HARDWOOD RECORD 



25 



blocks. These forms are made encasing 

 dressed boards 4" and 6" wide Tvithout any 

 bottom to them. These forms are laid on the 

 platform, filled with cement flush with the 

 top edge of the forms and the surplus cement 

 scraped ofl' with a straight edge. As soon 

 as the cement is firmly set the blocks are re- 

 moved from the forms and stacked up for 

 thorough seasoning before using them. It is 

 well to paint the inside of these forms witl: 

 common black lubricating oil so the cement 

 will not stick to them. The bevel-shaped 

 blocks will readily come out of the forms by 

 turning them over, but the cement blocks 

 with the straight edges are hard to remove 

 without taking a hammer and drawing the 

 nails slightly at one corner of the form. The 

 forms for rectangular blocks could be hinged 

 together at three corners and the fourth sup- 

 plied with a hasp and staple, and readily be 

 released from the concrete. 



The picture shown in connection with this 

 article is a view of one full 16-foot pile con- 

 taining 20,000 feet of partly seasoned lumber, 

 and beside it are the uncovered foundations of 



a pile from which tlie lumljer has been re- 

 cently removed. It will be noted that this 

 view shows four sticker bottoms, but, of 

 course, as many of these bottoms can be used 

 as desired, depending upon custom and the 

 length of the lumber. It will also be noted 

 that Jlr. Ballou employs six concrete foun- 

 dations on the front sticker, five on the rear 

 sticker and four on the two inner stickers. 



He has now discontinued using any plank- 

 ing for foundations, and is eliminating the 

 use of limber for blocking as fast as it rots 

 out. So far he has found the cement scheme 

 very desirable. When the lumber is removed 

 from the bottoms each time, he finds there is 

 no rotten plank to handle, and his yards are 

 much more acceptable as a fire risk, as there 

 is no debris to catch fire from sparks that fall 

 from the mill or locomotive smokestacks. Tlie 

 object in making the rectangular blocks in 

 two thicknesses .is for buUding the founda- 

 tions, as sometimes a 6 inch block will be 

 thicker than will be required for an inner 

 foundation. Mr. Ballou arranges his piling 

 bottoms to slope three-fourths of an inch to 



the foot in length of pile. 



In mixing the cement for these blocks, the 

 mixing boards can be located anywhere that 

 i.-i handy for the delivery of the gravel, ce- 

 nient and a supply of water, and then carried 

 on tramway cars or lumber trucks to the 

 points where they are to be used. 



The scheme of employing concrete foun- 

 ■'ations for lumber piles, as outlined by Mr. 

 Ballou, certainly seems worthy of adoption 

 by anyone maintaining a lumber yard at one 

 ])lace for more than a single year. If this 

 foremost Cadillac house, which could employ 

 low cost cull, hardwood hearts for foundation 

 purposes, finds it desirable to substitute con- 

 crete, it certainly will be much more econ- 

 omical for handlers of higher priced timber 

 to adopt this plan. Beyond the economy of 

 tlie scheme is the fact that it eliminates the 

 trouble encountered from rotting of the 

 wooden foundations, and thro\ving piles out 

 (II line or upsetting them entirely, and leaves 

 tlie yard free from the general run of foun- 

 dation debris. Concrete foundations mean 

 rill' iiinking of ideal lumber vards. 



CONCRETE PILE FOUND.VTIONS E-MPLOYEU l.\ J HE DIG HARDWOOD YARDS OF COBB."! & MITCHELL. IXC. CADII.I.AC, MICH. 



