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Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



May 10, 1921 



Side Studies on Block Boiling 



The reason blocks and flitches are boiled and steamed and the 

 primary purpose back of it all was and is to put them in better 

 condition for cutting with knives. The same holds true no matter 

 whether it is blocks for the rotary machine or flitches for the 

 slicer, the primary purpose behind the practice of boiling and 

 steaming is that of softening the wood so that it w^ill cut easier 

 and the cuttings come away in better shape with less rupture and 

 disturbance in the grain of the wood. Now, however, we are 

 developing some interesting side studies, some other points of 

 advantage which may be had from boiling and steaming timber 

 as a preparatory process for cutting. 



For one thing there is coming a realization that the heat of 

 boiling and steaming has an effect on the wood which plays a 

 part in its future behavior. In addition to this the heat and the 

 evening up of the moisture content by surcharging the wood 

 with moisture simplifies the drying or seasoning process and 

 makes it more even and positive. 



This gives us two interesting lines of side study. One is that 

 of how to make the best of the boiling process and its results in 

 the drying out of it immediately after it is cut. It is bringing a 

 realization too that the drying process should follow immediately 

 after the cutting process. And because of the fairly uniform 

 moistjjre content and of the fact that there is free moisture in 

 the wood it is comparatively easy to standardize the method of 

 drying and to handle this process with only a minimum of the 



iittention to meet changing conditions from day to day. 



The big field for scientific study and research work, however, 

 is in the effect that temperature and excess moisture may have 

 on the wood structure itself. It seems that high temperature 

 serves in some manner to fix certain factors in the wood structural 

 body so that after drying out there is less tendency to swell and 

 shrink and misbehave than if the wood had not been subjected 

 to heat in the process preparatory for cutting. 



One veneer manufacturer who has watched this closely but has 

 not studied it scientifically, said in reference to gum that the way 

 to make it behave after it is dried is to kill it in the process of 

 boiling in the vats. He claims that experience has taught them 

 that while they can get wood soft enough to cut with a limited 

 amount of boiling they find that in the case of gum it pays to 

 carry the boiling process on longer and raise the temperature 

 higher, not because it helps so much with the cutting, but be- 

 cause it makes the stock behave better after it is cut. 



If this is a fact and not merely a fancy it opens a big line for 

 scientific study and research w^ork in preparing blocks and flitches 

 for veneer cutting. If the boiling can be made to serve another 

 purpose, that of checking the swelling and shrinking tendencies 

 after the wood is dried out, then it is important for the industry 

 to know this and to know enough about it scientifically so as to 

 be able to realize its full value in the everyday process of pre- 

 paring wood for the veneer machines. 



Laboratory Invents Portable Dryer 



The Forest Products Laborat6ry has devised a portable electric 

 drier for drying moisture-determination disks. It consists of a 

 sheet-iron box 4"xl3"x6?4", lined w^ith a layer of asbestos one- 

 half inch thick. The heat for drying is supplied by tw^o 40-watt, 

 carbon-filament lamps placed in the bottom of the box. Imme- 

 diately above these lamps is a wire screen on which the disks to 

 be pried are placed. Ventilation is obtained by eleven holes ^ 

 inch in diameter, six of which are in the cover, three in the back 

 near the bottom, and two in the front. A cord and plug attached 

 to the drier make it possible to connect it to any lamp socket. 



Inch disks are easily dried in this apparatus in twenty-four 

 hours. The maximum temperature attained is 230° F., v^rhich is 

 reached only if the disks are allowed to remain in the drier for 

 several hours after they are bone-dry. A slight scorching of the 

 disks occurs under these conditions, but for all practical purposes 

 this does not cause any appreciable error in the moisture cal- 

 culations. 



The weight lost by the disk in drying is the weight of the 



moisture that was in it. This weight divided by the weight of 

 the dry disk times 100 gives the percentage of moisture in the 

 stock in the kiln at the time the sample was removed. 



This drier is very well adapted to commercial practice. It can 

 be carried around the plant, and used in any place where a lamp 

 socket is available. It may be enlarged by increasing the width 

 and the number of lamps. 



Robertson Succeeds Wyman 



Philip Wyman has resigned as president and general manager 

 of the Werner Industries Company, piano manufacturers, at 

 Cincinnati, O.. and has been succeeded by C. M. Robertson. 

 Mr. Wyman, who succeeded L. K. Debus as president of the com- 

 pany several years ago, contemplates entering another field. Mr. 

 Robertson is well known in the Cincinnati piano business, having 

 entered the industry when a young man. 



Furniture Maker Dies 



Albert H. Mitchell, 78 years old, for many years president of 

 the R. D. Mitchell Company, furniture manufacturers, died at 

 his home, 3994 Rose Hill avenue, Cincinnati, O., a few days ago. 

 Mr. Mitchell was a son of the late R. D. Mitchell, who founded 

 the Mitchell Furniture Company in 1836. After the death of his 

 father, Albert Mitchell became president of the company. He 

 held that position until two years ago, when he resigned in favor 

 of his son, Robert Mitchell. 



Diagram of Portable Veneer Dryer 



William Elles, manager of the Evansville Desk Company at 

 Evansville, Ind., has been re-elected a director of the Public Serv- 

 ice Insurance Company w^ith headquarters at Indianapolis, Ind. 

 Mr. Elles has been engaged in the desk manufacturing business 

 for a number of years and is well known to the trade in the central 

 western states. 



