28 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



fine feathery pulp. All these manufactured sawdusts, varied as 

 they may be in their tints, are produced and sold in their natural 

 colors, as they appeared in the various attractive forms in which 

 they were seen in the sample jars in the manufacturer 's office. 

 Some of the uses of these various manufactured sawdusts are trade 

 secrets with their several users. 



Manufactured satinwood sawdust is used in the preparation of 

 pastel boards for drawing purposes. Sawdust of briar wood is 

 reworked for more special uses. Lignum-vitte sawdust is put to 

 some chemical uses. 



The heaviest sawdust is that of ebony. This sawdust is black in 

 color, though even in the ebony sawdust there are traces of tiny white 

 fibres. The ebony is not a large tree and its wood is not black 

 throughout; its sap-wood is white, and it is particles of this sap-wood 

 that appear in the sawdust, mingled in the sawing. To the eye, 

 except on close inspection, ebony sawdust appears black. 



The whitest of all sawdusts is that of holly, which is manufac- 

 tured into a very fine pulp form. Holly sawdust is used for floor 

 material and also in the manufacture of some grades of wall paper. 



There is a manufactured sawdust called lemon sawdust, which is 



not made from the wood of the lemon tree, but which is in tint of a 

 clear bright lemon color. This sawdust is used for the same pur- 

 poses as satinwood. Manufactured rosewood sawdust is of limited 

 use. Various mahogany sawdusts, including white, are used more 

 extensively for various purposes. Sawdust of vermilion, which is a 

 bright red mahogany from the East Indies, is used in making com- 

 position floors, sometimes for color squares, in cases where such 

 floors are not laid in a continuous unbroken piece. 



One dealer in Baltimore, who in a separate factory building manu- 

 factures all the various kinds of sawdusts of fine woods, has now in 

 stock in one big warehouse 130,000 four-bushel bags of sawdust of 

 the various ordinary kinds, veritable piled up mountains of sawdust, 

 while under contiguous sheds there are hills of loose sawdust to be 

 seen, including one of fragrant cedar. In a spacious loft of the 

 warehouse there was spread out on the smooth floor over one broad 

 expanse to a depth of about six inches fine maple sawdust, tons of it, 

 drying. Sawdust for some uses must be air-dried before shipment; 

 if it were shipped damp it would oxidize and turn black. In another 

 section of this loft was spread out for drying a similar broad 

 expanse of boxwood sawdust. 



N aiOT!iJ^ii«t^M'im;!)tm !Jiiwgii)^^ 



W^oods Used in Saw Handles 



Although one is not apt to think of the apple tree as a source of 

 timber, .'is a matter of fact at least 2,000,000 board feet of apple 

 lumber is manufactured annually into saw handles. This, too, is 

 about the only important use to which it is put, though small amounts 

 are made into smoking pipes, and miscellaneous articles of turnery. 

 The wood was formerly used for shuttles and gave excellent satisfac- 

 tion, but has been entirely superseded by persimmon and dogwood. 

 As a fuel wood apple has few superiors. 



Apple wood is usually the product of old orchards which are 

 removed on account of age. Owing to the inroads of pests of various 

 kinds during the last few years, a comparatively large amount of 

 apple timber has been offered for sale, especially in the Middle West, 

 where old trees are being replaced by new. The supply of this tim- 

 ber comes from Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ponu- 

 sylvania. New York, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. 



Small lots are occasionally imported from Canada. It is inter- 

 esting to note that when the collectors inspected the shipments they 

 assessed it as "cabinet wood not further manufactured than by 

 sawing. ' ' The importers were dissatisfied with this classification 

 and succeeded in convincing the collectors that apple wood is never 

 used for cabinet making purposes, but almost exclusively for saw 

 handles. The Board of General Appraisers sustained the importers' 

 contention and the wood enters as plain lumber. 



Apple lumber is sawed from butts which run two feet or more in 

 length, occasionally reaching eight feet long. Bolts less than thirteen 

 inches in diameter are ordinarily not used, "for the reason," as a 

 manufacturer explains it, "if the butt is smaller than that the wood 

 is worthless for making saw handles, since a certain width clear of 

 heart is required." 



Sometimes logs are shipped to the factories and sawed there. 

 More often the manufacturer buys the material sawed into lumber 

 from 6 to 6^^ inches wide and 1% to 1ft inches thick. The length 

 of piece required for a saw handle is nine inches. 



When the timber is first cut it has a reddish yellow color. It is 

 customary to subject it to a steaming process, which reddens and 

 deepens the color and renders it more uniform. To secure the best 

 results the steaming must be done after the timber is cut and before 

 the sap is dried out. This is accomplished by placing the green 

 wood in a tightly closed box or room and subjecting it to the action 

 of live steam for a period varying from thirty-six to seventy-two 

 hours, depending on the length of time the timber has been cut; the 

 greener the material the less time required in the steam box to get 



good results. After steaming, the lumber is piled in the open and 

 air-seasoned for from two to three years. Before being used it is 

 thoroughly kiln-dried. 



Following is a brief description of the processes of manufacture 

 of Disston handsaw handles: "The thoroughly seasoned lumber is 

 planed down to an even thickness and then sawed into small pieces, 

 generally of such size that fwo handles may be nmde from each of 

 them. The markers then trace the shape of the handles with lead 

 pencils around sheet steel ]iatterns. They are then cut out by the 

 band saws, after which a hole is bored in the center through which 

 the jig saw- enters and cuts out the center piece. They are now sent 

 to the ' nosing ' machine, where the nose is shaped. ' Jimping ' is the 

 next operation. In this the roughly cut handles are brought into 

 contact with swiftly revolving cutters, and the edges are rounded. 

 The handles now pass on to the filers, who work them into the finished 

 shape. This is followed by sand-papering on belt machines. The 

 next step is varnishing, after which comes 'slitting,' at it is termed, 

 or the process of sawing the slot in the handle in wnicn tne blade 

 rests. In connection with this operation the handles are bored and 

 countersunk for the bolts or screws. If the handle is to be carved 

 that work is now done, after which it is taken to the polishing room. 



Apple wood, being hard, of very fine and uniform texture, capable 

 of receiving a high polish though of little natural lustre, is very 

 well adapted for handsaw handles. The deep, uniform color makes 

 it attractive and the trade has become so used to the wood for the 

 better grades of handles that none other is considered satisfactory. 

 The price of the material is so high, however, that for the cheaper 

 saws beech is a common substitute. W'hat beech lacks in natural 

 beauty and high polish is offset for general utility by its greater 

 strength, toughness and vitality. Other woods used for handsaw 

 handles are black cherry, red gum and maple and, where specially 

 ordered, black walnut and mahogany. Handles for long or cross-cut 

 saws are made principally of beech and maple, though some few 

 are of hickory. 



In a government report on the wood-using industries of Michigan, 

 it stated that 50,000 board feet of apple wood is used annually for 

 handles. "The only wood in the whole industry (handle) costing an 

 average of $50 a thousand feet was apple, obtained in old orchards 

 where the trees are no longer profitable for fruit. Apple wood is 

 peculiarly fitted for saw handles and most of it is put to that use. 

 Black cherry is employed for the same purpose, but in Michigan 

 it costs $14 a thousand feet board measure and is much cheaper than 

 apple wood. " S.J. R. 



