2720 Chapter 22 



Wood to be sawed 5 feet long, peeled clean of bark; sticks to be 

 straight, sound, free from large knots, and not less than 4 inches at the 

 small end. Pieces 4 inches to 7 inches not to be split; bolts 7 inches to 

 1 1 inches to be split once; from 1 1 inches to 14 inches quartered; and 

 over 14 inches split in proportion. 



Excelsior machines, which may be horizontal or upright, carry a number of 

 small knives mounted in a heavy frame to score parallel lines along the grain of 

 the face of the bolt; a slicing knife then shaves the surface (like a carpenter's 

 plane) to the depth of the score marks, thus producing the individual strands of 

 excelsior. In both horizontal and upright machines, the bolt is held firmly 

 between two rollers that automatically feed it into the knives. The upright 

 machine is made in single units or in batteries of two or four machines. Horizon- 

 tal equipment is usually installed in units of four or more machines. Excelsior 

 must be carried away from the machine as it is cut, to prevent clogging. 



The average machine cuts from 800 to 1 ,200 pounds of excelsior in an 8-hour 

 day. A cord of dry wood yields 1 ,800 to 2,000 pounds of excelsior, varying with 

 the dimensions and quality of the bolts, the grade of the product, and the kind of 

 wood. Waste in manufacture is approximately one-fourth of original wood 

 volume. Much of this waste wood is used in bailing or as fuel. 



Excelsior is graded according to the thickness and width of the strands and the 

 kind and color of the wood. Standard excelsior is 18 inches long or the length of 

 the stick, 0.01 inch thick, and is divided into width classes as follows: fine, 1/26- 

 inch wide; medium, Vg-inch wide; and coarse, 7/32-inch wide. Certain special 

 grades of excelsior, classified as "wood wool", vary in dimensions according to 

 specifications, but strands are usually 0.005 inch thick and i /32-inch wide. Wood 

 wool is made as thin as 0.002 inch and as narrow as i /64-inch. Material of this 

 type is manufactured only for special purposes. Coarse excelsior varies from 

 0.012 inch to 0.02 inch in thickness and from 1/32- to !/4-inch wide. Probably 80 

 to 90 percent of the output of excelsior is of the standard and coarse grades. 



Excelsior is sold by the ton. It is ordinarily packed in bales weighing about 

 100 pounds, but may be packed in bales weighing 200 pounds or more. 



