SEASON'S GREETINGS

AITC Grqding Workshops

The American Institute of Timber Construction, in an efiort to help train personnel of its members' Iaminating plants, has conducted ten workshops on the grading of tension laminations for structural glued laminated timber beams. Each of the workshops ineluded discussions by the Institute's Inspection Bureau stafi on the AlTC-recommended tension lamination requirements, lamin. ating grades specified in U.S. Commercial Standard CS253-63 for Structural Glued Laminated Timber, and recent glued laminated tirnber beam test results. The workshops included actual grad. ing of lumber for tension laminations by those in attendance.

The ten workshops were held at AITC members' laminating plants in California, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon and Washingon, for the benefit of personnel of those plants as well as for personnel from nearby laminating plants.

D&R Buys Lumber Firm

Alger.Bloch, Inc., wholesale lumber firm based in Washington, D.C., has been acquired by Dant & Russell, Inc., Pordand-based forest products firm, according to J. S. Heigel, D & R president. The transaction was accomplished through an exchange of stock, Heigel said.

He said Alger-Bloch will operate as a subsidiary of Dant & Russell. Fred Bloch will continue as president and Russell Alger as vice president.

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Pqlco Wins Industry Trophy

The Pacific Lumber Co., San Francisco, was awarded a bronze "Oscar-of-Industry" trophy for the excellence of ie 1968 Annual Report, in a competition sponsored by the magazine, Ftnancial World^

Over 5,000 annual reports in 93 classifications were judged, and awards were presented in New York. \ 1968 marked Pacific's l0oth year of operation.

Bockground on redwood morkeling proctices

Nature takes her time to produce a redwood tree, and The Pacific Lumber Company takes its time converting that tree into redwood products at its manufacturing complex in Scotia, Calif.

There are a number of reasons why a considerable length of production time is required. It is advantageous for wholesalers and retailers to be aware of these and to know how redwood lumber production varies from that of other softwood species. These production requirements afiect not only the products but also tht: marketing practices of redwood lumber.

er percentage of water than any other softwood speciesin extreme instances having twice as much water, by weight, as wood. The amount of water content depends on sdveral variables, principally the location of the tree and the particular site growing conditions.

Water distribution in the tree is largest at the base and decreases toward the top. Most all butt logs, and sometimes the next log as well, are 'osinkers"they will not lloat in water.

Redwood gives up its moisture very

A mature redwood tree contains a high- slowly. This lumber cut from logs with high moisture content must be dried much longer than lumber from logs with lower moisture content. Over the years, Palco has developed three classifications for sortittg green redwood lumber which are based on drying characteristics. These classifications are simply heavy moisture content, medium, and light.

The sorting of these moisture content classifications added to the usual sorts by size and grade require green chains much longer than normally used in mills producing other species. The company's green chains total more than 1,500 feet in lengh and accommodate around 900 segrega' tions.

''Heav,v" rough gret'n letlwood rcquires from 12 up to 24 nonths of air drying" depending on thickness. lrelore tht. lumlrt'r can be kiln dried. "Nledium" class requires about one-half the air drl,iug time of thr "hcavv." "Light" moisture content stock n)a\' €io directlv to the dry kilns without tlrr. preliminarl air drving.

Most of the upper grades of redrvood Irrmlrer, which make up over 70c1t of Palco's redwood" r:ome fmm the lower logs of a tree. Thus tht'se upper grades require the long pt'rio<ls oI air drying prior to kiln drying. It can readily be seen that up to 24-30 months (:all casil) pass betrveen the time of logging and the time the finished dried prorlrrr:t is shipped.

People rvho havt' visited the Scotia facilities see air rlr-1.irrg 1'ards st'r'nrirrgly rrithout en<I. 'I'o take cart' o[ tht' uir drying inventories. the company has irr ercess of 50 ar:rt's o[ drvins yal'ds atrd c'att hare mort' than fift1' million lroartl fcct air drying at an1 one time.

Having gone to this much care ancl exp('llse [o air season and then kiln dry" tht'r, see to it that after kiln drying the lurnlrt,r is therr alwal,s under roo{-through all sulrsequent manufacturing. storing and Ioading.

Tht' nt't:cssitl' for the physical and. finarrcial capacity to carly large ir-rventories has a berreficial t'fiect on the marketing flerihility of redwood lunrbel and pll-wtxrd.

Tht' physicral facilitit's pltrs atr aititutlt' of n'illingrress to cart'1 large irrvt'rttorit's alkrrvs tht'm to ride out tinlcs of nralket ullrest. I)uritrg periods oI r'le<'rcast'<l ntlr'ket dernand" thel' t:arr stot'kpilt' prorlut'ls ralher than lnov(' thcm in rtufavot'trbl' markets. Then when demantl picks tll) again. thcl- are in an t'vcrt bcttcr position Io srrpplv ('ustorners. Thus Pttlt'o rt'tlwood plodrrcts att' nol sLrlrjet't to the rvide market gyrations sumetinres experienced bt' other species and lruilding materials. Customers. t'spt'cially. tht: independent distributors slocking re,lrtoo<1. lra\r' ( onle to appreciatr' the nrlrkct stalrilitr of all redrvood.

Byron Miller Elected RIS Chief

Byron ll. Nliller. president of thc Arcata Iledwood Co.. has lrttn clectecl presiderrt o{ the Redn'ood lpl,spt'r:tion Service at the annual boald of dircctors meeting, heltl recentlv in Eureka" Calif . Fred (1. Holmes. Fred C. Holnres l-unrber Co.. was elected vp. and Philip 'l'. l-arnsworth was rt'-elected sec.-treasurer

The board includes: \. L. Bailiff. Howard Frcnt,h. Arthur Harwood. I)ennis Hess. Leo S. Hulett. L. W. Le,v. Harry A. Mt'rlo, Stanwood A. Murphy. J. R. Perry, H. Pierson Plummer'" Darrell H. Schroedcl arrrl (llil'lirrrl Srrroot.