HARDWOOD RECORD 



45 



ready for use. In the meantime, defects have 

 developed in quite a percentage of them suffi- 

 cient to render them useless for axles, and 

 they are then sawed into smaller pieces for a 

 different use entirely, where a much less ex- 

 pensive quality of hickory would do as well. 

 Axles are but five feet long when finished 

 for the skeins, but are bought sis feet long to 

 provide for checks on either end. If both 

 ends of a hickory axle wood checks in season- 

 ing, as is generally the case, the ends sawed 

 off are too short for use and go to the wood 

 pile, but if one end only is checked, it is pos- 

 sible to get from the opposite end a piece long 

 enough for a brake block. While .$65 per M 

 hickory is rather expensive for brake blocks, 

 putting it to such a use is better than being 

 compelled to burn it or sell it for fuel at $6 

 to $7 per M. 



The Compound Wood Company proposes to 

 buy the less expensive grades of one-inch hick- 

 ory of narrow widths, which cost but little 

 more than one-half as much as the large 

 dimensions. They propose to cement the 

 fcound parts or pieces together, forming any 

 thickness or size, with a weather-proof vege- 

 table adhesive compound for which they own 

 the sole right for this work. In this proc- 

 ess, the matter of cross-grain is not a detri- 

 ment and every sound piece one inch thick, 

 five inches wide and five feet long will make 

 a part of an axle, regardless of whether the 

 grain runs straight or not. With very little 

 care, these pieces are arranged so that, al- 

 though any number of them may be cross- 

 grained, they will, when so formed and ce- 

 mented in one jnece, develop a ' greater 

 strength than the one solid piece now used. 



Of course, these pieces are built up edge- 

 wise, five inches wide for a standard 3^/4 

 axle. All axles of whatever size or quality 

 are liable to break when overloaded and when 

 a one-piece axle does break, it breaks across 

 its whole width and the load goes down, but 

 when a four or five piece compound axle 

 breaks, the conditions are very different. One 



of the pieces will break at one place and an- 

 other piece at another, with a variation of 

 several inches and the grain is so interwoven 

 that it tenaciously hangs together to such an 

 extent that the axle does not come apart end, 

 when relieved of its load, will generally spring 

 back into shape sufficiently to enable the 

 ivagon to run to the repair shop. Many of 

 these axles have been broken in hydraulic 

 presses with a gauge registering their strength 

 and compared with the one-piece axle they 

 show a very pronounced added strength. 



Every one of the pieces in a compound axle 

 enter the shoulder of the skein and, with but 

 few exceptions, wagon manufacturers clip 

 their axles, so there would be no possible tend- 

 ency for the pieces to separate, even though 

 they were not cemented together. 



The cement used has long since passed the 

 experimental stage and has been used for sev- 

 eral years on woods subjected to weather con- 

 ditions. It is applied by special machinery 

 and by powerful hydraulic presses which 

 practically weld the pieces together. 



One inch hickory (or any wood for that 

 matter) is proportionately stronger and more 

 completely dried than large four or five inch 

 dimension stuff. Dry rot, so frequent in the 

 large sizes, would be completely avoided in 

 the compound axle. 



While the additional strength of the com- 

 pound axle is an important feature, a still 

 more important one to the wagon maker is the 

 fact that the axle is ready for use when taken 

 from the car. Every axle is right; there are 

 no defects, yardage, taxes, insurance, risk or 

 dry-kiln expense and last, but not least, no 

 long-time investment drawing interest. The 

 price of the compound axles will range close 

 to the price of the green one-piece stock and 

 this will mean a substantial saving to the 

 manufacturers of wagons. 



Those interested can get further informa- 

 tion by addressing the Compound Wood Com 

 pany, Batavia, 111. 



Meeting Red Gum Manufacturers 



A meeting of red gum manufacturers and 

 othiers interested in tlie handling of gum was 

 held at the Hotel G.iyoso, Memphis, Tenn,, at 

 10 o'clock, Saturday morning, Oct. 1. continuing 

 practically throughout the day with the ex- 

 ception of the brief period when the delegates 

 were guests of the Memphis Lumbermen's Club 

 at luncheon. 



A preliminary meeting was held at the Gayoso 

 on Friday. This was attended by representa-. 

 lives of the Anderson-Tully Company, the Baker 

 Lumber Company, the Lamb-Fish Lumber Com- 

 pany, the C. F. Luehrmann Hardwood Lumber 

 Company, the Three States Lumber Company, 

 the Himmelberger-Harrison Lumber Company, 

 and the Carrier Lumber & Manufacturing Com- 

 pany. The last five were the original members 

 of the publicity bureau which undertook to ad- 

 vertise red gum with a view to creating a 

 larger market therefor, as well as to advance 

 the price thereof. The Anderson-Tully Com- 

 pany and the Baker Lumber Company both 

 joined this bureau during the day and were 

 in attendance at the preliminary meeting which 

 was held ^or the purpose of outlining the plans 

 fnr the conference to follow. 



