Northeastern Hardwoods

(PART TWO)

This is the second in a four part segment on the major and minor commercial hardwood species of the Northeastern United Stales.ed. The major species in the Northeast; those in greatest abundance and most available in lumber form are: yellow birch, hard maple, black cherry, American beech, red oak.

Yellow

The sapwood of Northeastern yellow birch is whitish, pale yellow, or light reddish brown. The heartwood is light to dark brown or reddish brown. The wood is straight grained, moderately heavy to very heavy, hard and strong in bending. It turns welland is capable of finishing very smoothly. It shrinks considerably from green to dry, [ut holds its shape well.

Although yellow birch grows in the Lake States, and in some sections of Ontario and Quebec, it reaches its optimum on best quality in the Northeast, particularly in New York and New England. It often takes 150 years to grow to a size large enough for saw-timber. Trees 100 years old average about sixteen inches in diameter and sixty-five to eighty feet in height.

It is the exceptional tree that reaches a height of 100 feet and a diameter of three feet.

Grain is the first essential that must be possessed by a cabinet wood. It is that quality that has caused it to be known as "beautiful birch." It has a wide range of grain, varying from the familiar "curly" so desirable in furniture, high grade face veneers and panelling, to a quite inconspicuous grain for general trim. Characteristic of all birch, however, regardless of grain effects, is its natural lustre, which gives it a soft satiny sheen.

Birch is a principal furniture wood of the United States because of its good working and finishing qualities, hardness, pleasing figure and attractive color.

The same qualities make it desirable for high grade cabinets, interior trim, flooring, sash and doors. Because of its strength, as well as other qualities, it is frequently stained to represent mahogany in the structural parts of chairs and other furniture. In the past, great quantities of it were used to represent fine mahogany and walnut. In more recent years, it has become recognized and appreciated for its fine qualities, and due to its relative scarcity and rise in price, it is highly appreciated and recognized in its own right, not as a substitute for some other fine cabinet wood.

Birch lumber is marketed according to color. Lumber cut from the heartwood of a tree is known as "red birch," and that from the sapwood as a "sap birch." Lumber classed as "unselected birch" may include both "red birch" and "sap birch" thus containing both heartwood and sapwood.

Birch logs of veneer quality are in great demand. Many lumber manufacturers sell the veneer quality logs from their logging operations, direct to veneer mills in the Northeast or for export, others saw all their logs into lumber, which naturally results in premium widths, lengths and grades of straight-grained lumber.

The famous British "Mosquito" airplane of World War II utilized many millions of feet of yellow

Sfory at a Glance

A brief review of the hardwood species of the Northeast. . . maior species include yellow birch, hard maple, black cherry, beech and red oak..minor species are soft maple, basswood, ash, whitebirch and yellow poplar or tuliptree. Part two.

birch. The majority of the logs for that purpose came from the forests of the Northeast.

Hard Maple

The wood of Northeastern maple is divided into two classes. "hard maple" and "soft maple."

Botanically, hard maple includes sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and black maple (Acer nigrum). The sapwood is white in color with a reddish tinge, the heartwood is light reddish brown. It is usually straightgrained (occasionally curly or wavygrained or with bird's-eye figure), heavy, hard, very strong in bending, stiff. It works well with tools, turns well. remains smooth under sanding or abrasion, takes stain satisfactorily, is high in nail holding ability, glues well, dries fairly easily and shrinks moderately.

The largest quantities of hard maple are in the Northeast and the Lake States. It is a slow growing tree, and mature trees are ordinarily from thirty to forty inches in diameter and eighty to 120 feet in height.

The most important use of maple lumber is for furniture, because of its hardness, strength and good working and finishing qualities, combined with pleasing color and grain.

It is used for flooring because of its uniform texture and hardness. resulting in high resistance to abrasion, even under such severe conditions of use as bowling alleys, dance floors and factory floors. Other uses are: boat and shoe findings; motor truck bodies; handles; woodenware and novelties; shuttles, spools and bobbins; butchers' blocks and skewers; general millwork (such as sash and doors); sporting and athletic goods (bowling pins, billiard cues, croquet mallets and balls, dumbbells); and musical instruments, especially piano actions, frames and backs.

