Great Falls daily tribune., 1919-05-01

perfected methods by which bits of wood
can be put together so that the whole
IS as strong as an unbroken piece; hav-
ing made wood almost as resistant to
moisture as iron; and having learned
now to season green wood IN Q lew
weeks, the experts OF the United States
forest service are now setting out to do
what seems to the layman the impossi-
ble--that is, to make wood fireproof.
These remarkable studies. In the use
and properties of wood are being carried
out at the forest products laboratory
of the forest service, which is located at
Madison, Wisconsin. and does its WORK IN
conjunction with the University OF Wis
consin. In view Of the work which this
laboratory has done in the past few
years and is now doing, it is not stretch
ing possibilities to predict that within
few years it may be possible to build
wooden house, for less than wooden
houses cost now, which will be at least
as fireproof as q stone house and Will
rival a stone house in lasting qualities
The forest products laboratory has
been at work for many years, but 1t was
the war that brot it opportunity and
fame, and especially war in the air.
Many of the achievements of the labora-
program are now well known. How it
learned to season in from 20 to 40 days
spruce timber which had formerly re-
quired from one to two years for proper
drying: how it learned to coat airplane
propelers with an aluminium leaf finish
so that they are almost as moisture
proof as metal; how it made water
proof glue as strong rs wood itself;
how it solved the gunstock problem;
how it revolutionized the packing meth
DDS used by the auartermaster corps.
and how it saved the emergency fleet
corporation millions. which would other
wise have been paid for patented wood
preservatives, by working out preserFa-
tives better than any of them, are all
more or less matters of history.
It Is not so well known that nearly all
Of the discoveries made by the labora-
tory under the pressure of wartime ne
eessity can be equally well applied to
peace-time purposes, and are now being
developed to that end. The work Of the
laboratory promises to multiply both
the number of things for which wood may
be used, and the amount OF use which
may be gotten out Of given amount Of
wood
The use Of 'laminated" wood. as the
experts call that made by putting to-
gether small pieces, is one OF the most
interesting things worked out at the
laboratory. and one which promises
much in the way Of economy and deyel-
opment in the use of wood. The basis
Of this process Ia q glue which is water
proof, and which, makes it possible to
stick pieces Of wood together SO that the
fabricated timber has as great shearing
strength as piece of clear timber.
This method makes it possible to manu-
faeture walnut gunstocks out of scraps
and bits of wood which would otherwise
perhaps be wasted Heretofore, glued
wood has been used only for inside
work, where changes of temperature
and moisture are slight. From now on,
glued wood can be used In outside con-
struction work, such as houses and
bridges.
The experts say further that this dis
coverv viii make it possible to use much
smaller timbers than have been used
heretofore. 1t will no longer be ueees-
oak timber TO reach saw-log size. This
will make returns from forest lands
much larger and more rapid
This new method of fahricating wood
is also expected to make possible the
use OF what is now considered saw mill
waste. Indeed. it should ultimately al
most abolish the waste of wood. Sound
parts can now be taken out of timber
partly rotten. worm eaten or otherwise
damaged, and combined to make good
lumber.
The work which the laboratory has
done in designing packing boxes and
other containers ia especially interesting
In view of the fact that we are entering
upon an era of foreign trade cornpeti-
ton. It Is estimated that the amount
of loss due TO the poor containers and
poor packing methods Hsed in shipment
averages more than $1o.0o0.0oO annual
". The ultimate consumer pays this lit
tie tar.
The laboratory experts claim TO have
proved by the work they did for the
auartermasters corps that this loss can
be reduced to negligible amount. and
in addition, first cost for containers can
be greatly reduced, and much space on
carriers saved In every case in which
the laboratory designed special con-
tainer for some sort of goods, from 10
to 40 per cent was saved in shipping
gpace and gain in the strength OF the
container made at the same time. The
laboratory now proposes to 20 ahead
and parpare specifications for every