This meeting of the red gum manufacturers 

 was held under the auspices of R. M. Carrier, 

 president of the Hardwood Manufacturers' As- 

 sociation. It differed from other meetings which 

 have been held heretofore in the respect that it 

 dealt largely with the publicity idea rather than 

 with the question of curtailing production and 

 other features previously advocated with a 

 view to bettering conditions. 



The greater portion of the day was given 

 over to statements from members of the bureau 

 who had participated in the publicity work and 

 who had seen the splendid results following the 

 co-operative plan of advertising red gum. Presi- 

 dent Carrier said that the results spoke for 

 themselves and it was the consensus of opinion 

 that the work had been so highly beneficial that 

 it not only ought to be kept up, but that it 

 should be continued on a more extensive scale 

 through the acceptance of membership In the 

 bureau to every firm who had heretofore taken 

 part therein. 



A number of the delegates were called upon 

 to give their ideas of the steps that should be 

 taken for the betterment of the gum market. .1. 

 \V. Dickson of the J. Mi- Dickson Lumber Com- 



pany stated that in his opinion better results 

 would be obtained if the manufacturers who 

 were making thick stock should quarter-saw all 

 of this. He thought that this would prevent 

 warping, and strongly advocated this plan. 



J. W. Thompson of the J. W. Thompson Lum- 

 ber Company stated that he was much pleased 

 with the benefits which had been derived from 

 the publicity campaign. It was his idea that 

 the smaller manufacturers of gum should be- 

 come parties to the publicity work, provided 

 some equitable basis could be agreed upon. He 

 did not think that the smaller firms, or rather 

 firms manufacturing a smaller percentage of 

 grim than the original members of this bureau, 

 ought to be asked to pay as much as those 

 whose output of gum is heavy. He suggested 

 that the club take this matter up and that it 

 report some basis that would be equitable to all 

 concerned and make it possible for those mem- 

 bers who had not contributed to the publicity 

 fund to do so. Mr. Thompson declared that the 

 results of the publicity work had been evidenced 

 to every man who handled gum lumber, as 

 there had not only been a larger demand there- 

 for, but there had also been a consequent im- 

 provement in prices. 



Max Sondheimer, president of the E. Sond- 

 heimer Company, had to have his little joke and 

 he did this at the expense of Mr. Carrier. He was 

 called upon for a few remarks and he stated 

 that the presiding officer had insinuated that 

 he would like those present to join in the pub- 

 licity movement, but that he wished to know if 

 that was really the intent of his various re- 

 marks. He said that he had been listening to 

 everything that had been said and that he had 

 not gotten it clearly into his head just what 

 the purpose of the meeting was. Mr. Carrier 

 thereupon made his remarks very positive along 

 these lines, stating that he would drop all in- 

 sinuations and make the invitation perfectly 

 clear to every firm in attendance to become 

 members of this publicity bureau. He reiter- 

 ated the same invitation in his brief address 

 before the Lumbermen's Club of Memphis. Mr. 

 Sondheimer called particular attention to the 

 splendid field for red gum and said that Europe 

 was at least twenty years ahead of America in 

 this respect, as its furniture manufacturers, 

 cabinetmakers and others had found in red gum 

 a most desirable substitute for a number of 

 other materials used by them. He referred to 

 the high polish gum takes and to its exceptional 

 qualities and also to the fact that it is the 

 last of the substitute woods. .\s to the lower 

 grades he thought it necessary to create a larger 

 demand Iherefor so that the supply would not 

 exceed requirements. 



There was some eiscussion on prices with 

 the view of ascertaining just what the various 

 firms represented at the meeting were receiv- 

 ing for red gum. The results ot this inter- 

 change of views were highly satisfactory to the 

 various delegates. 



It is the plan of the publicity bureau tc 

 further widen the market for red gum and also 

 to create larger demand for sap gum, as well 

 as for the lower grades of red. To this end 

 an extended advertising campaign will be 

 carried on and, while it can not be said Just 

 what am.ount will be available for that pur- 

 pose, it is conservatively estimated at from 

 .?35,000 to $50,000. The amount expended last 

 year probably did not exceed $10,000 to $15,000. 

 It is the belief ot the promoters of this move- 

 ment that as good results can be obtained for 

 the lower grades as has been achieved for the 

 better grades. It has not been definitely de- 

 cided just what methods will be used in the 

 publicity work, but it is conceded that the 

 magazines will have a considerable portion of 

 the patronage of the bureau. There were 

 representatives of several of the leading mag- 

 azines present and one of the most interesting 

 features of the day was the address delivered 



