LATH .MILL 



151 



(a) A KN'lFE IS SPANNED in a sash frame mov- 

 ing up and down and severing a shingle at each 

 stroke from steamed bolts. This system, furnishing 

 "cut shingles," is not much used. 



(b) The shingle saw machine uses a circu- 

 lar saw lacking the loose collar and screwed onto 

 the fast collar. The gauge at the center of the 

 saw may be very heavy while the gauge at the 

 rim is from 15 to 20 only. 



The shingle blocks are fastened into either 

 a sliding frame or a rotating frame and are tilted 

 automatically, before each feed movement of the 

 carriage, so as to alternate edge and butt cuts. 



The sliding frame is either hand fed or 

 power fed. A machine takes from one to ten 

 blocks at a time. 



IV. The jointer is meant to give a rectangular 

 shape to the shingle. It is either a single or a 

 double rip saw (two saws 4 inches apart) or a 

 wheel jointer consisting of a steel wheel carrying, 

 close to the circumference, 4 to 8 knives radially 

 or almost radially set and of a hood covering 

 the machine and connected with a blowpipe to 

 remove shavings. The shingles are placed opposite 

 an opening in the hood and pressed by hand against 

 the knives, which make about 500 to 800 revo- 

 lutions per minute. 



V. The shingle packer, used for 16-inch and 

 18-inch shingles, consists of a bench and two 

 slotted and overhanging steel rods. The attendant 

 shingles tightly with their fine ends overlapping. 



VI. Shingle planers, fancy butt shapers and dry kilns are found in up-to-date plants 

 bundles require tightening up. 



Pendulum swing saw for heading- and shingles. 

 Peter Qerlach Co., Cleveland, Ohio. 



pressing the rods down by hand or foot packs the 



After kiln drying, 



PARAGRAPH XXVII. 

 LATH MILL. 



The usual length of laths is 4 feet; the weight per 1,000 is 500 pounds; 50 laths form one bundle. 



One thousand laths cover 70 square yards, and a cord of slabs yields 3,000 laths. 



All softwoods, further yellow poplar, cottonwood and linden form the raw material for laths. 



The lath mill is attached to the sawmill. It decreases the waste in the mill, by converting slabs and 

 offal into commodities. Unfortunately, there is a continuous and heavy overproduction of lath. 



Chestnut and also hemlock when used green result in brown stripes showing through the plaster on the wall. 



Before adding a lath mill to the sawmill, the owner should learn the effect which such addition 

 will have on the rate of fire insurance. 



The machinery used in the lath mill consists of: — 



(A) SLAB RESAW, by which the last board is cut out of the slab. It contains a circular saw and 

 feed works pressing the slab into the saw; or a horizontal band saw, with chain feed above and travelling 

 bed below. 



