14 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



at least the ends of boxes and crates out 

 of sawed stock. However, the veneer ma- 

 chine will undoubtedly in the future fur- 

 nish the great volume of box and other 

 package rfiaterial. And this volume, if it 

 keeps up its present gait, will be of such 

 magnitude as to overshadow any other 

 branch of the veneer business in point of 

 quantity at least. 



The most interesting field of work for the 

 veneer machine is the manufacture of thin 

 lumber for furniture and cabinet wood work 

 and other uses along the same line. The 

 use of thin lumber in this work is increas- 

 ing at a rapid rate, and appears to be grow- 

 ing solely cm its merits, so that its future 

 prominence is practically assured. 



In drawer bottoms and many inside and 

 back panels there is a great call for plain 

 thin lumber made of almost any kind of 

 hardwood timber which, if made in a saw- 

 mill, would prove practically as expensive 

 as thicker stuff, while the veneer product 

 can be had at a very much lower figure, and 

 answers all purposes fully as well as sawed 

 stock. Then, in the making of large panels, 

 whether they are to be plain or faced, we 

 find veneer offers a decided advantage, sev- 

 eral advantages in fact. By making it in 

 built-up form, that is. gluing two or more 

 pieces of veneer together, panels of almost 

 any size can be made, whereas if some of 

 them were to be made of lumber it would 

 take the widest stock to be found, which 

 would naturally be very expensive, while 

 veneers can be manufactured from ordinary 

 logs that will make panels of any size de- 

 sired for ordinary use. In fact, when it 

 comes to such work as billiard table tops 

 there is no other means, except by the use 

 of veneers, by which one can get a solid 

 face of wood without joint large enough to 

 answer the purpose. Of course lumber from 

 the giant trees of the west coast would 

 fill the bill, but here in the Mississippi val- 

 ley we have no such timber, and besides 

 there is no strenous call for it when one 

 can take a poplar, Cottonwood or gum log 

 of ordinary size and get a sheet of veneer 

 for this purpose without any great trouble. 

 Another advantage offered by this built-up 

 lumber is economy in timber. That is, 

 panels of built-up wood can be made thin- 

 ner than the same panel of solid wood and 

 still have the same or even greater strength. 

 This, of course, is not a very big item in 

 one or two panels or in a piece or two of 

 furniture, but when we consider all the 

 panels used in furniture and cabinet wood 

 work it is an item of large proportions. 

 Considering the fact that such wood work 

 is subject to damage by moisture, the panels 

 are much better in that they do not warp or 

 crack like solid wood. A panel of built-up 

 wood in which the grain is crossed retains 

 its shape much better than solid wood both 

 as to size and surface level. When to all 

 ♦ his we ad ni face veneer which has 



become a necessity owing to the s< 

 woods from which this class of materi 



obtained, we have, all told, an enormous 

 volume of work which has virtually passed 

 .from the saw mills to the veneer machine, 

 and as this volume is growing rapidly it is 

 certainly time for hardwood mill men to 



make a study of the exact mission of the 

 veneer machine so as to be properly enlight- 

 ened as to the advisability of installing 

 machinery of this class along with saw 

 mill operations. 



HardWood Record JWail Bag. 



[In this department It Is proposed to reply 

 to such inquiries as reach this office from the 

 Hardwood Recoed clientage as will be of enough 

 general interest to warrant publication. Every 

 patron of the paper Is invited to use this de- 

 partment to the fullest extent, and an attempt 

 will be made to answer queries pertaining to all 

 matters of Interest to the hardwood trade, in 

 a succinct and intelligent manner.] 



Girdling of Tupelo Gum. 



Mobile, Ala., June 3. — Editor LIakdwood Rec- 

 ord : What do you consider the test way to 

 handle tupelo timber V Would you advise gird- 

 ling the trees some time In advance of felling, as 

 Is practiced with cypress, to prevent the warping 

 and checking of the sawed lumber? — C. E. L. 



