October 10, 1915. 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



27 





•i:;^^ 



The Northwestern Cooperage & Lumber Company 



WeKtern OdU'e: 

 r»16 l^nnihcr Kxchiiiiuf. >Iiiinea|>tilis. >Iiiiii 



The Home of the "Peerless " Standard Brand Products 



GLADSTONE, MICHIGAN >lilK nt Cladstone ami Ksriliiaba, Mirliiean 



Manufacturers of the following "Peerless" Standard Brand Products: Hardwood Flooring, Staves, 

 Hoops, Heading and Veneers, Hemlock Lumber, Lath, Shingles, Posts, Poles and Ties. 



"Peerless" Rock Maple, Beech & Birch Flooring 



TRY IT THE 



hu\'e a standard of their own, are guaranteed 



;ind are said by li^alers to hold trade. TV'e »ii7vt -riR>ii7 



whip it in straight or mixed cars — Car or Cargo. INtA I 1 llVIt. 



Members of Maple lluoring Mauufa^^turers' Associn lion. ('When writing mention the Hardwood Record.) 



^v:;j^i^>5i:^>^i!;5t:i>imM^^^ "" 



The Mail Bag 



B944 — Boiling Oak Logs 



. Ga., October 5. — Editor IIaudwood Record : It has occurred to 



us that one as familiar with the "many technical points touching lumber iu 

 its various forms as you are could probably, if not certainly, help us 

 out on a difHculty we are having in boiling oak logs. 



Recently we have placed practically perfect oak logs into our vats, and 

 on taking them out found that both season checks and heart checks had 

 opened up into a large crack, sometimes extending into the logs for three 

 or four feet, thus causing a large waste in the yield we otherwise would 

 have gotten from the log. 



It is our practice to place these logs in the vats when the water is 

 just good and warm and keep them there for 48 hours or longer, and 

 gradually bringing up the temperature to 'the boiling point. The logs 

 to which we particularly refer were in S-foot lengths and 24 inches to 

 36 inches in diameter. 



Any suggestions you could make that would help us out of our diffi- 

 culty would be heartily appreciated. . 



The above correspondent has been advised as follows: 

 The writer has not had experience in boiling logs for veneer cut- 

 ting and does not feel able to offer practical advice in regard to your 

 trouble with oak logs checking during the process of boiling. Speak- 

 ing from theory, should say the trouble is due to the great rapidity 

 with which the logs are dried, although they may be submerged in 

 water. It is well known that wood which is thoroughly soaked will 

 part with moisture rapidly while in boiling water or hot steam. The 

 water in the log is heated to the boiling point and escapes as steam. 

 If enough of it goes out quickly, causing contraction of the wood, 

 the stress might be sufficient to open large cracks. 



Will venture to guess that your worst checking occurs in very 

 heavy, wet logs. Am sure, also, that if you would weigh these logs 

 before they go into the boiling vats and again just after they come 

 out of the 48-hour boil, you would find that they have lost considerable 



weight. That loss of weight would represent the water expelled from 

 the wood during the process of boiling. 



The writer hesitates to offer any suggestions founded on theory 

 only; but it occurs to him that prolonging the period during which 

 the logs are brought to the boiling point, and holding the tempera- 

 ture just below that point for some time, might give the wood time 

 to adjust its stresses to the changing conditions, and thus lessen the 

 checking. It might be well to ascertain whether it is not only the 

 very wet and heavy logs which check badly. If that is found to be 

 the case, such logs might be laid aside for especially slow boiling, 

 and not be mixed in the vat with the lighter logs which o-ive no 

 trouble. — Editor. 



B 945 — Source of Supply for Persimmon 

 Hardwood Record is in receipt of the following letter from a con- 

 cern seeking a market for its persimmon: 



1 — , .\rk.. October 4. 1915. — Your Name Was Handed Me By A 



Friend & I Wish To Say That I Have A Milion Ft Of Purcimon Logs Or 

 More That I Am Trying To Put On The Market If I Can Find Prices 

 To Justilie Me In Handling This Stock In Fact I Can Get All Most An 

 Unlimited Quanity Of Purcimon Both In The Log & By The Cord If I 

 Can Find The Proper Place To Sell It I Have This Stock On The Miss. 

 River & Can Ship It By Barge To All Most Any Shiping Points On The 

 Miss River & Its Tribiteris By Barge It Seams That This Stock Could 

 Be Used For Gun Stocks As Well As Walnut As It Is As Hevy & Has 

 The Balance To It So It Will Be Very Desirebull As It & The Walnut 

 Has The Same Weight & Purcimon Takes A Finish Even Blacker Than Wal- 

 nut & Has The Strenght All Most Duble To Walnut & The Duribility of 

 Purcimon .After It Has Taken Its Finish Will Never Decak or Rot & 

 Its Grane Arc Something Lice Teak Which Are The Hardest Wood None 

 For Shives & Purcimon Will Make Just As Good Shives As Teak I Want 

 To Get This Meteral Before The Manufactures' Of The U S & Forn 

 Countryes .\s I Have Had Quite An Experience With All Kinds Of 

 Timber I Can Ashure The Trade That For The Purpers I Have Named 

 Purcimon For As The Best Timber We Have Now For This Kind Of Stock. 

 I Will Be Glad To Go Further In Dctales With .\nv One Who Will Adress 



Me. '- 



Those interested in securing persimmon logs will be supplied with 

 the address of this correspondent upon application to Hardwood 

 Record. — Editor. 



