An up-to-date look at Northwest hardwoods

by Ralph Peter U.S. Forest Service Portland. Or.

\ f IHEN one thinks of the Pacific V V Northwest forests, virgin stands of Douglas-fir, hemlock and cedar come to mind. Logging these stands and sawing the timber is the big industry. However, a small but a very important part of this wood industry is the hardwoods.

Approximately 30 billion board feet of hardwoods are found in Western Oregon and Washington, either in pure stands or mixed with the softwoods. Of course you know that alder is the major hardwood species-about l9 bil' lion feet of sawtimber. But we also have 7 billion feet of bigleaf maple. The other hardwoods in smaller volumes are: black cottonwood, white and black oak, tanoak, chinkapin, Oregon ash, Oregon myrtle, Pacific madrone and a few others.

As the supply of hardwoods becomes scarcer. Eastern hardwood users are reaching out for the Western species. What is the supply and production situation?

Let's look at the minor species first. Very little of the oak is logged or used. There are a few small oak pallet operations, but even these have some difficulty in getting logs or lumber. The little available Oregon ash is used locally: principally for water skis. Myrtlewood grows along the southern Oregon coast and into California. It is used for turnings and carvings. The wood supports a small craft industry composed principally of mom and pop shops.

A number of companies have been in and out of the tanoak business.

First Of Two Parts

Story at a Glance

In this first of two parts, Ralph Peter of the USFS gives a valuable overview of the species of Pacific Northwest hardwoods, their uses and markets .. .. the material was originally presented to the Second Annual Hardwood Symposium, Cashiers, N.C.

Union Lumber Co. (now Boise-Cascade) at Fort Bragg, Ca., had quite a tanoak operation in southern Oregon. A tanoak baseball bat operation went belly up a few years ago. Presently a company in Eureka, Ca. is sawing tanoak. It's a very difficult species to dry, and the grade recovery is generally low.

Except for some fireplace wood, no commercial use is made of madrone. It also is a difficult wood to dry. It is a fine grained wood and has the potential for use in novelty items and smaller pieces of furniture. Madrone is also suggested as a possible substitute for dogwood shuttes, but I don't know if this subject has been thoroughly investigated.

Alder and maple are the bread and butter species of the N.W. hardwood industry. Last year's production was estimated to be 200-250 million board feet with alder constituting about 907o of his volume.

I am not sure how many of you are familiar with alder. There is practically no color difference between the sapwood and heartwood. The wood is of a light cream color with very little color difference between trees. A honey brown color can be obtained by using a special dry kiln schedule. During warm weather, some of the exposed sap in freshly sawn wood turns redhence, the name red alder. It is a misleading term and the industry is attempting to drop the adjective, "red".

As you know, the traditional alder market has been the furniture industry of southern California. But over the past few years there has been a gradual expansion of the market area. Alder is sold in Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Quebec to name a few of the more distant markets.

It should be pointed out that there are a few differences in marketing practices. All alder and maple is sold kiln dried and dressed on a hit or miss basis I / I 6" scant of nominal thickness. Actually, I see very little lumber that contains skips. It is kiln dried from the green condition without any air drying. This is done to prevent staining.

Lumber grading also differs from Eastern practices and this has led to some misunderstanding. Alder and ma' ple are graded after the lumber has been kiln dried and dressed. The lumber is graded from the best face and there is no limit to the number of cuttings. About 8 or 9 companies have subscribed to a lumber inspection service and grade marked lumber is coming on the market.

For the past year or so there has been a much greater demand for alder than couldbe supplied. The bottleneck essentiallyhasbeen on the logging end. Alder is generally logged along with the softwoods. But if premium prices are being paid for softwoods, the logger will ease-off the alder and concentrate on the top dollar.

Kltc*ran Gabinel $llder

Four slides, each of which is desigrred to handle a specific kitchen cabinet drawer requirement, are detailed in a new brochure by Grant Hardware Co.

toHle Home Law

"The Law of Mobile Homes" is a book every supplier or at least the supplier's attorney should read. It includes state requirements, current law, mobile home statutes, and model ordinances. Write Mobile Home Mfn. Assn,_Box_20, 1485O_Lee Road, Chantilly, Va., 22021,$45-

Beautiful llaw Doorr

Bel-Air Door Co. has just released its new "l|onderful tilorld of Bel-Air Door" poster showing -the complete line. It contains colored photos and names of each door; it folds out to poster size for easy reading.

