EXCELSIOR 



427 



do not require a very heavy investment. Many companies which use 

 considerable quantities of excelsior for packing purposes operate one or 

 more machines solely for their own requirements. The initial invest- 

 ment of a twenty-machine plant turning out daily from 60 to 100 bales 

 of excelsior weighing about 200 Ib. per bale and run independently of 

 other operations is about $10,000, which sum will serve as a criterion 

 for the cost of larger plants. Single upright machines alone cost from 

 $150 to $200 installed. Single horizontal eight-block machines cost 

 $1200 to $1600 installed. Excelsior plants are sometimes operated 

 in connection with rotary veneer mills where the circular cores left after 

 cutting veneer are utilized for the manufacture of excelsior. 



Preparation and Cost of Raw Material. 



Wood used for excelsior should be thoroughly air seasoned for at least 

 a year. It is usually brought to the mill in bolts 37 or 56 in. long and 



Photograph by U. 8. Forest Service. 



FIG. 1 1 2. Raw material in the form of poplar bolts being placed in vertical excelsior machines. 

 Photograph taken at Melvin Mills, New Hampshire. 



piled in ricks either in the open or in sheds. Excelsior stock is always 

 peeled and when over 6 in. in diameter it is customarily split into smaller 

 billets. Many of the mills in the North bring in bolts in carload lots 

 from a radius of from 50 to 100 miles. 



Before going to the machine each bolt is cut up into lengths of from 

 15! to 24 in., with square ends. Each stick must be free from defects 



