42 



Hardwood Record 



— Veneer & Panel Section 



August 25, 1921 



^D07 



* 



STERLING 



AhT^ 



:§>^el^ 



RODDIS Heavy Tops 



are built right. We can supply the 

 highest quality of desk and case 

 tops in a concealed or exposed cross 

 band, mitred or square corners. 

 This is a specialty with us. We in- 

 vite your inquiries. 



GRAND RAPIDS, MICH 



CHICAGO, ILL 



ROCKFORD, ILL 



REPRESENTED: 



F. K. TINKHAM 



G. M. PALMER 

 K. E. KNUTSON 



Send us your inquiries 



Roddis Lumber & Veneer Co. 



27 Years at Marshfield, Wis. 



y» i sin sJumkA'' ,' V 



,r 



Vt 



Small Shop Notes 



Any one who visits small wood-working shops can not fail to 

 be impressed with the fact that workmen in these places must get 

 along as best they can with the facilities available. Developments 

 and improvements in modern wood-working machines, however, 

 have helped the little fellow as well as the large concerns. 



For example, some time ago 1 visited a small cabinet shop and 

 found two men at work jointing the edge of a 2 x 16-inch x 12-toot 

 piece of redwood, on a little motor-driven bench jointer w^hich 

 takes its power from an electric-light cord. The bench jointer 

 is mounted on a stand to bring it to a convenient working height, 

 and a wood table extension is placed at each end to support long 

 material. This machine, 1 learned, is used for all kinds of odd 

 jointing and beveling at the shop in question. It is performing 

 not only the work for which it was intended originally, but also 

 a considerable percentage of heavy work. It has enabled the 

 operator of the little shop to "get by" without installing a regular 

 jointer, which would cost more money, take up more room and 

 require more horse-power. 



When 1 dropped into a little one-man furniture shop recently, 

 about the most conspicuous, if not the largest object that came 

 under my gaze was a newly-sanded, oak veneered panel, ap- 

 proximately 32 X 44-inches, lying on trestles in the middle of a 

 littered-up room. The quartered white oak face w^as well matched 

 and of good figure. Closer examination disclosed that the panel 

 was five-ply and 5/16-inch thick. 



The craftsman came forward, and, observing my apparent 

 interest in the panel, said, "How's that for a table top?" 



"All right, if it were only thick enough," ! replied. 



"Well, I'm going to make it thick enough," he declared, and 

 pointed to a poplar frame, clan^ped up and leaning against the 

 w^all near his stove. The frame consisted of two stiles, two end 



rails and three or four middle rails, which had been carefully 

 mortised, tenoned and glued together. The net size of the stock 

 used was probably I J,^ x 2Yi inch. 



The old craftsman displayed a knowledge of woods and glue, 

 as he pointed out that the back of his five-ply panel was gum, and 

 that this would glue well to the poplar frame, since the woods were 

 similar in texture and would take glue excellently. He is going 

 to glue the veneered panel to the open poplar frame and then 

 edge-veneer the top thus made, with thin strips of oak veneer. 

 This construction should give a moderately light but very sub- 

 stantial top one that will stay "put" under all conditions, once 



that it has been permanently attached to the table. 



My friend explained that he had also made flush cabinet doors 

 on this principle, using an open framework for core, facing it 

 with factory-made thin three-ply panel stock and backing it with 

 3/ I 6 or 1/4 inch single-ply gum veneer. His greatest difficulty, he 

 says, is to obtain the various ply-panels he needs, from local panel 

 and furniture factories. Often these concerns do not have what 

 he wants, in stock, and they will not make up a special size or 

 kind unless an order for at least fifty is given. 



In another small shop 1 found a workman truing up and crown- 

 ing the face of a wooden pulley, revolving it by hand against a 

 faceplate covered with sandpaper. The pulley was too large to 

 swing in the lathe, so its center hole was fitted to a wood bushing 

 which was clamped in almost vertical position on the lathe bed. 

 Had a flat-face pulley been required, the bushing would have been 

 set absolutely vertical or square with the bed. but a slight tilt was 

 given to it to hold the pulley at a slight angle. Half the pulley face 

 was then ground off while the pulley was tilted one way, and the 

 remaining half was sanded down while it was tilted to the same 

 degree in the opposite direction. This brought the crown in the 

 center of the pulley face. 



BY A PRACTICAL WOODWORKER. 