Salety Fllmr

Safety films can be a valuable tool in reducing fleet motor vehicle accidents. For a free copy of the 1975 Film Library Catalog, write Greater L.A. Chapter National Safety Council, P.O, Box 76448, Los Angeles, Ca, 90076.

Waler Cooler Catalog

Sunroc Corp. has released its 1975 full-line, fqrr color water cooler catalog. The 8-p. catalog illustrates their water coolers in actual location usage.

Llft Truck Safety Fllm

"The Great Betrayal," a l6mm,27 rninute color film that shows how an operator's emotions can orrcrcome common sense and lead to lift truck accidents, is new fron Clark Equipnent Co.

Door Standard Updated

The Fir and Hemlock Door Assn has updated its industry standard to include carved front entrance doors and to require safety glass in glazed doors assembled in member plants. The l2-p. manual, (FHDA/5-75), is ftee.

Covered are the commonly used sizes, types, grades and designs of commercially available Douglas flr, western hemlock and Sitka spruce stile-and-rail doors, louvered doors and louvered window and door blinds.

Sketches show entrance doors, interior sash and panel doors, louver, French and wardrobe units, sidelights and storm and screen doors. Identifying marks of the producers, found at top or bottom edge of a door, also are shown.

Revisions were developed by FHDA's standards committee, headed by Del Orren, of Simpson Timber Company. McCleary, Washington. For copies of the manual write to Fir and Hemlock Door Assn., Yeon Bldg., Portland, Ore. 97204.

Ladder Standard

American National Standard Safety Requirements for Fixed ladders A I 4.3 -1974 has been published. Copies are available from American National Standards Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York. N.Y. 1001S.

Free Reader Service

For more information on New Products and New Literature, write lhe Merchant Magazine, 4500 Campus Dr., Suite 476, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660. Please mentlon issue date and page number so we can process your request faster! Many thanksl

Cort Ertlmatlng

The Home-Tech Estimetor. ($26.62) claims accurate estimates on any home improvement and remodeling job in any part of the U.S. at any time of the year. Write Home-Tech Publications, 7315 Wisconsin Ave., Washington, D.C. 20014.

Bulldlng Coot Calculator

The Dodge Building Cost Calculator and Valuation Guide has a new section on residential renovation and remodeling. A $66 lst-year subscription includes an initial Dodge Calculator and three quarterly supplements of updated cost information. Renewals are $48 for four quarterly supplements. McGraw-Hill Informations Systems Company, Rm. 2151, l22l Ave. of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020.

Lap and Panel Sldlng

Lap and panel siding selections in a wide variety of patterns and textures are offered in a free new catalog from Georgia-Pacific Corp.

lfr l{ot Sgt. Bllco

The Bilco Co. has a free 1975 catalog that gives details, sizes and speci- fications for their horizontal doors. roof scuttles, automatic fire vents, flooi and pit doors, ceiling access doors and basement doors.

Plnuood Applicallon

-Casr histories demorutrate plywood's effectiveness in easing conmercial building headaches in a new 8-p. booklet available from the American Plywood Asxl Plywood In Commercial Buildlngs features photos and construction details.

Bldg. Materlalr Gatalog

A new, 20 p. comprehensive catalog describing GAF Corporation's roof shingles, sidings, and related building products is now available free.

Forkllft Tralning Program

"The Devil's Game", a new fork lift driver training film, meeting OSHA requirements is part of a kit with a complete set of film-related posters, consecutively numbered, license blanks, a leaders guide/manual, opera- tors programmed learning manuals, testing materials, promotional buttons, decals and an OSHA record keeping system. Write The Devil's Game, Inc., P.O. Box 337, Montgomeryville, Pa. 18936. :

Wood Treallng Foldsr

J. H. Baxter & Co. has a new 4-p. free color folder on its Dow process pressrre-treated wood products.

Styrene Foam Brochure

"Zonolite Styrene Foam," a new 8-p. free brochure from W. R. Grace & Co., is a resume of physical properties; cost comparisons and ('ff " value tables; and application data for sheathing, perimeters, cavity walls, lowtemperatwe space, and interior wall insulation treatments.

Food Stamp Abulos

A booklet, "Food Stamps for Strikers-l,lhat You Can Do To Eliminate This Flagrant Abuse", is available from National Association Management, 1776 F St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006: l-9 copies, $2, lG'99 copies, $1.50 each, 100 or over, $l each.

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Eryrc,olodg@ 1975