No rift in demand for rift oak

heavy medullary ray growth. Oak is the most popular with a heavy demand existing for rift-cut in both white and red oak veneer and lumber.

Because the grain, which has the look of pin-stripes or, as more romantically described, the appearance of a lovely lady's long tresses combed straight down her back, is favored by architects, more and more rift-cut oak veneer with lumber to match is being specified. A match can be achieved, but the technique for producing veneer is different from that used for lumber.

AWI standards must miss the quarter flake. To achieve this, the sawyer must make the cut for conventional lumber and then adjust the log on the carriage and cut off a small wedge before cutting the next board. This procedure must be repeated for each board in order to maintain the proper angle between the saw and the annual growth rings which produces riftsawn material with no, or only minimal, quarter flake.

P8,lu *I [.",",T,"31 ?fi JJ:: ; selling and producing oak are discovering. Considered one of the most popular decorative woods in the United States, Canada and Europe as well as other parts of the world, oak is experiencing problems in both supply and use.

A common problem today is that rift-cut oak, which is favored for its lovely comb or pin-stripe grain, is difficult to specify. Some specifiers are not familiar with the complexities of ordering rift-cut oak veneer and riftsawn oak lumber. Since they are not familiar with the differences in manufacturing techniques used to produce the two, they are unaware that the same specifications cannot be submitted to cover both when a perfect match is needed between the two materials.

Solution of the problem begins with clearly establishing what rift oak is and is not. Rift is a grain figure appearing in veneer or lumber as a result of employing certain cutting techniques. It is not a type of oak. It can be cut from species other than oak, but it requires wood which has a

To achieve the rift-cut veneer with the straight grain and little or no flake described in the AWI Quality Standards, the cut must be near enough to radial to be across the growth ring, yet, at all times, be enough off the radial cut to avoid any parallelism with the medullary ray. This is most easily achieved by making a curvature in the cut using a half-round or staylog lathe to produce the rift cut.

Rift*utting of oak veneer uses a flitch made from a one-quarter of an oak log which is chucked off-center in the half-round or staylog lathe. The knife is positioned to cut the veneers at a distance on the perimeter of the rotating flirch. The flitch is adjusted so that it can operate on a different axis with the knife cutting in a curve across the flitch face on every rotation and advancing after each rotation. The arc on which the veneer is cut is significantly greater than the curvature or arc of the annular rings to produce the comb figure.

Some rift-sawn veneer can be acquired with flat-slicing as the slicer knife approaches the center of the log with the changes in the angle at which it passes through the annual growth rings. However, the highest quality rift figure is produced only by following the AWI Quality Standards. Of course, the cost for such veneer reflects the care required to produce it. Rift-sawn lumber, according to the

While some rift-sawn lumber can be obtained by conventional sawing, high quality rift-sawn wood requires the exacting care described above. This procedure of controlling the angle at which the saw passes through the log takes time and skill on the part of the sawyer. The wedge cut off is waste. The additional labor and waste make rift-sawn lumber as expensive as rift-cut veneer.

It is possible to get the comb grain effect in lumber to match the comb grain pattern in veneer, but the lumber should be bought from a sawmill that specializes in cutting rift-sawn lumber. Specifications should be carefully checked by those who will provide the riftcut oak since the cost of producing the rift-sawn veneer and the rift-sawn lumber is clearly reflected in the price. Bids must be adjusted accordingly by the supplier.

Story at a Glance

Demand increases for oak in rift-cut veneer and rift.sawn lumber. complex manufactur. ing procedure makes specify. ing diflicult . . . price reflects labor costs & waste easy to err on bids.

Time Management

(Continued from page 12) hour of your day. It won't be long before you'll be able to delegate or delete trivia.

Delegate for effective time utilization. By all means, use your power of delegation. Take full advantage of the talents of all your employees. Be sure you give your employees all the information they need to carry out your instructions and any authority necessary to finish the job. Don't overlook the organizational talents of your secretary. A good secretary, well-trained and given enough responsibility, can become an effective administrator. By taking over dozens of those details that absorb your time, she'll help you manage better than ever.

Finish the job should be a top goal. Try to stick with each project until it's done. A great deal of time is wasted by starting one job, jumping to another, and then trying to regain your original concentration. A competent secretary or assistant can ward off interruptions to give you more time to concentrate.

Break projects up and they'll be a lot easier to tackle. When you face involved projects that take many hours or even days of concentrated effort, don't try to handle all the details at one time. Instead, break the projects into workable parts. Again, delegate portions of large projects, but be sure to record appropriate deadlines and follow-up dates.

Give yourself a break when you deserve it. We all need an occasional pat on the back. The trouble with being a manager is that, while you have to encourage and praise your staff, who is going to encourage and praise you? You'd better do-it-yourself.

When you feel a job is well done, or even an important portion of a job, give yourself a break. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Meet a friend for lunch. Take a coffee break and relax. Or just sit back to study and admire your own accomplishment. You've

Bed earned it!

Try adapting these rules to your business day. Use your time better today. Build for tomorrow!

(You can get more time management ideas ond afree 3-month time-planner diary by writing to Day-Timers, P.O. Box 2368, Allentown, 'Pa. ISM| -ed.)

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