HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



and removing the inner mold. The re- • 

 moving of the mold requires the use of the 

 door in front and it thus becomes the 

 manhole for permanent use. A smoke stack 

 made of hollow bamboo is then inserted in 

 the top and is so protected by fire clay 

 that there is no danger of ignition. 



Some of the tools and devices employed 

 in the construction and care of these crude 

 kilns are shown in the accompanying illus- 

 trations. Fig. 2 is a type of shovel made 

 entirely of hardwood. Fig. 3 is a form 

 of single-pointed tool made from a straight 

 hardwood stick, with a cross piece jointed 

 on as shown, and is used in setting the 



<T33 - 



pieces of lumber in the drying chamber 

 of the kiln. iig. 4 shows one of the bam- 

 boo stands, not unlike a ladder in form, 

 consisting of two side pieces with rounds 

 passing through the strips, which is ar- 

 ranged on pins in the kiln and serves as 

 a support for the smaller pieces of hard- 

 woods which are in process of drying. 



In Fig. 5 is illustrated a common error 

 seen in Filipino hardwood drying processes. 

 The average native does not use the neces- 

 sary precaution and does not stop to con- 

 sider the harm he is doing when he places 



a valuable piece of timber across an in- 

 ferior support for drying. He will take a 

 clear piece of mahogany and lay it over 

 a support, as in Fig. 5, and permit it to 

 dry out in the settled condition shown. 

 In this way some valuable boards are ren- 

 dered useless and often considerable waste 

 of timber results from the shiftless methods 

 employed. 



In treating hardwoods in kilns, the na- 

 tives often wind the ends of the logs with 

 cords, as shown in Fig. 6. This they ex- 

 plain is done for the purpose of keeping 

 the logs straight, and that with this pre- 

 caution the ends of the logs would not 

 be inclined to open and split in drying. 



Although queer and oftentimes useless 

 but ingenious schemes of kiln drying are 

 used, the abundance of timber is ample 

 enough to overcome the reckless waste 

 thus occasioned. Often entire logs are dis- 

 carded because of some minor defect in 

 cutting or treating. In one instance 

 a group of natives were found dining 

 .on a magnificent rosewood log which had 

 been thrown aside because a part of it had 

 been hollowed out by insects for a nest. 



The Filipinos build kilns for drying 

 hardwoods on many different plans. Fig. 

 7 explains the structure of the stone kiln, 

 which is composed of timber for a sup- 

 porting frame, as shown, with the interior 

 lined with fire clay. Considerable expe- 

 rience is required in putting in the fire 

 clay for, if an opening is left in the wall, 

 the woodwork takes fire and a number of 

 kilns are destroyed in this way. The tim- 

 bers are usually mahogany and, as a rule, 

 are heavy pieces, mortised at the corners 

 and pinned with large wooden pegs. When 

 these are in place the exterior is built witli 

 clay and stones, and home-made cements, 

 usually mud, are used to fill up the cracks 

 and form a bed into which the stones may 

 be fitted. The exterior surface is com- 

 posed of sand and mud liberally plastered 

 over the whole top, and when this coating 

 bakes hard, which it does in time, a re- 

 liable upper works is the result. The kiln 

 has the usual vent in the top. Another 

 style of kiln construction is shown in Fig. 

 8, which is a built-up arrangement of earth, 



sod, pieces of roots, small stones, clay, 

 etc., over a framework of timber rails. The 

 interior of the kiln is molded out and 

 walled up with stones. 



Fig. 9 shows a kiln made of the artifi- 

 cial stone of the tropics, which was intro- 

 duced by the Spanish more than a hun- 



25g8 



dred years ago and used by them in the 

 construction of churches and government 

 buildings. The stones are molded in flasks 

 and then linked hard. In order to secure 

 the correct shape in the stones for making 

 a hardwood drying kiln, the flasks are par- 

 titioned off with cross pieces and the 

 stones are cast so as to fit into position 

 correctly in shaping the arch. 



The Manufacture of Tops. 



Hardwood tops vary widely in their work- 

 manship and quality. There are cheap tops 

 for the boys to play with and costly tops 

 of fine finish and novel design for adults. 

 In recent years there have been numerous 

 changes in the top and general toy manu- 

 facturing situation, some of the tops being 

 made especially for the use of sporting peo- 

 ple. This class of tops includes what is 

 known as the spur or "fighting" top. An- 

 other kind is called the musical top, because 

 its revolutions evolve a series of harmonious 

 tunes. Tops are made for ornamental pur- 

 poses and for purposes of display as well as 

 for actual use. The accompanying illustra- 



tions refer chiefly to the manufacture of 

 the new style, high-grade top, for which 

 hardwoods are used. Some of these woods 

 include such lines of stock as boxwood, ebony, 

 etc., in addition to the usual solid woods. 

 Formerly the operations of top making in- 

 volved very simple processes of handiwork. 

 The artisan sat upon his bench and did a 

 great deal of whittling. He did not even 

 use the turning lathe. He employed sand- 

 paper and finishing contrivances and there 

 was not much decorative work. Now-a-days 

 considerable modern labor-saving machinery 

 is used in top-making. 



The billets of wood are selected and sawed 



