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 witnout 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. 
