22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



lengths of from ten to twenty feet they are 

 shipped to the veneer mill,, where they are 

 rolled into the log pond. When lifted from 

 the pond they encounter the drag-saw, which 

 cuts them into various lengths. They are 

 then placed into a vat of hot water, where 

 they are left for twelve hours or so, or until 

 they become soft and pliable. 



Then comes the peeling process, which is 

 easy of accomplishment when the timber is 

 soft and hot. After this it is ready to enter 

 the mill proper, and is hoisted upon a crane 

 to the veneer cutting machines. When it 

 emerges it is in the form of long, thin sheets 

 1/100 of an inch in thickness, or thicker, as 

 desired. 



Veneers are made by three processes — saw- 

 ing, slicing and rotary cutting. Sawn veneers 

 are taken from the prepared flitches by thin 

 segment saws, and are usually of an average 

 thickness of 1/20 of an inch, although often 

 much thinner. Sliced veneers are produced 

 by the aid of a machine carrying a heavy 

 sliding knife, which by each downward stroke 

 takes off a small piece of lumber from the 

 face of the flitch, which is automatically 

 advanced until nothing remains of it. The 

 rotary cut method is the one by which the 

 great bulk of veneers is produced, owing to 

 its economical advantages, the veneer leav- 

 ing the log in a continuous sheet, thus avoid- 

 ing a large amount of waste. As it leaves 

 the machine it slides along a table to a clip- 

 per, where it is clipped into various widths, 

 with due allowance for drying. It is then 

 ready to encounter this latter process. 



The original and primitive method of dry- 

 ing veneers consisted in suspending the thin 

 sheets with clothes-pins on lines, very much 

 as the washerwoman dries clothes indoors. 

 This drying room was sometimes artificially 

 ventilated, and sometimes natural circulation 

 of air was depended upon. During the last 

 few years several veneer dryers of various 

 types have been invented, and these machines 

 are now in general use. One type is a machine 

 which compresses the veneers between steam- 

 heated platens; then there are roller dryers, 

 while the latest development in veneer dry- 

 ing machinery is the automatic girt conveyer 

 type. This modern process will dry thin lum- 

 ber up to one-fourth of an inch in thickness 

 in from ten minutes to one hour. 

 ' After a thorough seasoning, the veneer is 

 often sorted and crated for shipment to 

 the various manufacturers to whom it is to 

 be consigned, although many veneer factories 

 have a glue room, and cabinet-makers also 

 give great attention to this branch of tlic 

 work. They lay the veneers on so that nu 

 joints are visible, and they are always placed 

 so that the grain on each piece runs opposite 

 to that ne.vt to it, thus forming a body that 

 cannot shrink or warp. Panels are usually 

 made up either three or five ply. 



After the glue or cement which is intended 

 to fasten the various layers of veneers to- 

 gether is applied they are packed in sec- 

 tions two or three feet high, within a 

 hydraulic or other power press, and immense 

 pressure is applied, which forces out the sur- 



plus glue and fixes the joints so firmly that 

 they rarely if ever come apart. The sections 

 of panels thus formed are left in the press 

 until the glue becomes thoroughly hardened, 

 when they are taken out and trimmed, sanded 

 or scraped for the use of the consumer. 



Nearly everything in the hardwood line 

 that we see about us today is veneered — from 

 the piano to the interior of railroad cars. 

 Manufacturers of cars and furniture are 

 among the heaviest consumers of veneers and 

 panels. 



Lumber Lore from ^'J^ear the Soil. 



99 



Tho following "side-lights'" on the lumbi-r bnsi- 

 noss furnish amusing reading to say the least, as 

 is usually the case when the laity attempt to 

 (list'uss. h-ai-nedly, matters which they know 

 not of : 



A PiECK OF Advice. 



Prospective builders are doing the right thing 

 In resting on their oars and waiting for the price 

 of lumber to make a still further decline. The 

 present lull, if it continues a little longer, will 

 force the grafters who control the lumber output 

 to give more slack, and the man who contem- 

 plates building can make good money by holding 

 his plans in abeyance for a while. The highway- 

 men have had their way long enough and the 

 most effective method to stamp out their system 

 tif wholesale plundering is to diminish the de- 

 mand for their stock in trade. Supply and de- 

 mand regulate the markets of the world and 

 whenever the demand is lessened the supply in- 

 creases and prices are forced down. The luniher 

 barons have had their day and the plain people 

 are beginning to free themselves from the most 

 diabolical aggregation of thieves that ever existed 

 on the Pacific coast. — .Sbbastopol, Cal., Time.s. 



Lumbermen, Bewake ! 

