Bisbee daily review., 1908-09-27
SAWDUST IN
THE EYES OF
UNCLE SAM
Government Seeking Informal
ton As to What Use Can Be
Made of Refuse From the
Lumber Mills of Country.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25-Five nun
dred manufacturers OF explosives, pup
wood and similar products, have been
asked hy the National Conservation
commission for information as to all
possible uses of sawdust From this
II VIII be seen the commission Is GO
ing into fine details in its inventory
OF the natural resources OF the coun-
try. Seven thousand lumbermen have
been asked for their opinion as to the
waste of lumber in saw mills, and
more than two thousand fumoer deaf
ers and cooperage, veneer, furniture,
box, vehicle and implement manufac-
turers have been asked to point our
striking features of waste in their
respective lines. Yet all this is only
one part CT the general scheme of
hunting down waste which the com
mission is following in making its in
ventory. 1t is going after the little
wastes here and there, which, added
together, and put into dollars ana
cents, make an astonishing total.
For instance, take the making of
veneer At FIRST brush il may not
seem worthy of consideration with
the manufacture OF otner products
mentioned. Yet, the scarcity of the
more attractive finishing woods in the
last few years has led to the annual
production of over 1,100, 100000 square
feet of veneer. This, of course, has
been made possible only by the intro
duction of new veneer making machin-
cry.
The use of veneer is generally re
garded as exemplifying the scarcity
of the finer woods and typifying the
IN f1ralE
of woods, yet, from one OF the SEIZED
ules of the National Conservation com
mission il is evident that the commits
sion expects to discover great waste
even in veneer manufacture.
Though the word veneer carries
many meanings, from a glaze applied
to pottery to the polish" of man
of the world, it is most commonly en-
pioyed as the name for the thin slices
of wood now extensively used in the
manufacture of all Sorts or articles
of use, such as wood plates, baskets,
and the exterior fin1sn OF furniture
and wood work. The manufacture OF
veneer in the last few years has adj
vaneed by leaps and bounds.
The best veneer is sawed, but a
great deal is sliced and still more is
rotary cut" By the -last named pro-
cess logs of the desired wood are
steamed until they are soft and then
fixed in lathe-like machine, in which
they are turned against wood knife
As the log rotates against the knife,
veneer of the desired thickness is
peeled off in continuous slice, as
as If you should pare an apple, going
deeper and deeper at eacn complete
turn. until nothing is lerr put the core.
The center of the log left after the We
neer is cut is also called a core"
The woods principally used for max
ing veneer are red gum, maple, and !
yellow poplar which together yield
more than half of the total produut. |
Red gum is largely used for baskets I
and maple for furniture More vaIua-
Bile than these, however, are white |
oak and walnut veneer. Beech, which
can be cut very thin, is used very
largely for wooden plates. A number /
of other kinds of woods are used.
A good deal of waste occurs in the
manufacture of veneer. It is always 1
a problem, for instance, what use 10 |
make of the cores left by the rotary /
process. In many cases these are used |
for pulp wood, pillars, or panel head /
ings, and are largely used also for /
fuel, excelsior, crates, boxes ana |
baskets.
In the schedule of inquiries which !
the National Conservation commission |
through the forest service is sending I
out. several questions are aimed to Sc I
cure information as 70 the amount of I
waste in veneer manufacture and the
possibilities of finding ways to utilize
it.