LOCAL INDUSTRY.

Evening Star, Issue 3183, 3 May 1873, Page 3

LOCAL INDUSTRY.

MBSSES S" ABHEKB Every day thousands of the inhabltaqjts'of Dunedin pass the timber yard of Messrs Guthrie and Asher in Princes street, and hea r the clatter of machinery and the whizzling ring of the circular saws; but they pass without a thought regarding the variety of processes carried on, and the number of families dependent upon the enterprise and success of that large manufacturing firm. The Wood trade at Home is a very important branoh of commerce. It is many years since Great Britain grew timber, sufficient to supply the Home demand; and equally, or even more important is the trade to New Zealand. There is no doubt abundance of indigenous wood in the country well adapted to budding and manufacturing purposes ; but at present much of it cannot bo obtained, excepting, at a cost that entirely shuts it out of the market, although where carriage is not teo heavy certain descriptions are brought into use. The ocean is, however, a cheap highway, and gives access to the fordsts of the countries bounding the Baltic, of the American Continent, of New South Wales, Tasmania, and the North Island. The product of each of these countries varies in quality and adaptation to .pertain work. For work requiring strength and durability, the splendid timber of the Oregon territory is laid under contribution; for floors and weatherboards, the white fir of the Baltic combs in; and for inside work a variety of different firs is used—clear pine, kauri, or New Zealand white and black pme, while stringy bark and blue gum are used for framing and purposes where resistance to a strain is required. Of the ornamental woods we say little : cabinet work has pot yet become a leading industry, although, so rapidly are we advancing in manufacturing importance that, before many years pass away, there can be little doubt that Dunedin will supply most of the towns of New Zealand nyith furniture, as it does now with doors and sashes. From the enumeration we have given of the variety of wood in demand in the Colony, it need not he stated that a.Urge are* is required for stacking and storingit, _ag each different quality, to *v°to confusion, is classified to leflgtb, breadth and thickness, as well as the degree of -preparation it has undergone. The different classes of timber and the buildings are distributed over two acres of ground. On entering the enclosure from Sie right-of-way off Prince? street south, attention is attracted to a travelling crane, mounted on its frame, some twenty feet above th* ground. By a very arrangement it can he made to travel backwards or forwards, and its work is to load and unload drays. Perhaps there may be some who remember how matters were managed in London, Liverpool, and Hull some thirty years ago. Instead of a dray being drawn under a crane of this description, having a log of timber of two or three tons weight suspended, which can be so gently lowered into it that the weight upon the horse’s back can be adjusted to a pound if needful, it was necessary to the help of a dozen men, with canthooks, crowbars, anclhanctspikes, and there were inclined planes and dead lifts, and damage done to the orayy and sometimes to the horse and men. we have known an hour spent in hard work by eight or nine men, in canting, lifting, and sliding a heavy piece of squared timber into a than; ban be done'by two men with the travelling, crane in loss than five minutes-for it is constructed to'Kft twelve tons. "Equally Useful is it in unloading drays bringing heavy timber. • The logs are lifted off with safety, kept in. the slings,' and taken precisely over the ; spot where they are intended to im; lowered gently and safely into their position, where they lie until sold or required for cutting into boards or scantling. Passing on, persons unacquainted with the trade would fancy those stacks of boards, with blank looking ends, piled up so high, with pigeon-holes so regularly left throughout the pile, were become old and useless. But it is just those black-looking ends that carpenters like to see. Give them their choice between boards new from the sawmill, and boards which bear upon them the marks of many * shower 6f rain and many a gale of wind, and they will choose the old seasoned stuff. There will be no shrinking after ft ts‘ put together. It has shrunk as much as it is capable of, and years may pass without any perceptible alteration in the work. The floors or pmcls will not. gape, bntrthe joints will remain close. Thousands of pmmds’ worth of wood has been lying here for n&iw mcmsh*, getting “weathered,” as it is termed, before it is considered suitable for manufacturing purposes. Many years’ practice is necessary to enable' any one to distinguish at a glance the woods of the various countries; yet each has its distinctive character, and an expert can with certainty pronounce where it whs grown. We were mtormed by Mr Guthrie that New Zealand wood is becoming more in demand for building purposes, and we were shown a quantity of squared timber from Pine Hill, which had b.eon cut by h»hd Put pf sotpe trees. Kauri pine has always beep a favorite timber for its beauty when nicely dressed, and of this W6 SftW jfc large niiiuitity in stock, Aftor looking over the vast piles of timber, planks, boards, and scantling on the ground, and the stables for a regiment of horses, we retraced our steps to