UTILIZATION OF BASSWOOD. 51 



such as walnut, mahogany, and oak. Rug and drugget poles, which 

 are lower-grade products, are also made of basswood. This wood is 

 not adapted for heavy poles, for which maple, birch, oak, and ash 

 are more serviceable. Some basswood is used for window-shade 

 rollers, but white pine is the usual wood employed for this purpose. 

 Awning poles are often of basswood, because a light-weight wood is 

 desirable. 



PULLEYS AND CONVEYORS. 



Basswood is used for the rims of wooden pulleys, because it is light 

 in weight, has good gluing qualities, holds nails well without splitting, 

 and does not shrink, swell, or warp greatly. Wooden pulleys are 

 preferable in many cases to those of metal, because the lighter weight 

 renders them less likely to break through centrifugal force. These 

 rims are generally built up of a large number of pieces, which are 

 carefully fitted and glued together. Since basswood will not stand 

 a large amount of wear, harder and therefore heavier woods are used 

 in larger quantities. 



Basswood is employed in the construction of buffer wheels, such as 

 are used for polishing metal and glass; and it is preferred for this 

 use, because it is fine-grained and holds the polishing materials well. 

 These wheels are usually made up solid of about six pie-shaped pieces, 

 which are dove-tailed and glued together, making a strong, light- 

 weight disk. 



PRINTING MATERIAL. 



The use of basswood in the printing industry is mainly for parts of 

 printers' type cabinets and as base blocks for rubber-stamp pads. 

 It commonly serves as bottoms of type boxes or trays, often in the 

 form of veneer; for the latter use a low-grade material is employed. 



SPORTING AND ATHLETIC GOODS. 



Basswood serves to advantage for the inside framework of billiard 

 and pool tables, because it holds its shape well. It is also employed 

 to a considerable extent for fishing-line blocks on which the line is 

 wound, because of its light weight. 



SEWING MACHINES. 



For sewing-machine cabinets, basswood is used to advantage as a 

 corewood for expensive veneers, and as sides and bottoms of drawers 

 and compartments, where its white, cleanly appearance makes it a 

 preferred wood. 



ELECTRICAL MACHINERY AND APPARATUS. 



In the making of electrical apparatus basswood is used especially 

 for spools for holding small-gauge wire, for base blocks, and for parts 

 of such electrical apparatus as telephone cabinets. 



