Rack and pinion

“ The one property in all timber to be specially guarded against is its tendency to warp, bend, expand, and contract, according to the amount of humidity in the atmosphere. Under ordinary conditions, we shall be right in supposing a moisture to be constantly given off from all the exposed surfaces of timber; therefore planks stored in the shop should be placed in a rack so contrived that they do not touch one another, so that the air may circulate between the planks, and dry all surfaces as nearly alike as possible. ”

“ It is to great extent taking the place of white pine in the manufacture of doors, sash, and blinds, and is considered by many to be equal, if not superior, to that wood. It is much used in building small boats, and for use in places where it will be exposed to dampness. ”

“ So that the more knotted and gnarled a log of mahogany is, the better. It makes the more beautiful wood. But in pine, it is not beauty, but facility of working, which is the great object. So [Pg 75] they always want to get pine as smooth and straight-grained as possible. So that one of these trees that grow detached, in the fields, would not be of much value for lumber. It has so many branches, that the boards made from it would be full of knots."
"That is the reason, I suppose," said Marco, "why they don't cut them down, and make them into boards."
"Perhaps it is," replied Forester. ”

“ The supports are made of selected white pine, which must be absolutely free from pitch. The pine is soft enough to work easily with the point and stands wear much better than basswood. The tops and braces are made of curly fir, all of the material must be 2-in. lumber, which dresses to about an inch and a half. All surfaces, except the faces of the supports, are given a well-rubbed coat of oil with a little burnt umber, the stain to be applied directly to the wood without a filler. ”

“ The first is typical of any dry thin-walled cells, as is usually the case in seasoned white pine and spruce, and in the early wood of hard pines, hemlock, and other species with decided contrast between the two portions of the growth ring. As a rule buckling of a tracheid begins at the bordered pits which form places of least resistance in the walls. In hardwoods such as oak, chestnut, ash, etc., buckling occurs only in the thinnest-walled elements, such as the vessels, and not in the true fibres. ”

“ The heavier the wood, the darker, stronger, and harder it is, and the more it shrinks and checks when seasoning. Pine is used more extensively than any other wood. It is the principal wood in carpentry, as well as in all heavy construction, bridges, trestles, etc. It is also used in almost every other wood industry; for spars, masts, planks, and timbers in shipbuilding, in car and wagon construction, in cooperage and woodenware; for crates and boxes, in furniture work, for toys and patterns, water pipes, excelsior, etc. ”

“ First-quality pine costs more than any other soft wood used for joinery.
American Red Pine.—This is the wood of the Pinus mitis, which is called in America the yellow pine, and is very like the wood of the Scotch fir, though it does not equal it in strength or durability, neither does it grow so large as the Dantzic and Memel timber. Being very straight-grained and free from knots, it is valuable for joiners' work, when a stronger wood than yellow pine (described in the previous paragraph) is required. It is more expensive than Baltic fir, consequently is not so largely used in England. ”

“ A pine which has grown under those conditions possesses a tall, straight stem, admirably fitted for masts and spars, and, at the same time, its wood is almost wholly free from knots, is regular in annular structure, soft and uniform in texture, and, consequently, superior to almost all other timber for joinery. If, while a large pine is spared, the broad-leaved or other smaller trees around it are felled, the swaying of the tree from the action of the wind mechanically produces separations between the layers of annual growth, and greatly diminishes the value of the timber. ”

“ The racks should be made very strong and substantial to guard against being broken by ice in the winter, for should the rack give way at any inopportune time the admission of sticks and other rubbish might wreck the wheel. ”

“ From the same cause we find the external layers of matured pine timber comparatively superior to the quality of the inner layers: in hard wood the exterior layers are generally much inferior to the inner. Boards of sap-wood of fast grown Scots fir, particularly of the outside layers are much better suited—stronger and more lasting, for boxes used as carriage packages, or for machinery or cart lining much exposed to blows and friction; than boards of the best matured red wood of Memel, Swedish, or Norway pine. ”

“ White pine needles grow in groups of five and are from three to four inches long. The cones which contain the seeds are about five inches long. The tree grows tall and straight, and formerly grew in great forests covering thousands of square miles; the wood is so free from pitch and is so easily worked with tools that these great forests have been almost annihilated by the lumberman’s ax, and white-pine timber has become quite expensive. It takes many years for a tree to grow large enough for timber, and unless we are more economical in the future white pine will be only a memory. ”

“ By changing the pins, walls of any given dimension can be obtained, wedges of hard wood, with longitudinal slots, are introduced between the posts and the pins, to adjust the breadth of the boxes to a standard gauge. After the boxes are fixed and adjusted, they are secured in their position by ropes passing over them, and tied to stakes on each side. Any deflection from the vertical should be corrected at the commencement of the work, as it is impossible to alter the position of a box after it is half full. Any earth which is suitable for brick-making will do for pisé-work. ”

“ In the pits there is nothing uncommon in the construction; they are, in general, sunk deep in the ground, which being dry at bottom, is a great saving of heat. In some the tan is enclosed by brick walls, in others by a frame of wood; some are without flues, but the greater number have a flue in front, or a steam tube, or both. ”

“ The chimneys being near the center, are not connected with the foundation walls. The rear one is constructed in box form, below the first floor, as a receptacle for ashes, and has a small iron door near the bottom for removing the ashes. The principal frame-work is of sound pine or spruce timber, of the sizes mentioned in the estimate below. When practicable, we would use pine timber for all sills and posts, as the least liable to decay, and spruce for the girts and beams, on account of its quality for stiffness. ”

