HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



makers guarantee that it will stand the 

 work for which it is intended as soon as it 

 comes from the press and lias the iron rods 

 and the wooden legs attached to it. 



In connection with butchers' blocks, ice 

 chests which consume a considerable 

 amount of hardwoods are made. The chests 

 run from what are practically small re- 

 frigerators to large sectional cases the size 

 of a room. These are built-up work, the 

 inside wood and the outer layers both being 

 of considerable thickness in order to guard 

 against the penetration of heat. As an 

 instance of their solid construction it can 

 be stated that in a large chest 53x13 feet 

 it is possible to secure a temperature of 

 thirty-six degrees from ice alone. 



All of these chests have softwood on the 

 inside, being usually lined with spruce. The 

 reason for this is that many hardwoods have 

 an odor and wood with such a quality is 

 manifestly unfit for any storage receptacle 

 that is to contain perishable foodstuffs. 

 The outer sheathing of many of the large 

 chests consists of oak and birch, the latter 

 wood being a very popular one. The stock 

 for this kind of work is especially well 

 dried. It has to be so on account of the 



extremes of heal and cold to which it is 

 subjected when used. 



Many American firms make refrigerators 

 and ice chests for foreign trade and when 

 the work is destined for a hot and dry 

 climate the drying methods employed are 

 very thorough, it being necessary to extract 

 all the moisture from the wood and get it in 

 a bone dry condition. It is no uncommon 

 thing to make these chests large enough to 

 hold comfortably 175 tons of ice besides 

 the food products placed in them for preser- 

 vation. As is natural in this size of work 

 the task of building up the chests and 

 then sending them out in a finished condi- 

 tion is practically impossible and they are 

 as a rule first constructed in the shop and 

 afterward taken apart »ud sent to their 

 destination where they are assembled. 



In the best work of this kind the leading 

 manufacturers construct what is practically 

 an air-tight chest. Their product will with- 

 stand all conditions and last a long term of 

 years. Considerable attention is also given 

 to their finishing so that when the hard- 

 wood surfaces of birch or oak or whatever 

 wood is used are built over the inner layers 

 and properly finished the chest is not only 

 best for the work intended but also shows 

 up as an attractive piece of furniture. 



HardWood Record fdail Bag, 



[In this department it is proposed to reply 

 to such inquiries as reach this office from the 

 Hardwood Record clientage as will be of enough 

 general interest to warrant publication. Every 

 patron of the paper >s invited to use this de- 

 partment to the fullest extent, and an attempt 

 will be made to answer queries pertaining to all 

 Blatters of interest to the hardwood trade, iu 

 a succinct and intelligent manner.] 



Quarter-Sawed Oak. 



Four Smith. Ark., Jan. 10, 1907. Editor 

 Hardwood Record We see that you are always 

 willing to publish articles of interest to the 

 lumber trade. Will say that we are interested 

 especially as to quarter-sawed oak. We find 

 I hat the rules adopted by the National Hard- 

 wood Lumber Association are not explicit on 

 this matter, and we believe that it will be of 

 Interest to every one concerned. We submit to 

 you herewith a diagram of four pieces of lum- 

 ber supposed to be quarter-sawed. We note 

 that the rules state that quarter-sawed oak 

 must show figure on one side. The question 

 with us, as well as with a great many others. 

 is where to draw the line between quartered 

 and plain oak, as you will see by the different 

 diagrams submitted. We would like you to pub- 

 lish this article if possible, showing the differ- 

 ent diagrams, A. B, C, and D, and state, if 

 possible, where the line should be drawn by 

 inspectors between plain-sawed and quarter- 

 sawed oak. For instance, if you should place 

 an order with a mill for a car of No. 1 common 

 quartered oak, and upon receipt and Inspection 

 of said car containing, say, 10,000 feet, you, 

 would find 50 to 75 per cent of 4" and 5" 

 strips cut from the corner (or on turn'ng of 

 the log), as shown in diagram C, won: I yi u 

 be forced to accept' this shipment as a grade of 

 No. 1 common quarter sawed oak, admitting the 

 fact that the 4" and 5" stuff would be up to 

 grade, so far as defects are concerned? But, 

 un the other hand, the lumber would show no 

 flake at all. but would show small streaks. 



