The Arizona sentinel., 1889-02-23
WELL-SEASONED TIMBER.
How Wood Is Dried In the Large FurnI
ture Factories of the East.

How Wood Is Dried In the Large Furni-
ture Factories of the East.
cit is mighty hard work to buy thor
oughly dried lumber nowadays" said
a furniture manufacturer, ''because the
great demand for it in the East for
building and manufacturing purposes
leads the Western lumbermen to ship
it before it has been thoroughly sea-
soned. A few years ago it was custom
ary to take the wood from the saw
and pile it up outdoors, where it would
remain from eighteen months to two
years before it was considered fit for
shipping. Now, six months is consid-
cred long enough, and in consequence
we receive very little wood dry enough
to be worked to advantage"
"How then do you manage to get
alOng?" was asked.
eve have dry-rooms or kilns, in
which we place the wood and season it
ourselves. We buy the best-seas0ned
timber we can get, and then shut it up
for from one to three weeks until it is
in fit condition for use.
''How can you tell when it is?"
''In several ways. We notice how il
cuts, and examine the saw-dust and
shavings. Even then we are often de-
ceived, and discover warps and cracks
in our manufactured product before it
leaves the salesrooms. You yourself
have probably noticed cracks in the
fine bedsteads of even the best makers,
or have seen the top of nice hard
wood desk split from side to side. All
this comes from the use of unseasOned
lumber. 1t makes up neatly, and may
seem to be perfectly dry, but when ex-
posed to the changes of the atmos-
phere, the moisture in the pores of the
wood evaporates, shrinkage ensues,
and something gives. 1 was much
mortified the other day, and at the
same time lost a good customer, by
just this very thing happening. An
order had been received from a wealthy
woman in New Haven for finely
carved cabinet. Unfortunately, was
called out of town before l had fin
ished selecting the wood for it and had
to leave some of the selecting to an
assistant. The cabinet was finished,
and was an exquisite bit of workman
ship. In three weeks after delivery it
was sent back to me, and right across
one of the finest panels there was a
crack that you could put a pin into.
That customer has never been near the
store since, and yet l venture to say
that the same thing is liable to occur
at any time in any establishment" ;"
"How do you dry timber artificial
ly?"
There are nG11ber Of ways.
Naturally, heat is the fundamental
principle in all. The kilns are of all
sizes and shapes. Some are heated by
furnaces, some by steam-pipes, and
some by hot air sent from distance
by fans In some a vacuum is created,
in others compressed air is used The
great point, l think, is to get good
circulation all about the lumber. One
method is used by which large vol
ume of hot air is sent into the kiln at
one end and exhausted at the other.
Every minute or two the air in the
kiln is thus changed and the moisture
from the wood passed off. There is an
arrangement by which any degree of
heat can be produced, and different
kinds of wood are treated differently.
This process dries green lumber in
seven or eight days. 1t would take
one or two years of exposure to dry
the Same wood in the omen air. ;"