The National tribune., 1905-11-16
VENEER CUTTER.

| EN- EEH
forced economy--which is alike his
| recompense, affording him, in forestry,
| a healthful science for his brain and q
wholesome labor for his body.
| Veneers are manufactured In two
ways by saving and by cutting with
| knives. Sawed veneers are so expen-
sive. however, that the demand for
them is small. Nearly the thickness of
| the veneer liz lost in sawkerf and, on an
average, a saw can make only five cuts
| before refiling is necessary. an opera
ton requiring two and half hours.
| Where the wood is very gritty only one
cut can be made before refiling the saw.
Pitches often remain on the saw three
| weeks before all sawn up. The only
| advantage of the sawed veneer is that
| longer stock can be used in the saving
| machine than in the slicing machine.
1t is the knife-cut veneer, however,
| that has brought the industry to it's
present enormous proportions. This
| method of manufacture is SO practical
and SO economical that the demand for
| the product is greatly in excess of the
supply. Furniture manufacturers use
| millions Of feet of fine veneers every
| month; car builders use fancy veneers
for ceiling and finishing; banks, offices,
hotels, stores, churches, public build
| ings and homes use this finish, and be-
| side these finer uses there are the
basket, DOx ana package DuSlHeSS
and the veneer barrel manufacture, all
| large consumers. single veneer cut
| ting machine of one make on the mark
ct will cut the material for 10000 bar
rel slaves in 10 hours, and still the de-
mand exceeds the supply. Any kind
of lumber viii make good cut veneers,
| even crooked logs not worth saving,
and all our native timbers can be
| worked in any thickness up to the prac-
| teal limit of about half inch.
In preparing log or fitch for cut
| ting, it is first sawed up in lengths suit
\ able for the machine to handle, it's
surfaces freed of bark, and it is then
either steamedfor boiled in vat. Logs
| can be cut cold, but better results are
4 obtained by heating which softenS the
| wood. renders 1t flexible, drives out the
| sap SO that less time is required for
| drying, and oyercumes any disposition
| to check or split Boiling is prefera-
bic to steaming, as the heating Is even
| er throughout and the logs remain in
cutting condition for several hours,
whereas after steaming they must be
cut Immediately. for, once cool, they
become brasfl4 and hard and can never
be put in good cutting condition again
From the boiling vat the log is carried
to the veneer cutter by a log trolley,
consisting of an I-beam track provided
with a carriage and chain hand hoist
| for raising and lowering the log.
| The rotary cutting machine has an
A-frame, giving 1t a broad base: the
| log is held in the machine by logging
| spindles, operated either by hand or
power. The knife is attached to head
block and is firmly ciamped between
heavy castings, which cover both its
sides up to the necessary clearance
| from log and stock. It's pitch can be
changed instantly to suit the wood be-
| ing cut by merely shifting lever. This
| Is very important, as timber varies in
| it's characteristics as to grain. struc-
ture, hardness, density, etc, SO that no
| rule can be made for setting the knife.
Practical machines up to 10 feet in
| length are built along these lines.
Veneers cut from figured woods, such
as mahogany, walnut, ash, curly birch,
cedar and quartered oak bring the high
est prices. For cutting these fine woods
hthe machine Is furnished with a stay
log device, consisting Of an arm or Off
set chuck for each spindle connected by
a heavy cast iron bar incapable of
| spring under any knife pressure, with
| ee-quarter inch holes drilled in its
| face at intervals Of every three inches,
| to which the fitch is securely bolted by
| special log screws. Suppose quartered
| oak is to be cut. The log is first sawed
into quarters and then small piece
| is cut from each outer corner of each
| quarter to- accommodate the chucks of
| the stay-log attachment. Then along
| the side of the fitch five-eighths-inch
holes to correspond with the holes in
the stay-log are bored. The fitch is
| then bolted to the stay-log and the ma
chine is ready to set in motion. Each
revolution brings the face of the fitch
in contact with the knife, cutting any
desired thickness and producing the
proper quartered effect. ANY length Of
knife up to 1870 inches may be used in
such II machine, while the weight of
| - 900 pounds.
The veneer comes from the veneer
machine in continuous sheets, and it's
! quality and purpose determine it's flu
lure treatment. Usually it is divided
> to widths by one of the several types
81 veneer clippers From the clipping
iachine the neat piles Of material are
',aEeyed to the drier. For soft wood
rneers. usually a mechanical wringer
provided which extracts from % to
- per cent of moisture from the stock,
ducing the costoSf drying.
The modern drying machine consists
81 n series of IRON rollers incased I'm an
in on box of the length and breadth re-
CURED for thee stock. The iron rolls
are geared to and driven by a shaft
running the fuH 1enEth OF the box The
shaft is driventdby an Independent en-
| CINE. A hot-bast) fan driven by an
| engine is used in connection The
veneer rs fed in at one end of the Glrier
| by boy and comes out at the other
dry. fiat. free oof8ehecks, wrinkles or
splits and with ffts surface partially
polished, and istHen ready to ship. The
drier can be instantly adjusted to dry
any kind or thickness of veneer and
| two boys can handle it. Poplar yeneers
| oEe-thirtieth of eahi inch thick can be
dried perfectly In DO minutes.
With this pepfeSasd process of manu-
facturc and the growing scarcity Of
lumber, the veneer industry is bec0m-
ing So profitable that many sawmill
owners all over the country are adding
veneer cutting department, realizing
that. while there will always be the
natural demand for sawed lumber the
uses for thin lumber are daily increas-