Dr. C. A. Schenck, the eminent forester 

 who has charge of the reforestation propo- 

 sition on the Pisgah Mountain estate of 

 rge Vandcrbilt, in North Carolina, has 

 this to say on 1 his subject : 



The plan to girdle tupelo gum timber In order 

 to kill the sap and hence decrease the hydro- 

 scoplcity has my full measure of approval. Under 

 hydroscoplclty we understand tin- relation of 

 timber ■ ■• water. The warping Is due merely 

 to a change of tie- watery contents of timber. 

 due to the change of watery vapor in the at- 

 iiere or due to the water-absorbing power of 

 lumlier. It is well known that live sap In- 

 creases hydroscopic ity. 



The best means to reduce hydroscoplclty to a 



minimum is the steaming of the logs or con- 

 tinued submersion in running water. Deadening 

 of trees, too, Is without doubt a splendid scheme. 

 It will be best, in my opinoin, to deaden the 

 trees In winter. The buds will then open and 

 the leaves unfold, using up the majority of the 

 sap of the tree. 



When the leaves begin to wither, then the 

 time has come for cutting the tree into logs 

 and lumber. An additional advantage of the 

 girdling method is the increased floatability. 

 My own experience In girdling tupelo gum 

 (A'j/»so sylvatica) tends to show that it is Im- 

 possible to kill the tree in one season. The 

 trees frequently keep alive for three- or four 

 years, the leaves getting continuously smaller, 

 until after the lapse of the time given the tree 

 actually dies. The death rate of the tupelo 

 gum will be Increased by very deep girdling. 



Results similar to those obtained by girdling 

 might be secured by cutting the trees in early 

 spring, before the opening of the buds, without 

 then dissecting the bole Into logs. It will be 

 found that the buds open and the leaves unfold 

 again ; when they begin to wither the sap is 

 largely consumed and logs from trees thus 

 treated are very apt to show similar qualities in 

 the sawmill to those obtained from girdled stock. 



Dr. Schenck has given this subject a 

 good deal of study, and his advice in the 

 matter is well worth experimentation. 



—Editor. 



Wood and Iron Combinations. 



In the past few years there has been 

 advance made in the 



bining \\ i and metal in the construction 



of le.uso furnishing material and general 

 woodwork for various purposes. In the de- 

 sign of many forms of modern machines 

 there has been considerable accomplished 

 in the; combining of wood and metal in the 

 frames and in some cases the mechanical 

 parts. The combination of wood and metal 

 secures lightness and in most instances an 

 strength when the pattern is cor- 

 rectly designed, an. I hence levers, wheels, 

 rods, frames and various other parts of 

 tallica! devices are often made of this 

 combination. In some instances the parts 

 are bolted or screwed together, forming a 

 compact combination. In other cases the 

 wood is inlaid or dovetailed into the metal 



sockets. 



In the line of gi aeral building work the 

 inations are seen patterned similar to 

 the sketches. Figure 1 represents a form of 

 door composed of wood and metal valued 

 for its beauty, strength and durability. The 

 metal work i- li tinguished by the dark- 

 ened lines extending in various angles, 

 curves and designs through the cut. The 

 work of construction involves the shaping 

 of the- metal work first, which is done in 

 tin- smith shop, after which the wood sec- 

 tions are shaped tnd adjusted. In some in- 



stances builders of these doors shape the 

 metal strips themselves. The smaller work 

 is bent cold, but the larger work has to be 

 loated bet, it.- bending. Doors of the de- 

 sign shown are very attractive for interior 

 use as well as being durable when exposed 

 to the weather. These doors, one in a 

 library and another in a studio, were unique 

 and very artistic. The wood is usually 

 common lumber well finished and the metal 

 iron enameled jet black. In special cases 

 'est ly metals of a bronze-like appearance are 

 used and frequently designs in brass are 

 seen. The cost of brass work adds mate- 

 rially to the expense of the article, but is 

 most beautiful when the brass is kept well 

 polished. 



Signs composed of metal and iron have 

 become very popular. Figure 2 is a repre- 

 sentation of one of these signs which con- 

 sists of a "base of wood, into which the 

 black metal letters are dropped. This meth- 

 od of construction gives an opportunity to 

 sink the letters below the base level or to 

 raise them a little above the base level, 

 thereby adding to the attractiveness of the 

 sign by giving the letters prominence. Some- 

 times common lumber is employed and the 

 base built up in sections. Then, again, 

 selected and finely finished stock is used, 

 entailing considerable expense. 



For interior use in the forming of arches 



