THE USES OF WOOD 



WOOD IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOXES AND CRATES 



BY HU MAXWELL 



Editor's Note: This is the fifth story in a series of important and very valuable articles, by Mr. Maxwell, on wood and its 

 uses. The series will thoroughly cover the various phases of the subject, from the beginnings in the forest through the processes 

 of logging, lumbering, transportation and milling, considering in detail the whole field of the utilization and manufacture of wood. 



MANUFACTURERS of boxes and crates in the 

 United States consume more than 4,600,000,000 

 feet of lumber a year. One-tenth of the coun- 

 try's entire output of lumber goes into this product. 

 The making of boxes and crates is regarded as a single 

 industry. All boxes are not made of sawed lumber, 

 though most 

 of them are. 

 The use of ve- 

 neer boxes is 

 increasing. In 

 some boxes the 

 single veneer 

 sheets are em- 

 ployed and in 

 others the sin- 

 gle sheets are 

 superimposed 

 to form com- 

 pound sheets 

 of two, three, 

 or more plies. 

 The tendency 

 is to use thin- 

 ner lumber 

 than formerly 

 in the produc- 

 tion of boxes. 

 That com- 

 mendable 

 economy is in- 

 duced by the 

 increasing cost 

 of raw ma- 

 terial, but it 

 is promoted by 

 better work- 

 manship in 

 box making 

 than was customary years ago. The package must be 

 strong enough to carry the commodity it is meant to con- 

 tain ; and improved devices in manufacturing have made 

 it possible to produce stronger boxes with less lumber. 

 Most boxes are held together with nails. If extra 

 service is exacted, screws may be substituted for nails ; 

 or strands of wire or bands of strap iron may bind 

 the package and add greatly to its strength without 

 much increasing its weight. Other strengthening de- 

 vices consist of lock corners or of dove-tailing ; or 

 there may be reinforcing braces, slats, or cleats. Manu- 



DRYING RAISINS IN THE SUN 



No artificial heat is needed in curing California raisins. They are placed on trays made of thin boards 

 and the pure air and hot sun do the rest. The accompanying picture represents_a typical vineyard scene. 

 The vines lie flat on the ground and the trays are placed between the rows. 

 the California Pine Box Distributors. San Francisco. 



facturers who make a point of securing extra strength, 

 work toward that end by employing strong lumber to 

 begin with. Some woods are more than twice as strong 

 as others, though as a rule, there is a ratio between the 

 strength and the weight of dry woods, so that what 

 is gained in strength may be lost in the disadvantage 



of added 

 weight. Never- 

 theless, much 

 choice may be 

 exercised, 

 from the box- 

 maker's view- 

 point. A 

 wood's nail- 

 holding power 

 may be of 

 more import- 

 ance than its 

 strength. 



The manu- 

 facturer of 

 boxes must 

 take many fac- 

 tors into ac- 

 count in the 

 selection of 

 lumber. It is 

 said that the 

 box maker ac- 

 cepts what 

 others cannot 

 use, and thus 

 makes a clean 

 sweep of the 

 refuse piles in 

 the mill yard. 

 While true in 

 a general way, 

 the maker of boxes selects wood carefully for particular 

 kinds of packages but he produces so many kinds that 

 what he cannot use for one, will do for another. 



If it is a shipping box, the shipper may want to print, 

 paint, or stencil his name and his advertisement on the 

 outside, on one, two, or possibly on all six sides. Ad- 

 vertising of that kind is of much value to the shipper, 

 and he is particular to secure a suitable wood. It must 

 be of light color so that ink and paint will show clearly 

 on the surface. Excellent woods for painting, printing, 

 and stenciling are white pine, spruce, basswood, cotton- 



Photograph by courtesy of 



533 



