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HARDWOOD RECORD 



The Wood-Mosaic Flooring & Lumber Com- 

 pany manufactures the finest kind of hard- 

 wood floors and also has a veneer department, 

 where it cuts large quantities of oak and 

 poplar. Besides the plants at New Albany 

 and Louisville the company has a large fac- 

 tory at Rochester, N. Y., where fancy floor- 

 ing and parquetry are made, and it has agen- 

 cies in every large city of the United States 

 for the sale of its product. Three large 

 band mills are operated and kept running 

 steadily the year round. Since the recent 

 increase in capital stock and the acquisition 

 of the Louisville mill from the McLean com- 

 pany the lumber and veneer ends of the busi- 

 ness have become very important factors. 

 The company specializes in the particular 

 needs of its customers rather than in any one 

 line of stock. However, its manager makes 

 it a point to have a large assortment of choice 

 Indiana white oak on hand at all times. 



Mr. McLean is married and has five chil- 

 dren. He is exceedingly popular socially, 

 being a member of the Pendennis, Tavern 

 and Country clubs of Louisville and a 

 Knight Templar. In politics he is a Ee- 



publican and a strong admirer of Eoosevelt 

 and his policy. He is an adept with gun and 

 rod, and his vacations are spent on a hunt- 

 ing and fishing preserve of more than a 

 hundred square miles in Canada, which he 

 and bis brothers own and where they go 

 every fall with a party of kindred spirits. 



W. A. McLean is not only well liked and 

 popular among his friends, but is held in 

 exceeding good repute by the lumber trade 

 at large. He is interested in association 

 work, and is president of the Parquet Floor- 

 ing Association. He is a tall man and very 

 striking in appearance, as the handsome sup- 

 plement to this issue of the Hardwood Eec- 

 OED will testify. That he has made a suc- 

 cess in his chosen line is not to be wondered 

 at, for his energy and push are well known 

 characteristics. In the words of a friend, 

 ' ' Will McLean reminds a person of one of 

 those limited express trains — when he gets 

 an idea he goes at it with a rush and keeps 

 right on going — you can't hold him or catch 

 up with him until he's carried it out; in 

 personality he's just himself — different from 

 anybody else in the world! " 



Wood in the Vehicle Industry. 



The following interesting and timely paper 

 on the subject of the use of wood in the 

 vehicle industry is by H. B. Holroyd, forest 

 assistant. Forest Service of the United States 

 government. The article is well worth a 

 perusal by every one interested in the vehicle 

 industry or in the woods entering into such 

 construction work. 



The steadily increasing scarcity of the woods 

 largely used in the vehicle industry makes it 

 important to ascertain to what extent it is prac- 

 ticable to substitute cheaper and more abundant 

 woods, and to determine how a closer utilization 

 of material may be secured. 



Our knowledge regarding the stumpage of 

 hardwoods used in vehicle construction is so 

 meager that it is impossible to predict, with ac- 

 curacy, the length of time the present supply 

 will last. Many manufacturers roughly estimate 

 that, at the present rate of consumption, it will 

 suffice for only fifteen to twenty years. It is 

 highly important for the trade to have accurate 

 information upon the annual consumption of 

 vehicle woods and the amount of the available 

 supply. 



Formerly the northern states adjacent to the 

 Ohio river furnished most of the hickory and oak 

 used. Since the depletion of the supply in this 

 region the southern states have been heavily 

 drawn upon for vehicle woods. It is generally 

 held by the trade that much southern hickory is 

 inferior to northern hickory so that manufac- 

 turers desirous of obtaining northern stock for 

 special work have resorted to buying single trees 

 or whole woodlots, providing there is a large 

 enough percentage of the more valuable woods 

 in them. 



In spite of the fact that the popular woods 

 are becoming so scarce as to make the use of 

 substitutes in some cases imperative, the trade 

 Is largely tied down by prejudices on the part 

 of consumers against the use of substitutes. And 

 these prejudices, which manufacturers would now 

 often be glad to overcome, are in some degree 

 due to their own efforts, under the stress of com- 

 petition, to create and strengthen a demand for 

 the very woods which the depletion of supplies 

 renders It more and more difficult to obtain. For 



years the manufacturer made a point of the fact 

 that his vehicles were constructed of certain 

 woods and the consumer was led to believe that 

 these woods, and only these, were satisfactory. 

 Now that other kinds must be used the consumer, 

 who has been an apt scholar, still insists upon 

 having the old favorites. Under these circum- 

 stances, many manufacturers have chosen per- 

 haps the only course open to them, that Is, they 

 have experimented in the use of substitute with- 

 out taking the consumer into their confidence, in 

 order that they might secure a wider knowledge 

 of the utility of other woods. In doing this they 

 have been justified not only by the scarcity of 

 the supplies, but also by the excellent results 

 given by the new woods. 



