HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



Utilization of HardWoods 



ARTICLE XLV 



CURTAIN STRETCHERS 



V\wa first thought the' manufacture of I'ur- 

 apparatus as it is set up in the yartl or fold- 

 eJ, it certainly seems as though it would 

 take a mighty big pile of them to amount to 

 anvthing in the way of lumber — anj it does; 

 but the fact remains that there is an immense 

 number .of these frames sold every year. The 

 total annual production could not be ascer- 

 tained at this writiug, but the Chicago Cur- 

 tain Stretcher Company sold, during the year 

 litOS. 104.:i31, and while this is the largest 

 producer, it is only one of many. To take a 

 look at the stock rooms of the company, how- 

 tain stretchers would uot appeal to the aver- 

 age lumberman as a very likely source of 

 sale tor any quantity of material during a 

 year's business. Looking upon the scanty 



Mirrinm of foldino stufti.iiki; 



ever, one would gain the impression that 

 it carried on hand enough of the stretchers 

 to supply all possible demands for years to 

 come. And yet the stock now carried is 

 really only about one-tenth of what will be 

 sold during the year. 



A word about the lumber which goes into 

 the construction of this useful household 

 article: after experimenting with various 



types of woods and comparing the advantages 

 and disadvantages offered by all, the manu- 

 facturers of the standard curtain stretchers 

 long ago came to the eonelusiou that there 

 were but two woods available, whose j)hysical 

 qualities and source of supply combined with 

 the price element in a way which would war- 

 rant their being used to. the exclusion of all 

 others, and today basswood for the better 

 types and pine for the cheaper styles of 

 stretchers are universally employed. Both the 

 northern and southern growth of basswood 

 are bought by the Chicago company, but a 

 light, soft, even-grained wood being essential, 

 the first-named seems to have the preference 

 over the southern variety. 



Eight here, just to eliminate impressions 

 that might prevail in the 

 minds of the selling element 

 of the trade as to the im- 

 portance of this source of 

 consumption, it might be 

 well to state that during 

 the past year the total con- 

 sumption of this wood, in 

 the factory of the Chicago 

 Curtain Stretcher Company 

 has been appro^mately 

 2,00fl.000 feet, there being 

 consumed an average of 

 about ten feet of lumber to 

 each stretcher. Vs'hen it is con- 

 sidered that all stock must be 

 firsts and seconds, kiln dried, a 

 better idea of what is paid out 

 each year just for raw material 

 can be ascertained. Boards must 

 be six or twelve feet in length and 

 of various widths, and run as good, 

 full stock, and well manufactured. 

 Upon receipt at the factory it is well stacked 

 for a preliminary air drying and then, before 

 consumption, is placed in the kiln to eliminate 

 the last traces of greenness, for shrinkage or 

 warping after manufacture would be fatal. 

 The fir.st unit in the cycle of manufacture, 

 as in most remanufaeturing plants, is the 

 cutoff saw on which all pieces are trimmed 

 accurately to six foot lengths. The reason for 



this can readily be seen from the accompany- 

 ing illustration, as the side pieces are each 

 just six feet loqg and the two longer sides 

 are twelve feet — each being made of two six 

 foot sections to permit folding. From the 

 cut-off saw the pieces are taken to the rip- 

 saw where they are cut to the various widths 

 required by the different styles of stretchers 

 and by the different uses to which they are 

 to be put. For instance, the center brace and 

 the easels shown in the illustration are both 

 of smaller dimensions than the main frame. 

 The proper dimensions having been ob- 

 tained, the next important step is to run the 

 end and side pieces through stickers, different 

 machines being employed to turn out the 

 grooving required for the different makes. 

 The cut shows one of the most expensive aiiu 

 complete stretchers turned out by the Chicago 

 concern, a type requiring that the shaping anci 

 the groovie to carry the pins be seciired at 

 one operation, an ingenious and specially de- 



ST 



SECTION OF sti:i:m hi i: siiowiN'; I'ins 



RETCIIER \YrriI .MOV.^BLE I'l.NS SET FT 

 FOR t'SE 

 signed machine being employed for this pur- 

 pose. A clearer idea of this operation can be 

 gained from the accompanj-ing wood cut show- 

 ing the moulded edge and the double groove 

 in which run the patent pins, as shown in 

 the cut-away section. In this groove the pins 

 slide with the precision of a piece of ma- 

 chinery. The last important operation in the 

 manufacture of the parts, before fitting for 

 assembling, is cutting the grooves shown iu 

 the third illustration, in which are placed the 

 bolts which finally join the different parts 

 into a complete stretcher. Before being taken 

 to another floor each section is automatically 

 stamped with inches and fractions, as shown, 

 and on another apparatus is crozed at the ends, 

 and bored to receive the joining plates and the 

 rivets of the same, which can be seen at the 

 corners. All joints are riveted, no nails be- 

 ing used in construction. 



The last steps iu the operation are, of 

 course, assembling and bundling, which is 

 merely routine work and requires no particular 

 skill. This, with the filling of the grooves 

 with the pins is really the only part of the 

 entire process requiring hand work, and in the 

 latter one boy can fill from 500 to 600 pieces 

 in a day. Cheaper designs of stretchers are 

 not equipped with the patent pins, but have 

 merely a row of brass, nickel-plated nails driv- 

 en along in their place, a regulation nailing 

 machine being employed to perform the work. 



