426 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



wagons, etc. (2) For heavy vehicles: Farm wagons, drays, sleds, 

 etc. (3) For implements: Grain tanks, thrashers, plows, har- 

 rows, cultivators, binders, headers, corn cutters, corn shredders, hay 

 rakes, tedders, clover millers, etc. 



In buggy bodies the preferred woods for panel work are pop- 

 lar and cottonwood and for framework ash. Many substitutes 

 have been used because of the scarcity of poplar and ash. Red 

 gum, basswood, silver maple, and buckeye are used to some extent 

 for panels, and maple, oak, beech, red gum, rock elm, white elm, 

 hackberry, butternut, and pecan are used in the framework. Of 

 the new woods, maple and red gum are used to the greatest extent. 

 Sheet iron has been tried for panels, but it holds paint so poorly 

 and dents so easily that it is unsatisfactory. Red gum is much used 

 for buggy bottoms and for all parts of sleighs. Rock elm has an 

 elastic toughness coupled with a certain degree of hardness that has 

 given it precedence in hub manufacture. These qualities allow the 

 spokes to "settle" in the hub so that they form a close union with- 

 out crushing the fibers. Black locust has this characteristic to a 

 lesser degree, and persimmon, black birch, and dogwood are fairly 

 satisfactory for hub manufacture. For buggy poles, shafts, spokes, 

 and in the gear work, except for axle caps, for which maple has 

 been largely substituted, hickory is practically the only wood used. 



The following is a list of parts and the woods commonly used 

 in the manufacture of heavy vehicles: Box boards Yellow pop- 

 lar, cottonwood, red gum, tupelo. Box cleats Yellow poplar, cot- 

 tonwood, rock elm. Box beds Longleaf pine, birch, oak. Bed 

 cleats Oak, rock elm. Axles Hickory, maple. Bolsters Oak, 

 hickory. Sand boards Oak, hickory. Poles Oak. Brake bars 

 Oak, rock elm. Reaches Oak. Standards Oak, rock elm, hick- 

 ory. Hounds Oak, rock elm. Spokes Oak. Rims and fellies 

 Oak, Osage orange (southern trade). Hubs White, red, and wil- 

 low oak, black and yellow birch. Doubletrees Hickory, rock elm, 

 oak. Singletrees Hickory, rock elm. Neckyokes Hickory, rock 

 elm. 



A wood suitable for wagon-box boards is primarily one which 

 does not warp nor split and is easily worked. The quality of re- 

 sistance to abrasion is of importance, but durability is not consid- 

 ered. For box boards, white pine, when plentiful, was used almost 

 exclusively; but yellow poplar is now the favorite, though cotton- 

 wood is largely used, and much of it is sold as poplar. Red gum, 

 Douglas fir, cypress, western yellow pine, western spruce, and red- 

 wood have been used to a limited extent. These woods have an- 

 swered the requirements fully where attention was given to over- 

 coming small difficulties in handling. One objection to Douglas fir 

 is that when passed through planers the softer and more spongy 

 springwood portion of the annual rings is torn out, which leaves the 

 summerwood portion raised, and gives the surface a ribbed appear- 

 ance that increases the difficulty of getting a good finish. This dis- 

 advantage may be obviated, however, by increasing the speed of 

 the planing machine and decreasing the feed. 