Substitutions will become easier as the manu- 

 facturers acquire a better knowledge of the prop- 

 erties of different woods and learn the right 

 methods of handling new woods. Numerous fail- 

 ures have occurred simply because one method 

 was expected to apply to all species. Since the 

 methods of handling have been improved the 

 southern gums and western coniferous woods 

 have had an increased use in the trade. The 

 veneering of woods which have an inherent tend- 

 ency to warp enables the manufacturer to handle 

 them with greater ease. 



In the manufacture of light vehicles there is 

 probably little chance for substitution for gear 

 and wheel work. So far as known no wood 

 equals hickory for vehicle construction. In ad- 

 dition to hickory there is, however, a possibility 

 of some of the tropical woods being used in 

 vehicle construction when their properties are 

 better known. Tests are now in progress, under 

 the supervision of wheel manufacturers, to ascer- 

 tain the value of eucalyptus for buggy spokes. 

 There are at least sixty-two varieties of little 

 known woods in the Isthmus of Panama, some 

 of which have very similar characteristics to 

 hickory. 



There is yet much information to be gained 

 regarding the drying of stock. From the manu- 

 facturer's point of view the greatest difficulty in 

 drying lumber is the length of time required. 

 New kinds of kilns are constantly being devised 

 with special reference to the speed of drying. 

 There is great need throughout the trade for 

 methods of kiln-drying lumber that will require 

 no preliminary air-soasoning, since the latter 



course necessitates a heavy investment for yard 

 space carrying with it an increased fire risk. 



Throughout the entire trade much attention Is 

 given to the saving of all useful material. The 

 processes of manufacture have gradually been 

 perfected until a high degree of efficiency has 

 been reached in the conversion of the raw ma- 

 terial into the factory product. Probably the 

 greatest loss to the manufacturer lies in the 

 inaccuracy of the grading system. Much good 

 material is wrongly graded on account of popu- 

 lar prejudices founded upon an inadequate knowl- 

 edge of the properties of wood. Controversies as 

 to what constitutes a defect are constantly aris- 

 ing. The traditional prejudice against the use 

 of red hickory is a good example of this. This 

 prejudice has been so strong that very incom- 

 plete utilization of the logs in the woods has 

 resulted. In a wood so valuable as hickory there 

 should be complete utilization. There should be 

 a uniform system of grading established, stand- 

 ardizing defects and sizes by mechanical tests. 

 A system inaugurated upon this basis would in- 

 sure fairness to both buyer and seller. 



The growing of hickory upon a commercial 

 scale has been advocated by some manufacturers 

 while others have not endorsed the plan. Hick- 

 ory is generally, though wrongly, considered to 

 be a slow growing tree. While many of the hick- 

 ories have only a medium rate of growth, several 

 of them may be classed as rapid growers. In 

 their silvical characteristics most of the hickories 

 are light-demanding, but recent observations have 

 brought out the fact that one species is shade- 

 enduring and grows in close mixture with other 

 hickories. Befpre commercial plantations are 

 established the rate of rapid growth and silvical 

 characteristics of the species best adapted for 

 trade use should be determined in order to pre- 

 vent any subsequent loss. 



There is a growing need for more technical 

 and scientific knowledge in the art of vehicle 

 building. Many manufacturers are now seeking 

 for men who have a technical knowledge of the 

 properties of woods and the mechanics of wood 

 working, together with a clear understanding of 

 trade conditions. 



New Michigan Hardwood Flooring Plant. 



The Manistee Planing Mill Company, while 

 a comparatively new factor in the flooring in- 

 dustry of the North, is rapidly becoming an im- 

 portant one. Its factory and dry kilns were 

 completed and it began operations December 1 

 last, with an equipment which embodies all the 

 latest features necessary for the production of 

 a high-grade product. The company prides 

 itself upon the expert workmen which it has 

 secured for every department, and in the or- 

 ganization of its crew made it a point to en- 

 gage only experienced men with a thorough 

 knowledge of what constitutes a perfect product, 

 and how to accomplish that result. This idea 

 was carried out even to the least important 

 hand about the plant, as the company deter- 

 mined not to take on inexperienced help with 

 the object of teaching them the business and 

 thus taking a chance of putting inferior maple 

 flooring on the market. In following this plan 

 It was found that during the first day's opera- 

 tion the flooring which was made was "right" 

 in every particular, and the company believes 

 that today its product is equal to any that is 

 manufactured. 



The capacity of the plant is about 5,000,000 

 feet annually, and a timber supply is available 

 which will keep it running for many years to 

 come. The best evidence of the fact that a fine 

 product is being manufactured is the good vol- 

 ume of trade in maple and beech flooring that 

 is coming in. While this department is as yet 

 new. the company has had wide experience in 

 planing mill work, and is now operating a mill 

 in Manistee at which lumber is dressed for sev- 

 eral of the largest local institutions. 



The officers of the Manistee Planing Mill 

 Company are John and Joseph Voilmer and W. 

 H. Green, all of that city. 