Maple wood is also used in wood distillation and for railroad ties. Maple logs are widely used for veneer production, which eventually is used in the manufacture of furniture and musical instruments and. to some extent. into interior finish.

Port Of Long Beach

(Continued from page 32) the dried lumber down by rail from British Columbia. In May, however, the company launched a pilot program to ship bundles of the plastic-wrapped commodity down the coast by barge. And so far it looks as if this will prove a profitable and practical way to go.

"The plastic wrap keeps the wood bone dry," says Fremont's Don Sprague, "so that's no problem. And the route is considerably more direct than shipping by rail. Once the shipment arrives in the harbor, forklifts make easy work of offloading the lumber."

Once in the harbor, most of the lumber is trucked out to yards and building sites all over California, Arizona, Nevada and Baja, California, Mexico. Weyerhaeuser, in addition, does a brisk on-site wholesale business right in the Port.

Something else again is the kind of cargo coming into Cooper Stevedoring. Here, plywood and related wood products (door skins, hardboard, moldings and door casings) comprise the principal mix.

Terminal Manager George Rickers says business is good. This is substantiated by the fact that four shipments come in every month bearing building materials that are often pre-sold before they are offloaded.

Along with a variety of prefinished and raw stock imported from the Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and South America, Cooper Stevedoring also handles steel products rebar, beams, channels, nuts, bolts and nails. Like lumber, the demand for these Products is up, too.

Who are the prime customers for all that plywood? "Motorhome and trailer manufacturers," answers Rickers. "Between them and all the builders looking for residential and industrial wall paneling, we can't keep enough in stock."

Not that wood products are the only building materials being funneled through Long Beach's bustling harbor. Far from it. There is a lot going on in cement and wallboard, as well.

Not far from the Weyerhaeuser and Fremont Forest Products facilities are two other plants that are playing hard at catching up with consumer demand. These are the port's two big gypsum plants: Gold Bond Building Products, a division of National Gypsum Co., and Domtar Gypsum, formerly Kaiser Gypsum Co.

At both sites, moving mountains is all in a day's work.

At both plants, mountainous heaps of gypsum rock imported from Mexico are stored under huge dome-shaped sheds where periodic vibrations send the rocky rubble tumbling onto underground conveyors. From there the gypsum is carried up and into a crunch-andgrind operation that turns out plasterboard.

WEYERHAEUSER / DIXIELINE

(Continued from Page 34) supplier of wood products, done "al arms length" and that Weyerhaeuser plans to retain the Dixieline name.

Plans for expansion of WeYerhaeuser's wholesale division call for l6-18 new customer service cenlers to be opened in 1979, with the company seriously considering entry into an additional 30-40 markets in the U.S. It is anticipated that a major push will be made in the wesl for Weyerhaeuser's paneling line, which has had a 200/tt increase in capacity since the recent acquisition of the former Abitibi paneling plant in Cucamonga, Ca.

CUSTOM MILLING . SOFTWOOD o HARDWOOD

Serving the Lumber Industry, Cabinet Shops, Furniture Manufacturers, and Wholesale Lumber Distributors.

McClellanPlanning Mill, Inc.

CUSTOM MILLING WHOLESALE LUMBER 1919 E. PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY WILMINGTON, CA 90744 (213) 549-7361

Aduertisements

MANAGER/INSIDE SALESMAN

FRESNO, CA. location with the newest distribution center in the valley. Write in confidence to Box 327. c/o The Merchant Magazine.

LUMBER SALESMAN for our wholesale division. Well-established lirm. San Francisco area. Good salary. Send resume. Write Box 300 c/o The Merchant Magazine.

SMALL, AGGRESSIVE Southern firm, now selling lumber products in Califbrnia. needs representative who can help develop business connections to distributors as well as to furniture manufacturers. Salary based on commission which is based on profit percentage. Truck delivery to California being planned. Perl'ect opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Interested primarily in person with hardwood lunrber knowledge. Please reply at once to Elder Forest Products, P.O. Box 1068. Sulnhur. La.70663.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA wholcsaler has opening lirr an experiencecl salesnerson to hirncllc West Coast species. All replies will be held in strict conlidence. Repl),, c/o The Merchitnt Magazine, Box No.,3 19.

