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Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



March 10, 1922 



dry kiln has done its job the cars are run out into the cooling or 

 tempering shed shown at B on the plan; A being the dry kilns. 



This cooling shed is entirely covered in and is provided \vith 

 ample light by means of sky lights in the roof, it being only a one- 

 story building. Transfer tracks within the shed permit the cars 

 of lumber to be handled easily. If it so happens that the particu- 

 lar grade of stock required is not on the car at the front, it can 

 be easily switched to bring it to the front. A double surfacer. No. 

 1. is located in this shed (shed is a misnomer as it is really a part 

 of the plant) for the purpose of light-dressing the lumber or clean- 

 ing it off just sufficiently to make the figure easily visible to the 

 men at the swing saws. 



This is considered good practice now^adays. although some firms 

 consider it a waste of money and prefer to take a chance on their 

 men having very penetrating eyes. Even if they are able to dis- 

 tinguish the grain of the wood with the naked eye it is almost 

 an impossibility to tell what color the wood will be w^hen it is 

 dressed. The longer I live and the more I travel, the more I am 

 convinced that w^e get in this w^orld just exactly what we pay for. 

 If certain manufacturers prefer to try and save money, therefore, 

 by trusting to their mens eye sight, they ^vill probably get just 

 what they pay for. 



When the lumber is unloaded from the kiln cars to be pressed 

 through this double surfacer, it is not usually reloaded on the 

 car but is carried to the men at the sw^ing saws by means of a 

 gravity conveyor. There is a good deal of stock used which does 

 not have to be passed through the surfacer and it is run right into 



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A Section Throi'ch the Case Goods Assembly D?partnrient 



the plant by means of the transfer tracks, and spotted at the sw^ing 

 saws. Practically all of the stock for turnings comes under this 

 heading. 



Progress of the Stock 



There are three sv^^ing saws, Nos. I, 2 and 3, on the plan. From 

 these the stock passes to the chain feed rip sa\vs, 6 and 7, or to the 

 resaw, 5, if it is to be resawed for panels or chair backs. Squares 

 for turnings go to the back knife lathes, 13 and 14, or else to the 

 automatic turning and shaping lathe, 13. From the lathes these 

 turnings go direct to the chair room upstairs, unless some of the 

 output of the automatic lathe may be billed for the case room. 

 The necessary belt sanders are located in the chair department, 

 and those required for finishing up the stock for case goods are in 

 that department. The other special equipment in the chair de- 

 partment includes angle boring machines, chucking machines, rel- 

 ishers, clamps, etc. 



In addition to the case clamps in the case room there are belt 

 sanders, disc sanders for fitting drawers and other small tools. 

 Accurate machine work is demanded by the owner of this plant 

 as he realizes that on medium priced goods it is necessary to cut 

 out all bench work. Therefore, the operations in this depart- 

 ment are confined to assembling. The owner of this plant has 



a motto which he is forever impressing on his men and that is 

 that the buyer of medium priced or cheap furniture is entitled to 

 get furniture constructed in a workmanlike manner. In other 

 w^ords; any economizing that is done must be accomplished by 

 efficient machine work. Any slip shod methods or faulty w^ork- 

 manship are condemned in no uncertain manner. This considera- 

 tion for the final purchaser, or ultimate consumer, is certainly 

 commendable, and in addition to this, it has proved profitable. 



One of this company's travelers told me not long ago that one 

 thing he never fears is that a furniture dealer will call him into the 

 store to show him defective work. Formerly, while traveling for 

 another company, it seems this was one of the bugbears of his life. 



Use Surfacer on Case Goods Stock 



All stock for case goods that calls for matching in grain and color 

 is first run through the double surfacer. So is the stock which has 

 to be glued up for the seats of solid seat chairs. From the swing 

 saw^s it goes to the chain feed rip saws, 6 and 7. From these it goes 

 to the power feed buzz planer, 8, and then to the continuous feed 

 glue jointer, 9, and then to the joint gluer and revolving clamp in 

 the area indicated at, 18. 



If the stock does not require to be edge jointed, it may go from 

 the rip saws to the surfacer, I I , or it may go to the moulders, 1 2 and 

 I 3. No. I is a buzz planer which is often used instead of the power 

 feed machine, especially for small stock or small jobs for which it 

 would not be profitable to disturb the set-up of the big machine. 

 No. I 7 is a multiple hollow chisel mortiser v^hich is used for mortis- 

 ing the posts for case goods. It is thus very conveniently located 

 behind the moulders because the posts are put through one of these 

 machines to be dressed on four sides. 



No. 1 9 is a chair seat hollower. It is placed beside the glue 

 clamp so that the chair seats may be hollowed as soon as they leave 

 the gluing department, and then they are convenient to the elevator 

 to be taken to the chair department. This is about the furthest 

 point in the machine room to Vk^hich the chair stock gets, unless 

 once in a while, when some back posts go to the shaper. There is 

 a shaper upstairs, but occasionally some assistance is required on 

 the shaping, and some of the work is taken to the shapers indicated 

 at 31 and 32. 



Case goods stock, such as tops, when glued up. is surfaced on the 

 cabinet surfacer, 20, and then sanded on the endless bed sander, 2 I . 

 The handsaws. 22. 23 and 24 are located beside the windows where 

 good light is available and where the stock requiring bandsawing 

 may be taken care of without any unnecessary trucking. 



No.'s 25 and 26 are carving machines. No. 27 is a three spindle 

 horizontal boring machine, while No. 28 is a six spindle horizontal 

 boring machine for boring leaves for extension tables. No. 29 is a 

 double-end tenoner. 30, a dovetail machine, and No.'s 31 and 32 

 are shapers. 



This brings us in close proximity to the case goods assembly 

 room and the stock passes in there to be assembled and then it goes 

 to the finishing room via the elevator shown. 



Location of Offices 



The superintendent's office and drafting room is shown on the 

 plan. This office is reached from the street by going dow^n about 

 four steps. The other stair goes up to the main office, which is 

 situated on the first floor. The bottom floor of the plant is slightly 

 below the street level at the front or office side of the building. The 

 sample room, where all sample furniture is made up and passed 

 upon before being made up for stock is located beside the superin- 

 tendent s office, w^here he can keep a fatherly eye on the sample 

 makers. In fact this department is also the special care of the 

 ow^ner, v^'ho, while keeping a watchful eye on the v^^hole institution, 

 leaves the superintendent a pretty free hand. 



There are one or two constructional features in the building I 



would like to call attention to. These are illustrated in the skeleton 



section shown here. This section is taken through the case goods 



assembly department. It will be noticed that one side of this room 



( Contiiiutfi oil />'/</»■ 4.S) 



