IS 



HARDWOOD KKCOKD 



Unrch lo, i.H' 



lent in«v 

 wbile for 

 ablj be )■ 



of ni' ' 



of II 



tt-J. 



oon- 



<T cent of the oven-ilry wiMi;iit of liio wood, 



ii lumber of the lutnio nintoriol it will prcb- 



r cent. Tbua it U «een Hint differrnt eondlUona 

 •'■ ■ " '• ' - no that one cJom 



A\y as matorinl of 

 •" , r • 'o is 



lUi.: MiiK iiH in t|ii< );rvon Imrdwooda. 



1 . foot of iibholutoly dry, or oven-dry mntrrint, 



Tarios noiiicnlint Iom in |>orrcnlii|;i< tl>o» tlio wci|;)it of oitlier ({recn 

 or oirdry timber. Tbo timber from luiy Ki^'<!o t'"'"" will one-linlf Uio 

 time fall within four per cent of tlio avcra{;o vnluo with occasional 

 values OS much as sixteen per cent above or below Uio avorn|^<. Theso 

 variations aro about tlic avortiKO for most species. Tlio lunKlcuf jiiiiu 

 and Douglas fir, Imwcver, sliow variations about ouo and one-lmlf 



Uio timpH n» InrRe n* tlio"(» (fivoii. 



The 8U|>crintendcnt of n sash and door factory wlicro cleclrio 

 motors ore used for driving the maoliines says ho finds somoUiing 

 new all the time. Ho find.i Ihnt pro|KT wiring Ims much to do witli 

 the satisfactory performance of motors. For instnnto, an eight horse- 

 power motor did not do the work required, and ho wos about to 

 cxrhnnge it for a twelve horse-power motor. After the new motor ar- 

 rived he wa.1 told that the wire w to bo changed, ns tho 

 one in use was too small for the ■ .urrent. Tho wire was 

 duly change<l, but, lacking a coupling, Uie uld motor was connected, 

 lo bo used until tlic coupling arrived. To the surprise of tho super- 

 intendent tlie old motor did Uie work as well ns could bo wished. A 

 saw, belted direct from a seven horsepower motor, would not rip 

 anything. A ten horsepower motor was put in, but tbo machine still 

 refused to work. It is a largo self-feed saw, with pulley on arbor 

 for an eight-inch belt. He was using a seven-inch belt. To save tho 

 motor he took off the seven-inch bolt and put on a four-inch one. 

 The saw now works well. Tho motor would not stand the sudden 

 jerks sent to it by the wide belt, while the narrow belt gives and 

 thus prevents tho shock. 



Trucks aro good things, but sometimes they aro a little slow where 

 stock has to go from one floor to another. In such cases a chain 

 elevator or a friction roll elevator would facilitate rapid movement. 

 One such elevator, consisting of a simple roller and weight, was 

 effectively used to pass lumber from the planer to the resaw on the 

 floor above, boards from tho machine being landed at the resaw 

 before the following board was through the machine. Link belt is a 

 big help to many of the laborious operations of the planing mill. 

 As a rule, we are slow in adopting these little improvements. While 

 it is generally acknowledged that it costs money to pick up lumber 

 and put it dowm again to be picked up some other tune, we still go 

 on with the old game to a great extent. Once in a while some big 

 concern takes a turn at the improved form of handling lumber and 

 tho chains get a chance to do tho work of so much hand labor. 



Many machine builders think that if they make a little quarter- 

 inch hole in the cap of a box of any kind they have done all the law 

 requires. Here they make a mistake. Every box cap should have 

 a cup cast or put on it. These little holes are easy to fill up with 

 dust and shavings, and the man who oils has to carry a pick to open 

 them up, whereas if the caps had cups on them and the holes leading 

 to the bearings had a plug in them a very little smaller than the 

 holes, and striking the bearings, it would keep the dirt out of the 

 holes and the oil would work down on the plug and keep the bearing 

 clean and always oiled. 



A nest of saws of different thicknesses, for rabbeting, looks simple, 

 but is elusive and delusive. The saws wear to different diameters and 

 the chips have a bad habit of jamming in the teeth between tho 

 saws, while the e<lgcs look rough and it makes an altogether unsatis- 

 factory job. A little more money gets a good cutterhead, or a wab- 

 bling saw collar will solve the problem. The claim that a wabbling 

 saw makes a rounding cut does not amount to much, as the round 

 on a -y, or %-inch dado is so little as not to be noticed, particularly 

 on framework that covers up anyway. 



In tho post much attention was given to tlio subject of nuts 

 working loose from bolts nnd Bliiifting and causing accidents, nnd 

 much inventive genius was spent in efforts to invent what was 

 formed safety nuts. There is evidently some trouble from nuts 

 working loose these days, but apparently it has been found that tlio 

 remedy consists largely in having finer manipulation in tho making 

 of these things nnd cloFCr fitting bolts and nuts, and to double or 

 jnnibnut where thoro is unusu.-il strain or vibration. There is prob- 

 ably not today a very large perccnt.'ige of accidents traceable directly 

 to nuts working loose, but there aro tome. 



There is no question but that it pays to have a factory both 

 attractive and comfortable. There is some question, however, about 

 what constitutes comfort. Some can feel comfortable only when 

 reclining in an easy chair or lying on a couch. This kind of comfort 

 is not conducive to business in factory operation, but there is a 

 rational comfort in the way of furnishing conveniences, light and 

 facilities for doing work that is a splendid investment. 



There is no greater mistake made in tlie planing mill than that 

 of running stock through machines without getting it to a uniform 

 size. Owners complain of broken machines and how much it costs 

 for repairs, yet they insist on pushing stock up to a machine without 

 even thinking that there is a limit to tho strength and endurance of 

 iron and steel and leather. 



The man at tho mortising machine may not care much about the 

 trouble the fellows have to assemble their work, but just the same 

 it is important to the institution to have the mortising well done, to 

 insure good joints and save trouble in the assembling room, and it 

 is the first duty of the man at the mortiser to see that his work is 

 properly done. The quantity of the work may be important but 

 should be of secondary consideration. 



Dado work can bo done on a rip saw table, but if you have enough 

 of it to do, it pays to have a special machine for the purpose. 



It doesn't take a smart man to find fault with a machine or with 

 an institution. The smart man is needed to correct the faults and 

 to get business through, and profits out of, an institution, even with 

 its faults. 



An extra table or rip saw in the factory, for the convenience of 

 those who have occasion to use one just for a minute or two now and 

 then, is a convenience that should be worth the price these days, 

 when saw tables are to be had for very small sums. 



The man who takes green lumber and puts it into finished furni- 

 ture in a couple of weeks' time may not be green himself, but he is 

 evidently figuring on selling to green people, because furniture of 

 this kind will not stand up long. 



Saving in time is the factor sought for in high-class manufacture. 

 The machine that helps do this, no matter what its first cost, is con- 

 sidered the cheapest 



