40 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Some Phases of Handle 'Production 



CHUCKING AND BORING 



By H. B. 



After the handle has been turned on the 

 lathe, the next operation in order is chucking. 

 There are two ways of doing this work, the 

 oldest and most common being hand chucking 

 on a machine operated by one boy, who will 

 turn out about three thousand handles per 

 day. They are then bored, in a further opera- 

 tion, on a common post-boring machine oper- 

 ated by another boy. The other and more 

 modern method combines the two steps, chuck- 

 ing and boring, in one machine, where the en- 

 tire process is done automatically. Mac^^nes 

 of this type are comparatively new ov. i"e 

 market, having been in use but a few years, 

 but have already proved their value to every 

 manufacturer who has tried them ; it is now a 

 general idea among handle manufacturers that 

 they would be hard to get along without. Of 

 the two firms manufacturing these machines, 

 neither can be said to turn out an article which 

 has any marked superiority over the other, as 

 both are unusually efficient. The capacity of 

 each is about 1,200 handles per hour. While 

 one of the concerns advertises that their ma- 

 chine wai chuck and bore 45,000 per day, it is 

 not probable that any machine will ever be 

 tested at such a speed, as it is not in keeping 

 with the other processes of manufacture. The 

 figure named, 12,000 per day, is sufiicient 

 speed to take care of the output of three 

 lathes, and if there are more lathes in use it 

 would be a more economic policy to purchase 

 an additional chucker. 



Following the chucking and boring process, 

 the handles are all run over to the sander. Of 

 the two types of handle sanders in common 

 use both are fitted with belts running over 

 over-hanging pulleys, and raised and lowered 

 with a lever. One type is a vertical machine 

 with the sand belts running on loose pulleys 

 suspended from the ceiling, down to the driven 

 pulleys on the machine; the other is the hori- 

 zontal type, and both the driven pulleys and 

 the loose pulleys are on the bed-frame. The 

 loose pidleys are so fitted, in this case, that 

 the belts can be tightened by means of s 

 racket and hand wheel. The only really pei. 

 ceptible difference in operation in these two 

 types is that the vertical machine employs nar- 

 row belts, and on the other vride belts are used 

 entirely; a person would make no mistake in 

 buying either. These sanders can be so ar- 

 ranged as to make the operation of feeding 

 and receiving sanded stock very simple, as a 

 truck can be provided which will allow feed- 

 ing directly into the machine, and the finished 

 handles can be turned out directly into 

 another truck, thus entirely avoiding two 

 handling operations. 



There is considerable diversity of opinion 

 in regard to the quality of the different sand 

 belts on the market, and it might not be out 

 of the way to give the experience of one who 

 has been in the business for years; it might 



ALEXANDER 



help someone who is more or less of a be- 

 ginner, and who is now in trouble. The first 

 belts used in large factories were the woven, 

 endless type, made to fit the machine, but of 

 a very light texture. While they gave good 

 service for a short period, they are not at all 

 durable, and it was impossible to get them 

 sanded up properly. Our next experiment was 

 with the sand-cloth, which can be bought in 

 bolts. We made up a number of belts varying 

 in widths from four to eight inches, and as in 

 the other case found that they would do ex- 

 cellent work for a short time, but as soon as 

 they became the least bit worn would split and 

 tear, and in the event of the handle getting 

 fast, the belt would be completely ruined. 

 After this experience we again went back to 

 the old woven belts, and eventually got belts 

 of sufficiently heavy texture, eight inches wide. 

 M^e now began to experiment with diit'crcnt 

 methods of sanding, and found that a large 

 part of our trouble was due to improper work 

 of this kind. We rigged up a bench and pur- 

 chased a common clothes wringer, and as .soon 

 as the belt was glued and sanded, it was run 

 through this machine and the sand rolled 

 firmly into the glue. This resulted in a much 

 longer term of efficiency, and in smoother run- 

 ning than we had ever before experienced. 

 Another source of annoyance to the handle 

 manufacturer and to all users of sand-belts is 

 that the sand and glue will, after a time, get 

 hard and lumpy on them, and it becomes neces- 

 sary to have them cleaned in some way. We 

 always send them out and have them thor- 

 oughly washed and they come back as clean as 

 when new. An experienced man does not need 

 to be told of the necessity for a soft, pliable 

 belt, for efficient work and a smooth finish. 



