360 FOREST PRODUCTS 



seriously affected the manufacturers in Washington and Oregon. British 

 Columbia manufacturers have the advantage of cheap, Oriental labor, 

 better grades of raw material since the timber runs better in that section, 

 and greater concentration of capital and industrial conditions. There 

 were 115 shingle establishments in British Columbia in 191 5, but the 

 average mill has a much larger capacity than the average mill in Wash- 

 ington, the largest mills turning out 700,000 shingles in a ten-hour day. 

 In 1 91 5 British Columbia exported over 1,259,000,000 shingles to 

 the United States, leaving only 348,000,000 for domestic consumption. 



SPECIFICATIONS AND GRADING RULES 



The manufacturers of shingles have made many efforts to standardize 

 mill grading by the organization of grading bureaus. The western red 

 cedar shingle manufacturers are now well organized as a branch of the 

 West Coast Lumbermens' Association. Some companies still determine 

 their own methods of grading. 



The basis of all shingle grades is (i) size (including length, width, and 

 thickness), and (2) freedom from defects. Practically all shingles are 

 made in 16-, 18- and 20-in. lengths and 4-, 5-, and 6-in. widths. Some 

 are 24 in. in length in both the narrow and the larger widths. The 

 larger shingles are from f to j^ of an inch in thickness at the butt and the 

 shorter ones I of an inch. The thin end or tip varies from xe to | in. in 

 thickness. Some grades permit "feather tips." 



The thickness of a shingle is a direct criterion of its length of service, 

 other conditions being equal, since erosion and wearing due to rains and 

 the weather will often determine its usefulness. Shingles must be thick 

 enough to resist the stress induced by alternate moistening by rain and 

 drying by the sun. Very wide shingles are not desirable, because they 

 are very apt to warp and split as the result of alternate expansion and 

 contraction with the weather. Western red cedar is commonly made 

 into extra wide shingles, but those 10 in. wide and under are preferred. 



Some shingles are cut on the vertical or quarter grain and are much 

 more desirable because they wear better, and are less likely to check 

 and warp. 



At the present time, the standard sawed shingle of western red cedar 

 is regarded as being 16 in. long, 4 in. wide, -^ in. thick at the point and 

 I in. thick at the butt end. 



The following are the official specifications of the shingle manufac- 

 turers of the West Coast Lumbermens' Association in the Northwest 

 as appHed to western red cedar : 



