Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



August 10, 191 



Concerning Test Runs for Glue Spread 



Friend Jim, 



You say the old man fessed up that he bought a 

 cheaper glue because he was told it would do as good 

 work. The salesman told him it was a splendid blend 

 and you woodnt know the difference. Well Jim, if you 

 didnt find it out had probably found out the difference 

 when some of his goods got out in the trade. In one way 

 you cant blame the old man because glue he used to pay 

 14 cents for now costs him close to 40 or better, and that 

 is a big difference. But he has either got to pay the price 

 or cheapen his goods. You say that you and he had a 

 good chat and you wish you knew more how to cut 

 down the cost and use less glue. 



Well Jim, I left that place near 5 months ago, and if 1 

 do say it myself 1 left a good system there and if it has 

 been followed youre getting about all you can out of the 

 glue and the men. Of course we all knew that we could 

 do the work with one less man in the gang if we wanted 

 to, but we didnt believe in working too hard. I suppose 

 the same is true with you now. May be if you put it up 

 to the old man in a smooth way he might add a few 

 cents a day to the rest of the gang if you give him one 

 of the bunch to work somewhere else now that labor is so 

 hard to get. 



You want to know how much spread you should get 

 from glue and do good work. Jim thats a funny question 

 for you to ask after you spent 4 years with me on that 

 job and know we kept a count of how far we made the 

 glue go. You ought to know there aint no rule to go by. 

 To much depends on the kind of glue and the kind of 

 wood used. Glue drummers will say that a pound of 

 one kind of glue will cover 25 square feet, and another 

 kind will cover 33 and may be they will on some kinds of 

 wood. But 1 have talked with a lot of men like me and 

 you, that use the glue and I never found one yet that 

 could make the every day glue used check up with the 

 amount of work done and the figures of the number of 

 square feet a pound the glue used was supposed to cover. 

 Of course we cant be watching the man who is spreading 

 the glue every minute and we know that he sometimes 

 uses more than he ought to. But we rather see him use 

 too much than not enough and as the work comes out 

 good we dont kick too hard. 



Just the same Jim, no glue room ought a use two or 3 

 times as much glue as is needed to do good work, and 

 such fellers as me and you ought a watch the glue use 

 closer, because it is part of our business in making good 

 with the boss. We know that a certain amount of glue is 



needed to make a joint that will last, and perhaps it is 

 better to make a mistake and use too much than not 

 enough. Just the same there is a right place between 

 drowning a joint and starving it, and that is the place 

 to keep to. 



So we have to keep in mind the kind of glue and the 

 kind of work we are doing. Now chestnut is a very good 

 wood for core stock, and so is maple, and poplar and 

 birch, and gum to if used right. But if you are making 

 a lot of panels with chestnut core and poplar cross band- 

 ing and oak face, and another lot with maple core and 

 gum cross banding and mahogany face, and if you use 

 the same amount of glue on both lots you will have a 

 poor job or waste a lot of glue. Chestnut has a coarse 

 grain and poplar is a soft wood and both soak up glue 

 fast so that this stuff needs glue of a heavier body than 

 such close grained woods as maple and gum. And if 

 you make up the stuff of maple and gum first and do the 

 right kind of a job, then use the same mix of glue and 

 spread it as thin on the chestnut and poplar the glue will 

 be soaked up by the wood and you wont have a good 

 joint. The other way, if you make a thick bodied glue 

 for the chestnut and poplar, and use it the same on the 

 maple and gum you will put on more glue than the wood 

 will take up and it will either squeeze out and be wasted 

 or stay in and not make a good joint. 



So you see Jim, we glue workers have to use some 

 judgment and study every condition. When glue was 

 1 2 cents a pound and we used 1 pounds a day to much 

 it only amounted to a dollar and 20 cents, but now we 

 use a 40 cent glue it will come to 4 dollars, and 4 dollars 

 is more than most wood workers get. So may be if we 

 could show the boss we were saving him a lot of money 

 he might have a heart and split with us even though most 

 bosses aint that kind. 



Well Jim, I got a good boss. I told him 1 was going 

 to get married and he told me I could have from Nov. 27 

 to Dec. 1 7, as a present from him and hed give me my 

 regular pay. Thats almost 3 weeks. Some boss. I bet 

 Sue and me will have a great time. Regards to the gang 

 and your family. 



Your friend, 



HEN FLASCH. 



The manufacture of veneer has been slow in getting a foothold 

 in India. It is strictly a machine-made product and hand labor 

 has little chance. Perhaps that accounts for the delay in develop- 

 ing the veneer industry in that land where labor is so cheap that 

 it actually crowds out some kinds of machinery. 