 It is reported from Washington that Senator 

 Clapp of Minnesota opposes further sales of tim- 

 ber on Indian reservations in this state by pres- 

 ent methods, and favors some arrangement under 

 which the Indians may manufacture thi-ir nwn 

 lumber. 



Ills idea is interesting, when you come to 

 think of it. 



According to popular belief, at least, there is 

 a lumber trust. Members of it say there is no 

 such thing, but their denials do not convince the 

 people, who find more than coincidence in thf 

 tact that lumber prices are the same everywhere 

 at the same time, and are constantly increasing. 



Xow if the Indians, who possess a good deal of 

 pine, should go into the lumber manufaclurlng 

 business, they would hardly become members of 

 the trust. They might be simple enough to sell 

 lumber for what it is worth, and to be content 

 with fair profits. 



In that event, what would the lumber trust- 

 assuming that there is a lumber trust— think of 

 the situation'.' 



At any rate, Senator Clapp's idea sounds good. 

 If there is money to be made out of Inilian pine, 

 why not let the Indians make it? And perhaps — 

 wh<t knows? — the Indians might be gentle enough 

 with the public to sell their product at fairly 

 reasonable prices. 



If they did it might add a little more doubt to 

 the repeated denials that there is a lumber trust 

 that controls the output and price of the forest 

 products. 



Teddy, Get Youk Gun : 



It's about time President Teddy were getting 

 after the big lumber trust with the Big Stick. 



Friends of the members of the local lumbei* 

 trust who were recently indicted by the Lucas 

 county grand .lury— and who entered pleas of 

 guilty and are awaiting sentence— claim that the 

 big lumber trust is responsible for the little 

 ones: and that the small dealers are forced to 

 organize in self-defense. 



If it be true that the national lumber trust 

 dictates to lumber dealers, forces them to fix 

 prices contrary to law^ and then walks off with 

 the big rake-off. Uncle Sam had better get after 

 the big criminal and put it out of business. — 

 Toledo Times. 



A BUSINES.S PKOI'USITION. 



In the face of a prospective fuel famine and 

 thousands of cords of slab-wood being burned up 

 by the Uinze Lumber Company at Council, and 

 in view of the fact that the company will give 

 it to any one who will take it away from the 

 saw. and we are informed that the wood can be 

 laid down in Weiser at $3.oO in car loads, it 

 looks like some business man could take the 

 matter up and not only ease the fuel situation 

 but at the same time make a profit on his in- 

 vestment. — Weiser, Ida., Shinal. 



The Gist of the Whole Matter. 

 Lumber is high, very high. Some people 

 think it would be much cheaper if the duty 

 were removed. In all probability it would make 

 no difference whatever in the price: certainly 

 not much. The duty is only $2 a thousand. 

 Compare that with the price list. Besides, logs 

 are on the free list. The real reasons for the 

 great advance in the price of lumber is the 

 scarcity of both trees and labor. — Burlington 



IlAWKEVE. 



Not Necessarily. 



The New Wabasha Lumber Company is add- 

 ing another story to one of their large sheds 

 which will be used for a storeroom for finished 

 work. This company is steadily growing and 

 these improvements go to show that the work 

 they turn out is first-class and is in great de- 

 mand. 



News from Eau Claire. 



Ole Oye, located on Water, has placed a new 

 hardwood floor in his barber shop. 



NeWs Miscellany. 



Getting Action. 



!l is nil (;ft-exin-css(,^d oijiniuii Hint a slnw- 

 riinnins. dragging factory begets languid move- 

 ments among the employees, while a high speed 

 plant with plenty of power inspires quick action, 

 ttptter wurk and more of it. If this be true — 

 and n<i observant person can doubt that it is — 

 it forms an excellent reason why the (iordon 

 Iliillnw Blast Grate, manufactured by the (iordon 

 Hollow Blast Grate Company of Greenvilb'. 

 Mich., is such a profitable appliance, as it in 

 sures the high speed plant, with plenty of power 

 that, according to the sentiments quoted, "in- 

 spires ipiick action, better wcirk and nii>re of it." 



Michigan Central Buys Ward Kailroad. 



Tbe .Xi'W Vi>ik (.'I'ntral railway system, through 

 the Michigan Centra!, has aciiuirert the lietroit 

 & Charlevoix railroad, popularly known as the 

 Ward road. The line is forty-three and a half 

 miles long and extends from I-"rcderic on the 

 Mackinaw division of the Michigan Central in 

 a northwestern direction to East Jordan, where 

 it has a harbor on Tine lake, thus having access 

 tip Lake Michigan via Charlevoix. The road 

 was built by the late David Ward and traverses 

 iini' of the linest hardwood sections in Michigan, 

 and the only remaining white pine district of 

 tin- state. 



