The National tribune., 1908-09-24
CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES.
The Forestry Bureau Investigating tn
VASE a. the Lumber MilIs-Grcat U.s.
of Vcneeriug

The Fcrestry Bureau Investigating the
Wrs,a a .he Lumber MilIs-Grcat Use
of VcneerinE.
Five hundred manufacturers of ex-
plosives, pulp wood and similar prod
uctS have been asked by the National
Conservation Commission for informa-
ton as TO all possible uses of sawdust.
From this it will be seen the Commits
sion is going into fine details in its in
ventory of the natural resources of the
country. Seven thousand lumbermen
have been asked for their opinion as
to the waste of lumber in saw mills,
and more than 1000 lumber dealers
and cooperaGe, veneer, furniture, box,
vehicle and implement manufacturers
have been asked to point out striking
features of waste in their respective
lines. Yet all this is only one part of
the general scheme OF hunting down
waste which the Commission is follow
ing in making its inventory. 1t is going
after the little wastes here and there,
which. added together, and put into
dollars and cents, make an astonishing
total.
For instance, take the making of
veneer. At first blush it may not seem
worthy of consideration with the man
ufacture of other products mentioned
Yet the scarcity of the more attractive
has led to the annual production of
over /, 100, 100000 square feet of veneer.
This, of course, has been made possible
only by the Introduction of new veneer
making machinery.
The use of veneer is generally re-
garded as exemplifying the scarcity of
the finer woods and typifying the COM
plete utilization of various kinds of
woods yet. from one of the schedules
nj no Maj mi
sion, it is evident that the Commission
expects to discover great waste even in
veneer manufacture.
Tho the word veneer carries many
meanings, from glaze applied to pot
terry to the polish of a man of the
world, it is most commonly employed
as the name for the thin slices of wood
now extensively used in the manufac-
ture OF all sorts of articles of use. such
as wood plates, baskets and the exterior
finish of furniture and woodwork. The
manufacture of veneer in the last few
years has advanced 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 process logs
of the desired wood are steamed until
they are soft and then fixed in a lathe
like machine. in which they are turned
against wood knife. AS the log ro-
tates against the knife veneer of the
desired thickness is peeled off in a
continuous slice, as if you should pare
an apple. going deeper and deeper at
each complete turn. until nothing is
left but the core. The center of the
log left after the veneer is cut is also
called core"
The woods principally used for MAX
ing veneer are red gum. p1aDle and
yellow poplar which together yield
more Than half of tho total product |
Red gum is largely used for baskets
and maple for furniture. Mere valuable
than these. however. are white oak and
walnut veneer. Beech. which can be |
cut very thin. is used very largely for
wooden plates. 4 number of other
kinds of woods are used
4 good deal of waste occurs in the
of veneer IT is always a |
problem. for instance. what use to |
make of the cores left bv the rotary
process. In nnapv Eases these are used
for pulp wood. pillars or panel head
ngs. and they are largely used also for y
Tuel, excelsior, crates, boxes and bask-
atS
In the schedule of inquiries which the
National Conservation Commission
-hru the Forest Service. is sending out
several questions ere aimed to secure
as to the amount of waste
N veneer manufacture and the posi-
,ilities of finding ways to utilize It.