“ It is indeed a “strong box,” though it only holds timber. All the piles used on the works, before being submerged, are impregnated with creosote for the purpose of preserving the wood from decay, and the process is effected in the cylinder before us; this is about six feet in diameter, and some ninety feet long, lying lengthways along the ground. Running up to its mouth is a little line of railway, which, on the removal of the door is continued, we see, into the cylinder; on this railway traversing the whole length of the yard are several small trucks ”

“ The wood lies in its penetrating bath until its fibres are completely saturated; when, the creosote being once more restored to its subterranean dwelling, the door is opened and the pile which went in white and spotless pine, comes forth a blackened monster safe from rot—whether wet or dry ”

“ Structure explains why oak is heavier, stronger, and tougher than pine; why it is harder to saw and plane, and why it is so much more difficult to season without injury. From its less porous structure alone it is evident that a piece of young and thrifty oak is stronger than the porous wood of an old or stunted tree, or that a Georgia or long-leaf pine excels white pine in weight and strength.
Keeping especially in mind the arrangement and direction of the fibres of wood, it is clear at once why knots and "cross-grain" interfere with the strength of timber. ”

“ In a thrifty young pine, then, the wood is heavier from the center outward, and lighter from below upward; only the wood laid on in old age falls in weight below the average. The number of brownish bands of summer-wood are a direct indication of these differences. If an old oak is cut up in the same manner, the butt cut is also found heaviest and the top lightest, but, unlike the disk of pine, the disk of oak has its firmest wood at the center, and each successive piece from the center outward is lighter than its neighbor. ”

“ The average width of rings in well-grown, old white pine will vary from one-twelfth to one-eighteenth inch, while in the slower growing long-leaf pine it may be one twenty-fifth to one-thirtieth of an inch. The same layer of wood is widest near the stump in very thrifty young trees, especially if grown in the open park; but in old forest trees the same year's growth is wider at the upper part of the tree, being narrowest near the stump, and often also near the very tip of the stem. Generally the rings are widest near the center, growing narrower toward the bark. ”

“ The story of the wooden frame is about the same as the metal, only that the wood frame can’t rust, but can wear out if not seasoned and kiln dried and given all the care in manufacture that long life in woods necessitates.
Here, too, the corner construction must be perfect, must be able to bear the weight of the screen and take out the jars. The frame must be rigid, light and strong. The wire cloth must be so fastened at every point that there is no sag or bagginess in the broadest window. ”

“ Not adapted for use partly in and partly out of the ground; in fresh water as piles will last about ten years, but as it is softer than fir it is less able to stand driving successfully. Washington to California and eastward to Montana.
LARCH or TAMARACK
Wood like the best of hard pine both in appearance, quality, and uses, and owing to its great durability somewhat preferred in shipbuilding, for telegraph poles, and railway ties. In its structure it resembles spruce. The larches are deciduous trees, occasionally covering considerable areas, but usually scattered among other conifers. ”

“ Wood for forms must be of a kind that is easily worked and that will retain its shape when exposed to the weather. White pine is the best wood, but is seldom used because of its cost. Spruce, yellow pine, and fir are satisfactory woods for forms and are best, used partially green or unseasoned. ”

“ Pitch-pine, an exceedingly hard wood, difficult to dry, and with a disagreeable propensity to crack if not very well seasoned, is also used, and a beautiful material it is. Some small quantity of bedroom furniture in beech, oak, and ash is made in the workshops that I have been describing. As a general rule, however, this manufacture of soft woods is a separate branch of the trade. ”

“ No log residence is complete without furniture for storing clothes. A combination chest and buffet suitable for log cabins can be made from well-seasoned lodgepole or eastern pine, tamarack, or birch (fig. 42) . The ends, doors, shelves, and drawer fronts should be cut from No. 2 tongue-and-groove commercial pine lumber.
Settee
A settee can be made from well-seasoned pine or birch (fig. 43) . Join the corner poles to the slab frame and rail with mortise-and-tenon joints; then anchor the joints by means of 3⁄8- by 6 -inch lag screws. ”

“ We find no longer in the chimney-places bricks set in clay, and lathes split from logs, but better and more lasting work. The wood commonly used in these old houses was white pine, which is not so common to-day, although there is nothing more lasting. ”

“ The drawer or shelves—drawers or cases are preferable to shelves—where they are kept, should not, as very often happens, be made of unseasoned wood, for this reason: type wood is usually perfectly seasoned, and when allowed to remain for any length of time on a damp surface, the moisture is absorbed, the bottom expands, and a warped type, ready to be broken at the first impression, is the result. ”

“ When the direction of the fibers is nearly parallel with the sides and the edges of the board, it is said to be straight-grained; when the lumber is taken from a crooked tree, it is said to be cross-grained, as the grain follows the shape of the log, while the board is sawed straight. Cross-grained lumber is the handsomer; in this the fibers, being at different angles with the surface of the board, form a variety of figures, which add much to the beauty of the wood. ”

“ This splendid pine has run the gamut of uses from the corral pole of the first settler to the paneled door turned out by the modern factory. It has almost an unlimited capacity for usefulness. It grows in dry regions of the Rocky Mountains where it is practically the only source of wood supply; and it is equally secure in its position where forests are abundant and fine. It has supplied props, stulls, and lagging for mines in nearly every state touched by its range. ”

“ The lantern pinion is really a nearer approximation to the required anti-frictional form than a majority of cut pinions in ordinary clocks. In the process of manufacture of the cut variety, the first consideration is the quality of the steel to be used. ”