38 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



exist, however, in the case of normal growth upon dry situations, 

 in which the slow-growing material may be strong and tough. " 



There exists among users of hickory a prejudice against the 

 heart-wood. Specifications place white hicliory (that is, sap-wood) 

 in a higher grade than red hickory (that is, heart-wood) on the 

 belief that any sap-wood is stronger and more resilient than any 

 heart-wood. In the case of large and old hickory trees the rate 

 of growth in the sap-wood is very slow, the rings are narrow and, 

 as has been previously shown, are deficient in wood fibers which 

 give strength. In such trees the strongest wood is the heart-wood 

 (provided it is sound) since the tree grew fastest (that is, made 

 the widest rings) in youth. In young hickory trees of thrifty 

 growth, however, the best wood is in the sap since the heart is 

 more likely to be defective from small knots. The results of ex- 

 haustive tests show conclusively that the change from sap-wood 

 into heart-wood does not affect either the strength or the tough- 

 ness of the wood. 



There is a prejudice, too, against southern-grown hickory, the 

 impression being that it is more porous and brashy than hickory 

 from the North. As a matter of fact the hickory from the South 

 is mostly large old forest-grown material while that of the North 

 with which it is compared is largely young "second-growth." If 

 material produced under similar conditions is compared no dif- 

 ference will be found. 



After a careful study of the chestnut tree by the United States 

 Forest Service the effect of the rate of growth on the quality of 

 the wood is summarized as follows: "When the rings are wide, 

 the transition from spring wood to summer wood is gradual, while 

 in the narrow rings the spring wood passes into summer wood 

 abruptly. The width of the spring wood changes but little with 

 the width of the annual ring, so that the narrowing or broadening 

 of the annual ring is always at the expense of the summer wood. 



The narrow vessels of the summer wood make it richer in wooJ 

 substance than the spring wood composed of wide vessels. There- 

 fore, rapid-growing specimens with wide rings have more wood 

 substance than slow-growing trees with narrow rings. Since the 

 more wood substance the greater the weight, and the greater the 

 weight the stronger the wood, trees with wide rings must have 

 stronger wood than those with narrow rings. This agrees with 

 the accepted view that sprouts (which always have wide rings) 

 yield better and stronger wood than seedling chestnuts, which 

 grow more slowly in diameter. ' ' 



The effect of rate of growth on the durability of post timbers 

 has not been definitely determined, but from a large number of 

 observations made under the direction of the Ohio Agricultural 

 Experiment Station it would appear that ' ' timber that grows 

 rapidly and in the open is not as good as the same variety that 

 grows in the woods. This has been observed especially in the reel 

 cedar, the catalpa, and the locust." For instance, in a considerable 

 number of fences of catalpa the posts which showed the widest 

 rings also evidenced the greatest decay. In one case where the 

 posts were wide-ringed they completely rotted off in eleven years 

 while in another instance posts with narrow rings had been in 

 service for thirty-one years and 88.5 per cent were still sound. 



In summary, if material is wanted for strength and resilience 

 the weight of the wood should govern, and this in turn is deter- 

 mined very largely in ring-porous woods by the width of the 

 growth rings as seen on cross section. Such material, however, is 

 more susceptible to atmospheric changes, that is, it will shrink 

 and swell or "work" more. Hence for interior finish, inside 

 trim, certain kinds of furniture and for other uses where lightness 

 and minimum of "working" are preferred to strength, slow-grow- 

 ing woods are best. For durability in contact with the soil the 

 slow-growers appear to have the advantage. S. J. E. 



' 'i ; ;wit!^^iiroMOT?TO3 MiKg)iCTO K^^^ 



/'It 



The Handle Trade 



C" 



'^ 



BROOM HANDLE MANUFACTURE IN SAWMILLS 



A prominent manufacturer of broom handles was recently 

 pressed for his opinion as to the advisability of sawmill operators 

 engaging in the manufacture of broom handles as a side line. 

 Speaking of this phase of the question the gentleman said: 



"I don't want to discourage any one from entering into the 

 manufacture of broom handles (although I think there are already 

 enough handle factories in operation) but I would like to impress 

 on those contemplating entering this line to investigate it care- 

 fully beforehand, figuring out exactly the product from a thousand 

 feet of lumber, the cost of manufacturing it, and various other 

 information necessary. As a rule figures based merely on the 

 general run of information will show that there is a big profit 

 available in the manufacture of broom handles, but a different 

 condition is shown on actual investigation of operations in some 

 well regulated handle factories. For instance, every 5,000 feet of 

 lumber sawed up through all the processes up to the time the 

 handles are bundled into grades, will show that there is a great 

 difference between actual facts and theoretical figures. There is a 

 great variation in the way lumber will cut up, and there is also 

 a variation in the rate of capacity of lathe. It will be found that 

 the very best grade of maple lumber is necessary to make high- 

 grade handles, and that high-grade lines are the ones that show the 

 profit. Handles of inferior quality seldom bring enough to pay 

 for the lumber. There will also be edgings from the rip saw, cull 

 handles in the blanks and also finished that are not worth the 

 value of the timber used. Of course it would be foolish to state 

 that there is no money in the broom handle business, for if this 

 were true very few people would be in it. There is a good profit 

 in this line for concerns that know well how to buy their lumber, 

 how to work it properly and grade it correctly, and further are 

 familiar with the best methods of marketing their output. A rep- 



utation for specific knowledge of the handle business is a strong 

 asset to the broom handle manufacturer. 



"A sawmill concern of good standing manufacturing consid- 

 erable maple, say from 5,000 feet up a day, ought to be able 

 to make broom handles at a profit if it starts out in the right 

 manner and is willing to learn by experience. Much difficulty is 

 encountered in the actual manufacture of the handle, as it seems 

 that the handle lathe is one of the hardest to operate. An inex- 

 perienced man can never be placed in charge of one of these 

 machines, for as soon as this happens trouble will result. As long 

 as a lathe is in perfect order any one can start it and can even 

 grind and sharpen the knives, but when the knives are out of 

 the correct shape or the heads are out of center, it is time to call 

 in the experienced man. In fact experienced handlers of these 

 lathes occasionally get into trouble and have to send to the factory 

 for assistance in their adjustment. 



"A sawmill man contemplating entering the handle business 

 should first secure the services of an experienced broom handle 

 manufacturer, one who is intimately acquainted with the best 

 methods of manufacture; who knows all about handle lathes and 

 the grading of handles, and who is also fairly familiar with mar- 

 ket prices. A great deal of agitation in the market for broom 

 handles is caused by small mills who make this business a side 

 line, and who simply turn out the handles on any basis and market 

 them without any definite idea of their actual value. The reason 

 for the price cutting, of course, is that they do not know what it 

 costs them to make a thousand handles. They feel that inasmuch 

 as they are supplying the material themselves, it is an inexpensive 

 item, whereas they should consider the cost to themselves exactly 

 what it would cost any other manufacturer to sell it. At the 

 end of the year they apparently figure a profit on this basis ana 



