36 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



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The Mail Bag 



Any reader •f HARDWOOD RECORD desiring t* communicate 

 with any of the Inquirers listed In this section can have the ad- 

 dreHea on written request to the Mall Bag Department, HARD- 

 WOOD RECORD, 537 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, and referrlni 

 to the number at the head of each letter and enclosing a self- 

 addressed stamped envelope. 



B 583 — Seeks List Cargo Shippers Pacific Coast Wood 

 Utica. N. Y.. Del. H- Kdili.r Haiilmvoiu) Khicuio : If you can con- 

 venientlj' tlw so. wr would be yluti to havr you give us the names of a 

 few good reliable lumbei' niaiiufaoturers on tlie I'aeiflc coast, large enough 

 so that they could ship lumber in cargo lots to the East. 



The above correspondent has been given a brief list of leading pro- 

 ducers of western lumber products located at various ports. Any 

 others interested in the inquiry can have the address on application. — 

 Editor. 



B 584 — Wants Red Cedar 

 Cleveland, O.. Oct. 14. — Editor Hardwood Record; Can you give us 

 the names of several responsible southern mills who cut and market red 

 cedar suitable to manufacture into cedar chests? 



Manufacturing Company. 



This correspondent has been given a brief list of manufacturers 

 of Tennessee red cedar. Any others interested can have tlie address 

 on application. — Editor. 



B 585 — Seeks List Hardwood Log Buyers 



Columbia, Mo., Oct. 15. — Editor Hardwood Record; This department 

 receives frequent inquiries from farmers regarding the market for mixed 

 lots of logs, especially hardwood logs in small quantities. Can you give 

 us a list of buyers in small lots of hardwood logs so that we can answei' 

 these inquiries? Fbederick Dunlap, 



Professor of Forestry, Columbia University. 



Mr. Dunlap has been advised that a list of buyers of small lots of 

 hardwood logs would be as numerous as the small hardwood mills 

 throughout the country, and that it would be impractical to supply 

 him with a complete list. — Editor. 



B 586 — Seeks Thin Veneer 



Chicago, III.. Oct. 20. — Editor Hardwood Record; Will you please 

 give us a list of producers of thin veneer for wrapping purposes? Wo 

 are buyers of this material in carload lots. 



Manufacturi-xg Company. 



This correspondent has been supplied with a list of the principal 

 rotary veneer cutters of Wisconsin and Michigan, many of whom cut 

 this thin veneer for the purpose named from elm and other com- 

 paratively low-priced woods. Any others interested in the inquiry 

 can have the address on application. — Editor. 



B 587 — Seeks List of Maple Tahle Slide Producers 



Cape Girardeau, Mo., Oct. 16. — Editor Hardwood Record ; Will you 

 please furnish us a list of manufacturers of maple table slides? We also 

 would like a list of manufacturers of tables who make their own slides. 

 Lumber Company. 



This correspondent has been supplied with a brief list of producers 

 of table slides. Any others interested in the inquiry can have the 

 address on application. — Editor. 



B 588 — Seeks Name of Producers of Piling Machine 



Gardner, Mass., Oct. 17. — Editor Hardwood Record : Can you put us 

 in touch with parties who make a machine for stacking lumber in high 

 piles? Also parties who can furnish us with a lumber truck for drawing 

 lumber In our yard? Company. 



This correspondent has been given the names of several manu- 

 facturers of the two apparatus asked for. Any others interested in 

 the inquiry can have the address on application. — Editor. 



B 589 — Wants Market for Locust Fence and Telephone Posts 



Maksh.all, Ark., Oct. 8. — Editor Hardwood Record ; Can yon through 

 your "Mail Bag" section put us in touch «lth buyers of locust fence and 

 telephone posts? . 



Anyone interested in a source of supply for this material can have 

 the address of the above correspondent on application. — Editor. 



B 590 — Wants Thin No. 3 Poplar 

 l'iiii.Aiii;i.i'iriA. I'A.. (kt. 'JO. — Editor Hardwood Record; We are in the 

 nnirket tor ."> •I .\o. '.i common poplar, dressed two sides and resawed to 

 llnlsh Vj", for western I'ennsylvanla trade. Can you tell us where we can 



secure this stock? Lumber Company. 



The writer of this letter has been given a list of the principal 

 poplar producers of the country. Any others desiring to have the- 

 address can secure it on apjilication. — Editor. 



B 591 — When Is Kiln-Dried Liunber Dry? 

 Cleveland, O., tictobcr 22. IDKi. Editor Haruvvuod Recuud ; We are 

 in receipt of a carload of alleged kiln-dried lumber that we do not believe 

 is dry. Who is the authority for determining whether this lumber is dry 

 or not. .ind how shall wc procport to determine this fact? 



The reply to tlie al)Ove communication has been made as follows: 

 Perhaps the best authority on the subject of tests showing the dry- 

 ness of wood is Samuel .T.' Eecord, assistant professor of Forest 

 Products, Yale University. In Mr. Record's work entitled "Iden- 

 tification of the Economic Woods of the United States," he says: 



"The water contents of wood can readily be determined in the 

 following manner; Saw off a thin section of wood: weigh care- 

 fully on u delicate balance; dry in an oven at a temperature of 

 100° C, until a constant weight is obtained; reweigh. The differ- 

 ence between the fresh weight and the dry weight is the amount of 

 moisture contained. Computed on a basis of the fresh weight: 

 fresh weight — dr.y weight 



Per cent of moisture= XlOO 



fresh weight 



"Thus if the weight of the original block of wood was twice the 

 final weight, there was as much water as wood; in other words, one- 

 half or .50 per cent of the original weight was water. The figures 

 in the preceding paragraph are on this basis. 



"Computed on a basis of dry weight: 



fresh weight — dry weight 



Per cent of moisture= XlOO 



dry weight 



' ' In the problem cited above the loss of moisture was 100 per 

 cent of the dry weight. This method furnishes a constant basis 

 for comparison, while the other varies with every change in mois- 

 ture degree. Subsequent references to the per cent of moisture 

 will refer to computation on the basis of dry weight. 



"It is impossible to remove absolutely all the water from wood 

 without destroying the wood. Wood is considered thoroughly dried 

 when it ceases to lose weight in a constant temperature of 100° C, 

 though it still retains from 2 to 3 per cent of moisture, and if 

 exposed to higher temperature will continue to give up water. ' ' 



For practical demonstration of the dryness of the wood in ques- 

 tion, would suggest that you employ the following method: Cut a 

 couple of feet from the end of the 12" board, a section about %" 

 in length; take this thin section and leave it on a hot steam radi- 

 ator for fifteen or twenty minutes; then leave the section on your 

 desk for a matter of twenty-four hours. After this time, if the 

 width of the section approximates the width of the board from 

 which it is removed, the lumber may be considered commercially 

 dry. On the contrary, if it shows a shrinkage of from Vs" to %" 

 it is not dry. 



The fact that the oil or water stain causes the grain of the wood 

 to raise is no evidence whatsoever that the lumber was dry. 

 As a matter of fact, it is evidence to the direct contrary. Had this 

 been Kratezer-cured lumber even kiln-dried for but a short time, 

 you would have had no trouble with the filler raising the grain. 



Incidentally, wood that does not contain more than anywhere 

 from six to nine per cent of moisture is regarded as commercially 

 dry. That is, lumber should have about this quantity of moisture 

 remaining in it when it is suitable to employ in the making of 

 interior finish or furniture. Green wood contains anywhere from 

 twenty-five to as high as seventy-five per cent of moisture, depend- 

 ing upon the kind of wood and the proportion of sapwood involved. 

 — Editor. 



