HARDWOOD RECORD 



2? 



the timber if the product of that timber is mis-useii and wasted after 

 it is cut into lumber. Tlie manufacturer and consumer cannot afford 

 to go on like this indefinitely, spoiling lumlier by mis-manufacturing 

 and caring for it, using lumber that cloesii 't suit his purpose, and 

 jieddling a large share of it around town for firewood. The manu- 

 facturer can no more afford to waste the lumber than the sawmill 

 man can afford to waste his timber without expecting the price of 

 lumber to advance needlessly and the cost of prndiudion to go bevond 

 reasonable bounds. 



Both the lumberman and manufacturer are to blame for this need- 

 less waste — the lumberman for not specializing enough in the manu- 

 facture of lumber, oftentimes to [loorly manufacture and care of it 

 and in a great many cases to sell his lumber in the wrong market or 

 to a consumer whose needs do not suit. The consumer, on the other 

 hand, is to blame for not buying the right kind or quality that is 

 the most economical and suited to his purpose — sometimes through 

 ignorance, sometimes through carelessness or oversight. 



From what experience I have had in lumber, it seems to me that 

 if the lumbermen would specialize more in the manufacture of their 

 goods, they would realize much more out of theii- product and find a 

 more ready market. From this I mean, not to try to eater to all the 

 trade by cutting up one kind of lumber into a dozen different thick- 

 nesses and that many grades, thereby s])reading their stock out so 

 thin that there is nothing left to any of the grades, especially the 

 thinner stock ; where the larger and better logs have been cut into 

 thick stock. With the ordinary mill, where they have only 2,000,000 

 to 5,000,000 of hardwood lumber all told, it is impossible to cut all 

 thicknesses of lumber and satisfy the different consumers' wants 

 properly. If you have a good run of birch, for example, and you 

 want to sell to the finish trade that takes a No. 1 and better unselected 

 grade, saw your birch all 1", and with careful sorting your lower 

 grades will be up to standard and give satisfaction. 



I had some experience along that line when I was shipjiiug lumber. 

 One place my jieople had about two million feet of birch lumber cut 

 from 1" to 2" ; the better logs cut into thick stock No. 1 and better. 

 In shipping the 5/4, 6/4 and 8/4 we experienced no difficulty in 

 satisfying our customers. When we shipped the 4/4 we sorted out 

 the 1 and 2 red and the No. 1 red, which went through fairly well, 

 although there was complaint that it was not wide enough. Sawing 

 the thick stock was to blame for that. Then we sorted the 1 and 2 

 plain, together with the one-face 1 and 2 plain, out of the No. 1 and 

 2 common grades to ship west lior finish lumber; the 1 and 2 face 4" 

 strips for fiooring aud mouhling trade. And what was left of the 

 No. 1 common and No. 2 connuon we sold and started shipping, but 

 the first cars hadn't any more than reached destination before I got 

 word not to ship any more of the No. 1 and 2 connuon birch. Some- 

 body bought that birch who knew lumber and knew that it was robbeii, 

 and I don't blame him for kicking becau.se it was not only skimmed 

 on top by the choice No. 1 and No. 2 common getting into the thick 

 stock, but it .was skimmed on the bottom by sorting out the red com- 

 mon and choice red 2's; on one side by taking out the finish, and on 

 the other side by taking out all the good strips. And a ^rade 

 skimmed on four sides is mighty poor stuff and can't very well satisfy 

 the easiest kind of a customer. Now had, that stock been sawn into 

 1" and 1%" or 1%", or even a small amount of 2", being careful 

 not to saw all the best logs into thick stock; throwing part of them 

 into 1", and shipped straight grades without sorting out the red, 

 strips and finish, there would have been no complaint. 



Last spring I was in the market for some 4/4 No. 2 and better 

 maple. One company quoted me a price so low that it looked like a 

 bargain. I went to look the stock over to see what it was like aud 

 I found about 200,000 of 4/4 nmple, sawed all the way from 

 %" to H4" thick, poorly edged and trimmed, nothing over 8" 

 wide anil all lengths piled together on 10-foot foundations, thus allow- 

 ing the 16-foot to project about 6 feet to the weather. The crossings 

 were so badly out of line with each, other that there was scarcely a 

 straight course in a pile. The foundation timbers were laid on an 

 old fill without putting any new slabs or hog-feed under them; con- 

 sequently they settled unevenly and the lumber became twisted. They 

 had in the first place about a half million feet of good maple, sold all 



the veneer logs, cut all the No. 1 and better thick st^H-k they could, and 

 the 4/4 that was left was jacket boanls and !uml>er from small logs. 

