March 10. 1918 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



25 



Standards as a Hobby 



Production of Uniform Sizes as Well as Thicknesses Would Result in More Economical Production 



|Hbl IDEA OF established standards and the plea 

 for standardization is not new by any means. 

 Both have been before us for many years and 

 standardization has been a factor of importance in the 

 industrial life of the country for a generation or more. 

 The idea of standards as a hobby, however, has become 

 more widespread with the new year, and with the gov- 

 ernment setting an example and insisting upon standard- 

 ization in airplane work and in motor work and other 

 work for the army and government needs new force is 

 given it. 



With the example of the government before us leaders 

 of industry on all sides are now mounting the standard 

 hobby at such a rate that unquestionably standardization 

 will be a subject of importance in every line of industry 

 throughout the year and as a final outcome there will 

 perhaps be more progress made in establishing recognized 

 standards during the year than has been made in a period 

 of several years heretofore. 



In the veneer and panel industry we have been dis- 

 cussing this matter of standards something more than ten 

 years. The writer finds by reference to earlier notes and 

 previous writings that a discussion between Mr. Under- 

 wood and Mr. Doster, back in the summer of 1906 was a 

 means of starting an argument on this very subject. 



TTiere had been a convention session of veneer and 

 panel men in the course of which Mr. Doster, on behalf 

 of the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association told of what 

 they were doing in the lumber industry, how the organiza- 

 tion was keeping a list of stock and keeping the industry 

 informed about how much was on hand of this and that 

 kind of stock so that with this information before it the 

 trade might be so guided in its work as to let up on the 

 manufacture of stocks that were accumulating too heavily 

 and concentrate on those sizes which seemed to be most 

 needed. 



After it was all over Mr. Underwood remarked to Mr. 

 Doster that he liked the talk very well and that the logic 

 of it would apply as well to the veneer industry as to the 

 lumber business, except on the point of stock on hand. 

 He said that in the veneer business they didn't have stock 

 on hand, but cut the veneer and made the panels on 

 orders. Moreover, he argued that they couldn't do it any- 

 other way, so there was no chance in the veneer industry 

 to use the idea of stock statistics. 



The writer took issue with Mr. Underwood at that time 

 and insisted that if the veneer and panel men were not 

 cutting stock ahead of orders it was time they took ud 

 standardization and developed the practice of establish- 

 ing standards and carrying stock ahead of needs. The 

 sash and door industry was cited as an example of stand- 



ardization, also the sawmill industry as a whole. It was 

 pointed out that one of the serious problems in the manu- 

 facture of rotary cut veneer was then, as is now. the ques- 

 tion of how to make a clean up disposal of the stock. The 

 argument was advanced then, just as it can be now, that 

 to establish the practice of cutting certain sizes in standard 

 stock and carrying it against future needs will do a lot 

 toward helping solve this question. 



For example, a buyer has an order for certain widths 

 in veneer. It goes without saying that the m:inufacturer 

 will produce some stock in cutting that will not fit the 

 width. While he might get along very well if it was nar- 

 row stock, it will more likely be 1 2 inches or wider. Sup- 

 pose it is an order for I 8-inch stock, what are you going 

 to do with the stuff that won't make 18 inches? Let us 

 go over to the sawmill and see what they do there. It s 

 very simple, isn't it? They get what 18-inch boards they 

 can out of a log and the rest goes into standard stock, of 

 one kind and another, is piled on the yard, and, in the 

 course of time, is sold. Can't we do something of the 

 same kind in the veneer factory? If not, why not? 



The sawmill has one advantage over the veneer factory 

 in that it can cut part of a log one thickness and part 

 another, at will, and thus better control the diversifying of 

 their product. But what would this avail them if they had 

 to cut to order exclusively and could not cut standard 

 stock against possible future needs with some assurance 

 that it would find sale? 



The key to the whole situation is in having a sufficiently 

 varied and constantly required list of special orders to 

 help make an economical clean-up of timber. If you are 

 fortunate, there are times when you can get this effect by 

 having on hand a long string of orders so varied in dimen- 

 sions as to dovetail in with each other nicely to make ^ 

 close clean-up. But to get things in this shape is not 

 always possible. You can't logically expect to take an 

 order and make the acceptance contingent on getting 

 another to match it. You may make them subject to 

 strikes and other things, presumably beyond your control, 

 but veneer will have to be mighty scarce and hard to get 

 before the average buyer will offer you an order to be 

 cut only when you can get another order or two that will 

 work nicely with it, so as to help clean up your timber 

 closer. It wouldn't be good business, and, besides, what s 

 the use — why not have some standard sizes to help you 

 make this clean-up? It need not interfere with your work 

 when you are lucky enough to have a list of orders that 

 go well together, and it will help you out considerably 

 when you haven't. In fact, this is the kpynote to the 

 solution of the economical manufacture of rotary-cut 

 veneer. Then, why not? 



