The Arvada enterprise., 1918-07-18

wooden freighters each Of AGO tons lightweight
capacity.
year ago We had In this country only n hand.
ful 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 It been possible to
undertake so imposing a program and to prom
ise deliveries within periods unprecedentedly
br1eff The story Is one to make every American
feel proud. for It 10 a 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 It
would be quite out Of the question to recruit
In the time available. The shipwright In his nm.
ished form 10 the evolution Of long years Of prac-
teal application, and this means an acquired Gun.
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
undeniable 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.
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 10
cut out lost motion all the way from the forest
to the building plant and thence upon the finished
product.
Where the shipwriRht used to hew and cut and
patiently carve the various curiously formed
structural units out Of relatively raw tnnterisi,
his less expert brothers. the house carpenter the
Joiner. the wooden bridge builder and the like
now accomplish astonishing things through tho
agency Of the sawmill. The snwnill IN fact rem.
rcSents today to the wooden ship what the steel
mill stands for In the Of the fabricated
freighter.
BY means Of panerx that can be vet nj any
angle and saws that will operate when tilted to
different degrees, II II possible for the present
day substitutes Of the muster wood worker. tho
shipwrght. to shape and 10 bcve pieces Of all
sizes and thicknesseS and besides TO do this In
few minutes. where the ship carpenter ~.
CURED probably ns many hours.
The pneumatic drill commonly used In struc.
tura' steel work has been modified No that Il
will answer for the boring Of holes IN the tim.
hers Of wooden ship; pneumatic hammers,
adaptations Of steel rveters nre driving the
bolts. treennils. plugs etc. Tint bind II timber
crnft together; and portable plnncrs nnd kindred
mir or electrically operated tools finish on sur.
faces md smooth joints NJ TIM, tho ndxe and tho
other tools Of the shipwright are wcilnigh dis.
pensed with. Further. these portable power
driven aids are doing their work mt N speed ut.
'crly unnttnihnblc by the traditional ship car.
penter and his fellows
A. yet the concrete ship is too much of n nov.
city for predictions 10 bs made I'M TO the ultimate
maximum of practicable tonnage. nor nrc we
yet sure that the big concrete frcIghtcr o! 400
tons and more In going 70 prove enduring md
economical. However. concrete craft ~ fpons
modest proportions have Aircndy established
their durability. their technical correctness and
the feasibility Of constructing them rnp,diy.
The Emergency Fleet corporation. herring these
facts In mind. In going right shcnd to supple