HARDWOOD RECORD 



33 



Utilization of HardWoods 



ARTICL 



GRILLE 



In grille anil interior lattice work as ip 

 all other lines of decorative interior worj- 

 work and furniture manufacture, oak is by 

 far the most popular wood used. Both 

 white oak and red oak, quartered and plain 

 sawed, find extensive employment in this 

 particular line of manufacture. Next to 

 oak in quantity of consumption and in 

 adaptability, yellow pine holds the most fa- 

 vored position, but is not consumed to any- 

 where near the extent of the former va 

 riety. Its principal use is in lattice work, 

 for columns and similar lines. A wood 

 which is employed to a very limited extent 

 and for more or less particular purposes is 

 northern birch. The consumption of this 

 wood is, however, so small as scarcely to 

 merit mention. The Chicago Grille Works, 

 at whose plant the information contained in 

 this article was gathered, consumes annually 

 about 5,000 feet of birch. The total month- 

 ly consumption of oak, on the other hand, is 

 about 30,000 feet and of yellow pine 20,000 

 feet. 



It is a notable fact that in the manufac- 

 ture of various lines of grille work and 

 decorative doorways, colonnades, etc., very 

 little veneer is used. Most of the work is. 

 however, of hollow, built-up construction, 

 all the columns, brackets and various kinds 

 of caps being so constructed. Ingenious 

 arrangement for piecing and gluing up are 

 necessitated by the different styles of de- 

 sign, and while one or two firms have gone 



L' XLIV 



WORK 



so far as to patent special processes, gen 

 orally the manufacturer uses that methoc 

 which appeals to him as the most practica 

 and the most efficient, and which his in 

 genuity has been responsible for producing 

 So-called reeded columns are especially in 

 teresting from a woodworking point of 

 view. These columns are hollow and made 

 from a number of separate pieces running 

 the entire length. The effect on the outside 



ferent manufacturers. Some firms employ a 

 regular tongue and grooving method while 

 others have what they call a V joint, which 

 is much the same as the square broken joint, 

 except that the line of separation is in the 

 form of the letter V. The various styles 

 seem to be equally as good as far as durabil- 

 ity and accuracy are concerned. 



The lumber as received by the Chicago 

 Grille Works, most of it coming from the 

 Columbia Hardwood Companj-, is in the 

 rough, undressed form. A good grade of 

 stock of standard dimensions is required, 

 and the first operation upon receipt at the 

 mill is to run the stuff through a double 



DECORATIVE GRIILLE WITH LATTICE WORK. 



is much the same as that evident in certain 

 species of wild reeds; the appearance be- 

 ing that of a fluted column with the fluting 

 running straight up and down instead of 

 spirally. With this tj'pe the joint between 

 two pieces or sections is merely a square, 

 broken joint with a gum tongue between 

 as a splice. The \'arious sections are 

 formed on a sticker and are glued up in 

 the regular manner and clamped until thor- 

 oughly set. In smooth, cylindrical columns 

 several styles of joints are used by the dif- 



ARTISTIC DOORWAY Willi UKKDED COLt'MNS. 



surfacer. Preliminary planing is necessary 

 for many reasons, but mainly so as to make 

 it possible to accurately match at the dif- 

 ferent joints. From the planer the boards 

 are taken to the stock saw, where they are 

 sawed to approximately the proper length 

 for the various uses. All the work is done 

 according to standard pattern and in this 

 way the lumber can be worked up to ad- 

 vantage without any particular waste, ex- 

 cept what is cut out in the process. From 

 the stock saw the stuff goes to the joiner, 

 who tends to the proper joining of the 

 various parts to insure perfect fit. The 

 rip-saw is the next scheme of the rotation, 

 and here the pieces which have been pre- 

 viously cut to approximate size are accurate- 

 ly ripped out to exact width and then 

 trimmed off exactly on the trimmer saw. A 

 regulation shaper is perhaps the most im- 

 portant machine in the operation, as here 

 the various styles are worked out in the 

 rough and then taken to the gluer. The 

 gluing process, of course, dift'ers at various 

 factories, some small concerns using hand 

 apparatus and others mechanical heating and 

 applying machines. The last step, of 

 course, is putting the finished article through 

 the Sander. 



In making lattice work a special machine 

 is employed. Yellow pine is used a great 

 deal for this style of work, though the woo.l 

 is always in keeping with the material vise 

 of the rest of the design as specified. It is 

 first cut into thin, narrow strips, about 4\'j 

 feet long and of other dimensions to insure 

 the proper relation with the other parts. 

 The machine cuts out notches at regular in- 

 tervals, which go about half way through 

 the piece, edgewise. The notches are fitted 

 one into the other on the different pieces, 

 and all glued up. In inserting the lattice 



