HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



The stock must be well tempered. The 

 drying question enters largely into this phase 

 of the woodworking industry as into all 

 others, but the material is brought to the 

 desired condition by natural processes and not 

 by kilns, manufacturers claiming that the 

 artificial method deadens the wood and ren- 

 ders it more liable to decay. Another dif- 

 ficulty lies in the fact that the stock is of 

 such unusual thickness that the kiln treatment 

 found effective with thinner lumber fails of 

 success when applied to tank and vat ma- 

 terial. The planks us a consequence are 

 always air dried and arc considered unfit for 

 use unless they have been exposed to the 

 atmosphere for at least nine months. 



When the stock is in the cutting room 

 caution is employed in selecting the finest 

 quality, lu the best \\<irk sapwood is never 

 used, because it rets quickly, readily absorbs 

 and soaks through water and has a life much 

 shorter than the heart wood, which, owing to 

 its better and closer structure, offers greater 

 resistance to the elements. When the wood 

 comes to the saw table it is cut into staves 

 the size required. Each stave is made convex 

 on one side and concave on the other and the 

 edges are beveled to make a fit when the 

 piece is assembled as a part of the circum- 

 ference of a round tank or vat. It is also 

 tapered at the top, the swelling quality thus 

 secured making the steel hoops fit tightly, 

 liroove- are cut across the width of each 

 stave to make the setting for the joint when 

 the sta\es are fixed to the top and base of 

 the work, or, when the tank is to have only 

 the base and no top, the groove is cut solely 

 at the lower end to fix the base. 



The best tank and vat makers of today 

 secure what is practically a perfect joint. 



The grooves ! tut to fit so perfectly on the 



base and top and the staves join so nicely 

 that nothing but the parts and the steel hoops 

 on the outside enter into the construction of 

 the work. This applies only to the large cir- 

 cular tanks, for in the square and rectangular 

 vats the parts are reinforced with iron or 

 steel rods. Under the old methods of con- 

 struction in vogue in Europe and in the east- 

 ern part of this country white lead and 

 flagging are used in the joints, but these 

 substances, or anj help outside of wood itself 

 are rejected by the best manufacturers who 

 succeed in making an absolutely water tight, 

 and in many eases an almost air tight tank. 

 by the application of superior methods of 

 craftsmanship. It was formerly the custom 

 in the trade to guarantee that the tanks 

 would be tight and serviceable after they had 

 stood for a while, the idea being that the 

 humidity in the air would cause the staves to 

 swell to such an extent that any fault in the 

 joints would be remedied. That is no longer 

 the ease, for the wooden tank and vat manu- 

 facturer is so sure of the quality of his out- 

 put that he guarantees its fitness for the work 

 as Soon as it is assembled. 



In making the bases, and where required 

 the tops, the lumber is sawed to the form 

 required in pieces. The tops and bases are 

 either round or square, according to the form 



of the tank or vat required, and are joined 

 with dowels, the parts, after they are cut to 

 such a size as will insure a circular form, 

 being put on the boring machines and the 

 holes put in them. The dowels are usually of 

 maple or hickory, other woods, however, being 

 also used. In no case is glue or any other 

 foreign adhesive substance employed to ce- 

 ment the pieces, the whole work being done 

 with wood alone. In the square vats or tanks 

 the sides and bottoms are fitted in the same 

 manner with the grooved joint, but in order 

 to secure great strength they are reinforced 

 by iron rods run through the center of the 

 pieces. The sides and tops are put on the 

 machines and bored and the rods secured by 

 screw tips. Small wooden blocks are then 

 nailed over the screws to conceal them and 

 give a smooth surface. These iron rods play 

 the same part in the construction of the 

 square and rectangular vats as the heavy 

 steel hoops do in the large circular tanks, 

 giving them strength and resisting power. 



The boring machines used to make the holes 

 for the iron rods and wooden dowels are of 

 the highest type of modern construction. For- 

 merly all the work was done by hand tools 

 and afterwards when machines were first 

 1 mployed only one hole could be drilled at a 

 time, the operation requiring one man to 

 guide the machine and another to hold the 

 lumber. Today, large factories have their 

 machines made to order, some of them boring 

 six holes at once and permitting the entire 

 operation of adjusting the lumber and guid- 

 ing the machine to be done by one man. 



