The process of manufacture is very interesting. The logs are delivered
in the mill yard in any suitable lengths as for ordinary lumber. A steam
drag saw cuts them into such lengths as may be required by the order
in hand; those being cut at the time of our visit were four feet long.
After cutting, the logs are placed in a large steam box, 15 feet wide,
22 feet long, and six feet high, built separate from the main building.
This box is divided into two compartments. When one is filled entirely
full, the doors are closed, and the steam, supplied by the engine in the
main building, is turned on. The logs remain in this box from three to
four hours, when they are ready for use. This steaming not only removes
the bark, but moistens and softens the entire log. From the steam box
the log goes to the veneer lathe. It is here raised, grasped at each end
by the lathe centers, and firmly held in position, beginning to slowly
revolve. Every turn brings it in contact with the knife, which is gauged
to a required thickness. As the log revolves the inequalities of its
surface of course first come in contact with the keen-edged knife, and
disappear in the shape of waste veneer, which is passed to the engine
room to be used as fuel. Soon, however, the unevenness of the log
disappears, and the now perfect veneer comes from beneath the knife in
a continuous sheet, and is received and passed on to the cutting table.
This continues until the log is reduced to about a seven inch core,
which is useless for the purpose. The veneer as it comes rolling off the
log presents all the diversity of colors and the beautiful grain and
rich marking that have perhaps for centuries been growing to perfection
in the silent depths of our great forests.
From the lathe, the veneer is passed to the cutting table, where it is
cut to lengths and widths as desired. It is then conveyed to the second
story, where it is placed in large dry rooms, air tight, except as the
air reaches them through the proper channels. The veneer is here placed
in crates, each piece separate and standing on edge. The hot air is then
turned on. This comes from the sheet iron furnace attached to the boiler
in the engine room below, and is conveyed through large pipes regulated
by dampers for putting on or taking off the heat. There is also a blower
attached which keeps the hot air in the dry rooms in constant motion,
the air as it cools passing off through an escape pipe in the roof,
while the freshly heated air takes its place from below. These rooms
are also provided with a net-work of hot air pipes near the floor. The
temperature is kept at about 165°, and so rapid is the drying process
that in the short space of four hours the green log from the steam box
is shaved, cut, dried, packed, and ready for shipment.
After leaving the dry rooms it is assorted, counted, and put up in
packages of one hundred each, and tied with cords like lath, when it is
ready for shipment. Bird's-eye maple veneer is much more valuable and
requires more care than almost any other, and this is packed in cases
instead of tied in bundles. The drying process is usually a slow one,
and conducted in open sheds simply exposed to the air. Mr. Densmore's
invention will revolutionize this process, and already gives his mill a
most decided advantage.
The mill will cut about 30,000 feet of veneer in a day, and this cut can
be increased to 40,000 if necessary. Mr. Densmore has already received
several large orders, and the rapidly increasing demand for this
material is likely to give the mill all the work it can do. The timber
used is principally curled and bird's-eye maple, beech, birch, cherry,
ash, and oak. These all grow in abundance in this vicinity, and the
beautifully marked and grained timber of our forests will find fitting
places in the ornamental uses these veneers will be put to.
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