Is there any general rule whereby a certain 

 percentage of this class of small streak figures 

 is admitted in No. 1 common grade or any 

 other grade? Further, suppose you are com. 

 pelled to accept such shipment as No. 1 com- 



mon, and at the same time you cannot use 

 such class of lumber for the purpose intended 

 and it would be of no value whatever as quar- 

 tered stock to you, however, you could ordi- 

 narily apply No. 1 common grade to the use 

 intended, should you receive a fair percentage 

 of log run, showing a reasonable percentage of 

 flake? What are you going to do in a case of 

 this kind? 



We would be pleased to hear from you on this 

 matter, giving full details. — A Subscriber. 



It must be confessed that the rules of the 

 National Hardwood Lumber Association gov- 

 erning quarter-sawed oak are 'not very ex- 



ctf iiiuiiiiiiiimn 



A llllllll III 777777 



A 



L 



plicit. The quarter-sawing of oak is under- 

 ti '.' ii very hugely for the purpose of show- 

 ing figure and wdien this result is not accom- 

 plished it does not meet the requirements or 

 purposes intended. The rules of the Hard- 

 wood Manufacturers' Association specify 

 tliat all quarter-sawed oak must show figure 

 on one face. When the log is sawn at direct 

 right angles with the rings of growth, it will 

 invariably show this figure, and sometimes it 

 will show figure when somewhat at variance 



with this method of sawing. When the saw- 

 ing is so far out of line as to conceal the 

 figure it surely is not quarter-sawed oak 

 from a commercial viewpoint, and should be 

 classed .-is plain sawed. Therefore, it is. my 

 opinion that if a purchaser were to buy 

 quarter sawed oak for furniture purposes, 

 etc., and it showed little or no figure, the 

 stock could not be classed commercially as 

 quarter-sawed lumber. On the contrary, if a 

 purchased were to buj material for the mak- 

 ing of flooring and it showed a preponder- 

 ance of edge- grain stock it might be admit- 

 ted as quarter-sawed stork for this purpose. 

 As this is an important point I would be very 

 glad to have others interested in quarter-saw- 

 ing lumber express their opinions on the 

 subject for publication in these columns. — 

 Editor. 



Approves Universal Hardwood Inspection. 



Baltimore, Md., Feb. 21. — Editor Hardwood. 

 Record: I am glad to note your attitude on. 

 universal hardwood inspection as expressed in 

 the lust issue of the Hardwood Record. I can 

 draw a good sensible deduction from the cartoon 

 on page 15. The National association has the 

 inspection rules and the Manufacturers' the bat 

 with which to put them in place. Why can't 

 the different associations, through their inspec- 

 tion committees, decide upon one system of 

 hardwood inspection and make it universal? 

 Then everybody could burn up the old inspection 

 rules and take up the ones adopted by the dif- 

 ferent associations. I am very anxious to have 

 this brought about, and think that at the annual 

 liim ot the National Wholesale Lumber Deal- 

 ers' Association ni Washington, March and 7, 

 the matter should be taken up. The writer has 

 always advocated tliis move and trusts that a 

 universal system can be adopted. If this is a 

 sensible unci practical one, all should agree to it. 

 Then the manufacturer will know what to man- 

 ufacture ; the dealer will know what to buy; 

 and the consumer will always be sure what will 

 he delivered on his order. We are undertaking 

 to support too many associations for the amount 

 of good we receive from them. I would appre- 

 ciate your comment on these suggestions — R. E. 

 Wood. 



Mr. Wood is one of the foremost hardwood 

 manufacturers of the country and his senti- 

 ment on the subject of the value of universal 

 hardwood inspection is not new to the Hard- 

 wood Record. It is, however, very glad to 

 have his endorsement of the proposal now 

 before the hardwood associations of the 

 country to agree on a set of joint inspection 

 rules and a union grading bureau. It is the 

 most logical and sensible proposition that has 

 come before the hardwood industry for many 

 yours. — Editor. 



Cypress Directors for Northern Territory. 



The Hardwood Record is in receipt of the 

 following letter from the secretary of the 

 Southern Cypress Manufacturers' Associa- 

 tion : 



New Orleans, La., Feb. 10. — Editor Hard- 



w Record: January 8, 1:107, we made the 



announcement thai inspectors had been located 

 in tlie^norl liern country for 1 he purpose of in- 

 vestigating complaints on grades or measurement 

 throughout the territory, as far east as Pitts- 

 burg, Pa. We are now ready to announce that 

 the territory east of Pittsburg, including the- 

 New England states, New York, Pennsylvania, 

 New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and. 

 West Virginia, i also covered, and we are there- 