Besides the circular, square and rectangular 

 tanks there is a semi-circular or half-round 

 vat manufactured for the use of tanneries. 

 The building of this work follows the general 

 lines of construction for the other objects, 

 the sides and tops being doweled together and 

 the staves fitted in half way around the cir- 

 cumference. The vat can be placed on end, 

 the sides then being what would otherwise be 

 the top and bottom. In connection with this 

 vat there is also made a paddle wheel which 

 revolves inside the vat on rods. A belt is 

 attached to the rod which extends through 

 the side of the vat and the paddle is thus 

 revolved, agitating the contents. 



In the very large work, especially in water 

 tanks, where a piece of work fourteen feet in 



height and fourteen feet in diameter is not 

 unusual, it is manifestly undesirable to 

 assemble the work in the shop and freight it 

 to its destination. Hence, in jobs of this 

 kind, the parts are sent forward and after- 

 ward assembled at the place where the work 

 is to be used. 



In building a tank or vat it is of prime 

 importance that the manufacturer should 

 know to what use his work is to be put for 

 there are various qualities in the several 

 woods that render them more valuable for 

 some purposes than for others. Poplar has 

 been found to be a good wood for tanks for 

 • butterine factories, because it leaves no taste. 

 It has also been used extensively in the manu- 

 facture of vinegar and spirit keeping tanks, 

 but owing to the scarcity and high price of 

 this wood Oregon fir has been substituted for 

 it in many cases with suecess. Cypress and 

 oak are used for brewery vats. Cypress 

 because it is a strong, durable wood under 

 such conditions, and oak because its close 

 grain and heavy structure give it a strong 

 resisting power. Maple when used for this 

 purpose has been found unsatisfactory, the 

 surface becoming soft and pulpy. In making 

 water tanks, fir has been used in great quan- 

 tities, but poplar and oak have also played a 

 considerable part in construction work des- 

 tined for this purpose. 



Generally speaking, cypress, poplar and oak 

 are the American hardwoods that have been 

 found most suitable for the purposes to which 

 tanks and vats are usually put. In the con- 

 stant substitution of one species for another 

 it is altogether likely that as oak and poplar 

 become scarcer others of the more plentiful 

 woods will be brought in to take their places. 

 Experiments, at least, will be made along 

 these lines. 



In methods of construction and durability 

 of work the modern manufacturer is far ahead 

 of any of his predecessors for he builds out 

 of wood, strengthened with steel hoops, an 

 article that is superior in every way to what 

 was formerly constructed with the help of 

 lead and cement. The market for his work is 

 broadening and will continue to broaden, for 

 in certain lines of work, especially in large 

 manufacturing establishments, there is ur- 

 gent need for well built water tanks for 

 storage and engineering purposes. 



HardWood Balls. 



The hardwood ball industry used to con- 

 sist chiefly in the manufacture of bowling 

 balls, croquet balls, toy balls, etc., and balls 

 for use in constructing articles of a circu- 

 lar nature, utilizing the wood ball for an 

 interior foundation on which to build; also 

 for billiard balls and a few other kinds. At 

 the present time balls of the various species 

 of hardwoods are used to a considerable ex- 

 tent in the furniture and housebuilding in- 

 dustries. Hardwood balls, ready for adjust- 

 ment, are provided in singles, pairs and 

 series., for the designer and erector of cabi- 

 nets and furniture. They are made in all 



styles and finish to be used in the making of 

 rails for hall stairs. They may be seen in 

 alcoves, on porch arches along the ridges and 

 cornices of houses and in many other places. 

 The result is that hardwood ball manufac- 

 turers are doing a lively business. It may be 

 interesting to the reader to notice some of 

 the methods employed in turning out these 

 articles for the purposes enumerated. The 

 processes differ to some extent from the com- 

 mon mode of turning with the lathe. The 

 turning lathe is used for the work, but the 

 adjustments of the block, the chuck and 

 tools are somewhat different. When single 



