SOME SCIENTIFIC POINTS IN CABINET MAKING. 
that are glued together effectively end-for-end, becomes a more reliable 
piece of lumber than before. Still better when, for example, we take 
a 3-in. board and build it up to 1 in. by plies of the same or other suit- 
able lumber on back and front. The plies ought always to be odd in 
number, three, five, seven, and so on, whilst they should be so chosen 
and applied that the inevitable strains set up by an organic material 
shall be duly reckoned with and balanced. 
The high ornaments—apart from medullary rays—are always due 
to the presentation of end grain to the surface, whether it be due to 
sinuosities, to butt or crotch growths or to abnormalities in the trees. 
That being so, the wood must be brought down to thin sheets, and 
attached to plain, straight-grained boards, preferably of its own nature 
where practicable. Otherwise, if left solid, it must warp, crack, or 
buckle for lack of something to hold it securely to a level. 
During many years I have examined the processes of laying ply- 
stock in the largest and most prominent manufacturing plants in the 
world, in America—where there is the most for the student, though not 
all, to learn—in France, England, and Germany. ‘The chief, problem 
is, having found suitable lumber in quantity, to cut, dry and lay the 
ply-stock with proper. adhesive. Much knowledge and skill are 
demanded in the two first, but it is easier to cut, either with saw or 
knife, than to dry effectively without injuring the product. Manv 
drying systems are employed, some of them curiously elaborate, but we 
have not time here to consider them. 
I called upon a kindly man in New York years ago, whose company 
is, I believe, the largest producer of veneers in the world. They are 
not sellers of the product, but are manufacturers on an immense scale. 
“ Look over that box,” said he, “and tell me what you think of it while 
I finish this letter.” Presently he asked my verdict, and, well knowing 
there must ‘be something beyond what was visible, I said “I don’t 
think anything of it. It is an ordinary box about 2 feet cube, with 
locked corners, a good but common-place system, is of three 8-in. plies: 
and nothing more to be seen.” ‘Oh, indeed,” said he, “you think 
nothing of it! Well, tell me what you think of this,” handing me a 
very rough and damaged head of a barrel, apparently of similar con- 
struction. “ That,’ I replied immediately, “is one of the most wonder- 
_ful things I have ever seen.” “Ah, you hold that to be wonderful 
and you think nothing of the box. What is there wonderful about 
it?” “ You have had it torn to pieces,’ I replied, “and it is of a hard 
wood, yet it parts everywhere but at the joints. You did not succeed 
once in breaking the joints.” It was an experiment in adhesives, not 
animal glue, not casein. . my 
That man’s organization was then making 40,000 barrels a day, 
truly a colossal total, only estimable, perhaps, by those who reflect what 
operations these figures involve. And there were other departments, 
chiefly three-ply containers of various forms. The operations of all 
in the cabinet-making trade who employ similar methods on a great 
or small scale, are puny in comparison. ven the Singer Company 
at South Bend, Indiana, the Grand Rapids furniture people in Michi- 
gan, the Pullman Car Company, or Messrs. Lebus at Tottenham. 
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