34 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



work in a conventional grille design, the 

 rest of the design is set up, leaving the 

 opening where the lattice will eventually go. 

 This is then placed over a piece of the 

 rough lattice and the exact outline marked. 

 The piece required can then be sawed out 

 and glued accurately in place. 



The scrolls in grille work are usually 

 made three at a time, being sawed from the 

 pieces which come from the rip-saw and 

 trimmer. Conventional designs being used, 

 it is a simple matter to turn out a large 

 number of these pieces during the day's 

 work. The three boards are put together 

 and a zinc pattern is placed on the top 



board, the design being stenciled and a jig- 

 saw used in cutting. The various divisions 

 of the scroll part of the grille are made up 

 separately and are assembled by a man reg- 

 ularly trained for that work, after which 

 the lattice is inserted as stated before. 



The finish used varies according to speci- 

 fications, and might be anything desired. A 

 great many attractive designs are available, 

 though most of them are conventional, and 

 are in regular stock. The two cuts illus- 

 trating this article were loaned by the Chi- 

 cago Grille AVorks, and give an idea of some 

 of the intricate patterns gotten out by that 

 concern. 



Some Phases of Handle Production 



A FEW POINTS FOR DISCUSSION 

 By H. B. ALEXANDER 



All the leading sawmills in the country 

 at the present tinle, and a large number of 

 the smaller mills as well, u^e the band saw 

 entirely in the manufacture of lumber. This 

 is supposed to be the best method of sawing, 

 the reasons advanced in support of this 

 theory being that it saves timber, as band 

 saws are thinner than circular and cut much 

 less kerf; and also that it makes better 

 lumber. Undoubtedly the first reason is a 

 good one, and every one connected with the 

 lumber trade ought to be interested in any- 

 thing which will effect economy in this direc- 

 tion, but I do not believe that the second 

 reason will hold good in every case. 



Every week several cars of hard maple are 

 received at our handle plant. This stock is 

 purchased from several different mills, and 

 we have observed frequently that the very 

 best stock we get is cut on the good old 

 circular saw. It always seems to be cleaner 

 cut, more even in thickness, and is not wash- 

 boarded. Some cars of maple we have re- 

 ceived have had as high as five per cent 

 of inaccurately sawed boards that had to 

 be culled out. Some of these, for instance, 

 were two inches thick at one end and only 

 three-quarters of an inch at the other; some 

 were thick on one edge and thin on the other. 

 We never seem to have this trouble with lum- 

 ber sawed on circular mills. 



Another thing that is annoying to the han- 

 dle man is that the big mills make it a 

 practice to trim all lumber down to length. 

 This would be all right if the boards never 

 fell short of measure, but in our factory 

 where we u.se fourteen-foot lengths as much 

 as possible, as they will each make four 

 broom-handle lengths, it is particularly exas- 

 perating to get stock half an inch short 

 which necessitates wasting one handle length. 



It may not be true of all kinds of timber, 

 but my experience with maple is that the 

 practice of deadening a maple tree the year 

 before it is to be cut is injurious to the 

 wood. At our factory we find that a good 

 deal of the maple lumber we are Buying 

 has been treated in this way, and handles 



made from this stock have not the weight 

 nor the strength that handles cut from live 

 timber have. Undoubtedly this mode of treat- 

 ing maple le&sens the strength of the wood 

 greatly. The reason for deadening maple 

 in this way is that if the tree is girdled in the 

 fall or winter when the sap is down the 

 wood can be drying out as it dies and so the 

 time that the lumber must remain on sticks 

 before it is fit for use is shortened consider- 

 ably. This would be all right if it did not 

 injure the timber, but as it undoubtedly 

 does it seems that lumbermen should be will- 

 ing to dry out their maple on sticks as long 

 as the live wood requires. 



It has always been supposed that tapping 

 the hard maple tree for the sap does not 

 harm the tree in any way, but our experience 

 in handling maple lumber would tend to prove 

 this an erroneous supposition. In fact, in- 

 vestigation will show that tapping does in- 

 jure the tree as it starts decay in the butt, 

 and it is diflScult io find a maple tree that 

 has been tapped that has not a decayed butt, 

 which in a few years would become a mere 

 shell. Limbs broken off in storms also cause 

 decay as water then works down into the 

 tree and the moisture rots the wood. It is 

 considered a good policy to fell a tree as 

 soon as the top branches begin to break off 

 fiS tills is taken as a sure indication that the 

 tree is on the downward path. 



