Hardwood Heawweights and Lumber Lightweights

E ND USERS can be winners with b both hardwood heavyweights and featherweights. As long as they play to each wood's particular strengths and not its weaknesses.

Snakewood ( Piratinera guianensis) weighs in as the heaviest of hardwood, about 800/o heavier than oak. Found in Central and tropical South America, it is also known as letterwood, amourette, bourra courea, letterhout, polo do oro, leopard wood and speckled wood. Its red-brown heartwood features black speckles or stripes, reminiscent of a snakeskin.

Along with their exceptional weight, timbers also boast high strength, toughness, hardness, durability and resistance to preservative treatment. Yet they are difficult to season, with a tendency to warp and degrade. Gum exudation also results in poor steam bending.

It is exported only in small quantities since only the figured heartwood is of commercial interest. It is shipped in small billets after the wide band of pale sapwood is cut off. Turned articles such as walking sticks, drum sticks, fishing rod butts, archery bows, violin bows, cutlery handles, umbrella handles and brushbacks are then produced.

Similarly, lignum vitae (Guaiacum fficinale) is incredibly heavy, hard, dense, strong and durable, earning it the name "ironwood" in the U.S. The West Indies and tropi-

The Top Twelve

cal American tree has a dark greenish-brown heartwood, with a characteristic oily feel due to its high content of guaiac resin.

Although problems arise in drying, working and gluing, the wood's self-lubricating properties are ideal for ship propellers, brushes and bearings, marine equipment, thrust bearings, pulley sheaves, wheels, guides, rollers and blocks, die cutting and turning, and other uses where lubrication is impractical or unreliable.

Brazilwood (Caesalpinia ech inata) features similar mechanical properties and even a similar nickname, "Brazil ironwood." Its bright orange-red heartwood with marblelike figure matures upon exposure to a red-brown.

It is world renowned as a dyewood and reserved for the finest violin bows due to its resilience. Other uses include onamental turnery, gun stocks, exterior joinery, paneling, inlaywork, heavy duty parquet flooring and exterior structural work.

Dark purple-brown with black streaks, African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon) is just that, a virtually black wood. The East African hardwood is exceptionally heavy, hard, dense and durable, but works with difl'iculty and cannot be used for steam bending.

Yet a natural oiliness, resistance to climactic change and ability to take a superb finish often make it preferred to ebony in woodwind instruments, ornamental turnery, chessmen, carved figures, walking sticks, brushbacks, knife handles, bearings and slides, pulley blocks and inlaywork.

Kingwood (Dalbergia cearensis) or violetwood grows in South America, primarily Brazil. The heartwood features streaks across a background of rich. violet-brown. Although very strong and tough in all categories, it is used predominantly for decorative

Story at a Glance

Properties and uses for the heaviest and lightest hardwoods tropical Americas' snake wood and balsa top the charts.

purposes due to the small sizes available. Sliced veneers go into inlaywork and marquetry, while solids make inlay banding, turnery and fancy goods.

On the other side of the spectrum is balsa (Ochroma pyramidale), the softest and lightest hardwood available commercially. The Central and South American tree's sapwood is white to oatmeal in color with a pinkyellow tinge; heartwood is pale brown.

The average balsa weighs l0 lb./ cu. ft., though some may weigh as little as 6 lb./cu. ft. (An average hardwood weighs about 35 lb./ cu. ft.) Though strong in relation to its weight, the low density wood can not be bent without buckling, requires skilled care in kilning and won't hold nails or screws. It is also perishable and liable to attack by beetles.

But it does what the heavier hardwoods can't. It provides excellent buoyancy, easy workability and efficent insulation against heat, sound and vibration. It is used extensively for rafts, lifebelts, floats, nets, buoys, water sports equipment, protective packaging, toys and model making.

Kiri (Paulownia tomentosa) grows

Gift Shop & Housewares Profitable

China tea sets and vases ranging up to $1000 in price are not normal home center merchandise, but Bering Home Center in Houston. Tx.. stocks many such items in its gift shop.

"We've got customers who buy all their gifts from our store," explains August Bering IV. "We have our own special labels we put on the gifts. Prices in the shop range from $10 for some items on up to $1000 or even more. We've sold $5,000 paintings. But most of the items are in the $20 to $30 range, because this is the most popular pricing for gifts."

The gift shop is right at the front of the store which is consumer oriented although it sells a lot of lumber and building materials. Unlike some lumber based operations, Bering Home Center also has a full range of houseware items including cookware, glassware and small appliances. Because of the gifts and housewares, many of the shoppers are women.

"We find housewares to be a profitable line or we wouldn't be in it," Bering points out. "Most of them are full margin."

The line includes garbage cans, in Japan and China. Its heartwood varies from silver-gray to a light or nut brown, sometimes with a reddish cast. It has a very fine grain and smooth texture. floor mats, cleaning supplies and other full margin items as well as kitchen gadgets, pots and pans, small appliances and vacuum cleaners.

