National Building Products Expo l

lN SHADES, showing olf WoodShades tinted lumber at the recent National Buildinq Products Expo: (1) Frank Klasnick, A'l Heberer, (2) Hobie Swan, Bart Swan. (3) Lance Doalson, Richard Chapman, Dave Balzhiser, Barbara Benotto, Dave Lawson. (4) John Keefer, Joseph Cardiello, Russell Dennis. (5) iohn Streit, Vincent Halma, Bill

I/ALUED for its fragrant, large V flowers, the magnolia tree is also notable for its straight-grained, uniform wood with a satin-like luster.

Magnolia, which is also known as southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), cucumbertree (Magnolia acuminata), sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana), black lin, mountain magnolia, sweet magnolia, bat tree, big laurel and bullbay, looks like yellow poplar but has superior properties.

The heartwood ranges from a straw color to greenish-beige, often showing faint lines of terminal parenchyma and dark purple streaks resulting from mineral deposits. In some cases, the lumber may contain dark brown, black or rainbow-colored heartwood

Story at a Glance

Similar to yellow poplar straight-grained with no decorative features ... suitable for furniture.

streaking. The wood is often bleached if the heartwood is too dark. The sapwood is light yellow.

Magnolia wood is soft, light, not particularly strong, but is considered durable. It has no decorative features, is easy to work with machine or hand tools and can be glued, screwed, nailed, polished and stained with good results.

The timber. which has a medium density and a specific gravity of.56, has low stiffness and bending strength and a moderate steam bending rating and crushing strength. Magnolia compares with American walnut in hardness. When air dried, the wood tends to shrink. but does not check or warp during kiln drying, and is very stable when seasoned.

It is a stable wood once dried and moderately stiff and hard. The wood takes furniture finishes well, has good shock resistance, and nails without splining.

The wood is used primarily for cabinetry, the framing and lining of furniture, pallets and packaging, flooring, mouldings, venetian blinds, interior joinery, including doors, and as a substitute for whitewood. Occasionally, some logs are separated for decorative veneers such as paneling because of the wood's mineral streaks.

Magnolia is not fungi resistant and should be treated before being used outdoors. The sapwood is often attacked by the furniture beetle.

The generic name magnolia is composed of two hardwoods: Magnolia virginiana and Magnolia graadtflora. Magnolia grandiflora, also called southern magaolia is generally the larger species. Magnolia virginiana is often called swamp magnolia or sweet bay and grows from 50 ft. to 70 ft. high, with a tnrnk of 2 ft. to 3 ft. in diameter.

Bigleaf magnolia, which is also grown in the South, has large leaves and is found from the southern Allegheny Mountains to central Florida and westward to Arkansas. It grows best in rich soil, partial sunshine and moist environments, but is not abundant. It can grow to heighs of ,10 ft. with a I ft. trunk diameter.

M a gno I ia g randiflo ra (evergreen magnolia) is the Northern Hemisphere's largest broadleaf evergreen tree. Its runk is straight and tall, and often without branches up to 40 ft. off the ground. The tree can reach heights of 6O ft. to 80 ft. with a diameter ofabout 5 ft.

Top Treater Addresses AWPI

William G. Currie, president and c.e.o. of Universal Forest Products, will keynote the American Wood Preservers Institute's 42nd annual meeting.

"The Millennium: What Does the Future Hold for Your Industry?" is the theme for the Sept. 28-10 meeting in New Orleans, La.

Dealer Honors Whiz Kids

Builders Supply, Lancaster, S.C., recently held its ninth annual Straight "A" Party as part of a student achievement program for all grammar schools in the county.

At the end of the school year, all students in grades three through five with a straight "A" average are feted at a hot dog dinner party hosted by Builders Supply, complete with music, clowns, prizes and surprises.

Greenpeace Cuts Back

Having seen its membership plummet over the last six years from 1.2 million to 400,000, Greenpeace is slashing its staff by over 80% nationwide.

The 25-year-old organization will

Redwoad

Web site feapages different redincluding rchants. homebuilders nt's section ffld marketing tools to are averaging 200-g$S atrd answer customer The site was created and clip-art that can be well into our overallr for ads and catalogs. purpose of our view the w com- communicatE nvoi,lsblc to wood, and nity, reduce its U.S. staff from 400 to 65 employees, cut its $29 million annual budget to $21 million in 1998, and close l0 resional offices.

The group plans to curb fundraising door-to-door and concentrate on fewer issues, primarily old growth logging and global climate change.

Entry LevelJob Pool Grows

With countless former welfare recipients expected to flood the entrylevel job market, employers should reevaluate their hiring procedures, advises Reid Psychological Systems. Over the next five years, the traditional welfare system is expected to be reshaped by the Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Reconci- liation Act of 1996. which was designed to encourage hundreds of thousands of able-bodied adults to enter or rejoin the work force.

While 227o said that their companies have already hired former welfare recipients, over 5OVo were more likely to hire welfare recipients if an intermediary organization was responsible for meeting their training needs.

Obituaries

Harry IL Roberts,8l, prcsident of King Forest Products, Atlanta, Ga., died of heart failure April 26.

A WWII veteran, he worked for Minter Homes, Huntington, W.V.; Standard Lumber, Birmingham, Al., and Mauk Forest Products, Meridian, Ms., before founding King in 1979.

Frank Paxton, Jr., 78, former president and chairman of Paxton Lumber Co., Kansas City, Mo., died July 15 in Kansas City.

Born in Kansas City, he served in WWII before joining his father's company in 19,16. After his father died in l95l he was named oresident and chief executive offrcer,- and continued in that position until 1989. He served as chairman of the board until 1990, when the company was sold.

SEAIS UKE OtD TIIES: To commemorate the tool's 50th anniversary, Bosch Power Tools is sponsoring a nationwide s€ardr for the oldest jigsaw. The ligsaw was invented 50 yean ago when an employee with a Bosdrowned Swbs manufacturing company replaced the needle on his wife's sewing machine with a saw blade to make inlricate cuts into wood.