The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-05-18
A NEW DRYING PLANT
Process for Disposing Of Pitch
in Fir Timber.
AN EXCELLENT FINISHING WOOD
y. r. 20 Build Freight Cars for Eastern
Roads-Cargo and Rail ship
menfs OF Lumber.
AN EXCELLENT FINISHING wool

All architects Specifications on woods
for finishing now call for steamed lumber.
The reason for this is not far to seek.
While stsaming does not remove pitch
from lumber. IL erystaiiizes II 30 that
heat Of at least 30 degrees must be
brought 70 bear on 1t before IL viii melt.
The great objection 10 Washington fir as
sling has been the abundance Of pitch
contained In the wood. Eastern houses
finished with unsteamed FIR have been
failures. When one summer season with
It's not sun, had been passed through. the
house would present a bad appearance
The pitch having been drawn out would
collect dust and sand and discolor the
paint The same objection hokis true In
car making. AT present there Is but IT.
tie Washington fir used IN the finishing
OF cars. The call from the Kansas CITY
district for car siding has ALWAYS been
for cedar and spruce.
A steaming ard driving plant that will
dispose OF 2ia9 feet of lumber in from
sixty to seventy hours has been added 30
the Kerry mill. There are three houses or
compartments Of the same height and
width. built closely together. Through
these compartments tracks are laid on a
slightly down grade IN such a manner that
a truck started from the upper end runs
through the three buildings. Each of the
divisions of the plant Is built like box.
The ends form a sliding door. fitted with
counter weights TO facilitate their rails
ing and lowering. The first compartment
Is the steam box and is ~ feet long. Il feet
high and 81 feet wide. 1t can accommo-
date two trucks. holding 12.o9e feet of lum-
Der each. The loaded trucks are run in
the box. the doors dropned. making the
Interior air tight and the steam Is turned
on The pressure is about 10 pounds.
which gives a steam heat OF 2E degrees.
The lumber is left inside for twentv-four
hours and the action of the heat causes
the pitch on the surface to run on. while
that in the center Is crystaliized.
At the expiration of the twentv-four
hours the sliding doors are opened and the
trucks rolled into the next building. which
is the condensing room. This compart-
ment is Is feet long and is fitted with
1860 feet of Pinch pipe. running In coils
on each side of the walls All the water
for the boilers of the mill passes through
these pipes in the dry kiln Being cold.
the damp air from the humber gathers IN
drops of moisture on the nipes and Is car
ried off In a trough from the building.
This room holds about loo feet of lumber
and by this process a stream OF water
more than a half inch in diameter is
drawn off every twenty-four hours
The lumber then passes to the dry room.
which Is kept at temperature of 30 de-
grees of dry heat and after coming from
there Is ready for the market After be-
ing steamed the lumber is softer and
more easily worked. is lighter and not so
easily split by the effect of the atmos-
phere. Some samples have been sent for
from Australia. and ii is hoped Washing
ton fir will soon supersede the steamed
Baltic pine now In use there. The mill
will also have a gridiror and slip with
cable running from the scows unloading
at the slip to the dryhouse. The contract
for the. Eastern SHIPMENTS of siding OF
the Port Biakelev Mil company has been
secured.
Adjoining the mill. a 2-story building
for new planning mill 3 being erected
1t is les feet wide and I'D feet long and
when finished will be the largest blaming
mill on the coast under one cover. The
lower floor will be taken IN with planes.
resaws and the other necessary equip
ments of a planning mill and box factory.
The second story will be for storage and
mailing up rooms for boxes