Cheyenne record., 1918-07-18

wooden freighters each of 4,7OO tons deadweght
capacity.
A year ago we had in this country only a hand
full of qualified shipwrights. and the yards en-
gagged In the building of wooden vessels were few
and far between. of modest equipment and any.
thing but up to date compared with their steel
competitors. How, then, has 1t been possible to
undertake SO imposing program and to prom
ise deliveries within periods unprecedentedy
brief? The story is one to make every American
feel proud for 1t is record of Yankee ingenu-
ity and native adaptability at their best.
1t was plain to the men concerned In direct
ing the Emergency Fleet corporation that 1t
would be quite out Of the question to recruit
shpwrights or to train new men In the art with
In the time available. The shipwright In his nm
ished form is the evolution of long years Of prac
teal application and this means acquired cum
ming In the use Of very few hand tools.
Just the same we are launching timber yes
sells after very short building periods and these
undenable results are the consequence Of skill
fully directed efforts following new lines. The
Emergency Fleet corporation first set about
recruiting labor from wide range Of wood work
ing trades. and they showed how these men could
be employed. by reason Of already existing me-
chanical aids and others developing. to do virtu-
ally what had previously been done only BY the
expert ship carpenter. d
We are turning out by the new method ocean
going timber cargo carriers to which the under
writer's do not hesitate to give Al rating. This
achievement Is the outcome Of studied effort to
cut out lost motion all the way from the forest
to the building plant and thence upon the finished
product. t 49,, -fee
Where the shipwright used to hew and cut and
patiently carve the various curiously formed
structural units out Of relatively raw material,
his less expert brothers, the house carpenter, the
Joiner, the wooden bridge builder and the like
now accomplish astonishing things through the
agency Of the sawmin. The sawmin in fact rep
rdbents today to the wooden ship what the steel
mill stands for in the case Of the fabricated
freighter. 2sssE1 sss
BY means Of planners that can be set at any
angle and saws that will operate when tilted to
different degrees 1t Is possible for the present
day substitutes of the master wood worker, the
shipwright to shape and to bevel pieces Of all
sizes and thicknesses and, besides, to do this In
{ a few minutes, where the ship carpenter 10
Quired probably many hours. IIsgii
The pneumatic drill commonly used In struc.
tural steel work has been modified SO that II
will answer for the boring Of holes In the tim
bers Of wooden ship; pneumatic hammers,
adaptations Of steel riveters, are driving the
bolts, treenails, plugs ETC.. that bind timber
craft together; and portable planners and kindred
air or electrically operated tools finish on sur
other tools Of the shipwright are wellnigh dis
pensed with. Further, these portable power
driven aids are doing their work at speed ut
terly unattainable BY the traditional ship car
penter and his fell0wA is, aasifSf lssf i.s tE i
f5 Az yet the concrete ship IL too much Of 4 nov
city for predictions to be made to the ultimate
maximum Of practicable tonnage, nor are
yet sure that the big concrete freishter Of 4.00o
tons and more b going to prove enduring and
economical However, concrete craft OF mors
modest proportions have saheady established
their durability, their technical cotTectness and
the feasibility Of eonstIuct1ng diem rapidly
The Emergency Flest corpOratiens bearing thsss
s fasts IN mind !. selns 1snt ahesa e ssppss
e4esuraUanB ths building a sons esos1s q fsaghA
ers and other oranolitA1e boatA