HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



Advance in Mechanical Drying of Veneers. 



The drying of vei rs has always 1 n the 



most difficult problem which confronted the man- 

 ufacturer of thin lumber. Air-drying was so 

 slow and generally unsatisfactory and the per 

 Centage Of mi 1 stink s.. great as I aki Hi,- 



profits very uncertain. Many types of dry 

 houses and dry kilns were tried and although 



sunn' gain in the length of time required in dry- 

 ing was made, tie* expense of racking or idling 

 the stock was great and the waste was nearly 

 as heavy as before. The Cue Manufacturing 

 Company of Painesville, 0., after several years 

 nt invest igat inn. finally hit upon a scientific 

 method of drying veneers the automatic roller 

 ■"dryer system. The cut illustrating this 

 article shows the delivery end of I In Coe 

 dryer, the feed works and engine. This ma- 

 chine is in the mill of tin- Astoria Vei ' Mills. 



Long island City, N. ■> 



This dryer is of the latest type and has 

 many important features which should he of 

 Interest to our readers In this machine the 

 rolls are eight in height. Imt instead of each 

 roll actuating the one above it. the rolls are in 



and under the stock. In this style of dryer lie- 

 air is distributed by an entirely new plan which 

 Increases tie drying capacity greatly. The shies 



of the machine proper which support the rolls 

 are of skeleton construction, and the hot air is 



Mown between the lines of stock from the sides 

 of the machine Crom the air ducts into which 



tile large Sheet iloll pipes flotll I ill' heater dis 



cnarge. The pipes discharge Into each end of 



the machine on opposll teas. Half waj 



down the machine on each side in the air ducts 

 is a partition so the heated air can only travel 

 half lie* length oi He' machine To deflect the 

 air across the machine from side i" side shields 

 varying in size are placed in the air duels so 

 that the heated air is distributed equally 

 throughout the machine. To Increase He- tern 

 perature in the kiln a coil of pipe the full 

 length of the machine is supported under each 

 pair of roll so that the Mast of hot air is 

 powerfullj augmented with direct beat from 



these coils 



Very few have any idea of Hie amount of 

 water in veneer which must he carried away in 



tlte drying process. In most w Is it is cm 



siderablj over twenty per cent of the weight of 



(ELIVERY END COE VENEER DRYER SHOWING FEED WORKS AND ENGINE 



pans, each line of pairs heing driven by chain 

 and sprocket drive which is powerful yet flexi- 

 hle and which completely ohviates all the trouble 

 experienced with the old shaft drive caused by 

 tie- expansion and contraction of the shaft. 



Tlte veneer all travels In one direction and is 

 dried in one trip through the machine, the rolls 

 in each pair are geared together on tic back 

 so each roll is positively driven and there is no 

 danger of a jam caused by a dead roll. The 

 dryer shown herewith was purchased toy drying 

 >., and ', inch cedar, but it was found that 

 tin machine would handle the tenderesi slice. 1 

 and sawed mahogany as thin as 1 32 inch. The 

 result was thai a s mil machine is being in- 

 Stalled for this thin work which until this time 

 was considered beyond the range of. tin roller 

 dryer. 



The speed of the machine is regulated by the 

 governor on the feed works engine. The hot 

 air for the machine is furnished by a blower 

 outfit. In the lirst machines the air was .lis 

 charged into the end of the kiln directly over 



green stock, ami in a day's run it means that 

 ni:ii!\ inns of water must he disposed of. The 

 hot-air lakes up a certain amount of moisture in 

 passing over He- veneers, but if this moist air 



.;.i i.e eliminated ii will precipitate the 



moisture hack- to the slock- so it will come from 

 1 in- machine looking "swea ty." 



This is overcome in a very Ingenious manner 



in this machine tin the sides of the dryer OppO 



site to wiere the hot air enters, the air ducts 

 have a number of down spouts varying in si/.-, 

 which all discharge into a large galvanized pipe 

 running in He- center of the machine. These 

 pipes in turn discharge into another pipe run- 

 ning across lie- machine and the moist air is 

 drawn through these pipes ami discharged into 

 the atmosphere by means of a large exhaust fan. 

