TWO MINOR WOOD INDUSTRIES. 

 By C. S. Judd. 



I. A Cut Shingle Mill in Washington. 



Back of Boyd's, Washington, in the clearing of a dense forest 

 of western red cedar, Douglas fir, and grand fir stands a unique 

 mill where shingles are not sawn but are cut from western red 

 cedar bolts. Here shingles are sliced from the softened blocks 

 and fall away from the knife in a manner that reminds one of 

 the days of the French Revolution when that cruel instrument of 

 death, the guillotine, was in active use. 



Standing on a raised platform in the center of his establish- 

 ment the proprietor, for it is he alone that is able to manipulate 

 successfully the machine of his own invention, presses the blocks 

 against the swift-moving knife and slices oH on an average almost 

 lOO shingles to the minute. From his elevated station he can 

 direct all of the various operations and see that none of his 

 assistants falls behind in his work. 



The inventor of this machine gathered his ideas for it from a 

 stave cutter that he used to operate back in Arkansas. His first 

 shingle slicer was operated by hand, then by horse power, and 

 finally by a lo H. P. engine with steam furnished by a 15 H. P. 

 upright boiler. The whole establishment cost him in the neigh- 

 borhood of $1,250 and eight men are required to operate it as 

 follows : one engineer, one cross-cut sawyer and peeler, one bolt 

 splitter, one vat man, one knife operator, two trimmers, and one 

 packer. 



In this mill the butts of cedar trees that are discarded in the 

 process of pole and pile cutting, either on account of their size or 

 on account of center rot are used and $4.00 per thousand board 

 feet log scale is paid for them delivered on the main skidroads 

 near the mill. It is found preferable to cut and split the bolts 

 from the logs just before they are wanted at the mill because 

 when split in the woods they check so badly in the process of 

 seasoning that they can not be used in this unusual mill where 

 only quarter-cut shingles are produced. 



