22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Several hundred lumber tap lines and similar roads, it is re- 

 ported, are included in the 2,300 short lines and other roads ex- 

 cluded from the government railroad system by recent order of the 

 railroad administration. Officials of the latter claim that many 

 of the lumber roads wanted to be released. The order of release 

 was issued when Congress was wrangling over a resolution giving 

 the administration six more months to decide whether roads should 

 be retained or released. 



Not Favorable Toward Non-essential Building 



In order to correct the apparently widespread misapprehension of its 

 position with reference to now building construction that does not con- 

 tribute directly or indirectly to the war needs, the War Industries Board 

 author zes th restatement ot ts att tude 



It s b on Da more ind more apparent that the one outstand ng piece 



of -n k h countrj the w nn ng oJ th war and that this 



at on and est efforts o£ every industry and every 



o t on as each n lust y ncreases its de ot on to the 



V become better mob 1 zed for v cto y and the speedy 



oarl th t new industrial 

 n of he Un ted States, 

 not be ut zed n the prose- 

 fate count es cities 

 n 1 n an 1 other mprove- 



m nn Ue the war and 



Whe e e t the e V t es 11 nvolve the 



nt t p t 1 o ntly requ red for war 



pu p n 



I r t. all 



.ould 



n h } u u 



fa rne s to tho e nt rcby 

 11 w thhold from luce, 

 COD t u of the tre- 

 nd that th wide 

 1 n u h uud k u„ m fullv 

 pd of t e 1 ffl to wh ch they w 11 be subjected and 



aprr 



the 



In Charge of Housing Projects 



Large ho ng a 1 on by the governn ent at 



var ous places an 1 e nece sary The follow ng ap- 



po ntments of per o o i rojects have been announced 



bv the Dei artment of La or 

 Er b Pa 



\ h te t Albert H ^^pahr P tt h 



Tow I anner PDI ir 4 ^ lokCty 



EUa nee 



''O T LEST 



^ 1 e t Id son Ave 



T wn I anne New York 



En n New 1 k 



Bethlfhem P 



\rchit t Z n z n„ L o '^ AI a j 112 S 16th St Ph la., Pa. 



Town Planner T W Sea 1-124 Walnut &t Ph ladelph a Pa 



Bng neer L J H Grossart Bethlehem Steel Co Bethlehen Pa. 



Wash cton ^ v T d 



Arch tect To k t S wyer 50 East 41st St New To k C 



1 n p J e \ Wetu re Act ng Superv s ng I ch Office, 



r I nn N Washn^ton D C 



Wool 816 Connecticut Ave Wash Uoton D. C. 



l r 



Alass. 

 Mass. 



■^X A oTo Dor t 



At V, \ y 



Town Planner None 

 Eng neer None 



BlTH M* NE 



\ ch tect P 1 



Town Planner I 



Eng neer T\ 



Qtj NCI Mass 



Ar h te t 



Town Planne 



Enginee L 



Br rcEPORT Co 



Ar h te t R C St g s I'O Bovl ton St Boston Mass 



Town Planne \ \ Shu tleff 69 State St Boston Mass 



Enginee None 



PnoET Sou D W SH (Br 



Arch t t A H A ^ 



Town P anner E T W 



Eng n r Sanver W 1. 



George 1 \h e BIdg., 



Seat \ li 

 Norfolk and Portsmotith 



Archite t Geo B Post & Sons 101 Park Ave New lork 



Town Planner 



Engineer Nicholas Hill, 101 WiUiam St.. New York. 



Norfolk and PoRTSjiorTH (Colored). 



Architect Rosscl Edw. Mitchell. 



Town Planner None. 



Engineer None. 



Watbrtown, N. Y. 



Architect Davis. McGrath & Kiessling, 175 Fifth Ave., New York. 



Town Planner F. Vitale, 527 Fifth Ave., New York. 



Engineer E. W. Sales, City Eng., Watertown, N. Y. 



Philadelphia Navy Yard. 



Architect Rankin, Kellogg & Crane, 1012 Walnut St., Phila., Pa. 



Town Planner None. 



Engineer None. 



Mare Island (Vallejo). Cal. 



Architect Geo. W. Kelham, Sharon Bldg.. San Francisco, Cal. 



Town Planner P. E. .Tones, care G. W. Kelham, San Francisco, Cal. 



Engineer S. E. Kieffer, Mechanics Institute Bldg., San Fran., Cal. 



Alliance. O. 



Architect Walker & Weeks. Cleveland. 



Town Planner DePorrest, Rochester, 



Engineer Cleveland. 



Campaign by Wholesalers 



The National Bureau of Wholesale Lumber Distributors has sent a 

 circular to lumber and shingle manufacturers, asking a series of questions 

 concerning their attitude toward the lumber wholesaler. Answers to the 

 nine questions were requested. 