 'this exhauster is driven by a small engine. All 



condensal in He- heater ceils and tin .oils in 



tin- kiln Itself Is carried hack in the boiler in 

 ,-in elaborate trap system which keeps the coils 

 full of live steam ami insures a maximum tern 

 perature. -The dryer is. as a whole, the com 



bination of scientific principles each one of 

 which is an important factor in the rapid and 



Qomlcal drying of veneers The stock is 



handled so rapidly that tin- dryer will pr 



eallj keep nil with the veneer lathe drying the 

 stuck us fast as it is cut. One manufacturer 

 of oak veneers has taken a log from the vat, cut 



il into 17 slock, dried it and Crated il ivadv 



tor shipment, in forty-five plnutes. Notwitb 

 standing He- rapidity of drying, no veneer is 

 wasted by wrinkling, splitting or checking ami 

 roller dried veneers glue up perfectly. 



Great care is taken in flu- mechanical con- 

 struction of these machines, the only woodwork 

 used is the caps and sills and air duds, the hal 

 am f tin- dryer being Of iron and steel. The 



rolls are made of specially selected boiler tnbes 



carefully straightened by hand, and tin- gudg s 



in lie- ends an- driven into the rolls and pinned 

 in pia.e The chain is a very heavy, fiat steel 

 belt of great strength, and till sprockets are 

 keyed and set-screwed to the gudgeons. All 

 driven rolls have roller hearings, so very little 

 power is required to run the machine. The 



dryer litis a sheet iron cover over which is pit d 



I 1 ., inch block asbestos; this prevents any loss 

 of heal by radiation. The air duct si,i.-s are 

 removable, so easy access can be had to the 

 interior of the machine for oiling, eti 



Any manufacturer of veneer who is interested 

 in the drying proposition will do well to write 

 Hi.- in.- Manufacturing Company. 105 Bernard 



sti t, Painesville, O. Tin- Cm- automatic veneer 



dry.-r is an insurance policy against loss and a 

 giiarant f large profits. 



District Meeting Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association. 



Representatives of a large proportion of the 

 hardwood manufacturing concerns of Missouri 

 met 011 Tuesday. October 9, in the rooms of the 

 Commercial Club, Cape Girardeau, Mo., to dis- 

 cuss prevailing conditions in the trade. The 

 meeting was held to continue the work inaugu 

 rated at Morehouse on .lime IL' last. 



In the absence of J. II. Himmelberger of the 

 llimmelberger-Harrison Lumber Company, More- 

 bouse, win. was appointed chairman at the first 

 meeting, M. E. Leming of the Charles F. Luehr- 

 inann Hardwood Lumber Company. Cape Girar- 

 deau, was chosen presiding officer, and Lewis 

 Doster, secretary of He- Hardwood Manufactur 

 ers' Association, secretary. 



After a brief speech of welcome to the lum- 

 bermen and their gm-sts. Mr. Leming Introduced 

 Dr. Herman Von Schrenck of the United States 

 Departmenl of Agriculture, who is engaged in 

 experimental work at the botanical gardens in 

 the suburbs of St. I.ouis. Dr. V.m Schrenck 

 gave tin interesting talk, illustrated with stere- 

 opticon views, on the seasoning oi gum and 

 cypress lumber and I he manner in which It 



should he t.-ik.-n cat ' while seasoning in pr" 



teel it from deterioration and to insure the most 

 perfeci condition of tin- lumber when ready for 

 market. Cap.- Girardeau was in the midst of a 



centennial celebration of thef tding of the city, 



and on the 9th, Hie lirst day Of the festivities, 



besides the ,1 tillg ,,| til- llaldw I l.llllllier 



Manufacturers' Association tin- retail dealers of 

 southeast Missouri were also in session there. 

 They were Invited to attend the lecture and 

 together with a number of prominent residents 



Of lln- city made a large and appreciative audi- 

 ence In listen In III \ "II S. hr. -lick's valuable 

 address. 



Immediately after tin- lecture I be mi 

 withdrew Into another pari ol the Commercial 

 Club rooms, where the balance of the eonven 

 Hun was devoted to the business of tin- manu 



fail liters of southeast Missouri. 



Mr. Leming explained that lb.- iting was 



In i in-- w Ith tin- results of I be meei ing h 

 Morehouse in June, and ci <i tin- at 



tendance mi iis being a very representative one 

 fm ii..- district. 



The mi es of the June tnei read 



