20 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



July 10. 1821 



eheck regulates tlic flow of oil to the point of lubrication, keeping 

 it uniform. 



At tlie delivery end of the pipe lino another check is placed to 

 keep the oil lines full of oil, ready to deliver at the first stroke of 

 the pump, which eliminates the need for an auxiliary hand pump, 

 or a hand crank on the lubricator itself, to flood the point to be 

 lubricated when starting the power. Steam, or water, arc also 

 prevented from entering the oil lines by this feature. 



Delivering the Oil 



Although the various steam units throughout the mill offer little 

 difiiculty to force-feed lubrication, the delivery of oil to movable 

 high speed bearings on various saws, planers, etc., present a dif- 

 ferent aspect. Not only must the flow of oil to these bearings be 

 constant and in sufficient quantities, but some provision must be 

 made for a connection to follow these movements, or allow saws 

 to be changed with the least possible delay. A solid pipe line, rigid 

 in construction, was not adaptable for reasons apparent. The 

 manufacturers of the oiling system solved the problem by carrying 

 the piping to a convenient point near the bearing, and completed 

 the circuit with a special flexible metallic coupling,. installing a 

 combination check and sight feed attachment, so that oil delivery 

 might be watched in operation. 



By the use of the units described, the control of the lubrication 

 of all important points in the entire plant has been centered in the 

 engine room, under the constant supervision of a competent 

 mechanic, the engineer. Since points on the main engine are lubri- 

 cated from these units, the engineer naturally watches their per- 

 formance, and consequently the lubrication of the entire mill, 

 closer than if he had only his own devices to observe. 



The risk of freezing or bursting hydrostatic machines is done 

 away with, as is also the constant adjusting and superintendence 

 necessary for this equipment. The filling and regulating opera- 

 tion for twenty or thirty of these machines all over the mill, 

 requiring from five to ten minutes each, twice a day, is concen- 

 trated in the one operation by pouring oil from oil can to pump 

 reservoir in the engine room, and forgetting it for the rest of the 

 day. No shut off in the oil supply, or wastage in filling occurs. 



By distributing oil to the important bearings in dangerous places, 

 drop by drop over a period, the oiler is relieved for other important 

 work, or for looking after less important oiling in less dangerous 

 locations. 



Firo risk is reduced because the oil is carried in pipes direct to 



the delivery point, and since just the right amount of oil is deliv- 

 ered at all times, no oil reaches the floor. 



While the central lubrication plant is highly desiraVde in the 

 general classes of saw mill machines, there are certain machines 

 which can be best served by local application of lubricant, that is, a 

 on account of their peculiar functions are not dependent on the 

 rest of the plant for operation. 



An Individual System 



An interesting example of this inclividual system is shown in the 

 application of a six-feed lubricator on a Wickcs gang saw, that per- 

 mits the ojierator to do his own lubricating mechanically and to 

 check up on the oil delivery at any time by the sig^it feed feature. 

 See Figure 2. 



The lubricator is driven from the oscillation, which synchronizes 

 its motion with the gang, the motion to the lubricator being trans- 

 ferred from the oscillation to the main frame of the gang, where 

 by means of a bell crank it turns at right angles and rises ver- 

 tically up the side of the frame to a second bell crank, and thence 

 to the lubricator. 



The pump supplies oil to the two bottom slides, the outboard 

 and quarter box bearings, and delivers oil to the crank pin under 

 pressure bj' means of a special crank pin oiling connection. 



A clever departure from the accepted method of oiling the crank 

 pin by centrifugal force is a special feature of the lubricating sys- 

 tem described herein. 



The usual method is to use a rigid stand, which rises from the 

 floor in line with the axis of the shaft, the oil being delivered to 

 this point by gravity, passes into a hollow ball arrangement, 

 traveling to the crank pin by centrifugal force. The enlarged 

 opening necessary to receive the delivery stem, and allow for its 

 movement, permits dust and grit to enter the oil line and stop the 

 delivery of oil. 



In the gang saw installation, constant pressure is maintained 

 from the pump to the crank pin by a packed stuifing box floating 

 joint arrangement, that automatically adjusts itself without undue 

 friction at any position in tlie stroke. The flexible metallic 

 coupling from the pipe line to the stationary spindle in the stuffing 

 box enables the dust proof circuit to be completed, and clean oil 

 is forced drop by drop at regular intervals into the crank pin as 

 needed. 



The manufacturer's claims for economy are substantiated by 

 voluntary statements from owners and operators reporting sav- 

 ings of from 35 to 50 per cent in oil, 50 to 60 per cent in labor, and 

 5 to 10 per cent in increased efficiency in the operation of 

 machinerv. 



iContiitutd from par/c Is) 



of fori^st produrts. siiu'c when a tax is a certain pcrccntaire of yield, the 

 value of tile yiohl anil the nmmint of the t;ix linve ;it all times a tixeil 

 rclati(ui to each other. 



A percentage yield tax would enable the iuvestor to calculate with 

 practical certainty the future eost of carrying the iuvestinent. 



A percentage yield ta.x would minimize the investor's hazards from tire, 

 natural causes or natural enemies. Under the ad valorem general property 

 tax system the owners of forest property may liave paid taxes on timber 

 value tor a period of years only to have such value wiped out by (ire or 

 other causes. In the ease of a yield tax system of taxation, it any part 

 of the expected yield is destroyed, the part destroye<l ,is automatically 

 cancelled : a situation which makes the entire conununity as well as the 

 owner interested in preserving the property from destruction. 



The tax commission has also recommended to the legislature that 

 standing timber whore owned separately from the land shall hb 

 considered personal property and assessed accordingly, and further 

 providing that the state may enter upon the lands and remove the 

 timber to satisfy the taxes without constituting trespass upon 

 the lands. 



Another recommendation comes in the effort to straighten out 

 the now much confused term "in transit." Under the existing 



laws it is provided that forest products ' ' in transit ' ' shall be 

 assessed at destination. Some lumbermen have taken advantage 

 of this to pile up their logs around water courses and along railroad 

 sidings and leave them there for years, claiming always that they 

 are "in transit" and they therefore have escaped taxation. It is 

 now proposed to limit the "in transit" period to six months, after 

 which logs so piled up will be taxed as personal property in the 

 township in which they lie. 



It is not at all uncommon in the northern part of Michigan to 

 find big hardwood logs lying year after year by a railroad spur 

 waiting until the furniture factories or the broom handle factories 

 or the other hardwood manufacturing factories are ready to use 

 them. 



One bill has already been introduced in the legislature covering 

 one of the points made by the state tax commission, and in view 

 of the fact that Michigan is financially embarrassed and one of the 

 big tasks of the governor and his administrative board is to find 

 money with which to meet the expenses of the government, it is 

 altogether likely that bills covering all the suggestions of the com- 

 mission will soon make their appearance. 



