AlCl-ST 10, I'JIS 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



Recently the Fleet Corporation announced that at the Foundation 

 Company's plant at New Jersey two ship sans made 113 double cuts 

 each on frame timbers in a 10-hour day. 



Early last year it was decided, when a demand for two-soatcd fighters 

 was great, to put into produclion at the Curtiss Company an adapta- 

 tion of the Bristol Fighter, an English battle plane, fitted to a twelve 

 cylinder Liberty motor. Recent flying tests have demonstrated that 

 this machine is overpowered and not of military value, lacking maneu- 

 verability and not having sufficient speed for war purposes. Inasmuch 

 as the Pe llaviland 4 is in production and meets the requirements and 

 can be produced as fast as engines can be supplied, so that there 

 will be no decrease in the number of planes going overseas, the bureau 

 of aircraft production is compelled to take the position that the country 

 will be best served by discontinuing Bristol production. Every effort 

 is being made to quickly put into production at the Curtiss Company 

 the S E 5 and the Caproni. Both planes are well known and are not 

 e.\perimental in any way. The bureau of aircraft production hopes 

 to be able in the near future to reemploy the people who will of 

 necessity have to be laid off under this order. 



Of the outlay on Bristol fightcr.s thus far produced or in process of 

 production a considerable percentage can be salvaged. The exact 

 expenditure on this experiment is now being calculated. 



The War Department authorizes the following statement from the 

 bureau of aircraft production: 



The fnuncs iif airplane wlujjs, ailerons, fins, rudders, elevators and 

 stabilizers, the struts, landing gear, fuselage, flooring, engine bed, after- 

 deck and seats are made of wood and preferably of spruce. This Is because 

 spruce is the toughest ot soft woods for its weight, and possesses tre- 

 mendous shock absorbing qualities. It does not splinter when hit by a 

 missile. Sitka spruce, white spruce and red spruce are used. 



About 350 pieces of spruce are required in a single airplane, but not 

 all ot them are individually different : the wing beams are practically of 

 similar dimensions, and the struts vary only in size according to the 

 strains put upon them. 



Practically all the available spruce is in the United States and along the 

 western coast ot British Columbia. The stand of Sitka spruce, which is 

 the best airplane stock in the western states. Is estimated at 11,000,000,000 

 feet. But less than halt ot it is near enough to transportation facilities, 

 or in dense enough stands to be commercialized. The total spruce shipped 

 for the first three months ot 191S was over 20,000,000 feet, but the United 

 States government and the allies required more than three times that 

 quantity in that time, showing that we were not up to requirements in 

 March. 



The vast total ot 11,000.000,000 feet standing, however, is not all avail- 

 able tor airplane construction, and never will be, because only a small 

 per cent of the spruce is suitable for such use. It Is stated that about 10 

 per cent ot a good spruce log is available for airplane stock. At the out- 

 break ot the war very little spruce was being cut or shipped, and it 

 remained for this country to supply the necessary amount. 



Colonel Disque organized a volunteer logging army ot experienced men as 

 part of the Signal Corps to supplement civilian labor In the logging camps, 

 detailing them to camps producing government aircraft lumber, upon the 

 application tor troop labor. All lumber camp and mill conditions were 

 supervised : food, housing and transportation of employees were regulated. 

 A basic eight-hour day for six days a week, with time and a half for over- 

 time, was established at all camps, and a standard wage scale for each 

 occupation was adopted for civilians and soldiers. There are now about 

 15.000 troops engaged In this work. 



By erecting the largest sawmill In the world in torty-flve days, the 

 spruce division made a distinct record. Work ot erection was begun on 

 December 24, 1917, and the mill was completed February 7. 1918. This 

 huge cut-up mill Is at Vancouver Barracks, Washington. It has twelve 

 separate log carriages for conveying the spruce to twelve head saws, back 

 of which are complete sets ot edgers, cut-off saws and other machinery 

 necessary to convert the rived or sawed cants Into finished stock. This 

 mill cost the government in the neighborhood ot :$200,000. There are 1940 

 men working in three shifts of eight hours each. 



Before the war this sort of lumber was seasoned by air-drying, but the 

 great demand tor spruce necessitated a kiln-drying process. This was 

 worked out by the Forest Products Laboratory of the Forest Service, and a 

 plant costing $350,000 was erected at Vancouver Barracks. A saving In 

 shipping weight of 33 H per cent was effected by shipping dried wood to 

 factories. Beam stock now requires twelve days and smaller parts about 

 seven days for drying, a saving of considerable time as compared to the air- 

 drying system. 



When operations began in the neighborhood ot Vancouver Barracks 

 there was a great scarcity of wire rope and other materials. Steps were 

 Immediately taken to secure control of the wire rope situation, sizes were 

 standardized and distribution of wire rope was taken over by the spruce 

 division, with the result that to date 6.000,000 feet of wire rope have been 

 provided for the use of th.' loggers. After standardizing logging engines, 



the logging equipment section secured 175 of these engines. Other equip- 

 ment secured included 10 tons ot wedge steel, innumerable steam engines, 

 electric motors, sawmill equipment and over 200 miles ot rails. 



