Z2 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Finland from the method used in this country. Here the logs are 

 sawed into squares which are seasoned and subsequefltly passed 

 through the lathes. No squares or bars are sawed in that country, 

 but the log is cut into bolts, or disks. Blanks the size of the spool 

 are cut out with a boring maeliine. The man who does the cutting 

 rejects knots, red heart and other defects, to the end that time 

 may not bo wasted in passing through the lathes the wood which 

 lould not be made into perfect spools. 



The same operation that cuts the spool blank from the bolt of 

 wood bores its center. The hole facilitates the subsequent sea- 

 soning. Up to that point no kiln-drying is done, but the blanks, 

 which represent spools in the rough, are then sent to the kilns 

 where they remain until their moisture is reduced to ten or twelve 

 per cent. The spools are expected to remain at about that degree 

 of dryness in actual use. If made dryer before being passed 

 through the lathes the wood will subsequently absorb moisture from 

 the atmosphere and will swell out of proper shape. If not reduced 

 to that state of dryness, seasoning will continue after the spools 

 are finished, shrinkage will occur and the work will be unsatis- 

 factory. 



Few kinds of woodworking are more exacting than spool making. 

 The spools must hold exactly the required number of yards of 

 thread. The looms and other machines which use them are 

 adjusted so delicately that the least variation in size causes trouble. 



Two kinds of machines are in use for making spools after the 

 blanks have been cut, bored and properly seasoned. One is oper- 

 ated by liand and produces from 12,000 to 14,500 per day; while 

 the daily capacity of the automatic lathe is from 20,000 to 30,000. 

 The yearly output of the Ilelsingfors factory is 288,000,000 spools. 



The use of birch for spools is not accidental. Few woods answer 

 for the high-grade spools. They are turned on the lathe at a speed 

 so high that many woods could not resist the centrifugal force 

 which tends to tear them to pieces. From 5,000 to 6,000 revolu- 

 tions a minute are required. Birch is very hard,, yet it does not 

 dull tools like many softer woods. That is an important consid- 

 eration. 



Birch is cheaper in Finland than in this country. The average 

 cost there is usually under four dollars a cord; in Maine the aver- 

 age exceeds seven dollars. 



The articles manufactured by the processes described in preced- 

 ing paragraphs are termed "yellow spools." The "white spool" 

 is for silk, and its process of manufacture is somewhat different. 

 The wood is cut in winter, the same as the other, but the work is 

 hurried through. The blanks are cut from the green wood, and 

 kiln-seasoning follows. 



The supply of birch timber in Finland is large. There are still 

 primeval forests in that country as well as extensive stands occu- 

 pying land which was once under cultivation. 



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WHEN CANCELLATIONS HURT 



One of the principal faults of the business as at present con- 

 ducted is the tendency to cancel on slight provocation. Few 

 buyers regard themselves as bound by an order in case they find 

 they can do better elsewhere, and many a lumberman who has been 

 figuring on using a block of stock in a certain shipment, and has 

 declined other business because of it, has found himself holding 

 the bag when the buyer wires to cancel. 



This is particularly .rough, however, on the dimension man, inas- 

 much as stock made up for one particular concern, according to its 

 list of cuttings, is obviously not suitable for somebody else. Yet 

 the irresponsible consumer now and then forgets this, and proceeds 

 to jump over the traces if he finds that he could save a few dollars 

 by having the work done somewhere else. 



A concern in the dimension business was forced to call a halt 

 some time ago when a customer tried to wriggle, although the 

 order was already being put through the mill. It took a vigorous 

 lecture on the facts of the situation to make the buj'er understand 

 that the business had to stick. 



CONVEYORS FOR THE VENEER MILL 



A manufacturer of sawed veneers recently made a suggestion 

 which sounds good, although there may be some question as to its 

 practicability which only actual experience could indicate. His 

 idea is to get rid of the offbearers required for veneer saws at 

 present by substituting a belt conveyor which would take the 

 material from each saw and carry it to one man, who would be 

 charged with the duty of inspecting and handling it, or trimming 

 it if it were to be cut to any special dimensions. 



"The offbearer is an expensive helper," said this manufacturer, 

 "and is often unreliable. Many a time I have had a saw tied up 

 because the helper didn't arrive at the mill after a holiday bout 

 with King Barleycorn. By substituting mechanical means of 

 handling the stock we would get rid of the offbearer and at the 

 same time do the work more cheaply than at present." 



Veneer men who have considered the suggestion believe that it 

 is a good idea, but some of them are inclined to doubt whether it 

 would work out in practice. 



FIREPROOF PLANTS GROW IN FAVOR 



A lot of people in the lumber and allied lines have learned that 

 it pays to spend a little money to make the plant as nearly fire- 



proof as possible, and many sawmills have been put up in the 

 South of late which are almost, if not quite, fireproof. Steel and 

 concrete are the favored materials, and while the original cost is 

 somewhat more than in the case of mill construction, the saving 

 accomplished through the reduction in insurance rates is in itself a 

 factor which makes the improvement a good investment, as a rule. 



A veneer man in a southern mill town recently put up a plant 

 which is just about fireproof. It has concrete foundations and 

 floors, reinforced concrete walls, steel and concrete roof slabs and 

 a drj'house that is built of steel and concrete for the most part. 

 The manufacturer considered the whole proposition with the fire 

 insurance people, asking them to make suggestions as to the best 

 possible type of construction. When he had finished his building, 

 he asked the underwriters whether they regarded it as fireproof. 

 They told him it was. 



' ' All right, then, ' ' he replied, ' ' I guess I '11 carry my own 

 insurance.' ' 



This was rather "putting one over" on the insurance men, and 

 if it weren't for the danger of exposing large values in stock to 

 the fire hazard, such a course would probably be commendable. 

 As it is, the average business man, even though his building is 

 fireproof, usually finds it worti while to curry sonio insurance. 

 KEEP UP WITH THE PROCESSION 



There is such a thing as being too deeply immersed in one's own 

 business. For instance, it is possible to be so interested in 

 manufacturing lumber as to overlook general developments which 

 relate to the lumber business just as much as to any other, and 

 are of importance to all. 



A lumber organization in a middle western city recently decided 

 to have a number of outside speakers for the purpose of discussing 

 matters of current interest in that community. The speakers were 

 experts on their subjects, and opened the eyes of the lumbermen to 

 matters which, as they soon realized, were of vital importance to 

 the trade. For instance, until they had been addressed, the hard- 

 wood men did not know that they would probably be operating 

 under a workmen 's compensation law in the near future, not having 

 kept up with developments along this line; and various other legis- 

 lative matters affecting them and other employers were discussed, 

 giving them their first- inkling as-to the facts in this connection. 



A good lumberman is a good business man generally; and every 