 There was a fairlv good gra<le of narrow No. 1 and No. 2 common 

 in the stock at that, with perhaps a sprinkling of five per cent of 

 seconds, and would have been goocl lumber for a flooring mill had 

 it not been almost entirely spoiled in sawing and by poor care. No 

 manufacturer could afford to take that stock at $h< per thousand 

 unless he was gomg to cut it into very small cuts. Where lumber is 

 mis-sawed, crooked, twisted, weather-beaten and checked on the ends, 

 it is imjiossible to get any sized cuttings without an enormous loss. 



In the manufacture of lumber the first thing to be consiilered by the 

 s.iwniill nuin is the size, (pmntity and quality of his logs and if 

 he has a large enough amount of any one kind and they run good 

 to quality and size, by careful engineering he can cut from two to 

 three different thicknesses without needlessly robbing any one 

 thickness. 



The second consideration is the sawing and manufacturing. Care 

 should be taken that the stock is full thickness when 'dry and is 

 ]iroperly eilged and trimmed. 



The third and very important consideration is the proper ]dling 

 and care of the lumber. A grade of No. 2 common well taken care of 

 is of more economic value to a manufacturer than a No. 1 common 

 grade that has been poorly piled and is stained and warped out of 

 shajje. 



By careful study in regard to specifications for lumber, I find that 

 very good results can be obtained by using the grading rules com- 

 ]iiled by the various lumber associations. One can almost always 

 find some grade or combination of grades that will meet every require- 

 ment. There are cases where a special length ami width works up 

 to better advantage but we nmst also keep in mind the fact that it 

 costs more money and oftentimes the difference doesn 't offset the 

 extra cost. 



In dealing with tlie lund)er proposition along these lines, the 

 manufacturer can greatly assist the millman 'oy not forcing him to 

 cut any more special stock than is absolutely necessary, and having 

 left a large amount of stock on his hands that has been robbed and 

 is hard to get rid of, and which iloes not fully satisfy the peoplb to 

 whom it is shipped. I believe that if the iumbernuin. in a case 

 where his stock has been robbeil or is below standard, wouhl be 

 honest and frank with his custonu>rs and tell them the exact condi- 

 tion of the stock ami make a small concession in price according to 

 how much the grade has been ilanuigeil. he would not experience 

 the trouble in getting rid of that kind of stock and satisfying his 

 customers that they ilo where the stock has been misrepresented and 

 the consumer has become disajipointed. Oftentimes the consumer 

 can use just such a grade to gooil ailvautage if he knows exactly 

 what it is, but you can't expect him to buy that grade at the same 

 juice that he can purchase the full jiroilnce of the grade for. I believe 

 the time is here, with a little more frankness and understanding 

 between the hmibermari and tlje manufacturer, when these differences 

 will be reduced to a minimum. 



Oak Crating and Pickets 



Several recent iniident:il iiitci iiatimial news items should hold 

 considerable interest for manufacturers using oak lumber. One of 

 these is contained in a consular report from New Zealand, dealing 

 with the new merchandise trade going to that country and Australia 

 through the Panama canal. Some complaint was made of pack- 

 ing which was supplemented by the remark that one decided improve- 

 ment in iiacking merchandise for export is the substitution of oak 

 and other tough woods for pine. The oak ha.s greater strength and 

 holding qualities, and whilj it is not recommended as straight box 

 wood, this opinion should lend encouragement to the use of cull 

 oak in crating furniture and many other articles going abroad. 



.\nother international item tells of an inipiiry for 5,000,000 

 oak squares for pickets to be used in constructing entanglements 

 in the war zone. It is easil.v evident from these that there arc 

 many opportunities to use small dimensions and cull oak in lines of 

 work w^hich manufacturers have not heretofore sought to exploit 

 extensively. 



