^|..r lU, nil." 



.■■J. "/. 



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The Lumbermen s Round Table 



Kesaw vs. Veneer Saw 



A goiwl nmiir lioor fiu-torif> iiml otIiiT ii.hits of heavy venotTK, giicli 

 ■ • iiifli, lire now Imyiiin IuiiiImt iiiul romiwinj; it, insti'iul of 

 ^' thp iiintorinl in ltn' ilinii-nsiion ilpniroil, as iiroilucod l>y 

 iiican.s oi II veupor saw. 



Ko«iw»'.l lumlH<r is iimiuestionahly rlicapor lluin the true veneer, 

 iHM-nuao the prodnction on the hitter is niueb unialler than is oMninoil 

 by using the sawmill ami the resyiw. In fact, some careful cstinintors 

 figure a difference in favor of the resawed stock of at least $5 a 

 thousand in the manufacturing cost. 



The question at is.sue, however, is not which is the cheaper, but 

 which is l>efter for the purpose. It is contended by veneer men that 

 rosawed stock will warp, for the reason that the board is drier on 

 the outsi.lc than it is on the inside, and that the inner side will con- 

 nequently shrink more than the outer, causing the material to cup. 

 Spcci6c examples arc given of cases of this sort resulting in the re- 

 jection of the finished millwork. 



The concern which buys lumber on the open market and then re- 

 saws it would lio very likely to have to contend with this condition, 

 inasmuch as the lumber would undoubtedly be in a partially dry con- 

 dition. The l>est plan would seem to be to treat the lumber to be 

 used for resawing purposes exactly as flitches are treated, buying it 

 green and resawing it l>efor«- it has time to dry out to any extent. 

 That would proV>ably get away from the cupping difficulty. The saw- 

 mill man might also provide a stock of satisfactory quarter-inch 

 luml>er. or veneers, by resawing the boards as they come off the mill. 



In this connection, resaws are now made which produce such a fine 

 kerf that it is possible to re.saw with practically no loss of measure- 

 ment. The material is of course a trifle scant, but the difference is 

 80 slight that the board is accepted as full measure. 



Educating the Dimension Buyer 



The buyer of dimension stock seems to bo about the most difficult 

 person in the field to educate. 



Lumber manufacturers have l)een working on him for a good many 

 years, trying to show him why he ought to l>e willing to jjay a price 

 for dimension that will give a chance to absorb manufacturing ex- 

 pense; but apparently their efforts have not availed much. 



Perhaps the explanation is that some of the lumber manufacturers 

 themselves need educating l>efore they begin to quote prices on 

 dimension stock. The buyer who has been told that he must pay bet- 

 ter than ordinary lumber prices for dimension, and then is offered 

 just such material for less, can hardly be blamed for taking advantage 

 of the situation. 



Nevertheless, it is rather irritating to find supposedly intelligent 

 and experienced manufacturers of wood products refusing to buy 

 dimension because it costs as much as good lumber. If it cost a good 

 deal more, it would be worth it, because the consumer has gotten 

 away from the cutting up expense. 



A salesman for a mahogany dimension concern recently approached 

 a manufacturer of beds and offered rail stock for sixteen cents a 

 foot. 



"Why," returned the manufacturer, "I can get firsts and seconds 

 lumber for that. ' ' 



And with this in his mind, he could not see the advantages which 

 would accrue from having the material delivered to him ready for 

 dressing and finishing. He had not grasped the fact that it is semi- 

 finished material, carried several steps along .the road toward its final 

 form. UntU he appreciates the fact that there is an opportunity 

 here for him to save money, he will not be willing to pay reasonable 

 prices for dimension lumber. 



The Value of Good Will 



A grain dealer was recently cciinmcnting on the fact that in his 

 business good-will seems to be worth very little. 



' ' The grain buyer is almost invariably a price buyer, ' ' he said. 

 ' ' The concern which can quote the lowest price gets the business. 

 The buyer is protected as to the grade, and hence all he looks at is 



-20— 



the price. '11.. „..:. I.uu.-i li;i.s little or no opportunity to build up 

 good-will, and names are worth comparatively little." 



Without attempting to analyze the situation in the grain field 

 nor determine whether or not this Ixjiief is really correct, Inmbcrmen 

 have something to congratulate themselves U]ion in that good will is 

 worth a great deal to them. 



The salesman who goes out against cutthroat competition, and 

 finds that the buyers of consuming factories are sharpshooters of 

 high degree, picking off the low-priced bargains whenever they have 

 a chance, is likely to be discourageil, ami to come to the conclusion 

 that the only way to get an order is by nuiking a rock-bottom price. 



But while there is a lot of business which must \k secured by 

 means of low jirices only, there is a great deal more which can be 

 and is held because the lumber concern has earned the goodwill of 

 its customers. There are some buyers of bimber who are never in 

 the market, except for a few jiarticular concerns. These consumers 

 have learned what lumber satisfaction is, and they prefer to insure 

 it by dealing with those who have demonstrated their ability to ](ro- 

 vide the right stock at the right price, rather than to bo constantly 

 on the look-out for bargains which may l>e real and which may be only 

 apparent. 



Service to the customer is the right basis on which to build good- 

 will ; and while the price buyer and the price seller will always con- 

 tinue in the field, the lumberman who sells his product at a price 

 carrying a profit can find a market for it among those who appreciate 

 this sort of thing. 



Buying Logs for Profit 



Bricks cannot be made without straw, and a sawmill can't run 

 without logs. That is a self-evident jiroposition; but it is not a 

 corollary of this that the log buyer is therefore justified in paying 

 any prices whatever for timber, in order that the mill may have 

 something to run on. 



Inasmuch as the purchase of the logs is the first step in the opera- 

 tion of a lumber manufacturing business, it is evident that if the 

 logs are not bought right — right in quality and right in price — all of 

 the efforts of the manufacturer thereafter will not be worth anything. 



In spite of all this, however, sawmill men, especially in those sec- 

 tions of the country where the standing timber is more or less limiteil, 

 seem to lo.se their heads when they go out to buy logs. The wise 

 timber-owner is able to pit one against another, and to work the 

 price up to the highest point, in spite of the fact tliat since the saw- 

 mills are the only possible outlet for the timber, the buyers would 

 seem to be in control of the market. 



Down in Indiana arrangements have recently been made by the 

 farmers whereby the county agent in charge of farm demonstration 

 work is going to keep a list of market prices for logs, so that the 

 owner of the timber will always get the highest price. This is all 

 right, from the standpoint of the farmer; but really, judging from 

 some of the wild-eyed log com])etition which has been seen recently, 

 such a precaution is quite unnecessary. 



Wise Buyers Stocking Up 



A shrewd hardwood man said not long ago that he had noticed a 

 disposition recently on the part of consumers who have been follow- 

 ing the market closely to put lumber in stock, whenever they saw a 

 chance to pick up a car or two at an attractive price. In other 

 words, these buyers have realized that the market has changed, and 

 that the general tendency of values is upward. 



"All the hardwood men have to do now," he said, "is to hold 

 out for prices that will allow a reasonable margin of profit. Buyers 

 are ready to pay such prices, but of course they won't do so as long 

 as they can get the stock for less. The manufacturers are com- 

 plaining of high timber prices, and yet they go right on buying logs ; 

 if they would adopt the same attitude toward their lumber that the 

 timber owners do toward the logs, they would be getting just as good 

 prices, in proportion, for the lumber as the log man docs. It's 

 merely a question of having the nerve and the patience to ask the 

 price which the cost of the lumber requires." 



