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Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



July 10, 1921 



Laminated Wood Automobile Wheel Is the Vogue 



The field of uses for glue and wood is continually broadening. 

 The combination of these two materials seems to be capable of an 

 endless variety of adaptations. At any rate, the end of its adapta- 

 bility is not yet in sight. Plywood and laminated wood are now 

 being put to uses of which a wood worker would not have dared 

 dream a generation ago. Built up wood has become an important 

 engineering material, among the few uses of which are tops of 

 automobiles, fuselages of aeroplanes, wings of aeroplanes, bill 

 boards, ceilings and roofs of street cars, the decks of racing yachts. 



One of the latest developments of built-up wood is the disk 

 wheel. George W. Smith & Company, Inc., Philadelphia, has 

 begun the manufacture of wood disk wheels for passenger and 

 motor trucks upon a large scale, after experimenting and testing 

 laminated wood wheels for a period of nearly two years. 



There is certainly an interesting story in the changes made in 

 the manufacturing activities of this firm. Started in 1877 by 

 George W, Smith, major in the United States Army, the company 

 originally devoted its entire attention to the design and manufac- 

 ture of high-class furniture. For the last twenty years it con- 



centrated its efforts on the manufacture of high-grade interior 

 w^oodw^ork for residences, public buildings, etc. 



Shortly after the beginning of the World War this company w^as 

 called upon to prove its adaptability and versatility in the manu- 

 facture of joiner woodwork for submarine chasers, troop and 

 passenger ships, and at this time also they supplied the ship way 

 towers for the entire fifty ways of the world's largest shipyard. 

 Hog Island. 



The plant has been increased in recent years so that it now covers 

 twenty-three acres of ground w^ith every modern facility for effi- 

 ciency and expeditious production. 



The Smith woodisk wheel, so-called, is made of the same woods 

 as used in the propellers of aeroplanes, so laminated that the grain 

 of each layer runs in a different direction. They are about the 

 same weight as a spoke wheel and are four times stronger than 

 spoke wheels against side stress — that is, skidding. 



The wheel band is shrunken on end grain, entirely around 

 the peiiphery of the wheel, therefore it cannot loosen or squeak. 



No special hub is required and the expense and inconvenience 

 of having and carrying an extra wheel is obviated; only a spare 

 rim and tire is necessary. 



The Sn^ith woodisk wheels have been tested climatically and by 

 hard road usage; they do not w^arp or shrink. They can have no 

 flattened spots — always round and always run true and straight 

 in alignment, insuring a maximum mileage. 



The Smith woodisk wheels are also made to suit the needs o! 

 heavy trucks and busses. A test between woodisk wheels and cast 



steel wheels, made with busses running between Mount Clemens 

 and Detroit, shows a saving in weight between them of 33 pounds 

 in unsprung weight for rear wheels, and 42 pounds of unsprung 

 weight on the front wheels, a total of I 50 pounds in the four wheels 

 in favor of the Smith woodisk wheels. 



On heavy trucks the Smith woodisk wheels absorb shocks on 

 account of their resiliency. They do not warp, twist, or squeak. 

 They are four times as strong as wood spoke wheels in resisting 

 side stress. 



One of the main reasons for the wide-spreading vogue of disk 

 type wheels on passenger cars is that they give a car an appear- 

 ance of elegance, smartness and trimness, w^hich is instantly appar- 

 ent to those even who are habitually unobserving. Disk type wheels 

 add smooth, graceful lines to the car and it appears to float as 

 though propelled by magic. 



As many of the luxurious cars seen on the fashionable boulevards 

 of our large cities are equipped with wheels of this kind, the atten- 

 tion of the owners of less expensive cars has been attracted to the 

 beauty and advantage of disk wheels made of wood. 



Mahogany Association Formed 



The Mahogany Association is a new organization formed on 

 June 24 by importers of genuine mahogany logs and lumber in 

 this country for the purpose of immediately launching a national 

 educational advertising campaign in the interest of genuine ma- 

 hogany. The temporary headquarters of the association are at 

 Room I 2 I 1 . 345 Madison avenue. New York, N. Y. At the meet- 

 ing, R. S. Huddleston of the Astoria Mahogany Company acted 

 as secretary. 



I. X. L. Litigation Settled 



Complicated litigation in the Superior and Circuit courts at 

 Goshen and Elkhart, involving the I. X. L. Furniture Company 

 of Goshen, Ind., Benjamin F. Deahl of Goshen, president of the 

 concern; Charles E. Morrice of Peru, Ind., formerly of Goshen, 

 who was salemanager and buyer for the company; Willis D. 

 Widner of Auburn, Ind., formerly of Goshen, production manager, 

 and James A. Arthur of Los Angeles, Cal., formerly of Goshen, 

 a large stockholder in the company, w^as compromised June 25 

 through the sale of the Arthur holdings to the I. X. L. Company 

 for about $60,000. All suits in the state courts will be dismissed. 



The present exhibit in Grand Rapids marks the last showing of 

 the chairs made by the Standard Furniture Company of Cincinnati, 

 Ohio. No cuttings have been made for several months and the 

 present process is a liquidation of diners and bedroom patterns 

 on hand. Mr. Heberger, the president, has definitely decided to 

 close up the business on account of his ill health. "This marks the 

 passing from the chair field of a long established and highly 

 respected concern, and the best wishes of his fellow manufacturers 

 are conveyed to Mr. Heberger," Wm. B. Baker, secretary-manager 

 of the National Chair Manufacturers Association, said regarding 

 the retirement. 



The Warren Veneer and Panel Company has been incorporated 

 at Warren. Pa. Capital $75,000. 



The Louisville Veneer Mills in a recent report showed that 

 June was an active shipping month, but that there is not much 

 future business on the books. The Louisville Point Lumber Co., 

 made much the same sort of report for June business. 



The Inman Veneer & Panel Company, of Louisville, Ky., is gomg 

 along at a good gait at the present time, keeping several men 

 actively engaged on the road, and having recently started its 

 second glue spreader, the machine having been off the job for 

 some months. This means a considerable increase in business. 



