Solid Wood Products 2583 



Selbo (1952) suggested use of one of the following conditioning periods, 

 before planing edge-glued panels, to preclude formation of sunken joints visible 

 in panels that will be given a high gloss finish without veneering: 



• 7 days at 80°F and 30 percent relative humidity 



• 4 days at 120°F and 35 percent relative humidity 



• 24 hours at 160°F and 44 percent relative humidity 



• 16 hours at 200°F and 55 percent relative humidity 



For edge-glued furniture panels that are subsequently covered with crossbands 

 (usually 1/16- or 1/20-inch) and face veneers (usually 1/28-inch), Selbo thought 

 that the conditioning times shown above could be shortened — perhaps reduced 

 in half. In his experiment, Selbo used urea resin and animal glue. 



Use of hardwood dimension stock by the southern furniture industry. — 

 Anderson and Sendak (1972) queried 635 manufacturers of wooden furniture in 

 the 16 States comprising the three southern regions established by the United 

 States Department of Commerce (fig. 22-6 bottom). Of these firms, 544 (87.5 

 percent) used hardwood lumber or dimension stock in their plants; average 

 consumption in 1967 was 1 ,465,000 board feet per firm. Of the 544 firms that 

 used hardwood lumber or dimension stock, 372 firms (67 percent) purchased 

 hardwood dimension stock. Types most frequently purchased and dollars ex- 

 pended per type, were as follows in 1967: 



Type Firms purchasing Expenditure 



Number Dollars 



Turnings and carvings 173 8,584,204 



Rough flat stock 142 12,839,294 



Partially machined stock 116 13,147.102 



Squares 107 6,379,926 



Fully machined parts 78 11 ,442,328 



Mouldings and trim 73 1 ,977,176 



Most of the furniture firms produce in their own plants the majority of hardwood 

 parts they need. Only 33 percent indicated they manufactured none of the 

 hardwood dimension they used. 



Anderson and Sendak (1972) concluded from a survey that total use of 

 hardwood dimension stock would increase in the future, but independent dimen- 

 sion manufacturers' share of the market may not. They expect increases mainly 

 in within-plant production by furniture manufacturers. Over half the furniture 

 manufacturers now produce more than half of their dimension requirements in 

 their own plants; four furniture manufacturers planned within-plant increases for 

 every one planning decreases. 



Most manufacturers' decisions were based primarily upon cost factors, but 

 other factors mentioned included: (1) inability to obtain timely delivery; (2) 

 unavailability of hardwood parts of the desired species; and (3) lack of reliability 

 of some suppliers of dimension parts. 



An independent dimension manufacturer must aim to be reliable and timely, 

 and to supply parts of acceptable quality, species, and moisture content at a 

 lower cost than the buyer can make them in his own plant. 



