Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



October 10, 1918 



VENEERS FOR 



AEROPLANE CONSTRUCTION 



A SPECIALTY 



WRITE, WIRE OR TELEPHONE 



BIRDS EYE VENEER COMPANY, Escanaba, Mich. 



make different. All hot caul boards done away with, 

 and not so many cauls used. The glue is heated while 

 being prepared, but is used cold. Now ain't that a joke? 

 But a better one is that this new stuff can hang around 

 and not deteriorate. Who ever heard of a glue that 

 wouldn't go stale if it hung around a couple of days at the 

 most? Yet they claim that they have known this stuff 

 to be made weeks before it was used and all you have 

 to do with an old mix is to stir it up a little while before 

 it is used. And another good one is that you have no 

 blisters if you use this glue. Well, they have to show 

 your uncle. 1 have handled glue for some several years 

 and any time they show me some that will do away with 

 blisters I'll take off my hat. Then they say this glue will 

 spread farther per dry pound than any animal glue and 

 stick all right. 



Well, I told the boss I didn't blame him if he thought 

 he could get just as good work done with a new and 

 lower priced glue, and I'd help all I could. So he told 

 me later that he had arranged that the outfit would be 

 there and started up between Xmas and New Year. I 

 see where I am in for some holiday. 

 Your old friend, 



HEN. 



Scrap Veneer 



The matter of loss and gain through scrap veneer among the 

 veneer users hinges on how it is looked after and cared for. 

 Lots of waste scrap is waste simply because it has been neglected 

 and left lying about carelessly till it has become dirty or has 

 been walked on and split. Left-overs and trimmings are not 

 scrap till made so through treatment. They are surplus stock, 

 and if so considered and carjfully piled away and protected, they 

 will often come in handy when some new stock is wanted. Some 

 of it can be sorted as to size as it is being stored away, thus saving 

 time when it is needed and serving as a reminder of the possible 

 sizes available. Veneer values have reached the point where a 

 distinct saving can be effected by taking better care and making 

 more use of stock that in the past has been thrown aside as scrap. 



Metal Cauls and Others 



There are two general classes of metal cauls used in veneer 

 work. One is the zinc caul, usually coming in thin sheets. The 

 other is plain sheet or plate metal, which may be either as thin 

 as the zinc coated cauls, or thick enough to act as stiffening 

 plates. Metal is so scarce now that new metal cauls are to be 

 thought of more as future possibilities than as easy purchases al 

 present. This brings into consideration other cauls, and theii 



The zinc coated cauls have two qualities to commend them 

 They take up but little space in a press, and there is less tendency 

 of glue to stick stock to them. All the metal cauls save space ir 

 the presses as compared with ordinary wooden cauls. But thert 

 are two chances for relief in this respect. One is the use of com- 



position cauls, those of fibre and rubber-like composition, and the 

 other is in the making of thinner built-up wooden cauls than the 

 trade has been using. 



The composition caul has been making enough headway in the 

 trade to indicate that it is succeeding, and it should be practical 

 to include in its make-up provision for preventing the sticking of 

 glue, so that it will serve the same purpose of the zinc caul. It 

 ought to be a great time for those interested in the pushing of 

 composition cauls. 



In wooden cauls there is a chance for improvement by using 

 thin cauls. We are rapidly acquiring the habit of thinner three- 

 ply stock, and the making of wooden cauls is a good place to try 

 this out to the limit to see how thin the built-up wooden cauls 

 can be made and still render good service. 



The one and main objection to all wooden cauls, aside from 

 that of thickness, is that glue adheres to the surface so readily as 

 to often cause trouble. Not only does stock stick to the cauls, but 

 often the face of the caul itself is torn and spoiled in breaking 

 loose. This can be remedied by coating the caul with something 

 to protect the wood. Shellac, wax and other coatings are available. 



The Cutting and Using of Birdseye 



Birdseye figure is naturally associated with maple though some- 

 what similar figure may be found in other woods. At its best it 

 is a product of rotary cutting. By this method of cutting the 

 figure shows up best, and the most face wood is secured from a 

 given amount of timber having the figure. Figured logs fre- 

 quently have surface indications on the bark as a guide to their 

 selection, but it takes actual cutting into the wood to determine 

 the exact nature and quality of the figure in a given log. 



Usually the face veneer is cut fairly thin, but whether it is 

 or not, knives must be kept sharp to insure smooth cutting. Good 

 smooth cutting of figured maple is not so easy as of plain stock 

 which is not hard to cut with the veneer machine, and because 

 of the nature of the wood readily cuts smoothly and evenly. Any 

 figured maple, however, presents a different problem because of 

 difference in hardness and in the run of the grain in the figured 

 parts. So while plain maple is easy cutting, birdseye calls for 

 skill and close attention to technical details to get the right results. 



When making face veneer we are told by some experts that 

 were the cutting equally smooth on each side it would be best 

 to turn the stock inside out, because the figured part runs smaller 

 as we get into the log and by turning the larger side in it will hold 



better will lessen the danger of the eye part coming loose and 



falling out. This probably depends on just where a given sheet 

 comes from in the stretch of the figured part. It is likely that 

 some would work best with the right side out and some with the 

 reverse side out if only the holding of the figure part of the wood 

 intact were involved. But there are other things to consider, one 

 of which is that the outer surface of a sheet of rotary-cut veneer 

 is tighther and will finish off better than the other side. 



The main thing in using birdseye face veneer is to handle and 

 use it with skill and care to preserve the figure intact. Careful 

 handling will prevent breakage and damage, and careful gluing 

 will insure holding the figure part tight as well as the main body 

 of veneer. It should be remembered that the figure part of such 

 wood not only presents the grain differently, but it is harder, less 

 porous, consequently will not take on and hold glue so readily 

 as plain wood. To successfully handle birdseye a glue mixture 

 and application that will insure good holding of the figured part 



Judging from the present outlook, enough walnut can be pro- 

 cured for gunstocks without resorting to the expedient of gluing 

 sheets or lumber together. Built-up gunstocks stand tests fairly 

 well, but there seems to be no disposition to substitute the built-up 

 article for that made of one piece, so long as it can be avoided. 