LUMBf,R trldcr to handle direct sales rtrrd inventorl nranagenrcn( ol' assigned species. Writc or call SALES MANAGER. Rolitncl<r Lunrbe'r Co.. P.O. Box,14042. San Francrsco. Ca.941.14 (415) 467-0600.

Retail Lumber Manager

EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY with fast growing retail operation in No. Ca.. San Joaquin County. $4 million dollar volume contractor and consumer trade. strong in contractor. Must have experience in managing. selling, credit, rail, truck and trailer and LCL buying. Good salary, bonus, insurance and fringe benefits. Present manager retiring. Send replies to Box 326, c/o The Merchant Magazine.

ESTIMATOR FOR career opportunity with job shop pallet operation. Ability to tally lumber and good with figures. All company paid fringes. We also need industrial sales and office people. Apply at Hunter Woodworks. 1235 E.223rd St., Carson. Ca. 90749.

SALES MANA(;ER

Exceptional OpportunitY

For exDerienced sales manager with housing industry tbllowing. Top salary and/or commission lbr toyr man. New yard and otfice lircility in Huntington Beach. Ca. Call Bill Randall. (714) 8488555

Home Center Manager

Independent So. Los Angeles, Ca., operation needs person with complete merchandising, advertising and store operation abilities. Preferably with some experience with small contractor trade. Write box 328 c/o The Merchant Magazine.

PURCHASING AGENT needed. Must have knowledge in lumber, moulding, doors and hardware. Young wholesale and retail lumber yard, Arizona. Write Box 324, c/o The Merchant Masazine.

LUMBER SALESMAN needed for well established wholesale lumber company in Los Angeles, Ca. area. Excellent salary. Send resume to the attention of: Lumber Division Manager, c/o Box 329, The Merchant Magazine.

FOREST PRODUCTS SALES

NATIONWIDE FOREST products wholesaler located in San Francisco Bay area is seeking aggressive sell'-motivated personnel with a lumber and plywood background. Excellent salary. incentive program plus liberal benetlts. Send complete resume and salary requirements to Box 323, c/o The Merchant Magazine.

FOR SALE: Rodgers 10" two side planer. Used very little. Write: P.O. Box 1507, Reno. Nv. 89505.

OPPORTUNITY for cash buy-in for right man in small agri-business lumber company, Central California. Must be competent, honest with some product knowledge in lumber & building materials. Salary open. Write Box 302, clo The Merchant Magazine. or call (209) 826-4290 evenings.

EXPERIENCED lumber trader with established customers; mill base; and profit margin is seeking reputable wholesale lum' ber company to sponsor trading office in Sacramento. Ca.. area. Write Box 325, clo The Merchant Magazine.

MUST

BUILDING MATERIALS and lumber

Co. Established 30 years. Gross sales $6 million with excellent R.O.l. Trading in No. California and No. Nevada. 650h contractors, 350/o DIY. Lease or sell real estate. Prime location. Write Box 320' c/o The Merchant Magazine.

LOCAL I.UMBER hauling Southern California roller bed truck and trailers rrnd bobtails radio dispatched. Rail car unloacling at our spur in Long Berch. 3C Trucking (213) 4)2-0Q6.

Because United Way is run almost entirely by volunteers, it is able to return an amazing 89s of every dollar to people who need it.

So it doesn't waste your money.

And because United Way is re-created each year with a combination of old and new volunteers, it doesn't become over encurnbered with huge perrnanent staffs.

So it doesn't strangle you inred tape.

Tltanx.sEogou,rE works-Fora-lloius- UniEedUtbg

CUSTOM MILLING or (213) 835-5671.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA hardwood yard has excess milling capacity. Can offer S25 on new Oliver Straitoplane plus SLR lE or 2E. T & T or rail car unloading on our own spur. Outside storage available on monthfy basis. Reel Lumbir Service (213) 232-522t / (7 14) 991-7770.

