32 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



April 10, 1921 



realize that popular understanding of plywood values is just as 

 important to him, or nearly so, as to the plywood manufacturer. 

 Therefore, he should contribute to the general movement a more 

 careful study of the application of this forest product, a study 

 which will reveal those facts about plywood that render it an 

 indispensable article in the cabinet and furniture factory. He must 

 systematize his analysis and thoughts so that through his sales- 

 men and advertising literature he may in a measure educate the 

 retailer who is the point of personal contact with the consuming 

 buyer. 



For the benefit of his own business the manufacturer of high 

 grade cabinet work must first convince himself that well-made ply- 

 wood properly applied in the proper places, is a feature of his work 

 and not something that he must apologize for or disguise. He must 

 realize that with the lessening available quantity of high grade 

 hardwood timber and the increasing demand for full utilization, 



plywood is destined to become more and more a part of his future. 

 Therefore, he should lay such plans as are necessary that he may 

 capitalize on and not be penalized for his use of plywood. The 

 ground is prepared for the future. Standardized grades and an 

 honest co-operation in behalf of uniform quality and of efficiency 

 in manufacture and service guarantee that the industry would be 

 prepared to back up this educational effort. 



I have seen the industry develop from a primitive beginning to 

 its present stage of high efficiency. Today this progress bears 

 out my prognostication of years ago. Plywood as cabinet making 

 material, fabricated by men who not only know its advantages 

 but, also, their responsibility in its production, is destined to bring 

 greater beauty and more lasting quality into our homes and furni- 

 ture and also to play an important part in the conservation of our 

 remaining high grade timber. 



Interview With a Progressive Old-Timer. 



Materials Used in Dry Kiln Construction 



Any of the ordinary building materials — wood, brick, tile, or 



concrete may be used in the construction of a dry kiln. The 



choice between them will depend upon the relative importance of 

 the first cost, maintenance, and fire hazard. The following com- 

 ments on each type are based on the experience of the U. S. For- 

 est Products Laboratory. 



Where insurance rates permit, a well-built wood kiln is very 



Southern Furniture Market 



'^ii ^&% ^ '"^ ® 



]]l ^^^ 111 m 11 

 3^3 311 m m! Ill 



3^3 H^ m m m 



_^li ^«l m m m 



New "Million Dollar** Southern Furniture Exposition Building 

 N. C, in Which Southern Market Will Be Held, June 20 



iition Building at High Point, 

 I4.»M i..na 9n to July 2 



satisfactory, wood being a very good insulator, easily repaired, 

 and cheaper than the other materials. The chief objection to the 

 use of wood, aside from fire risk, is its tendency to swell and shrink 

 with alternate moist and dry conditions, causing more or less 

 working of the frame and loosening of nails. All lumber should 

 be thoroughly seasoned. Fir, Douglas fir, yellow pine, redwood, 

 cypress, and similar woods with low shrinkage rates should be 

 used for sheathing and sills. For frame timbers any good straight- 

 grained material is suitable. The sheathing should be shiplap laid 

 horizontally and nailed twice at each stud, in the middle and at the 

 bottom of the board. Outside w^alls should be sheathed on both 

 sides or sheathed inside and plastered outside. They should also 

 be insulated w^ith a good moisture-proof, heat-resistant insulator. 

 The ordinary quilt insulations sew^ed between so-called water- 

 proof paper have not proved satisfactory in dry kiln construction. 

 Walls should be painted on the inside with asphaltic paint. Where 

 lumber is plentiful, crib or laminated construction may be used, 

 the walls being built up of 2 by 6-inch planks laid flat, and the 

 roof of similar material laid tight together. If the planks are well 

 seasoned and w^ell manufactured, this form of construction per- 

 mits very little heat loss; but if the lumber is low grade and knotty, 

 a tight, w^eat her- resistant construction is extremely difficult to 

 obtain. The shrinkage of the w^alls is excessive, and causes con- 

 siderable trouble at door jambs and where pipes pass through the 

 walls. 



Brick or hoIlow^ tile is procurable almost everywhere, and where 

 permanency is desired is usually more satisfactory than wood. The 

 brick or tile should be hard burned. The walls should be laid up 

 in tempered or cement mortar. Unequal expansion in the exterior 

 w^alls, caused by the difference in temperature of the outer and 

 inner faces, is almost certain to create numerous small cracks, 

 which should be painted up w^ith an elastic cement rather than 

 mortar. A kind of tile should be chosen that has openings run- 

 ning horizontally rather than vertically in the w^all. The tile 

 should be scored for plastering. Both sides of tile walls should 

 be plastered with cement mortar. When brick, tile, or concrete 

 kilns are over 50 feet long, it is advisable to build both the exterior 

 and interior w^alls 12 inches thick, particularly if fireproof roofs 

 are used. 



Walls of monolithic concrete or of concrete blocks are highly 

 absorbent of moisture unless thoroughly w^aterproof. It is very 

 difficult to hold a high humidity w^ithin a kiln w^hose w^alls absorb 

 moisture readily. The heat loss through such w^alls is also very 

 great. 



