Dty Lumber-The Answer to Speed in War Production

By Chas. J. Williamc

Until recently but few of our people realized, that dry lumber and plywood are a vital and necessary war material and can replace steel in many cases. The slogan .,Wood Releases Steel for Victory" is now an accomplished fact,' but it is still not widely known or fully appreciated.

Properly seasoned wood is light-it is stronger in proportion to its weight than steel and can be used in many places to replace steel and other metals where these metals are vital and needed for other uses.

This is the first time in our history when every plant manufacturing every species of wood in every region of our country is operating at maximum capacity and can sell their product as soon as it is properly dried and ready for marketing. You hear no complaint from any section as to inability to sell the particutar kind of wood they manufac ture. Competition between different woods and different sections has disappeared for the time being.

There is a shortage of modern drying facilities at many lumber and wood working plants that is proving a ..bottleneck" and prevents prompt delivery of many items made of wood that must be carefully dried to meet the moisture content specifications of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The demand for dry lumber has depleted yard stocks of air dried lumber and it is now necessary to kiln dry more lumber green from the saw.

Many plants have old type dry kilns that can be modernized and equipped with recording and regulating instruments, properly designed fan equipment, and thus made capable of doing accurate seasoning of all species and thick_ nesses of softwoods and hardwoods. By using the old kiln building and all the old metal equipment a minimum amount of new material is required and the total investment reduced to a minimum.

It is said that only 2l/o of all steel manufactured in America is going into commercial use. If this is true, g7%% !s 1ow going into direct war work while 2l/o is goirrgirrio indirect war work through commercial channels. fn" to.ber and wood working industry is at present getting only a small portion of this Z%%. I doubt if "rry steet noiv being used is yielding such great returns for the war effort as th; small percentage of metal now going into the manufacture and drying of forest products.

For comparison the relatively small quantity of steel for one new or remodeled double track modern Dry Kiln 104 feet long will produce daily approximately 20,00o board feet of properly seasoned softwood lumber plr day o, "ppro*i_ mately 10,000 feet of green hard'r,ood boards per day.^ 'Since dry kilns are operated continuously 3O days per month, this means that one modern kiln room will supply the Army and Navy with about 600,000 feet of dry softwood lumber per month or over seven million feet per year or one-half this quantity of dry hardwood.

A modern, automatically controlled dry kiln will satisfactorily season either hardwood or softwood green from the saw to any desired moisture content and rvith much less degrade than air drying.

Lumber and plywood is now being used to replace steel for innumerable war uses and modern dry kilns will aid in turning out quickly dry lumber for the following war equipment: airplanes, airplane propellers, gliders, gun stock, war and cargo ships, pontoon timbers, army truck bodies, tent poles, army cots, cantonment camps, lumber for crating bombers, munition boxes, food packages, wooden barrels replacing steel drums, defense housing, and hundreds of oiher uses.

In remodeling old type kilns much less steel is required than is needed for constructing new dry kilns since the metal in the old kilns is used. There are many plants, especially among the small mills, who previously had no kilns but may need new dry kilns should the demand for dry lumber become more acute.

Most of us have forgoften that many of the products recently made of steel were formerly made of wood. The shortage of steel has reminded us that wood will not only "release steel for victory," but wood is really better for making furniture, filing cases, and innumerable other items. We should not become discouraged because of delay in getting priority or because a previous application for priority was denied by the War Production Board. It is essential that application for priority be made promptly and that the War Production Board regulations be closely followed. Plants who are in need of drying equipment to filI orders for the Army, Navy and Air Force should renew and be persistent in their efforts to get priorities. Perhaps when the War Production Board turned down their previous priority, forest products were not then considered a vital and necessary war material.

Wood is the most immediately available building material for war u'ork. A relatively small quantity of steel used in drying equipment will return "a thousand-fold', on the investment in the form of a steady stream of seasoned lumber and plywood, vitally needed to win the war.

When the officials and public are more fully aware of the situation, it is hoped that the.War Production Board will be more liberal in granting priorities and releasing material more promptly to plants that are in great need of it.

Harry E. Whitt emote Resigns

Harry E. Whittemore, manager of the Benson Lumber Co., San Diego, resigned on July 15. He was with the company eighteen years, starting as salesman, later as sales manager and assistant manager, and manager for the past six years. '

He has not announced his future plans, but after a month's vacation, he expects to be back in the lumber business again.

Mr. Whittemore is widely known in Southern California lumber circles and is president of the Southern California Retail Lumber Association. He is also president of the San Diego Employer's Association. Aty of his friends can reach him through the Lumber Association's offrce, 1348 E Street, San Diego, the telephone number is Main 6163.

Frank C. Lynch, president of the Benson Lumber Co., has announced that he will assume the active management of the company, and Cliff Roberts, who has been with the company many years, has been appointed assistant manager.

Named Director of Southwestern

The SINGING SAWS Forest Station

Appointment of Raymond Price as director of the Southwestern Forest and Range Experiment Station with headquarters at Tucson was announced by the U. S' Department of Agriculture.

He is being transferred from the Division of Range Research in the Washington office of the Forest Service, and succeeds Arthur T. Upson who recently transferred to the War Production Board as Chief of the Lumber and Lumber Products Branch.

Mr. Price is a native of Ogden, Utah. He has had wide experience in the manag'ement of renewable resources, particularly public and private range lands. He will assume his new duties at Tucson immediately.

How To Satute Your Fiag

Civilions, as well crs soldiers, should sqlute when the flog is being roised or lowered or when it pqsses (uncosed) in o porode.

A mqn not in uniform sqlutes by removing his hot with his right hond c:nd plccing it over his hecrrt while stcrnding upright with heels together.

A womcrn in civilion ottire ploces her right hqnd over her heort, while stonding upright.

Whenever the Stor Spongled Bcrnner is plcyed, c civilicon stonds upright qnd fqces the music, with right hcrnd over heqrt, except when the {log is being lowered ot sunset, on which occqsion he loces the llog ond sqlutes os described obove. The solute is held until the lqst note o{ the qnthem is plcyed.

The scrws make music dcry cnd night in "Pcul Bunycrn's" plcnt at Westwood as three shilts ccrry on in scrwmill cnd Iqctories. Record brecking production Ior War needs makes the scw crn o[Iensive wecpon and its tune cr song oI Victory!

?crul Buny<rn's"

Catifornia Pines

Soft Ponderoscr cnd Sugcr Pine LT'MBER MOIIIDING PTYWOOD

Incense Cedcrr

VENETIAN BLIND STATS