December 10, 1917 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



27 



Veneer Statistics Lacking 



Need Is Felt for Fuller Information on This Important Matter 



"iniO EXPLANATION has been offered to account 



I ^1 for the lack of veneer statistics. The govern- 

 . -Vi, I ment compiles and publishes figures annually 

 to show the output of lumber by states and by 

 species, but veneers do not come in for consideration in 

 the same way. Some of the best posted men in the 

 veneer business are ready to confess that they do not 

 know the annual output of that product in the United 

 States. Each separate operator knows what his produc- 

 tion is, but it is not his business to go farther than that 

 in the way of collecting figures. The government is the 

 most logical authority to take that up, as it does in the 

 case of lumber. 



It would not be a difficult matter. Veneer mills are 

 few in comparison with saw mills. There were only 

 637 veneer establishments in the whole United States 

 in 1909; in 1908 there were 402, and in 1907 the num- 

 ber was 370. Figures for 1909 can be had in much 

 detail, and some data for preceding years, but when the 

 deadline of 1909 is passed in the approach to the 

 present, information regarding the production of veneer 

 is lacking, or at any rate is very scarce. 



For some reason the census people rested from their 

 labors after 1909, so far as veneer is concerned. That 

 has been eight years ago and the gap is pretty long. 

 The reason why the returns for 1909 were so full and 

 satisfactory is that the regular decennial census was taken 

 that year, and nothing escaped. More information re- 

 garding the veneer industry was collected that year than 

 ever before or since. The cut that year totaled a little 

 less than half a billion feet, log scale. 



It is not worth while to make guesses what the total 

 annual output of this community now is, but it is safe 

 to say that it is twice what it was eight years ago. The 

 industry has been growing rapidly and it may be ex- 

 pected to continue growing at a rate no less. The sep- 

 arate uses of the product may not have increased greatly 

 in number in the last eight years, but there has been 

 great increase in quantity along many of the lines. 



When veneer is listed for statistical purposes it is 

 measured by log scale, but when it is bought and sold, 

 surface measurements usually are employed. The two 

 measurements are wholly different and there is no com- 

 mon multiple or division for them. This fact has caused 

 some confusion for those who examine statistics. When 

 the statement is made that a mill cuts 1,000,000 feet of 

 veneer, log scale, it means that the logs were measured 

 before being manufactured into veneer. In round num- 

 bers, that quantity of logs would cut 1,000,000 feet of 

 inch lumber. But veneer is thinner than lumber, and it 

 is customary to estimate it by surface measure without 

 regard to its thickness. A sheet of veneer five feet long 



and four feet wide contains twenty square feet, no matter 

 how thick or how thin it is. The surface of one side only 

 is measured. Suppose each sheet is one-twentieth of an 

 inch thick. Twenty of such sheets would stack up one 

 inch high and would amount to 400 feet of veneer, but 

 only 20 feet of lumber. 



Some veneer men have suggested that when the gov- 

 ernment again collects statistics of this industry, it would 

 increase the value of the figures if totals were given in 

 both log scale and in veneer measure. This would show 

 how to average the wraste factor in reducing log measure 

 to veneer measure. The waste is pretty large, but no 

 one seems to know just how large it is. It has been very 

 accurately figured out for lumber, and the mill man can 

 tell within narrow limits the quantity of lumber that can 

 be cut from a million feet of logs. If data were carefully 

 worked out and compiled it would be as easy to tell how 

 many surface feet of veneer of a given thickness might 

 be cut from a million feet of logs. 



How One Firm Reduced Its Glue Bills 



Hardwood Record has received the following letter from a 

 prominent user of panels, a man who has had a good deal of expe- 

 rience in glue rooms, who advances some new ideas on the proper 

 way of handling glue to minimize its cost and get the highest type 

 of efficiency: 



Since the war started prices of glue have gone higher and 

 higher. Some manufacturers have chosen lo\ver grades and 

 thereby experienced no end of trouble, while others are substitut- 

 ing bone and vegetable glue. It is our experience that every glue 

 has its place. We make no charge against any glues but know 

 absolutely that no glue will compare in strength \vith hide glue. 

 We have been asked lime and again, "How do you determine glue 

 quality and what assurance have you that the grade will always 

 be th? same?** 



We combined a few chemical tests with practical determina- 

 tion, and, largely common sense. For instance, v^e determine how 

 much heat the glue will stand and its adhesive strength in pounds 

 per .=:quare inch. One can easilv determine the heat the glue will 

 stand by preparing several batches at different temperatures, be- 

 ginning with 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and not exceeding 180 de- 

 grees, and heating them different lengths of time. We then take 

 th*^ different solutions and glue up pieces of oak end to end, and 

 side to end, properly clamping them and permitting the joints to 

 dry. The one giving the highest strength would be the glue pre- 

 ferred. 



Grease is an enemy to glue and ^ve have a very simple method 

 to determine its presence: in fact, any boy of ordinary intelligence 

 can do this successfully. Drop a little aniline on a brush full of 

 glue, wipe the brush in circles upon a bit of paper, then suddenly 

 draw the brush across the paper and see if there are any white 

 spots left in the path of the brush. White spots mean the presence 

 of ffrease, and the more spots counted, the more grease. 



We do not give a great deal of attention to viscosity, although 

 we make the tests. Years of practical experience in using glues 

 hai taught us that a high viscosity of a glue solution may not be 

 entirely due to glue principles present, but may be in part due 

 to the presence of deleterious chemical substances. 



If woodworking manufacturers will try our "time tried" sugges- 

 tion5>, they will have a pretty good barometer on their glue bills, 

 and, in many cases, improve the quality of their goods. We 

 know. — A. T. D. 



The Badger Basket & Veneer Co., Burlington, Wis., has in- 

 creased its capital stock from $40,000 to $50,000. Ralph W. 

 Story is secretary and treasurer. 



