VENEERS 99 



and temperatures of from 200 to 260 F. are maintained. The drier 

 box is covered with sheet iron and asbestos. 



From the drier the sheets of veneer go to the glue room or to the bun- 

 dling room, from which they are shipped. 



The cost of manufacturing rotary cut veneers varies considerably. 

 The chief factors which influence this cost are the size of the mill, labor 

 charges, efficiency of the operation, thickness of veneers produced, kinds 

 of woods used, type of machinery and equipment, etc. Costs are fig- 

 ured on the basis of 1000 sq. ft. of surface measurement. The cost may 



ordinarily be found within the following figures: 



Cost per Thousand 

 Square Feet 



Labor and superintendency. $ . 75-1 .35 



Power 20- . 75 



Overhead, including depreciation, interest, 



taxes, insurance 50-1 . 20 



$1.45-3.30 

 These figures are exclusive of the cost of logs, selling and office charges. 



SLICED VENEERS 



Although the least important of the three methods of making veneers, 

 from the standpoint of production, and, therefore, of little comparative 

 importance, the slicing process of veneer manufacture has taken material 

 strides within the past decade or so. It is likely that it may surpass the 

 sawing process in production. Slicing machines are almost always found 

 in use in the same mills where veneer saws are used. The cost of making 

 sliced veneers is considerably less than by the sawing process and there is 

 much waste of material in the latter method due to saw kerf. 



White oak is the principal wood used in slicing veneers and practically 

 all of it is in the form of quartered flitches that have been cut out in saw- 

 mills. Quartered sycamore, red gum and red oak and some mahogany, 

 Circassian walnut and Spanish cedar, together with a few other foreign 

 woods are also cut. Only the finer furniture, cabinet and finish veneers 

 are manufactured by this and the sawing procees. Indiana is the cen- 

 ter of production of sliced veneers. 



The slicing process aside from the actual cutting follows the same gen- 

 eral methods as the rotary process, except that flitches instead of logs are 

 used and steaming is customarily used instead of boiling, especially when 

 mahogany and Spanish cedar are used. In some mills, the flitches are 



