The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-04-15
COSTLY cABrxEr wooDA
nos q rerssaa Tree II oheses - Tits
~ Ttssus Papsr.

-
~ Tissss Psssr.
.rho demand for fine woods" said ono Of
.ouhers OF a we'll known Centre street
Ann lis increasing every year. The nnest
ls' .os,cst is French walnut. which. by tho
sna "a not French at all. but is product Of
.",,ol countries. 1t grows In Persia. Circas-
md Asia Minor. You have seen 1t In
..,irp mon costly furniture. but you prob
s,S nave no notion how expensive II Ia. nor
~ careful W. are to prevent waste In its use.
into our workrooms and will let you see
F.. !, in nroccss Of cutting"
N. lad tho way into some extensive rooms
-h.ro pondcrous machinery was revolving and
Nav chains rafting. In one room steam rose
rom cracks in the hoor.
n,wn there" said tho gentleman. Is pit
hare ", lay large and valuable logs and sub
;.o, them t. the action OF steam until they be-
Some almost ~ soft as butter. Then we take
sScm out fnstcn them to nm iron beam here lie
IA The way INTO another roomI ana this beam
rSyolycs around finely tempered knife. OF the
sam, length rs the log
with rnch revolution v strip ~ wood WAS
.,w". ,.d oiy smoothly. and laid in piles upon the
ssn"r like Ak ms Of leather or sheets OF paper.
n's'fI ,ery time this beam turns around IL
moves a fraction OF an men nearer 70 tho
hhn,,e The whole apparatus works with ex-
t,.me precision. No printing press or weRv-
hnhite thnt shavcs of tho sheets Of wood is
rr,,dly immrvabie. and ground to q razor.like
eJse. Tho heavy beam that revolyes with its
sr.ee aI ", tks ciockwork. The slightest
trsmor in the beam or knife would break and
twist the thin sheets that you see turned on
hsrs u i'm the regularity md perfection OF news
,.n.,r- turned out by the printing press. These
ssSas,. mr., about l-i2O of nm inch in thickness
bu, frequently wc shave OIL veneers As thin AZ
~ a, lifted a corner OF one OF the long sheets.
.nd il seen"d to be abont the thickness of
ordinary writing paper. The wood was warm
any Is Only in this condition that this shaving
is Fos sps easily s through HIN IT, WERE ths
yood cold aud narh. the process, would bo i'm
nossible Even If the knife could do the work,
the sheets would be too brittle. and would
crumhIe into small fragments"
For what purpose are these extremely thin
sheets used T. - .,.
rue. somewhat thicker than these thar We are
now turning OH The thinnest veneers are
me the nHest tissue paper. and must be backed
with ordinary paper attached with paste. to
prevent the glue by which they are fastened to
The body OF the frames from showing through.
Thess yeneers are also used to large extent
in the same way that wall paper Ia used-.for
covering the walls OF rooms nss Besides t this
they are put. A short time ago somebody con-
ccved the idea OF having business cards
printed upon them. thinking that the novelty
Of the material would cause people to preserve
the cards, . ....u,
DO saw l0ES INTO SuCn SneetS p
Sometimes. but rarely. with the more eX-
pensiye woods. Saving involves good deal OF
waste For the cheaper woods II is sometimes
through tho steaming process when we use the
saw but there Is Il great difference Ia the num-
Der OF sheets that are turned out in that way.
The most that we can get by saving Is twenty
five to the inch"
What is the value Of the French walnut ?''
fsrs for ss &c sar
sold for $1,000! and its weight did not exceed
1900 pounds" .,,
This is a trade expression. and means the
large and tough knots or excrescenees like
warts that grow upon the trunk OF the tree
dwaried in its growth. that grows. as l have
stated in Asiastc countries. Its value is con-
i a,t bumps that grow upon i. The trunk
Itself is Of little or no value. You have often
potIce.d the singular grain that Fronsh walnut
tissues Seem seem to be twisted into the most sin.
guar and complicated figures Tho intricacy
Try. is one OF the elements that determines the
value OF the French walnut burl Color anC
sopndness are other elements OF value"
does in the French whinutT
ss are ss % the sq4 ensh %an ess
il The iTanh ,% e The tree that is prssd. the knot
~, How do other weeds 90 compare in value with
tn. S TO pnh
French walnut. Not long ago saw some tina
se s .O sy ss POUND Nigh. Ss psia i eSan
the main thing Is size. 1t ID dlfficult to &c
ags tnpt can s vse are awmvs a.
mand The best mahogany is that Of Sa
Domingo: Next come the ,I mahoES H Of Cubs
less difference in value between different ma
hoganies. and rosewoods than between differ
viii IN for 5 and
cents Dor. pound. French walnut can occa
slonally. II poor, be bought rs low as tire
sell Tor hundreds OF dollars. Burls worth frol
$500 to $1,000 each arc not rare. ! recent
SS E oys m sns ts s S.rI ss
value is often greatly iesseped by The e1istens
oo Ss rss" o decay Se or
These hollow places are Allied up by frauduler
dealers with substance, that Is made to re
sell the burls as sound. Manure, con
pressed to the requisite degree Of hardness.
thu Is to wheh
times resort, of placing stones In the hollow
to increase the weight, for the burls. as ha,
fraud j. liable to cause serious damage to tn
valuable, knives that are used In cutting th
much in th.mp'
Yes, to some extent: but for choice cabin'
work the foreign woods are. OF course. moi
highly priced. Burs in ash and maple al
plentiful aud cheap. sell ng for two to fol
cents n pound. Black walnut burls cOmman
nhighcr price-ten to twelve cents pound
but they ara getting scarce. Yes. the deman
Tor choice cahnc woods Is constantly increl
Ing. In the houses that the wealthy are no
putting up the fine wood work constitutes
large item in tho expenditure. Look at the.
ysneers for table covers These handsome d.
signs AMI this artistic ornamentation are q
s mosaic ,w"rK made, by piecing toSSe seth
ent colors, or inserting them In IL
poly of the large sheet that constitute
The background. To one not acquainted vii
ms work 1t would look like q drawing
Wood; but turn the sheet over and you see Il
lines run through. Yon can get these venee
Tor 1n- tables al almost any cost. You can x
one as low rs $25. and you can have desigl
pnt together at as high price as you may ca
The United States ?"
+, The number is very small but the buslne
mlarIe and the competition keen. Ono OF O.
nrm makes frequent trips to Central Ameri
chd elsewhere T., look for rare specimens
cabinet wood. These trips have their attra
Mons, bnt they are not infreQuently accoI
oahIed b. hardships and danger"