\X)M : R.(UC-^ 
2? ' 
REDUCTION 0? WASTE IN THE VENEER AND PLYWOOD IiTDUSTRY 
3y HERBERT 0. FLEISCHER, Technologist 
Eorest Products Laboratory,- Forest Service 
U. S. Department of Agriculture 
The Occurrence of Waste 
UNIV. OF Fl 
.DOC 
U.S. DEPOSITORY 
All stages in the conversion of wood from the standing tree to the final 
veneer or plywood product are accompanied by incidental waste in some form 
or other. This report deals with that portion of the waste that occurs at 
veneer and plywood plants. Waste occurring in the woods is discussed in 
another Eorest Products Laboratory report.— 
Contrary to popular opinion, the waste that occurs in converting a log into 
veneer is considerable. In a study conducted by the Forest Products 
Laboratory^ it was found that the average yield of veneer from a yellow circh 
log is only about 47 percent of the cubic volume of the log. The conversion 
of veneer into plywood entails additional wastes that probably average about 
50 percent in the typical hardwood plywood plant, so that the yield in terms 
of veneer actually made into plywood often is as low as 20 to 25 percent of 
the log volume. 
In the Douglas-fir plywood industry the relative volume of waste is lower 
because larger logs are involved and the plywood product is such that a large 
percentage of the veneer produced can be used in panels. The yield in terms 
of plywood is considered average if the square footage of the 3/8-inch plywood 
obtained equals 2 to 2-1/2 times the board-foot volume of the log. On the 
basis of a log with an average diameter of 40 inches, this yield amounts to 
about 55 to 68 percent of the cubic- foot volume of the log. These yield 
figures do not lend themselves to direct ^nmpa-rjU^ w ■■■ fJa-j^whoT-y^ p.]fl f^ n^c 
because the finished plywood product is general LyJ4|f|feM5i I if© ©WW*^ 1 !*- ty as 
to be ready for final application without much 
requires a great deal of trimming, resurfacing, 
Also, plywood goes further because it is generally us^rwiQthi/«i£j: sheets 
than lumber for similar applications. 
r— — > ii^ 
trimming, wrrefrcas^&nbei often 
and the like by the cor sumer. 
tf^Sr--trn;v. of Florida 
-Maintained at Madison 5, Wis., in cooperation with "tKe~T7nrrers±*y-©# ' 
Wisconsin. 
-"Woods Waste," FPL .report No. R1665-3. 
— tt 
Waste in Veneer Manufacture," FPL Report No. R1493. 
Report No. R1666*-4 
-1- 
July 1947 