AXGETES AREA-

tuttEt ttt ?rYt000

Al Poirco Company...

Amorican Hardw0od C".....

Erush Industrial Lumbrr Co.. Div,...

Burns Lumber Co...

Caoital Lumbrr C0...

Connor Lumb6r Salos

Coos Hoad Lumbar & Plywood.

Crown Plywood C0....

Dooley Redwood Lumber Co..

Essley & Son, 0.C..

Far West Fir Salss........ (213) 629-5206

Fir & Pin6 Lumbor C0...

Founlain Lumber Co., Ed..

Fremont Forost Products.

Galleher Hardwood C0........

Gsroia-Pacitic C0rp...

Georoia-Pacitic C0rp.......

Globe International..

Hill Lumber Co., ilax..

H&M Whdesle Lumber C0..........

Hufl Lumber Co..

Hunter Woodworks........ (213) 835-5671

Inland Lunber Co. (Colton).

Inland Lumber Co. (Arcadia).

Inland Lumber Co. (Tuslin),

Johnston Hardwood. Inc........

Lane Stanton Vance Lumb€r C0........

Larry Larson Lumbsr C0.... (714) 821-8100 osgood Inc., Roberl S..

Louisiana-Pacilic CorD.......

MacBeath Hardwood.

Marouart-Wolfe Lumber C0...........

]{ical Inc...

Pacific Lumber Co..

Pacific Madison Lumber Co.. Q13l 773-2292

Pan Asiatic Trading Co., Inc..........

ParrLumberCo........

Penberthy Lumber C0,.......

Philips Lumber Sa16s..... Product Sales C0........

3l1t FR^lrCttco

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Pacifig Nortiiwest States

WASHIilGTON

ROGKY NOUNTAIN roxTAllA

L:./ L u \:-/tru LJI] l-j lg 0) iti*#iiL'Eilll:$tr-,iI,r1::ttlltsffii+tri,+*$-$s1..1*iF.sif l19..

Alan A. Shively

Alan A. Shively, a salesman for E. J. Stanton Wholesale Lumber Co., for over 35 years, died June 4 in Glendale, Ca. He was 80 years old.

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, a member of Hoo-Hoo International and Theta Chi fraternities, he was active in Grandview Presbyterian Church of Glendale where he had lived for 58 years.

He is survived by his widow, Bessie, a daughter, a brother, and three grandchildren.

Paul B. Fritchey

Paul B. Fritchey, president of Palm Avenue Lumber Co., Alhambra, Ca., died June 6, 1979, at the age of 88.

Mr. Fritchey was active in a number of community matlers in his home town ol Alhambra. and had received wide recognition for his contributions. A graduate of the University of Illinois, he maintained memberships in a number ol industry and community organizations.

He is survived by his widow, Vera: one son: and three grandchildren.

Clyde Starling

Clyde Starling, a lumberman for many years, died May 17, at Longview, Wa. He was 58.

He began his career in 1922 wirh Long Bell Lumber Co., Longview. After working as a salesman in many areas, he became manager of the wholesale lumber depa-rtment in Longview in 1952. Retiring in 1962. he became a salesman for Stan Rose, Exter Lumber, Longview, until 1971.

He is survived by a daughter, a son; and three grandchildren.

F.C. Andersen

Fred C. Andersen, 92, chairman emeritus of Andersen Corp., Bayport, Mi.. died June 9. 1979.

A guiding force in the growrh of the largest window and gliding door manu-

Ad Index

ill:lillllllt:it:illliillltililjill:iillltlltlilliliii:iiifi:,.il:lliiliitLiiltrl:llllll:li] facturer in the U.S., he led the company for over 50 years. He served as president of, the company, f,ounded by his father, Hans J. Andersen, from l9l4 - 1960, when he became chairman of the board. He served as chairman emeritus from 1972 until his death.

He is survived by a daughter; a daughter-in-law; a son-in-lawi five grandchildrent and several great grandchildren.