130 Forest Club Annual 



causes the edge of the blades to move gradually toward the 

 center of the log as the veneer is cut off. The amount the 

 blades move in one revolution of the log is of course dependent 

 on the thickness of the veneer being cut. 



The log is rotated .until it is cut down to about 6 inches 

 in diameter. Below this diameter it is difficult to cut good 

 veneer, and besides this, the iron chucks at the end of the log 

 are exposed at this point and interfere with the knife which 

 projects over them. The "core" is then removed from the 

 machine, sawed into 16 inch lengths and sold for firewood at 

 $5.00 per cord. Some of the Oak and Birch cores are sold to 

 sawmills, where they are used for rollers. The sale of core-wood 

 saves the company about $2.00 on every thousand feet of logs 

 they buy. 



For the operation of the largest machine which takes 100 

 inch logs, 6 men are required. One hoister puts the logs 

 in the machine, sweeps them off, gets other logs ready and 

 helps saw up cores. Another man, the operator, tends only 

 to the operation of the machine and regulates the thickness 

 of the veneer. Two helpers assist in the various duties as they 

 are needed and two "breakers" pull the veneer out as it 

 comes from the log, and break it off in strips about 10 feet 

 in length. This machine can take logs up to 50 inches in 

 diameter. For the 75 inch machine one helper less is needed, 

 thus leaving five men to operate. For the 54 inch machine 

 one helper and one breaker are dispensed with, leaving four 

 men. One core cutter is employed for all three machines. 

 The knives in each machine are changed once a week and 

 sharpened. They are whetted three or four times a day. A 

 keener knife is required for Birch than for the other species 

 used. 



After the veneer has been cut in long strips it has to 

 be cut up in various sizes depending on its use. This is ac- 

 complished by means of the clippers. The clipping machines 

 are three in number and consist of tables 16 feet long with 

 widths varying to accommodate veneer from the different sized 

 machines, 100, 75 and 54 inches. About five feet from the end 

 of the table is the clipping knife, which may be lowered by 

 means of a lever so as to clip pieces of veneer from the long 

 strip to the desired width across the grain. If it is desired 