Airplane Propeller Situation 



Twenty-five American manufacturers are now producing a total of 350 

 to 400 highest quality airplane propellers per day for the air service. 

 Ample stock of propelli-r timher is already purchased or availaWe, and the 

 present supply of ]ii..|.. ii. i - in iins country is more than equal to the 



demand. The numl i i [impellers required for each fighting unit 



was reduced by the :iii . i > i^ . i r, .-utly. Hence it has been possible to 

 cut down the original pru.uram lor the production of propellers. 



In April, 1917, there were only four airplane companies making their 

 own propellers. In addition, six other companies made spare propellers 

 for airplane companies not manufacturing them and for foreign govern- 

 ments, the U. S. army and navy, private aviation schools, and exhibition 

 and amateur fliers. The total output last April was approximately twenty- 

 five propellers per day. 



American double-bladed airplane propellers are built up from boards 

 about one inch in thickness, cut from carefully selected lumber, which has 

 previously been kiln-dried to a moisture content of from six to eight per 

 cent, great care being taken to avoid case hardening and too rapid drying, 

 which may diminish the strength of the lumber. The laminations when cut 

 for use in the propeller must be clear pieces, free of all defects and with 

 straight grain running along the length of the piece. After cutting to 

 shape, the boards are balanced individually and selected according to this 

 balance for grouping together for the complete propeller. 



Some propellers have the tips covered with copper or linen fabric to 

 protect them against splitting, which results from picking up sand, running 

 in long grass or in the rain. 



Existing opinion i^ s.iiiie\vb;it divided as to the best wood for propeller 

 purposes, but the ii:i-i |ii:i. ii,e ,.i French and English governments greatly 

 favors walnut and iii:ileii:,iiiy i^r combat blades, the former being con- '' 

 sidered best. Other woods have been extensively used for training-type 

 propellers, principally quarter-sawed white oak, birch, cherry and poplar. 

 Originally the walnut used by the French was their own French walnut, 

 but this wood is no longer available. American Idack walnut has taken 

 its place and large quantities have been exp-ni.-i ;■■ Iji-liml iml fiance 

 for propeller purposes as well as for the manii I.: I'nday 



the available supply of black walnut is limii.i <, i ■ i i : "liieers 



to obtain the scattered timber, and the demaiel i~ jn;,il\ in . -,rr,s mI' the 

 supply. The exclusive use of black walnut for rillc stocks nunuifactured 

 in the United States has bearing upon the available supply for propellers. 



All the mahogany used has, for the past four years, been exported as 

 lumber from the United States, having been imported in the log from 

 Central America and Mexico. Some of the largest and best tracts of 

 mahogany timber are in British Honduras. This is being cut under the 

 direction of the British admiralty and brought into the United States for 

 maniifacluring into propeller lumber before exporting to England. It is 

 believed that quarter sawed white oak will come to be used more gener- 

 ally on account ot its greater strength and the necessity for getting maxi- 

 mum strength in the propellers used on the newer high-powered, high- 

 speed engines. 



The amount of wood in the present two-bladed propellers varies from 

 thirty board feet in a training type to eighty feet in a combat type. These 

 figures are net, while the gross lumber required to manufacture will be 

 about twice the net amount in both instances. 



Many attempts have been made to design and produce a metal propeller, 

 but to date no tests reported have been sufficiently successful to put into 

 practice. The difliculty is to construct the blade light enough and strong 

 enough to resist the tensile and bending strains set up. Propellers have 

 been manufactured from a material called "Bakelite," a canvas and acid 

 glue shaped under hydraulic pressure at a high heat. To date these have 

 been successful, in destruction test and flight. They weigh slightly more 

 than wooden propellers of the same design, but have greater resistance to 

 wear and tear. The gre-atest efficiency is always obtained by a two- 

 bladed propeller of the largest diameter that the engine will turn at the 

 correct engine speed. In this way the propeller has an effective thrust 

 over the maximum possible air area, with least blade surface resistance. 



In many cases, however, the construction of the plane is such that a 

 two-bladed propeller ot suflScIent diameter cannot be used on account of 

 clearance, and the three or four-bladed propeller is adapted to take up the 

 full horse power in effective thrust, in spite ot greater resistance losses. 



Specifications for Crossties 



The government has pulilisled specili. alhuis as a -iii.le t.> contractors 

 who are in a position to furinsh ,i-.,ssiies Im- i i.e railioads. The kinds 

 of wood are listed, designatini; th<ise suilahle I'm- use in their natural con- 

 dition and those which should first be treated Id hinder decay. Diagrams 

 are given of sizes and shapes of different kinds of ties. Those interested 

 in examining the specifications may correspond with John Skelton Wil- 

 liams, Director of Finances and Purchases, Washington, D. C. 