There is very little waste at the sawmills manufacturing airplane mate- 

 rial, as all the slock unsuitable for aircraft requirements is stlU utilized 

 as general cummerclal lumber. The percentage ot split spruce logs now 

 available is more than twice that before the war, due to the riving process. 

 In July, 1917, new grading rules were estabilHbed whereby the quantity 

 of spruce niM-cssary to be purchased for each plane was reduced prac- 

 tically a third. 



Today production of spruce and flr is nearly up to requirements for 

 airplane stock. The total spruce and fir shipped to June 15, Including a 

 large amount of each shipped to the allies, is : spruce, 52,000,000 feet ; 

 fir, 20.800,000. 



Fir and Port Orford cedar are used in aircraft manufacture when spruce 

 is not available. The possibility of using laminated sections lu the wooden 

 construction of airplanes will tend to increase the amount of spruce avail- 

 able for this use. 



Restrictions on Rattans and Reeds 



The War Trade Hoard by n new ruling (W. T. li. R. 176) has placed 

 rattans and reeds on the list of restricted imports. All outstanding 

 licenses have been revoked as to ocean shipments made after August 6, 

 1918. Hereafter no licenses for the importation ot rattans and reeds 

 will be Issued, except for shipments from Canada or Mexico by other than 

 ocean transportation, and except further for shipments coming as return 

 cargo from convenient European ports or from convenient Mediterranean 

 North African ports, and then only when coming from a convenient port 

 where loading can be done without delay. 



Closer Utilization of Resources 



To prevent the accumulation of surplus au<l inactive supplies in the 

 various bureaus of the War Department there has been created a bureau 

 whose duty is to dispose of all such supplies either through other depart- 

 ment bureaus or to other government departments. 



AH supplies found to be Inactive arc listed. The new bureau will have 

 before it at all times a current list of such materials. A copy ot this 

 list will be kept in all purchasing divisions of the War Department. Before 

 purchasing or letting contracts these lists must be consulted and wherever 

 possible the materials owned by the department must be used. 



The new bureau has Just transferred from the quartermaster corps to 

 the medical department a supply ot 5-gallon water kegs amounting in 

 value to $200,000. It has been found possible to transfer from the con- 

 struction division a great quantity of lumber to the shipping board. 

 Another case In which the new bureau has proved its value was that 

 In which 6.000 mess tables In the possession ot the qimrtermastcr corps 

 have boon turned over to the construction division tor use in the barracks 

 for the men who are doing building work. 



In order to utilize cargo space to the best advantage there has been 

 opened at Madison, Wis., a school to instruct officers and enlisted men 

 in boxing and crating. Instruction will be given to men from all de- 

 partments that make overseas shipments. 



The instructors detailed for the various lectures are the experts In 

 woods and woodworking now engaged In research work at the Forest 

 Products Laboratory. The class rooms are donated by the University 

 of Wisconsin and there Is in addition a practical box-making factorj 

 and testing machinery tor scientific and practical demonstrations. 



The men detailed for instruction take a 3-weeks' course at the uni- 

 versity and one week's practical work and demonstration in the box fac- 

 tories of two corporations. At the end of the four weeks, they will re- 

 turn to their respective corps and will be used In boxing and crating In- 

 spection work by the various branches. 



The course includes instructions on the structure of wook, how to 

 identify it and determine wood strength, factors affecting the strength 

 of wood and shop exercises in making boxes and crates. 



Houses for War Workers 



The George A. Fuller Company, ot Washington. D. C, has been 

 awarded the contract for the construction of residence halls on the 

 Union station plaza. The award was made as a result of competitive bids 

 which will reduce the cost of the development to an absolute minimum. 

 The estimated time of completion is three and one-half months, and the 

 houses will provide quarters tor 2000 persons. 



Razing of the buildings on the tract of land bounded by Fourteenth, 

 Fifteenth, B streets and Ohio avenue, Northwest, commenced on August 

 1. This is the site, in addition to that on the Union station plaza, on 

 which are to be erected residence halls for the accommodation ot war 

 workers. 



The Bureau of Industrial Housing and Transportation of the Depart- 

 ment of Labor, announces additional appointments in connection with 

 various housing developments as follows : 



Philip r.iir...-^ sjs c.N Sjivlngs & Trust Bldg., Columbus, O., as 

 engineer i ■ s.ih i l;.nl.-i..n. \V._Va. project. 



p!.am','.;r- ; ■ .1; 



40th street, New York City, as town 

 -lii St., New York City, as engineer, New 

 N. W., Washington, D. C, as town planner. 



Castle, lirl. i.;>.j.. I. 



Steplun Cliild, lil.'i 

 Aberdeen. Md. projecl 



Norton. Bird & Whitman. Munsey Bldg., Baltimore, Md., as engineers. 

 Aberdeen, Md. project. 



