not delivered until the two 4-inch planks 



are completely sawn and out of the way. 

 To accomplish these results and secure this 

 convenient method of handling the stock, 

 which is well nigh ])erfection in connection 

 with a single band mill, you will note that 

 all of the added mechanism consists iu the 

 two driven return rolls X-X and the skids 

 Y, with the dead rolls 1) mounted in the ends 

 thereof. 



The above explanation and diagram will 

 doubtless be perfectly understandable to the 

 average hardwood manufacturer. The in- 

 stallation shown has ■tjeen recommended by 

 W. B. Mershon & Co. and placed in operation 

 in several modern mills of late and "is giv- 

 ing the best satisfaction. 



Hooligans in the Lumber 'Business. 



I used to think that most anyone could 

 drive a horse. All one seemed to have to 

 do was to sit up on a wagon and shake the 

 lines and let the horse do the work, a little 

 pull more or less being about all there seemed 

 to be to it. It was not until I had been 

 around the crowded streets of a big city 

 like Chicago that I realized what it meant 

 to drive a horse, where a teamster must back 

 his wagon or bus into a space with not 

 more than a couple of inches room to clear 

 his wheels. They do it right along, and with 

 but seemingly little friction; but I am of 

 the opinion that I would play the part of 

 Happy Hooligan were I to attempt any 

 such feat in such a place. 



Now there are just any number of Hooli- 

 gans in this mill business, and I think it 

 would be worth while to study the results 

 iu some cases recently come to light, with the 

 idea of seeing just where the parties stum- 

 bled, figuring out just about where they will 

 land. There is absolutely nothing imagina- 

 tive about the story I shall relate, the dis- 

 tressing fact being that it is all too true. 

 It is one of the shining illustrations of the 

 old saying that "there is a sucker born every 

 minute" — and not necessarily in Illinois. 



The lumber manufacturing business is full 

 of Hooligans — who are continually butting 

 into those who would benefit them were it 

 not for their blundering tendency. Some of 

 them have furnished me with a good deal of 

 worry, some money and an object lesson. It 

 is often the case that several men having 

 enough money to make them uneasy look 

 around for some mischief to get into, and 

 land in a business of which they have abso- 

 lutely no knowledge beyond the fact that 

 trees are growing on the land they buy and 

 that people buy lumber to build houses. 

 Given these two important facts, the install- 

 ing and operation of a sawmill seems but a 

 minor matter, as lots of other people do the 

 same thing, and the change from shaving 

 notes to making shavings from lumber does 

 not seem to be a very great one. In fact 

 they are exactly in my frame of mind when 

 I used to think anyone could drive a horse. 

 But subsequent events have proven that there 

 is a good deal more to a sawmill than graft 



for a relative and the putting up of the 

 building. What connection these two have 

 will presently appear. 



It would seem as if everyone had heard of 

 the gold brick scheme, but as long as the 

 brick can be dressed up in some other guise 

 than a plain brick, just so long .someone will 

 be found to put up the money to get some- 

 thing for nothing. Or, if not getting some- 

 thing for nothing, it at least has the sem- 

 blance of someone letting the buyer in on a 

 deal that is secret and would be snapped up 

 quick if it were known to be laying around. 



One of these generous souls who are the 

 means of letting their friends in on these 

 ' ' sure things ' ' found the means to get ac- 

 quainted with my friend Jones. Jones is 

 a man with money — or was, I should say. He 

 had a good business, he was successful, and 

 had enough to last him in comfort, but like 

 Alexander, he wept for more worlds to con- 

 quer. The opportunity seldom exists with- 

 out the man to meet it, and land agents are 

 among the shrewdest in the world. It did 

 not take one of them long to form the con- 

 nection, and my friend Jones was the buyer 

 of as fine a parcel of timber land as could 

 be found in a new and fast developing coun- 

 try. Later he was joined by another buyer 

 to whom he had confided the ' ' good thing ' ' 

 he had run across, and still later by another, 

 and in the fullness of time there was enough 

 of this land on hand to make a big saw- 

 mill proposition look like the proper thing. 



Up to this time things had been kept quiet. 

 The lands lay back of other property through 

 which access must be had, and after a good 

 deal of trading a mUl site was obtained at a 

 figure that made town lots look like they 

 were cheap as dirt. 



All this time advice was being sought as 

 to the value of the timber. Estimators had 

 been sent in on the quiet, but not one of 

 them had the faintest idea of the timber 

 more than to say about how much to an acre 

 was standing on it. As to what sort of lum- 

 ber it would make that was a needless ques- 

 tion, for was not lumber lumber — and costly 

 at that, just then? Nearly all timber has 

 its value in the tree and can be estimated 

 within certain limits — except cypress in some 



