HARDWOOD RECORD 



29 



Season of 1012 



Michigan Ceotral Italln-ay used screen with 15/64 inch opening. 



Grand Kapids & Indiana used screen with 15/C4 Inch opening. 



Boyne City, Gaylord & Alpenn used screen with 14/G4 Inch opening. 



Total fires set by iocomolives was US. which is Co per cent ot the total 

 niimbor ot all fires recorded. 



Season of 1913 



In the latter part ot the season the Michigan Central installed screen 

 with a 12 04 inch opening In place ot the old screen. 



In the latter part ot the season the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway 

 Company installed screen with a 12/64 inch opening In place ot the old 

 screen. 



Boyne City. Gaylord & .\lpena engines came out In the spring equipped 

 with perforated plate with an opening ot 11.04 by IVt Inches. 



Total fires set by locomotives was S9, which is 30 per cent ot the total 

 number o£ all fires recorded. 



It is noticeable at a glance tliat there is a great improvement be- 

 ing made in railroad equipment. The indications are that a large 

 percentage of the locomotives operating in the fire zone are now 

 using screens with 12/64 inch openings with the exception of the 

 Pore Marquette Railway Company which, so far as we are able to 

 learn, is not making any changes but is still using 15/64 mesh screens 

 in the front end of its locomotives. We appreciate the efforts the 

 railway companies are making to cut down the number of fires set 

 by their engines and we trust that next season we can report even a 

 smaller percentage of fires chargeable to railroad equipment. 



The time to have a definite understanding of terms of sale is 

 when an order is placed — not after shipment is made. 



Conversion of Logs Into Veneer 



The figures on veneer production for 1905 show that 181,146,000 

 feet of material, log scale, were converted into veneer that year. The 

 output comprised 1,108,518,000 square feet of veneer, made from 

 fifteen kinds of wood, listed by name, and certain others which were 

 figured in the total but were not named separately. 



Recent statistical returns give the veneer cut in log scale only, but 

 the early reports gave the log measure and also the superficial 

 measurement of the product. Veneer, as is well known, is thin 

 lumber. It is cut from a little more than a quarter of an inch in 

 thickness to less than oneonehundredth of an inch. A log which 

 would make 500 feet of lumber one inch thick will be good for several 

 times that many feet of veneer, surface measure. 



It wiU perhaps surprise those who are not acquainted with the 

 actual production of veneer that the average output of surface feet 

 is so small compared with log scale. The census reports for 1905 

 and 1906 give the log scale and also the surface measure of the 

 veneer produced from the logs. The following table gives these 

 figures for all the veneer reported in the years 1905 and 1906: 



1905 1906 

 Sq. ft. veneer per Sq. ft. veneer per 

 Wood 1.000 ft. log scale 1.000 ft. log scale 



Red gum 4.700 5.667 



Yellow pine 3,234 4,000 



White oak 7.160 6.327 



Maple 6,850 10.300 



Cottonwood 2,75s 3,711 



Yellow poplar 5.785 7,966 



Basswood 7.283 4,779 



Birch 10,200 8,170 



Elm 10,958 7,630 



Tupelo 5,752 5,024 



Red oak 6,253 7,526 



Beech 13,400 7.500 



Ash 8,797 5.700 



Walnut 12,279 13,121 



Sycamore 2,500 3,990 



This shows that on an average for that year 1,000 feet log scale made 

 6,000 superficial feet of veneer. 



The average thickness of the veneer is not given, consequently the 

 percentage or ratio of log scale to the output of veneer cannot be 

 ascertained. The thinner the veneer, other things being equal, the 

 more superficial feet will result from the conversion of 1,000 feet of logs. 

 That is, a log will make more superficial feet of veneer one-twentieth of 

 an inch thick than of one-tenth inch. The foregoing table does not, 

 therefore, furnish a basis for estimating how much veneer of a 

 given thickness a thousand feet of logs will make. What it does 

 show is that, averaged for the whole country that year, the ratio was 

 one to six. That included rotary cut. sawed, and sliced. The rotary 

 cut amounted to 1,842,818,000 feet, the sawed and sliced to 

 225,276,000. 



Where material is perfect, or nearly so, there is comparatively 

 little waste when logs are converted into rotary or sliced veneer. 

 The core of seven inches, or thereabouts, is the largest item, and 



this is often saved by sawing it in crate stock or other small dimen- 

 sions. But perfect logs are scarce. Knots, shakes, frost cracks, dote, 

 and other defects greatly reduce the output from the average run of 

 logs going to the veneer mill, and breakage in otherwise perfect 

 sheets still further reduces the output. Some experienced veneer 

 manufacturers consider a waste of twenty-five per cent very low. 



There is no average thickness for veneer. If an average were 

 calculated for one year, it would not hold for any other year. Some 

 thicknesses represent much more of the output than others. This 

 may be shovm by quoting extracts from the reports of manufac- 

 turers in 1909, which was a year of very complete returns, being 

 the decennial census year. The table which follows shows the amount 

 of every thickness produced, both rotary cut and sliced or sawed. 

 The figures are all log scale, since the superficial measurements are 

 not given in the reports for that year. 



Sliced or sawed, feet 

 3,500.000 



2.624.000 

 48,000 



500.000 

 1.967.000 



908.000 

 2,100,000 



2,172.000 

 750,000 

 723,000 



374,000 



200,000 



13,000 



4,886,000 



Thickness Rotary cut. feet 



5-16 inch and over 26.150,000 



1.3-42 Inch 200,000 



9-32 inch 3,597,000 



1-4 inch 52,044.000 



7-32 inch 1,313.000 



1-5 inch 13.563.000 



3-16 inch 95.402,000 



1-6 inch 12,163,000 



5-32 inch 7,255,000 



2-13 inch 155.000 



1-7 Inch 9.842,000 



1-8 inch 58.000,000 



1-9 inch 10.294.000 



1-10 inch 10.590.000 



3-32 inch 618.000 



1-11 inch 225,000 



1-12 inch 9,348,000 



1-14 inch 285,000 



1-15 Inch 78.000 



1-16 inch 37,355,000 



1-17 inch 185,000 



1-18 inch 2,106,000 



1-20 inch 17,328.000 



1-21 inch 25,000 



1-22 inch 1.909.000 



1-24 Inch 2,472,000 



1-26 inch 186,000 



1-27 inch 206,000 



1-2S inch 1 .706.000 



1-30 inch 13.866.000 



1-32 inch 998.000 



1-33 inch 1.065.000 



134 inch 129.000 



1-36 inch 270,000 



1-50 inch 1.000 



1-100 Inch 



1-110 inch 



Total 390,929.000 45.052,000 



The very thin veneer, one-one-hundredth of an inch in thickness, 

 or less, was all Spanish cedar, and presumably was used by cigar bo.t 

 makers. The thinnest rotary cut veneer was maple, one-fiftieth inch 

 thick. 



505,000 

 16,68a000 



15.000 



1.527,000 



15,000 



:.264,000 

 !. 592,000 



436.000 

 135,000 