In this article I have attempted to outline 

 a few problems which if solved would make 

 things easier for the handle men. A discus- 

 sion of these ipoints in this department by 

 the trade would be beneficial and might lead 

 tr. a satisfactory solution of the questions. 



Changes in W. T. Mason Lumber Company 

 J. E. Coburn has recently purchased an in- 

 terest in the W. T. Mason Lumber Company at 

 Bryson City, N. C. This company owns 34,000 

 acres of hardwood timber and operates mills 

 in Swain and Jackson counties, N. C. It is 

 about to erect a first class planing mill in con- 

 nection with one of its sawmills. 



Of the company W. T. Ma'son is president ; 

 B. C. Mason, vice president, and J, E. Coburn, 

 secretary and treasurer. 



Hardwood Record Mail Bag 



Band Sav7 Troubles 



The Kkcord is in receipt of the following 

 letter from a Minnesota filer. Will any of 

 our readers who are practical operators of 

 band and resaw mills kindly supply the 

 Kecord with suggestions about filing and 

 operating bands and resaws that will help the 

 writer out of his difBcultv?— Editor. 



, Minn.. June 25. ^Editor Hard- 

 wood Record : I am a filer in a new right- 

 hand band and resaw mill, cutting all kinds of 

 hardwoods from oak to basswood. The band 

 saw is 14 gauge witb 1%-inch teeth running 

 10.050 feet per minute, and the resaw is 16 

 gauge, 1%-inch, running 7.500 feet per minute. 

 In the harder kinds of timber the lumber comes 

 from both the band saw and the resaw very 

 snaky. I would be very grateful to you if you 

 can (ell me some way of preventing this. It not, 

 ran you put me in touch with someone who can 

 trll mc how to remedy this trouble? 



Wants Basswood Logs 



Nkw York, June 16. — Editor Hardwood 

 Record : If any of your readers would be inter- 

 ested in shipping basswood logs to New York 

 we would be pleased to hear from them. We 

 want these logs not less than 12-inch in diameter 

 at the small end, green as possible and with the 

 bark on. The logs are to be cut in lengfhs of 

 39 inches, and we would like them shipped in 

 such lengths as will give the least waste In 

 making these 39-inch multiples. 



Anyone interested in communicating with 

 the writer of the above letter can have the 

 address by applying to Hardwood Record. — 

 ■Editor. 



A Unique Belt Eemedy 



A writer in the Woodworker says : In talk 

 lug with a young man in charge of a small sa\V 

 mill in the back woods of Pennsylvania, we got 

 to talking perchance on the best belts. I no- 

 ticed that his double S-in. leather belt was con- 

 siderably the worse for wear, and queerly pitted 

 and marked up on the pulley side. On my com- 

 menting on it, he said when they were running 

 they always had a boy handy with a pail of 

 sand, and whenever their saw started to slow 

 down in a heavy cut. a little sand on the belts 

 would make It dig out in great shape. Then I 

 saw the reason of those queer pits. 



He said he wouldn't have a smooth belt, be- 

 cause a smooth, soft one would slip too much. 

 It had to be rough enough to take hold of tb? 

 pulley, or else It would slip. He never used any 

 belt dressing of any kind but sand, and had to 

 buy a good many belts as they wore out quickly ; 

 in fact, he couldn't get a belt for love or money 

 that would last over sis months. He had used 

 rubber and fiber belts, but they were no good. 

 He always turned the roughest or flesh side of 

 the belt in, and even then it would slip unless 

 sanded. His engine flywheel and arbor pulley 

 were fearfully and wonderfully scored up, but he 

 SLemed to take it all as a matter of course. His 

 belt was laced with whang leather, with a lump 

 lace that went bang .' every time it hit the arbor 

 pulley. I did not see them sawing any lumber, 

 but did see a pile that they had sawed. Sojae of 

 it was pretty fair, but more than half of it had 

 been scooped and washboarded. and there were 

 numberless pieces that varied 14-in. in thickness. 



Talk about conservation of resources of the 

 country ! How many small mills are there that 

 waste lumber in just such poor cutting? 



