July Iti. nil." 



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^^ Experience Talks on Wood Working j^ 



The temper of a knife is the prim-iple consideration in grinding. 

 Anybody using knives knows that the bevel must be ground in a 

 certain way as far as the dimension of the bevel is concerned, but 

 in relation to the matter of temper this in a way is a hidden subject 

 and ideas differ thereon. 



We know that sand, grit and cinders in lumber will cau;v.i nicks 

 in planer knives, necessitating frequent .sharpening. A progressive 

 mill is using brnslies attached to the feeding end of the planer for 

 cleaning the himbcr before it passes to the knives. The attachment is 

 fastened on the machine frame between the first ;uid second feed rolls. 



It is advisable to grind on a wheel jilentifully su|iplied with water. 

 Do not hurry the work ; if you do you may blue or burn the steel, 

 even though water is used. If you are careful to grind slowly so 

 as to never heat your knives you will find that they will hold an edge 

 and last, for the temper will be unclianged. 



It may also be well to suggest that gieat care should be exercised 

 in grin<ling high speed steel knives. Never use water on the wheel. 

 Use a soft wheel which wears rapidly, and grind the knives slowly so 

 as not to heat them. The grimling of a knife is a matter which re- 

 quires unusual skill and long experience. It is difficult to go into a 

 mill and tell the workman that his methods of grinding are wrong. 

 Some men are very touchy about such statements. Most men will, 

 however, read the information given in their trade ]iapers and many 

 apply it. 



It frequently happens that lumber is dressed too tliiu when sent to 

 ilressing mills by lumber dealers. A furniture manufacturer ordered 

 a car of birch to be dressed two sides seven-eighths inch finished. 

 This was to be used for couch sides, one edge being veneered. The 

 lumber arrived and instead of being dressed on two sides it was 

 dressed on one to the proper thickness, making it impossible for the 

 furniture manufacturer to use the lumber for the purpose intended. 

 The result was that the dealer was compelled to lose money on the 

 shipment and to sell this stock at the price of crating lumber. 



A considerable amount can be saved in power ami the upkeej) of a 

 planer by sharpening often. It does not take any more time to grind 

 often with a very little to grind than it does to let cutters go until 

 there is one-sixteenth inch or more of heel. The life of both the 

 machine and belts will be prolonged by keeping a good cutting edge 

 on knives. 



Don't let needed repairs go until some other day. The time to 

 re|iair a machine is ju.st before repairs are needed. 



Loose babbitt in the boxes will give a lot of trouble. A reliable 

 method used by some of the experts is to go over the inside of the 

 box carefully with a punch. An ordinary carpenter or cabinet-maker's 

 nail set will do very well. By hitting little taps along the edge of the 

 box the metal will expand and the bearing will in many cases last a 

 long time before it will be found necessary to re-babbitt the box. 



The Wood Lathe to the Front 



Variety in wood-turning is not a modern idea, by any means, 

 but there are many new and modern machines that would astonish 

 the original inventors of the wood-turning lathe, and also the great 

 Blanchard, who invented the first pattern lathe. We occasionally 

 speak of a great number of patterns of rip saws and other wood- 

 working machines. There may be more different rip saws than there 

 are wood-turning machines, but there is quite a confusing variety 

 of machines for doing this kind of work. 



The wood-turning machines like the various saw tables, are the 

 result of many different ideas and requirements. Each has its 

 mission in the scheme of things today, and here and there is found 

 one which will perform certain work more to the satisfaction of a 

 certain user than some other one and so it goes. 



So far as the records of history go, there is pretty strong evidence 

 that the wood-turning machine was the first power wood-working 

 machine invented. Also, it was the first variety wood-worker because 

 many shapes aiul sizes can always be turned in the simple lathe with 

 hand tools. Not only was practically all the variety turning done 

 on the plain lathe in the early days, but even today you can find the 

 j)lain lathe in nearly every wood-working plant and shop, iloing a 

 certain amount of work. It is, however, more of a fill-in today thart 

 it is a machine for manufacturing turned articles in quantity. 



Wood-turning modern machines were designed to improve in many 

 ways on the old fashioned way of turning various shapes. Of course, 

 one important factor was that of greater capacity, but it was not 

 the only thing involved. There is the factor of jirecision, of making 

 articles to exact size and pattern. Then on some of them shapes are 

 brought out which were imjjossible with the old type of lathe. Octa- 

 gons, squares, straight faces and sharp corners are as much a part of 

 the work of some of the modern wood-turning machines as the 

 making of round articles. 



Wood-turning covers a wide field of industry and involves supplying 

 a range of products that may vary in size and shajjc from the small 

 wooden shirt button used by laundries, to large ami elaborately shaped 

 columns and pedestals. The product itself offers one of the most in- 

 teresting studies in the wood-working industry. Kven when it is 

 subdivided into classes there is found such a great variety in each 

 class that the wonder is no longer why we have so many different 

 machines offered for this kind of work, but how it is that so numy 

 different shapes, sizes and kinds of articles can be ])roduced and 

 marketed at prevailing prices. 



The subject not only presents an interesting .stuily in itself, but is 

 one that should appeal to every wood-worker as offering here and 

 there a chance to utilize smaller pieces of wood that are going to 

 waste, and in other ins-tances a chance to do some fine shaped work 

 of larger dimensions, at much lower cost and in a better manner, than 

 it is practical to do it without them. 



Practically every operator of a wocxi-working plant can find some 

 interest in wood-turning and room for one or more of the different 

 machines offered for doing this work. To get the machine which 

 fits in best in each case, secure circulars of all the different makes 

 offered and stuily them and the product for, which they are peculiarly 

 designed, together with possibilities in local surroundings for utiliz- 

 ing waste and develojiing markets. There is scarcely an operator of a 

 wood-working plant who can study these things consistently without 

 finding something worth while and discovering a chance to use one 

 or more wood-turning machines to advantage. 



Stockings Made of Wood 



The making of silk from wood is no new industry and stockings 

 and socks made from this artificial product have the expensive looking 

 sheen of the costly natural silk. The difficulty has been that arti- 

 ficial silk stockings would not stand water and washing and after 

 such treatment lost their silky effect and became furry. 



A new process has been developed which it is claimed will over- 

 come these faults and stockings made throughout of wood fiber will 

 wear well and survive many trips to the laundry. If these claims are 

 justified the monopoly the silk worm has so long enjoyed is in a fair 

 way to be broken. 



Despite the claim to often made that it costs more to handle 

 scrap wood than it is worth for reworking, the fact remains that al- 

 most every day we hear of the utilizing of waste from the manufacture 

 of larger articles, for making smaller ones. Some day we will 

 get this worked out until there will be no such thing as a waste 

 product in woodworking; even the sawdust and shavings will be 

 utilized to a good purpose. Then woodworking will be as efficient 

 as the meat packing hous-es. 



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