38 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



March 10, 1921 



{Con tinned Jroin ptujt 34 1 



conspicuous part is the top, and this is often kept covered. Table 

 tops are generally made of three or five plies, with a core of solid 

 wood and one or two sheets of veneer on either side of the core. 

 Occasionally table tops are made with the upper ply of sawed 

 veneer one-sixteenth or one-eighth inch thick. This will stand 

 more w^ear than the thinner sliced veneer if hard usage is involved. 

 The top may also have a small bent rim of walnut along the edge 

 to cover the core. Table rims are usually made of three or four 

 plies, each about one-fourth inch thick. These may be of walnut 

 or covered over with walnut veneer. 



Buffet and serving-table tops are made of three or five plies. 

 They may be plain, but more often they have stripe and cross 

 figure. Doors and drawer fronts of buffets and serving tables are 

 also made of three or five plies and they generally show some 

 figure. Small draw^er fronts are often of highly figured crotch or 

 burl. The ends of such pieces are generally of plain wood, except 

 in very expensive stock. Doors in furniture of high grade have a 

 ply of w^alnut veneer on the back and an edge of walnut. 



Plain rotary-cut walnut veneer is used also for drawer sides and 

 bottoms. China closets are usually made of plain wood. The 

 shelves are more often made of some cheaper w^ood with the front 

 edge of w^alnut veneer. 



In bedroom furniture the same general style of finish is used. 

 Built-up tops may be plain, but more often they have some figure. 

 Drawer fronts and panels are made of three or five plies, and, if 

 they are conspicuously placed, figured effects are often made use 

 of, including stump wood and burl. 



Legs, corner posts, and mirror frames are to a very large extent 

 made of solid pieces of other woods, except in the manufacture of 

 the most highly priced furniture. In very expensive pieces such 

 parts as the corner posts are veneered in order to secure the desired 

 figure. In low-priced w^alnut furniture the ends and other incon- 

 spicuous parts are entirely of less expensive w^oods. 



The best panels in common use are made of five plies. The core 

 is of some such wood as oak, quarter-saw^ed red gum, birch, chest- 

 nut, basswood, or yellow poplar. This should be constructed of 

 narrow pieces to prevent warping, and the two plies on either side 

 should be so laid that the grain in the ply next to the core is at 

 right angles to that of the outside ply and that of the core. This 

 method makes a strong panel and minimizes the effects of shrinking 

 and swelling. A small piece of highly figured veneer, usually 



stump wood, crotch, or burl, is often placed upon the center of 

 a large panel of plain or striped w^ood. This is called an "over- 

 lay" and is popular at the present time. An "overlay" of walnut 

 burl or crotch is sometimes used on mahogany furniture. It is 

 stained to match the mahogany panel and is regarded as adding 

 much to the attractive appearance of the mahogany. Maple burl 

 is sometimes used as an "overlay" panel with w^alnut. 



Carvings often add greatly to the attractive appearance of the 

 article. The finer, more detailed carvings are usually made sepa- 

 rately and afterwards attached to the wood. On account of the 

 high cost of labor w^ood carving is expensive, and many imitation 

 wood carvings are made. A tendency is now^ observable, however, 

 toward the use of simple carvings made of genuine w^ood. These 

 carvings are sometimes made by machinery and at a lowrer cost 

 than when made by hand. 



Natural Color Finishes 



Walnut finishes are now more nearly like the natural color of the 

 wood and vary from light to dark brown. A medium light-brow^n 

 tone that shows a figure of darker streaks is considered especially 

 attractive. Very light and very dark brow^n finishes are not so pleas- 

 ing. Walnut shows to better advantage when rubbed to a dull 

 finish than w^hen given a high polish. These dull finishes are popu- 

 lar at the present time. 



Probably the largest amount of walnut used for furniture is in 

 the form of veneer, for in a very large part of this furniture the 

 solid (not veneered) parts are of some other w^ood. All kinds of 

 walnut veneer are used in furniture, the highest grade largely de- 

 manding figure, stripe, cross figure (often with rippled and "fiddle- 

 back" effects), figured stump v/ood, crotch, and burl. A large 

 amount of plain veneer is used. Rotary veneer that is unsuited for 

 outside work is sometimes used for sides and bottoms of drawers 

 and in other places w^here it is not conspicuous. 



Many factories buy much of their walnut cut to the approximate 

 dimensions of the finished pieces. This applies particularly to di- 

 mension squares. Common sizes purchased are 2 by 2, 2|/2 by 

 2|/2, and 3 by 3, 1 8 to 36 inches long, and used largely for corner 

 posts and legs. Some manufacturers consider that the purchase 

 of this stock at, say, $75 a thousand board feet, means a saving 

 to them in both labor and machinery in comparison with the cost 

 of working it up from lumber. Other manufacturers find that, 

 if they have to dry the stock, and if it is not then perfectly clear 

 and first class in every ^vay, no saving is effected, on account of 

 the w^aste involved. One of the greatest objections to the purchase 

 of dimension stock for furniture is that there are so many different 

 and special sizes used, it is often not practicable to have them cut 

 at the sawmill. Moreover, styles of furniture change frequently 

 and with resultant changes in the sizes of the different pieces. 



Furniture manufacturers are, therefore, purchasing more viralnut 

 lumber and cutting it to the desired sizes. No. 1 common is the 

 grade generally found most advantageous. Some factories purchase 

 the firsts and seconds grade also, and others get No. 2 common and 

 better and make all their stock from this combination of grades. 

 The most common thicknesses used are 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, and 8/4. 



Furniture factories generally buy steamed w^alnut lumber in 

 order that the sapwood as w^ell as the heartwood may be used. 

 Some factories make a practice in manufacture of so placing 

 squares and other solid walnut pieces that only the heartwood is 

 exposed to the outside. 



The principal waste in furniture manufacture is in the making of 

 panels from the veneer sheets. Panel manufacturers estimate that 

 there is about 50 per cent w^aste in rotary and stay-log veneer, and 

 60 per cent in straight sliced. If the veneer sheets are cut at the 

 veneer mill to the approximate size of the panel, or sliced from 

 small clear blocks to the required size, the w^aste in veneer is much 

 less. In the latter case, it is figured that the waste in veneer ranges 

 between 10 and 20 per cent, w^ith an average of 15 per cent. 



Should Buy Dimension Stock 



There should be less \vaste in solid stock if the dimension sizes 

 are purchased than if they are cut from lumber. Waste in dimen- 

 sion material may come from stock that is poor because of a lack of 

 proper or sufficient seasoning or because of improper handling. 

 Scant sizes, as well as knots and other defects, are also the cause 

 of w^aste in this material; or, loss may result from a change in the 

 size required, after the stock has been purchased. The waste of 

 high-grade dimension stock is, of course, a much more serious 

 matter to the factory than the w^aste of a like amount of No. I com- 

 mon lumber from which it is generally sav/ed by the furniture 

 makers. The use of lumber instead of dimension stock requires, of 

 course, the shipment of defective material w^hich would have been 

 cut out at the mill; but this is preferable to the waste of dimension 

 stock. The purchase of standard sizes of clear dimension material 

 should be profitable to the furniture manufacturer. The amount of 

 waste in the use of a certain grade of lumbei depends on how^ ad- 

 vantageously the required sizes may be cut out. The greater the 

 {Continued on page 40) 



