UTILIZATION OF BLACK WALNUT. 



79 



that a certain portion of this material was manufactured into the 

 finished product outside of the United States. 



During the war very high prices were paid by the Bureau of Air- 

 craft Production for propeller stock, amounting to as much as $310 

 a thousand board feet for walnut. The contract price for walnut 

 gunstock blanks was about $1 a blank, amounting to about $120 a 

 thousand board feet for the flitch material. 



SUMMARY OF GENERAL MARKET CONDITIONS. 



On account of the scarcity and high cost of walnut logs they are 

 generally utilized very closely. The great bulk of the walnut is 

 handled at large mills that are equipped for the manufacture of both 

 lumber and veneer. Band saws, experienced sawyers, and modern 

 kilns contribute to make a very efficient utilization. In veneer manu- 

 facture 20 square feet of veneer are obtained to each board foot, log 

 scale, of logs, and in the making up of panel stock about one-half of 

 this is wasted. There is a waste of about 25 per cent also in manu- 

 facturing furniture from the lumber. Allowing a 20 per cent over- 

 run of the log scale in the manufacture of lumber, we have the yields 

 shown in Table 26 from 100 board feet of lumber, log scale : 



Table 26. 



Original log scale. 



Total product. 



Net amount used in finished 

 product. 



Lumber I 100 board feet . 



Veneer ' do 



120 square feet, 1 inch thick. . 

 2,000 square feet veneer, -^ 

 inch thick. 



90 square feet, 1 inch thick. 

 1,000 square feet (finished 

 panel). 



There is evidently a great economy in using veneer in place of lum- 

 ber; moreover, a much better, more attractive, and more durable 

 piece of furniture may be made by the use of veneer. 



The principal problem of the walnut manufacturer is the disposal 

 of his low-grade stock, both of lumber and veneer. It is most profit- 

 able for him to turn his large, clear, and especially his figured logs 

 into veneer; for, although the lumber sawed from such logs may 

 bring a high price, the veneer sliced from them will bring much 

 more. However, if only small and defective logs are converted into 

 lumber, only low-grade stock will be obtained, and this is difficult to 

 market. The stocks of walnut veneer were greatly reduced because 

 of the discontinuation of the making of veneer during the war. For 

 this reason comparatively small amounts of the highest grades of 

 lumber are being manufactured, and furniture factories are using 

 more of the lower-grade stock. 



