50 Miscellaneous Circular 39, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture
thought. We save all lumber down to in the curing, or in the remanufac-
dimension a foot long, an inch thick, ture; and these are therefore subjects
and 3 inches wide, some of this by the for the general public's welfare.
use of special machinery. Speaking as one manufacturer, I feel
Our aim everywhere is the elimina- I am voicing the sentiments of all,
tion of the burner. We have reached that they are keenly alert to these
that point at our mills at Park Falls, changed conditions, wishing to take
Rice Lake, and Virginia, but only every advantage possible, not alone for
through the sale of firewood at Rice the public’s welfare but for their own
Lake and of fuel to a paper mill at direct welfare, in the manufacturing
Park Falls and to a public utilities and marketing of their product. They
company at Virginia. The burners welcome study by the Government
stand because they are occasionally looking forward to any thoughts that
needed, but their use is rare. Our will be likewise mutually beneficial to
aim now along this particular line at the public and to themselves. The
all four of our operations, Park Falls, Government, in institutions like the
Rice Lake, Virginia, and the two mills Wisconsin laboratory, can better ex-
in the South, is to utilize as small periment than any individual manufac-
dimension the good lumber that goes turer. The manufacturers interests are
into firewood, fuel wood, and into the with the public in encouraging liberal
burner, and I have given you a frank legislation and expenditures to such
statement of the extent to which we institutions, feeling that the compara-
have progressed toward that most de- tive expenditures will be but a small
sirable end. amount temporarily lent them, to be
The conservation of anything means, returned ten-fold in knowledge that the
in broad terms, a saving, whether in manufacturers, individually, can utilize
the manufacture of logs into lumber. for their own and the public’s interest.
. DIMENSION STOCK FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE CONSUMER
By R. E. BROWN
Fisher Body Corporation
The use of dimension stock is not ber. The dimension proposition as it
new to the manufacturer of wagons, affects the automobile body work is
furniture, and many other articles, but already being applied more or less,
as applied to the automobile indus- undoubtedly, with different degrees of
try it is of more recent date. How- success. If such material as slabs and
ever, a great many So-called new edgings are to be dimensioned this
ideas are only a later and more im- process must take place while the
proved application of an old custom. stock is green. If a plant producing
Most of the woodworking plants are dimension stock from the balance of
producing dimension stock when they a log cuts their logs in a different
cut up the lumber in the course of the manner than the usual practice, they
fabrication of their product; and most can undoubtedly obtain a greater utili-
plants, if they are using good practice, zation of the entire footage of the log.
are attempting in every way to reduce But do not be misled by the concep-
the actual waste in their plant to a tion that an automobile body is made
minimum. However, it is rather sur- up of a group of little pieces such as
prising what a variance of waste can can be gotten out of slabs and edg-
occur in different places using the ings, and while furniture dimension
same class of material; and the man stock is in smaller sizes, body work
on the job seems to control this to a requires quite a number of pieces of a
large degree, by an analysis of what good size, such as side sills up to 10
he has to work with and what he is inches wide and 96 inches long, side
required to get out of it. roof rails up to 9 inches wide and 103
‘So, granting that the present meth- inches long, rear belt rails up to 615
ods are good and that we are obtain- inches wide and 55 inches long, front
ing all that is possible from the lum- and rear roof rails up to 5 inches wide
ber which we receive, there is one fur- and 61 inches long, body pillage to 9
ther step in the direction of better inches wide and 54 inches long, door
utlization in the form of obtaining pillars to 6 inches wide and 51 inches
dimension stock cut either from green, long. These are the extreme widths
air-dried, or kiln-dried material, and lengths, while the smallest sizes
whether it be slabs, edgings, or lum- of these items would probably run 50