Though weak in all strength properties, the wood does dry, work, glue, finish, stain and polish very well. It is highly prized in Japan for use in cabinet and drawer linings, musical instruments, clogs, floats for fishing nets, and for peeling into special greeting cards.

Finally, obeche (Triplochiton scleroxylon) comes from tropical West Africa, creamy white to pale yellow in color, with a moderately fine and even texture.

It is also commonly used where durability and strength are unimportant, such as for interior rails, drawer slides and linings, cabinet framing, interior joinery, sliderless soundboards for organs and model making. Veneers with scattered blue stain are valued for marquetry work.

Bering admits that they make little profit on items where they have to be competitive, but he compares this with the tool department where "you have to have power tools although you don't make much money on them."

"Either you go all the way or don't bother," he says. "We, as retailers, recognize that breadth is essential to inventory."

Hldden Cods Ercdo Prollt

Obituaries

Ghdstone O.

"Tye"

Dobson, founder of Dobson Lumber Co., Camden, Tn., died Feb. 21 , 1991 , in Nashville. Tn,

A native of Camden, he founded Dobson Lumber Co. upon purchasinc a sawmill in 1948. In 1956 he and WlC. Travis opened Bruceton Lumber Co., Bruceton, Tn., which became Midway Materials when he sold it in 1968. Dobson opened a second branch, Big Sandy Lumber Co., Big Sandy, Tn., in 1965 and closed the mill in 1968. He semiretired in 1977.

Mr. Dobson is survived by one daughter and two sons.

Plastlc Wood ls Not Gheap o Hidden costs such as higher interest rates, higher cost of space, equipment and utilities if not controlled will erode profit margins. o Changes aflecting your customers are occuring at an unprecedented rate. The ability to change your inventory to meet their needs is crucial in today's competitive environment. o Buying on price alone can result in overbuying, lowering the turnover rate. Too many SKUs will increase inventory without increasing sales. o Products you thought great, but your customers didn'l, are often left in your inventory, but some of the cost can be recovered by donating them to charity and using the tax credit. o Control SKUs to reduce inventory in the next l2 months. Statistics show that 80oi of the sales are on 20oh or less of the items. o Form an alliance with key wholesalers. Make sure they have policies that are beneficial to you. These ideas are offered by the Western Building Material Association.

AFCO Industries, Alexandria, La., is manufacturing recycled "lumber" firom shredded waste plastic melted to a paste-like consistency and extruded. Said to be capable of lasting more than 50 years, Syntech Wood is being marketed as an option to chemically treated lumber. However, it costs two to three times as much as top grade pine lumber.

Excess inventory combined with interest expense can become a cash trap for a retailer, These are good reasons for keeping inventories down and developing just-in-time delivery schedules with your wholesaler.

Personals

(Continued from page 25) l,eonerd J. "Jeff' Prrent, mgr.-facility operations, administration dept., Lowe's Cos., North Wilkesboro, N.C., has been certified as a real property aclministrator by the lluilding Owners & Managers Institute lnternational.

Drvlt Scolt Goff, Lowe's Building Supply, Chaltanooga, Tn., wed Susrn Grll Polet April 6, 1991.

Brue BerS has been named director of llome Depot's new southern regional headquarters, Tampa, [:1., overseeing 53 stores.

Drn l,edermrnn, Olshan Lumber, Houston, Tx., is the new pres. of the (;reater Houston Lumber & Building Material l)ealers Association. Bill Franks, Alanro Forest Products, llouston, is v.p. ancl acting sec./treas.

Don MrcMasler, v.p.-sales & trading, Plywood Panels, lnc., New Orleans, La., has been elected pres. of the International Hardwood Products Association.

John Elwell, Plum Creek Tinrber Co., is the new director ofnational accountseast, based in Atlanta, Ga.

John Edward O'Laughlin lll, Paty Co., Greenville, Tn., married co-worker Cindy l,ynn Collins Feb. 14, 1991.

Tom Williamson now heads the American Institute of Timber Construction.

Everybody Reads The Digest

Thanks lor including my "First Anniversary" in the April Dr.gesL This was just great.

I want you to know your magazine is being read. I started getting calls immediately. These callers were customers and friends who had seen it in the Digest and also those who hadn't received their Drgesl yet but had talked with someone who mentioned seeing it. Thanks.

Fred Renner

Renner Lumber, Inc.

5952 Royal Lane, Suite 227

Dallas, Tx. 75230

Michael Menser has joined Lowe's, North Wilkesboro, N.C., as a marketing specialist. Michael Brown is now store mgr. at the Hanes Mall Blvd. store, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Dave Barnes, son of Terry Barnes, Independence Lumber Co., Independence, Ky., won the mid-America wrestling 150 lb. div., qualilying lor the NCAA Division I tournament at the University of lowa.

Darryl Motley has joined Furman Lumber, Houston, Tx., handling purchasing and direct sales of SYP for Furman's Houston and Dallas distribution centers, reports pres. and c.e.o Barry Kronick. Bruce Lewis is now in sales in Dallas, and Stan Cook, inside sales and product management, and Hugh Shockley Jr., laminated beams, are new to Atlanta, Ga.