Box Boards from Waste 43 



grooves remain on boards after they have been cut for box 

 boards. This is more especially true in the case of rough crates 

 where no attempt is made to remove them. After the boards 

 have been reduced to the desired thickness they are cut to length 

 on the cut-off saws and then ripped to width on the rip-saws, 

 imperfections being cut out in both processes. The completed 

 shooks are then bundled in convenient numbers and shipped to 

 their destination, where the boxes are built up from the different 

 pieces. They are seldom assembled at the factory, since their 

 bulk makes shipment in the completed form too expensive. 

 Shooks are seldom cut in advance of orders, since nearly every 

 customer has his own requirements as to dimensions and speci- 

 fications. 



Expensive boxes calling for dovetailed corners, matched boards, 

 sliding tops and the like have not so far been made commer- 

 cially from sawmill waste. Until more experience and knowledge 

 regarding the possibilities of this form of waste utilization 

 has accumulated it is not likely that they will be. Small and 

 medium sized packing boxes and crates do not require such expert 

 knowledge or special machinery for their manufacture, and it is 

 with them that box factories utilizing waste will specialize. 



In manufacturing shooks from waste, great difficulty is expe- 

 rienced in securing enough wide stock. Narrow stock accumu- 

 lates in abundance. Consequently, orders requiring wide boards 

 such as one-piece sides, tops and bottoms for large and medium 

 sized boxes are avoided. Nor are large boxes of any descrip- 

 tion considered desirable, since it is (or should be) difficult to 

 obtain large pieces from waste. There is a large and steady 

 demand for medium sized boxes for canned goods, tinned fish and 

 meats, salt and frozen fish, soap, dried fruit, preserves, bottled 

 liquors, cheap glassware, crockery and hundreds of other articles. 

 Such boxes need not be made with special care or of very high 

 grade material. They can easily and satisfactorily be made from 

 sawmill waste. 



Crates, which are made of narrow slats, are, however, the 

 most desirable product for a box factory using waste. Oftentimes 

 the slats can be made from waste pieces at the same width they 

 were originally cut, or if not, at such widths that there is little 

 loss in ripping them. Sometimes the ends of these crates can be 

 assembled on nailing machines in the factory before shipment. 