Mahogany in Mexico 



The sources of supply of .ill varieties of Mexi- 

 can mahogany are fast being depleted. All the 

 streams from the port of Tuxtan south to Pro- 

 greso, down which mahogany and cedar logs can 

 be floated, have been stripped of merchantable 

 timber of these species. Even as far back as 

 Oaxaca, the old mahogany and cedar stumps, 

 .landing at a considerable distance from the river, 

 indicate how thoroughly the merchantable supply 

 has been exploited ; while farther back from these 

 streams there still are numerous individual trees, 

 the cost of transporting them to the only means 

 by which they can be gotten to the market, 

 namely, water courses, prohibiting their being 

 cut. Jlost of the claims made by the land agents, 

 that the mahogany and cedar on their lands 

 are in themselves worth the price they ask for 

 the land, are usually not based on facts. 



Nevertheless, a considerable number of mahog- 

 any and cedar logs are floated down the Usuma- 

 cinta river in Tabasco, and the port of Laguna, 

 in Campeche, also ships a lot of these species in 

 addition to the dye woods. Contrary to the popu- 

 lar belief, nearly all the mahogany and cedar in 

 Campeche even has been cut and hauled to the 

 limit of the merchantable stand. The same con- 

 dition prevails along the streams in this state 

 as in the other states previously mentioned ; and 

 only when more modern methods of logging have 



been introduced and old methods of hauling by 

 mules and oxen done away with, will it be com- 

 mercially profitable to log any further inland. 



Back from the coast, along the railroad lines, 

 there are, however, large bodies of mahogany, 

 cedar and other valuable hardwoods close enough 

 to the tracks to be economically handled. 



Beginning at Yucatan and extending three hun- 

 dred miles in a line northeast and_ southwest, 

 with an average width of one hundred miles, 

 there is an area of about 35,000 square miles of 

 as good a growth of mahogany, cedar and mixed 

 hardwoods as can be found iu any locality. This 

 tract commences in Yucatan and extends into 

 Campeche, reaching over in Tabasco nearly to the 

 I'sumacinta river, and almost half of it lies in 

 Guatemala. The stand on this area is of excep- 

 tional quality, and there are probably very few 

 mahogany and cedar forests covering an extensive 

 acreage. Patches have been encountered where 

 the trees stretch for a mile with practically 

 nothing but mahogany. The old methods of han- 

 dling these woods are not only wasteful but are 

 prohibitive of exploitation ; and with the intro- 

 duction of new appliances there is a great field 

 for enterprise In this industry. 



With the old methods in vogue, the weight of 

 the logs to be hauled necessarily had to be re- 

 duced to as small a figure as possible ; the logs 

 were always square hewn, and in this way were 

 reduced to suitable size, a large percentage of the 

 best part of the tree being ruthlessly sawed off 

 and left to the elements. Limbs and knees con- 

 taining the most valuable grain and figure can 

 still be seen — usual 13^ rotted away where they 

 were left. Probably not more than twenty-flve 

 per cent of the possible value has been utilized 

 with these old customs employed, and in many 

 instances probably not more than fifteen or 

 twenty per cent ever reaches the market. 



The common American methods of logging and 

 transportation might well be applied in these 

 forests. The problem of securing stumps and 

 knees could not present any unsurmountable difli- 

 culty, as the roots are branching and could be 

 readily loosened by applying the proper power. 



Forest Fire Insurance in Prussia 



Consul Assistaut Frank Bohr of Berlin fur- 

 nishes the following statistics in an oflicial report 

 covering the forest fires of Pj'ussia from 1903- 

 1907 : 



Of the total loss for the five years — $796,072 — 

 only $133,950 was insured, and on this insurance 

 only $57,731 in indemnities was paid. The ap- 

 proximate value of all the forests of Prussia is 

 reckoned at $950,000,000, which is at the rate of 

 $119 for 2.47 acres. The annual average risk 

 of forest fires in the kingdom for the five years 

 was less than two ten-thousands of their value, 

 which compares favorably with the annual risk 

 of house and furniture insurance, which is about 

 one one-thousandth of the value. The small 

 losses from forest fires and the strict require- 

 ments and demands of the insurance companies 

 are said to account for the low percentage of 

 forests insured by their owners in Prussia. 



Opening of Virgin Timberlands in Honduras 



The new North and South Interoceanic Railway 

 Company, financed in Chicago, with a capital of 

 $5,000,000 and incorporated under the laws of 

 Delaware, recently secured a concession from the 

 government of Honduras and will construct a 

 railroad from the Atlantic terminal at Iriona to 

 the inland city of Juticalpa. The enterprise will 

 be of considerable magnitude and will embrace 

 many interesting engineering problems. Work has 

 already been started and will be pushed with all 

 possible expedition. When completed, the route 

 will pass through a vast untouched territory 

 comprising large areas of fertile hardwood and 

 agricultural lands, and will tap many mining dis- 

 tricts known to contain extensive resources. 



