HARDWOOD RECORD 



31 



substitution is doubtless due more to the difficulty the manufac- 

 turer encounters in securing sufficient wood of the quality desired 

 than it is to the superiority of steel. 



The remainder of the fifty-one industries mentioned in the re- 

 port on twenty states consume relatively small quantities of mate- 

 rial and in them the competition of wood with other materials is 

 of minor importance with respect to its effect upon the general 

 lumber situation. 



DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES 



A study of the distribution of our most important species among 

 the wood-using industries brings out very clearly some funda-- 

 mental differences in the problem of marketing softwoods and 

 hardwoods. It appears that fully ninety-one per cent of the yel- 

 low pine manufactured, eighty-nine per cent of the Douglas fir, 

 and ninety-eight per cent of the hemlock are consumed in building 

 and construction work and in the manufacture of boxes. Large 

 proportions of the cypress, white pine and other conifers also enter 

 these industries. In the building trades and in the box industry 

 the cost of raw materials constitutes a comparatively large propor- 

 tion of the cost of the finished products; therefore, any rise in the 

 price of raw materials has a proportionately large effect on the 

 cost of the finished article to the consumer. Lumber has long been 

 the material from which a house of any given si?e and finish could 

 be built at the least cost to the builder; and its wide use as a 

 building material in this country has undoubtedly been due more 

 to this cause than to its merits or demerits as a building mate- 

 rial. In the case of residences and other small houses, fire risk 

 and durability become strong arguments in favor of substitutes 



only when the retail price of lumber is such that the cost of a 

 frame-house equals or is only slightly less than that of an equiv- 

 alent house built of brick, tile, cement or other materials. Those 

 maniifacturers of lumber who are largely dependent upon the build- 

 ing trades for their markets should recognize this fact and devise 

 ways and means of so regulating their selling costs that lumber 

 will continue to be the material from which a satisfactory home 

 can be built at a minimum cost to the builder. 



The manufacturers of yellow pine in particular, and of Douglas 

 fir also, have excellent opportunities to divert much of their low- 

 grade lumber into paper, turpentine, alcohol and other by-products. 



The manufacturers of hardwoods are facing a much less difficult 

 situation. Their products are used in a large number of different 

 industries in which the cost of raw material is only a small pro- 

 portion of the cost of the finished article. In these industries: 

 viz., furniture, vehicle, handles and many others of minor import- 

 ance, wood is used because it has properties which make it pecu- 

 liarly fit for the purpose that it serves and not principally because 

 it is the cheapest raw material suitable to the needs of the man- 

 ufacturers. This diversity of use offers an excellent opportunity 

 to the manufacturers of hardwoods to work up their logs not only 

 into the standard forms of lumber but into numerous sizes of 

 small dimension stock. It seems to the writer that it would be 

 to the mutual interest of hardwood manufacturers and consumers 

 to study this problem. A standardization of small dimension stock 

 of different species should result in greater profits to the lumber 

 manufacturer through closer utilization of his logs, and in cheaper 

 material to the consumer. 



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^ew Wood^ Staining Process 



Editor's Note 



In the foUowmg article Dr. Robert Grimshaw of Dresden, describes a German process of staining building woods 

 in a satisfactory way by the aid of a new tar derivative known as "paracidol." From the success that has obtained 

 in producing a satisfactory stain on the conifers by this process, it would seem logical that like results might be 

 secured in a similar treatment of cypress, the softer varieties of hardwoods, and possibly some of the denser fibered 

 species. 



In the staining of soft woods — those from the evergreen trees, 

 such as white pine, fir, spruce, pitch-pine and Carolina pine, which 

 are so much used for doors, wall and ceiling panels, stair- 

 case balusters, etc., considerable trouble has been experienced. 

 The great quantity of resin which they contain, their very irregu- 

 lar density, the many fibrous and even spongy places therein, par- 

 ticularly in the case of fir, and especially the great difference in 

 hardness between the hard and the soft yearly rings, render a 

 good job of staining possible only where the wood has been care- 

 fully selected from the best grades. 



The soft yearly rings take in the stain greedily and show up 

 very dark; the hard ones, on the contrary, absorb very little, and 

 remain comparatively uncolored. The result is usually spotty and 

 streaky. For this reason it has been the custom to paint rather 

 than stain such woods; or to lacker them with oil or water lack. 



Recently, however, there has been introduced in Germany a 

 new tar derivative: "paracidol," the use of which has been de- 

 scribed in detail by the chemist Zimmerman of the Barmen In- 

 dustrial Art School. There is an entire group of stains of this 

 set, all intended for the soft woods, and giving satisfactory results, 

 especially as they have the quality of staining the hard rings 

 darker than the soft ones, producing a more desirable effect, quite 

 velvety in appearance. The surface is remarkably transparent 

 and water proof, so that in many cases subsequent varnishing is 

 not necessary. The stain goes deep into the outer layers of the 

 wood, so that the latter is not likely to show white by rubbing 

 or even scrubbing. 



The paracidol stains do not act mechanically, as do those usually 

 employed on soft woods, but effect a chemical combination with 

 the wood or fix the coloring matter already there. The process 

 consists of a preparatory staining with a special fluid, and a final 



staining with the ' ' developer, ' ' the latter taking about twenty-four 

 hours to act. The surfaces are then rubbed down to bring up 

 the tone. 



The surfaces must be planed off smoothly; then sandpapered, 

 care being taken to rub only in the direction of the grain. No 

 preparatory treatment with soda, soap, or oiling is necessary. When 

 the wood has been oiled, the grease must be removed by a soda solu- 

 tion and then the wood rinsed with clean warm water to remove the 

 soda ; when dry the surface is to be sand-papered. 



The preparatory stain is dissolved in hot water and appUed 

 with a clean sponge kept quite wet with the solution; and the still 

 wet surface then wiped with a well squeezed-out sponge. 



The final staining is conducted in similar manner, with no rub- 

 bing down between the two processes. The final tone can be 

 judged only after the lapse of twenty-four hours. A different 

 sponge must be used for the final stain from that employed in 

 the preparatory process. The pattern comes up by the use of the 

 fine sand paper after the second stain has done its work. 



When the stained surface is to be varnished as a protection 

 against the weather (which is seldom necessary), the varnish 

 should be as thin and mat as possible, as the effect is spoiled by 

 a varnish polish. The surface may be matted by the use of a stiff 

 brush when the varnish is nearly dry. 



The paracidol stains must not be dissolved in metal vessels nor 

 can one use brushes with tin ferrules. 



As is well known the German is a persistent student in investigat- 

 ing with processes that may contribute to an improvement in prevail- 

 ing methods. Thus it is that this is true not only in the handling of 

 woods of all descriptions, but in all other lines of work. The char- 

 acter and quality of results in manufacturing is regarded of more 

 importance than the matter of low cost. 



