Long-Bell's Pfywood Op.ration at \(/eed Calif.

Also Announcing lmportont Changes in Plywood Deportment Personnel of Lons-Bell Lumber Company

THE CALIFORNIA LUMBER MERCHANT is very proud to publish for the first time in its columns a picture story concerning the Plvwood operations of The Long-Bell Lumber Company, at Weed, California.

First, important changes recently announced by this company in its I'lyu'oocl Department personnel. J. M. White, President of the Long-Bell I-umber Co., has issuecl an official announcement of the follo'iving appoir-rtments in their Plvu'ood operations :

A. J. Myers, .ivho has until recently been Superintendent of the Weed Plyrvoocl plant, has been prornoted to the position of General Superintendent of all Long-Bell Plyrvood operations, and is nou'at Gardiner, Oregon, in charge of the construction of the new Long-8e11 Plywood Plant being built there. lle has been succeeded as Plyrvood Superintendent at Weecl by FI. G. Reents, lr'hile -T. T. Dohrrr has been promoted to Assistant Srrperintenclent to Mr. Reents.

A. J. Myers, rvho norv heacls all Long-I3ell Plylvoocl manttfacture, has l>een with the company since 1924, sold lumber for years, u'orked in the sales and shipping crr<l at \Areed for a number of years, then at Klamath Falls frtr a term of yezrrs and in l94l entered the Plyn.ood er-rd of the business. FIe lvas Superintenclent of the I'lywoocl plar-rt at Wee<l in 1942, ancl held that position until his recent promotion. The lrew ltlant he is building at Gardiner, Oregon, will rnanufacture Douglas Fir Plywood, rvill be in operation by the end of this year, and will employ 220 persons. The Gar<liner operation will be called The Gardiner Lumber Company, that being a Long-Bell subsidiary

Located at the base of N[t. Shasta the I-ong Bell Lrrmber Company's Ply'rvood I'lant in Weed, California has been ir-r production since 1911. It rvas the first such plant on the

Pacific

Coast to manufacture Ponderosa Pine Plywood.

For years, the primary concern of this plant was to produce plywood for door panels in the company's large door factory nearby.

Since 1942, a rnodernization ancl expar-rsion program has been in progress to rneet the ever-grolving demand for Ponderosa I,'ilre Plyu'ood. Production, since then, has rrearly tripled as the result of the installation of rnodern machinery arrd the inrprovements in hanclling methods.

The plant :rt tl.re present titne is producing plywood at the rate of 30 rnillion square feet tl basis yearly, operating .5 d:rys a week. Standard sized panels,4'l>y 8', are mannfactured in thicknesses ranging from ,/+" to 2%'. All grades of plywood :rre produced. Some exterior type plywood is manufactured, but the greatest majority of panels are manufactured with a special 10 cycle highly moisture-rcsistant interiol glue. Grade descriptions ar.rd other colrcliti<lns oI manufacture are registered with the United States Department of Cornmerce under the publication "Comnrercial Stanclard CS 157-49."

The rnore iurportant procluction equipment consists of two I-athes, trvo l)ryers, trvo Glue Spreaders, one Hot Press, one Cold Press, llipping ancl Triruming machines, :rncl orre lJ Drum Sander.

Tlre rnost receut ad<litiou to the Pl1'.n.ood Plant has been the installation of Steam Tunnels. These l.unnels are filled and emptiecl lly mear.rs of a heavy dutv fork lift truck. The peeler blocks remain in the tunnels from 18 to 24 hours, at an avcrage tempetature of 160 degrees F. Steaming peeler blocks is nothing new to the industry; however, this operation has been discontinued by mosl. of the Western Softu'ood Plywood manufacturers-the tn<ldern l-athe had much to do with this step. By the addition of these Stearl Tunuels, the plant is norv able to coutinue its operations the year around in spite of low rvinter temperatures rvhich frequently cause logs to freeze solid.

Aside fron-r tharving logs, thus making thetn easier to peel, steaming has added advantages evidenced by srnoother peeling of veneer, more uniform thickness of veneer and plywood, betl.er glue bond, smoother sanding, and the elimination of face checking.

In order to iusttre a tight fit betr,veen the variotts 'rvidths of cross bancling ir-r the core line, a core jointing machine has been clevised. The edges of the core moving on rollers are pushed over a high speed ctltter head. All core thicker than 1/s" is put through this machine. As a frrrther steP tou'ards insuring :I core line free of voi<ls, all cross banding and center corc in .5 ply panels having lrrrything but

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