UTILIZATION OF BASSWOOD. 39 



FURNITURE. 



Basswood is an important furniture wood because it glues well 

 and takes and holds screws and nails very satisfactorily. It is well 

 liked for such parts as drawer sides and bottoms, mirror backing, 

 and shelves, because it does not warp to any great extent. Bass- 

 wood is often used for the inside and hidden parts of expensive 

 furniture. It is not generally used for outside work in furniture, 

 because it lacks the strength of other woods, such as oak and red 

 gum, and does not have an attractive grain or figure for finishing in 

 the natural state. It is, however, used in enamel work, for which 

 purpose it is well adapted, because it has a uniform texture, takes 

 paint well, and, since it does not shrink and swell to any great extent, 

 it is not inclined to crack the enamel coating as many other woods do. 



Basswood serves well for cores of panels finished in expensive 

 veneers. It is especially well suited for producing curved surfaces 

 in furniture, because it can be readily bent into various forms by 

 steaming, holds its shape after it is dry, and glues well. It is in 

 demand, therefore, as a core wood for curved and irregular surfaces 

 which are to be covered with figured veneer. Basswood is valuable 

 also as core stock for large panels, because it can be obtained in 

 large, clear pieces. Experiments on panels show that there is less 

 warping when a low-density core wood, such as basswood, is used 

 than with a high-density core wood. The low-density core wood 

 has the additional advantage of making a light-weight panel. Bass- 

 wood, also, does not split so readily as many other light-weight woods 

 and holds the veneer well. In the gluing process basswood absorbs 

 the glue very readily; therefore, a liberal amount of glue should be 

 used in order to avoid a starved joint. 



The following States use basswood for furniture in largest amounts: 

 Illinois, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, 

 Ohio, and Indiana. 



TRUNKS AND VALISES. 



Basswood is an ideal wood for trunks because it is light in weight, 

 does not split readily, holds nails well, is easily worked, keeps its shape 

 well, and is available in wide, clear pieces. Some trunk manufacturers 

 use basswood exclusively for the trunk box and also for the lid and 

 trays. The trunk box may be made up of a single thickness of bass- 

 wood or the sides may be 3 or 5 ply. Trunks made of plywood are 

 more serviceable, because the plywood panels will stand shock better 

 without splitting or breaking than the solid panels. The plywood is 

 made of three or five thicknesses of basswood veneer one-sixteenth 

 to one-twelfth of an inch thick, glued together with the direction of 

 the grain in each sheet at right angles to that in adjacent sheets. 

 Each ply may be made up of several strips of veneer, and small 



