4o 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Second. The combustion of the nonvolatile jiortions, aualogous to 

 cliarcoal, causing glow or incandescence, and the production of carbon 

 monoxide wliich is a combustible gas. 



It will readily be seen that the first part of the combustion is the 

 must dangerous. The chief problem, therefore, is to render tho 

 \olatile gases noninflammable. 



It has been found that the chemicals most ctGcient in rendering 

 wood uonlullamniablc are those that sublime or decompose upon 

 lieing sub.iccted to intense heat. Nonconibustible gases are given off 

 in both eases, which, when mixed with the inflammable gases arising 

 from heated wood, render them noninflammable. 



.V method used in previous fireproofing work has been to inject 

 chemicals containing large amounts of water of crystallization, the 

 theory being that the water is converted into steam which creates a 

 noninflammable atmosphere without the wood. Under this method 

 borax and alum were used. Borax also has the advantage of being a 

 fusible salt, thereby protecting the wood fiber with a glossy coating. 

 The manufacture of fire-retarding paints also offers a very attractive 

 field of work. 



The paper describes the various chemicals used in the treatments, 

 and the methods of making the tests to determine how great a degree 

 of heat the woods will resist. The woods used in this work were 

 representative samples of the material found in structural timbers. 

 Four species wore natives of western and five of eastern United 

 States. Of the western woods tested, western larch and noble fir 

 withstood the action of the various degrees of heat used in the test 

 without igniting longer than redwood or Sitka spruce. The average 

 per cent loss in weight of each species due to burning three minutes 

 was calculated from all the pieces in the test. The results follow: 



I'cr cent. Loss in "Wf-ight 

 Wostprri Woods Oven-Dry Air-Ury 



Sitka spruce 2.'i.(i ."i4.:; 



Larch F.S.f< S.J.O 



ItedwooO 2:!. 2 27.0 



.Noble lir ".s.S 2 LO 



Kastern Wends 



LonRlcat' pin;' ]C,.T 16.0 



Tninarack 22.4 20.28 



Basswonti 4s.i; 36.0 



I!e<l oalv .•.■.).0 2!).r, 



Hemlock "0.0 30..5 



The writer summarizes the results of tests as follows: 

 .\nimonium salts are of considerable value in tireprooiing: wood. It was 

 iiii|iosslble to ignite wood, under our conditions of test, that had been 

 treated with these salts. 



liorax is of considerable value in fireproofing wood. It has not the 

 value of the ammorfium salts, but promises a means ot lessening the cost 

 of treatins by using it with another .salt of greater value. 



rrom the good results already obtained it appears ijossible to Oevise 

 a reasonably inexpensive method of rendering wood fire-retarding. 



.\ ])aper was read by Clyde H. Teesdale of the Forest Products 

 Laboratory, iladison, Wis., the subject being: "The Effect of 

 Varying the Preliminary Air Pressure in Treating Ties Upon the 

 Absorption and Penetration of Creosote." The paper covers twenty 

 printed pages and enters minutely into the processes and results of 

 various treatments. 



E. L. Powell, vice-president of tlic American Creosote Works, de- 

 livered an address on "Treatment of Piling and Timber According 

 to Conditions of Use and Exposure. ' ' He summed up his conclusions 

 by saying that the amount of preservative required is directly affected 

 by the kind of soil, whether wet or dry, and climate in which the 

 timber is to be used, as well as by the character of timber to be 

 treated and the mechanical wear to which it will be subjected. 



Ties, piling and lumber to be u.sed in hot, wet countries require a 

 different treatment from ties to be used in a cold climate or arid 

 region. The treatment of such timbers to be used in teredo-infected 

 salt water must be radically different from timber used in fresh water, 

 swamp land, cold or arid regions. 



It should be possible for the treating company to secure full in- 

 formation concerning the conditions under which the material is to 

 be used, and, if necessary, the company should refuse the business 

 unless the buyer is willing to have the material treated properly and 

 suflSciently. At least the buyer should be fully informed of what is 

 needed and the information should be in writing to prevent future 

 troubles when failure of the timber occurs. 



