THE USES OF WOOD 



1215 



SETTING UP THE SLACK BARREL 



Shocks are often made near the source of the timber, but the barrel is frequently put together and com- 

 pleted near the place where it is to be used. Skilled hands can do the work very rapidly. The illustra- 

 tion shows apple barrels and is from the catalogue of J. D. Hollingshead, Louisville, Kenutcky. 



he could do all the work with- 

 out going outside of his own 

 family for assistance. Some 

 stave making is still done along 

 similar lines, but not much. Oak 

 stumpage now has value, and it 

 is pretty hard to carry on the 

 smallest operation without the in- 

 vestment of some cash capital. 

 Less dependence is placed on 

 hand labor than formerly and 

 more in machinery ; and ma- 

 chines are expensive. 



Bungs and faucets are listed 

 as cooperage though they are 

 sometimes considered as belong- 

 ing to the subdivision of wood- 

 enware which is regarded as a 

 separate industry. The bung 

 closes the opening in the barrel ; 

 a spile or spiler is a small plug 

 for closing a vent in a barrel 

 or cask ; while a faucet or spigot 

 is a contrivance for drawing 



trees. Even when the operator 

 had no fault to find with his tim- 

 ber, he usually left twice as much 

 on the ground as waste as he took 

 away as staves. Families living 

 near the stave operations in the 

 forests often secure sufficient 

 waste oak to provide household 

 fuel for years ; and most of it 

 wa-, of such high grade stuff that 

 it would have passed inspection 

 by any furniture factory, had it 

 been sawed into lumber instead 

 of being split and slaughtered in 

 the process of stave making. 



Staves were saleable at good 

 prices at a time and in 

 regions where no market for 

 lumber existed, and for that 

 reason the stave operator was 

 in advance of the lumber- 

 man in new country. Little capi- 

 tal was required in making staves 

 when the farmer owned plenty 

 of good oak timber, could buy a 

 crosscut saw for eight dollars, 

 an ax for a dollar, iron wedges 

 for a dollar, a free for the same, 

 and could make his own maul, 

 mallet, and wooden gluts ; and 

 the fork of a log served him for 

 a riving horse. Thus equipped, 

 he was ready for business. He 

 had few labor bills to pay, for 



Shows manner of split- 

 ting timber into stave 

 bolts where timber is of 

 small diameter. 



Stave bolt quartered and 

 heart split off. 



Shows manner of saw- 

 ing pieces of heading from 

 Bdlt by the'Head Sawing 

 Machine. They are cut 1 

 inch thick upon sap, 54 

 inch thick at the heart, 24 

 inches long. Two or three 

 pieces are required to 

 form a complete head. 



Shows manner of split- 

 ting section for timber of 

 large diameter into stave 

 bolts. In making staves, 

 as well as heading bolts, 

 for oil and other tight 

 work, it is ever and always 

 necessary to keep with the 

 grain of wood. 



Shows manner of saw- 

 ing staves upon a cylinder 

 stave machine. 



Shows section of log as 

 cut, 3 feet long, for stave 

 bolt. 



Bolt cut to uniform 

 length on Bolt Equalizer 

 ready for cylinder stave 

 sawing machine. 



Shows heading prepared 

 from tree same as in stave 

 bolt. 



THE PROCESS OF SPLITTING STAVES 



Art, science and experience are necessary in the production of the best split staves. More skill is 

 required to make them with maul, mallet and froe, than with saws. The accompanying series of 

 diagrams is from the catalogue of the Oram Barrel Machinery Company, Cleveland, Ohio. 



