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Figure 8.-Tractors are commonly employed for logging in the hardwood region.

or other woods valuable for cabinet work and veneers, and ash or hickory suitable for handles. Many such logs of proper size and quality are sorted in the forest or at the sawmills and resold to certain industries utilizing material in log or bolt form. Walnut stumps and burls, for example, are carefully sorted for the veneer mills. But by far the greater number of logs are destined for the sawmill itself. Here the head sawyer has an impressive responsibility. Each and every log must be opened up to produce the qualities and sizes most suitable for the numerous industries for which they are destined. Good-quality white-oak logs are usually quarter-sawed into flitches for the veneer mills. Hard maple will be cut to the proper thickness for the furniture plants and for hundreds of other products, from musical instruments to gymnasium equipment. The gum, the bass

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Figure 9.-The "makings" of a modern chair. Hardwood lumber is highly prized for this type of furniture.

wood, the yellow poplar, the cottonwood, the alder, etc., each must be cut with a knowledge of its uses.

Since the early days of the small sawmill the lumber industry has developed new and improved machinery and equipment, which have contributed to speed and accuracy, so that American hardwood lumber has achieved world-wide reputation for its quality of manufacture.

As the sawn lumber leaves the mill it is carefully graded by experts in accordance with the standard grading rules of the National Hardwood Lumber Association. The grading of hardwood lumber is primarily from the standpoint of clear face or sound cuttings which may be made from each board. The next important step is proper, intelligent piling for air-seasoning. American walnut is usually steamed before seasoning in order to give an even walnut color throughout the wood. Many hardwood mills have large covered sheds where the better grades of lumber are placed for seasoning. Gum, maple, yellow poplar, and magnolia are often end-racked. Presentday seasoning practices are the result of years of experience and research. Hardwood lumber is air-seasoned from a few months to over

4 See further detailed discussion on grades, beginning on p. 62.

a year, depending upon the thickness of the stock and other conditions. In this respect alone the hardwood mills perform a valuable service to American consuming industries by keeping available at all times suitable stocks of air-dried lumber. Many hardwood mills maintain dry kilns where the lumber may be dried to a specific moisture content to meet the particular specifications of a purchaser.

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Figure 10.-Small dimension stock.

Clear, cut to size, dimension lumber represents an efficient step in utilizing what would otherwise be waste-saving freight and remanufacture for the fabricator.

A number of the larger hardwood lumber sawmill companies have expanded their operations to a remarkable degree of efficiency and utilization-even in some cases to the extent of producing chemical by-products. Some mills maintain their own wood-working plants where such products as moldings, flooring, sash and doors, and interior trim are manufactured. Most outstanding from the point of view of economical utilization is the production of many items from shortlength lumber and slabs. Much of this material is cut into what is commonly referred to as "hardwood small dimension." 5 such as chair

See further reference to hardwood small-dimension stock on p. 61. 58556-38- -2

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Figure 11.-Sorting chains at a typical hardwood mill. Here the lumber is scientifically

inspected for grade.

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Figure 12.-Several million feet of well-piled hardwood lumber, seasoning while awaiting shipment to domestic and foreign consumers.

stock, vehicle-body parts, turning squares, etc. Consuming industries not well acquainted with this subject might profitably investigate this source of high-grade materials available in sizes that are possible for fabrication with minimum waste.

NEW INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

The hardwood industry has been especially active in manufacturing products to meet changing conditions. The modern trend in construction is to utilize the advantages of wood paneling. Hardly a modern home is being built today which does not have one or two rooms paneled in wood, and entire houses in which the walls of all rooms have been constructed of wood panels are not unusual. These modern homes are known as "dry-built houses" because no wet wall surfaces have been used in their construction. Fortunately new developments within the lumber industry have made it practical to secure wood paneling for even low-cost housing. The industry is able to meet the demands of architects for durable and beautiful moderate-cost panels.

In the past a great deal of attention has been given to foreign woods for paneling and interior trim-it being a generally accepted belief that it was necessary to confine the choice to rare and expensive woods to attain unusual effects. Naturally the practice of using only expensive domestic and foreign woods limited the use of wood paneling to a small number of expensive homes. But with over 100 commercial species of American hardwoods available, most of them at a very low cost, the modern architect has an unlimited field from which to choose. Many of the domestic hardwoods have been so little used for room paneling that their appearance in a home will be unusual and more unique than foreign cabinet woods. As an illustration of this, rooms can be economically paneled with plain, figured, or knotty hardwoods of many domestic species. Beautiful combinations can be made with steamed and unsteamed quartered sycamore. Plain or ribbon striped red-gum panels permit. architectural designs of startling loveliness and economy. Magnolia, pecan, beech, ash, elm, and many other species have been little used for panels, yet they offer the architect unlimited opportunity. Sap gum, yellow poplar, birch, and other hardwoods may be used for lovely paint finishes, either in combination with natural wood finishes or for entire rooms of painted wood.

Practically all of the domestic hardwoods are available in random length and width boards for colonial-type interiors or in veneered panels of large size for formal decorative effects.

Another development in uses for hardwood has been made possible through the use of metal timber connectors and scientific structural grades. Metal timber connectors are appliances devised as replacement for the usual type of fasteners. The older methods relied upon for joining timbers permitted the structure to be only as strong as the joint. Under such circumstances all members were overdesigned in order to increase the area of the joints. With the new metal connectors a timber joint can usually be made which is capable of devel

Information pertaining to timber connectors for hardwood may be obtained from the Timber Engineering Co., 1337 Connecticut Ave., Washington, D. C.

Standard Specifications for Hardwood Structural Stress Grades may be obtained from the National Hardwood Lumber Association, 2408 Buckingham Bldg., Chicago, Ill.

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