The reputation and tho |jros|ierity of tlie wood preserver dojicud 

 upon good work — not only his own, but upon what is done by others, 

 so all are vitally interested. The good work that is turned out is a 

 constant advocate, and bad or unsatisfactory material hurts the busi- 

 ness as a whole, though it injures the responsible plant most directly. 



A manufacturer of machinery, for instance, would certainly refuse 

 to build apparatus that he knew would fail to operate successfully, 

 but would submit to his customer the facts and ])roper ]jlans and 

 recommendations. Ho could not afford to send out liad niaehiueiy 

 at any price. 



The buyer Avill usually appreciate the information and a correction 

 can be made without causing friction or hard feeling. It is gen- 

 erally good policy to handle this in a personal interview with the 

 engineer. He can then send the required amendment without havini.' 

 to publish his error if he so desires. 



The economy residting from piling creosoted wood blocks closely 

 in cages was the subject of the jjaper read by K. II. White, president 

 of the Southern Wood Preserving Company of Atlanta, Ga. 



Thomas White, assistant manager of the American Creosote Works, 

 described some of the methods he had found effective in separating 

 water from creosote oil. 



Mechanical principles which should bo oljscrved in laying creosoted 

 wood block pavements to lessen the effect of wear and minimize the 

 trouble due to the expansion of the blocks, were discussed in the 

 address delivered by B. S. Manley, president of the Creosoted Wood 

 Block Paving Company of New Orleans. 



The paper read by .1. B. Card, manager of the Chicago Creosoting 

 Company of Terre Haute, Ind., discussed a patented apparatus which 

 was said to treat paving blocks much more cheaply than can be done 

 with the old-style horizontal cylinder. Two tanks eleven feet ivi 

 diameter and fourteen feet high are used, together with specially- 

 designed methods of handling the blocks. Some of the advantages 

 claimed for this style of plant follow: 



The cost of a complete plant would not exceed one-third of the cest of 

 a horizontal plant of the same capacity. 



It eliminates all switching and handling of block cars and loadinu'. 



When built in connection with a tic treating plant the cost is but very 

 little more than the block cars necessary to run a horizontal plant, tb ■ 

 cost of these tanks being about .$.",000 each, set up. 



You can increase your tie business and also your lilock business, and 

 run them independently of one another. The same fm-ce of en:.!ineers, 

 firemen, s'iperintendent. etc., will do the work. 



The cost of ■maintenance of this type of plant is very small. There is 

 nothing to wear out. The cylinders will last for years. 



A small amount of ground room is required, as there is no block car 

 switching. 



It will manufacture and treat paving blocks for a less cost per yard 

 than any horizontal plant. 



S. B. Church, manager of the research department of the Barrett 

 Manufacturing Company, addressed the meeting on the subject of 

 wood paving in Europe compared with the work done in this coun- 

 try. He recounted chiefly his personal observations while traveling 

 in England, France, and Germany. He had much to say in com- 

 mendation of pavement in England, but not so much for what he 

 saw in Paris and Berlin. The French give their blocks open tank 

 treatment which secures such superficial penetration that the pave- 

 ment does not last long. The English do the work more thoroughly 

 and obtain better service. The speaker commented on the almost 

 total absence of shrinking and swelling of the blocks in English 

 pavements and attributed it not to any superiority of seasoning or 

 treating, but to the climate. Such a thing as a dry spell of weather 

 is practically unknown in England. There is a little rain nearly all 

 the time, and the wooden blocks are constantly soaked and of course 

 do not shrink or swell as they would do in a climate of great varia- 

 tion in dampness and dryness. 



The use of Australian hardwoods is practically a thing of the past 

 in European paving. Pine from the region of the Baltic Sea is 

 now popular, and Mr. Church regards it as a very superior paving 

 wood, when it has been properly treated with preservatives. 



The supply of railroad ties, their treatment to lessen decay, and 

 their handling where large numbers must be cared for, as well as 

 devices to prevent excessive mechanical wear, were the subjects of 

 profitable addresses and discussion. 



