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Foreign Veneer and Panel Manufacture 



The foll.nvHin pmui- 

 moetiDi; of tlio Natlnniil 

 based on first liaml Infoi 

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Editor's Note. 



Ill hv .] 1! li StrvkiT of the I'erkliis Clue Comijany. Lnnsdale. I'a., Ijelure tiie 

 ami I'aiiel Maniitacturers' Assoelatlon nt ChieaKD ou Decemher ». The artlelc is 

 wlileh Mr Sirvker gained through a trip to lluropeau panel manufacturing cen- 

 •n-ilve comparison of the methods employed both In this country and abroad. 



I have been asked to make a comparison of American and Euro- 

 pean methods, as applied to the veneer and panel manufacturing 

 industry. While not a manufacturer of these products myself, 1 

 have eonie more or less closely in personal touch with factory con- 

 ditions, etc., in American and certain European countries, namely, 

 England, France, Austria-Hungary and Germany. So, if you will 

 pardon my presumption as an outsider, I will give you the conclu- 

 sions on this subject which 1 have reached as the result of 

 observation and conversation on the ground. 



I fear that, in one respect at least, this paper will not be of 

 the help to my hearers which I desire it to be. This refers in 

 liarticulnr to the fait that in my visits to vtneer, panel, furniture 

 and kindred plants in Europe 1 observed but little having to do 

 with mechanical methods or preparation of veneer, stock, etc., 

 or of construction which I can present to you as being an im- 

 provement on the methods of our American manufacturers. 



However, it may be of some interest and doubtless satisfac- 

 tion for you to feel that this is 'the case. 



When it comes to the question of the finished product we must 

 admit that much of it shows up e.xceedingly well, in fact, better 

 than ours. 



The cutting of veneer aiiil the manufacture of panels, tops, etc., 

 in Europe, dates back much farther than it does in the United 

 States, and this is only natural, the age of our country and theirs 

 being considered. However, today the United States leads Europe 

 in the number of plants in operation, the amount of output and 

 the general magnitude of the business. In France, for instance, 

 veneering has been done for hundreds of years, but, instead of 

 being carried on as they are now learning to do it, it was done 

 in a very small way indeed. Where veneered lumber was desired, 

 the small cabinet maker would cut his own veneer; the product 

 he then obtained should be more properly called by the name of 

 thin lumber. Two men were employed in the operation, the log 

 being placed with each end on a high saw-horse or platform, and 

 the veneer sawed off by hand, one man under the log and one 

 above, pulling the saw up and down much after the fashion in 

 which two-man cross-cut saws are operated in our timber camps 

 today. This method may even yet be seen in use in remote 

 localities over there. 



Today there are some veneer and panel plants in almost all 

 the countries of Europe, Russia undoubtedly leading the list in 

 the number of plants being operated and the amount of produc- 

 tion, followed by France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and England 

 in the order named. Italy, Belgium and some of the other smaller 

 countries do something in this line also, but little is being done 

 in Spain, I believe. Russia ships her product to the other countries 

 of Europe, large quantities going to France, and to England par- 

 ticularly. Although I did not see the plant myself, I was told 

 on very good authority that one Russian concern had nine Amer- 

 ican veneer lathes in operation in its plant. Speaking of ship- 

 ments being made from one European country to another, as 

 freight rates are considerably higher over there than they are in 

 the United States, it occurred to me that England should offer 

 a good market for American manufactures. That country being 

 a free trade country, except on a very few commodities, and 

 with no duty on the commodities under consideration, it seemed 

 to me that a plant on the United States seaboard might be able 

 to do a considerable amount of business in England. Bear in 

 mind in this connection that all timber products consumed in Eng- 

 land must necessarily be imported from abroad, there being no 

 native timber supply in that country. I was greatly impressed 

 in Liverpool when I saw the immense stocks of mahogany logs 

 which were carried by the dealers in that city. For six or eight 



—18— 



blocks along the river front mahogany logs were piled to a height 

 of twenty or thirty feet. These were in the yards of different 

 dealers and it was explained to me at the time that the logs were 

 auctioned off piecemeal to the highest bidder, the idea being that 

 in disposing of them in this manner the best ^trices would be 

 obtained, as each log would bring the most it was worth. 



1 .judge the American manufacturer is most interested in methods 

 for obtaining better veneer and panels, or cheaper methods of 

 manufacturing them, or both, when they can be both obtained in 

 combination. As before stated, while much that is produced in 

 these lines in Europe shows up very well, it is not produced as 

 cheaply as it can be produced here, this in spite of the fact that 

 labor over there is much cheaper than here. The average Euro- 

 pean workman, while steady and conscientious in the carrying 

 out of his work, does not seem to admit of the speeding-up that 

 the American does. 



As evidence that the American manufacturer is in advance of 

 the manufacturers of Europe, I would cite the fact that in the 

 largest and most progressive plants over there machinery of 

 American design and manufacture is in evidence almost every- 

 where — veneer lathes and appliances, trimmers, dryers, taping 

 machines, glueing appliances, sanders, scrapers and much machin- 

 ery of a kindred nature. I have been in a plant in England, for 

 instance, which is engaged in the manufacture of phonograph and 

 talking machine cabinets, and in furniture factories in Vienna 

 where I have seen so much American machinery on all sides that 

 it made me homesick. The hydraulic press has heretofore been 

 used to a less extent over there than it is here, but they are now 

 adopting it as time goes on, and those of American make seem 

 to again have the preference. Furthermore, in many instances 

 where machines are not American made, they are such a good 

 imitation that it seemed to me they were modeled as closely after 

 oiir own as it was possible to make them. 



Naturally with so much American made machinery and appli- 

 ances in use in their plants their methods must rather closely 

 conform to our own, and it is on account of this fact that I am 

 unable to give you very much which may be of help to you. Dur- 

 ing the past few years I have known of numerous instances where 

 the Europeans have come to us for ideas and methods, but 1 

 believe it is a rare thing for us to go to them with the same 

 object in view. Although American made or modeled machinery 

 is so largely employed by them, the production of the average 

 plant, comparable with ours as to size, equipment and number 

 of men employed, falls considerably short of the production 

 turned out over here. In addition to veneer and panel plants, 

 I visited several factories engaged in quite different lines of 

 manufacture, and my impression gained thereby was that the 

 American manufacturer, given an equal investment of capital, 

 will generally turn out a considerably larger production. The 

 European manufacturer, regardless of the particular line of work 

 in which he is engaged, is very apt to give more attention to 

 details, and there is more time spent on details than usually pre- 

 vails in the average American plant. 



They prepare their logs much as we do, usually boiling or steam- 

 ing them. The cutting of the veneer is the same, as is the sub- 

 sequent drying also. In Austria-Hungary and Germany the 

 alder is largely used for core stock. Five-ply work is usually laid 

 up in the same manner as here, but in Vienna, which in Austria 

 is considered as the home of fine furniture (and some beautiful 

 work they certainly turn out), I saw Circassian and mahogany 

 tops laid up three-ply, the veneers being laid on three-fourths-inch 

 or seven-eighths-inch alder cores, sometimes with the grain and 

 sometimes across the grain. I believe that the American manufac- 