the large space covered in. The area enclosed within brick walls, and covered with an iron roof, measures 185 ft. by <i width of lz.2xt., and extends from Princes street to Bond street. We are not aware of any firm ip New Zealand, excepting, perhaps, the woollen factory at Mosgiel, Wing the same extent of covered ground. On account of the difference of level, the buildings used as workshops are two stories in , height m Bond street, and one in Princes street. They are carried up on pieVs with arched openings, surmminted by a cornice, and finished in Portland cement. On one side of the opening: into Princes street are the offices of Messrs Guthrieand Asher, beyond which, extending towards Bond street, axe large racks fillfed to the height of thirty feet with valuable timber,‘dry, well-seasoned, qnd fit for immediate imp. The firm also does a larg’i trade hi'galvanised iron, nails, and other materials used for building purposes, On this side also is their store for manufactured doors and sashes, of which we saw a large stock of various designs and sizes ah ready for immediate use. At right angles to these racks and storerooms parallel to Bond street are similar racks filled with mouldings, skirting-boards, architraves, and a variety of other foiras of wool, useful in different departments of building and made from Colonial and foreign timber. Entering the long roomy building containing the machinery, we observed a horizontal steam-engine, stated to be nominally of twentyfive horse power ; stroke four feet ten inches. It is supplied by a very large Gomiah boiler. Of course draught is an essential in utilising our Provincial coal, and this is secured by a brick chimney 70 feet high, having oi diameter at its base of 19 feet, diminishing to 5 feet at the top. It is of 14-inch brickwork until, near the top. The main shaft is 60 feet' in length, and is continued 10 feet down into the ground into a chamber 10 feet wide (thoroughly drained), so that a workman has Ample room to pass between the drums, to which straps are attached driving the various machines, and the wall when oiling their bearings. By placing the shafting so low, the unsightly boarding that covers the driving belts of the different machines is entirely got rid of. Those who remember what a slow process espying was before the application of m’aehifiery would feel astonished at the rapidity with which work is done at this establishment. What used to be done with immense labor in ten or twelve minutes is here accomplished in a few seconds, Near the timber yard is the circular saw beach used in connection with that department. It is capable of cutting boards 18 inches deep. So complete are the arrangements that there is no difficulty in securing uniform thickness. Formerly, after boards had come from the sawyers hands the jack-plane, smoothing-plane, and trying-plane üb6(l to*be in requisition, and gauges joi thickness and hours of labor necessary, to make the work complete. All of this is saved. If needful, (he boards are transferred from the saw-bench to the plaping machine, where they are cleaned arid dressed according to thickness with a rapidity and certainty that no human bands could equal The planing machines require floor space of 80 feet ny 30. One of them is of English make. It is kept continually at work on all patterns of mouldings, as it can plane or cut mouldings of all forms on each of the four sides of the timber as it passes over. An American machine by Ball and Co. is constantly at work, topguing, grooving, and planing flooring and Hrimg boards, and planing the framing for doors and sashes, preparatory to its being transferred to the machines especially adapted to their manufacture. The door and sash machines cover a space of 150 feet by 22. In this department is a sawbench, on an excellent plan, constructed by ' M'Dowal and Son, near Glasgow. The feed motion is continuous and self-adjusting to any thickness of stuff. Side by side with this is n moulding machine for cutting mouldings of pattern, although planing and working a six-inch architrave on three sides. A smaller nmehtoefor cutting mouldings for panelling of doom mi putas i» wwtwtly fit work.

Many ,of .our readers—ladies especially—when they look at a door, Uve not anyfdeaof themode by which it is put together. They open it and shut it; they feel it firm and strong, and are not aware of the skill with which that strong frame and that panelling, with its ornamental moulding, are so compactly and tightly put together. They see the neat close joints where the cross-rails meet the upright pieces ; but they do not know that the one is _ inserted into, the other: that an opening, called' a ixihrtice, is cut in the side rails to admit a thin tongue of wood called a tenon on the cross-rails, and that these are fitted so accurately the one to the other that the addition of a little glue, and a wedge or two, unite them so firmly that the wood will tear rather than the joint bo severed. Formerly, as much time was spent in marking out the boundaries of these mortices and tenons, as wns afterwards required to cut them out with chisels and saws. All this is saved, and muc.i more certainly done by machinery. There is no measuring—no marking required. Once sot truly, machinery docs the rest. Powers s machines cut the mortices and tenons, when accurately adjusted, and prepare the wood, and the whole is put together so rapidly as to he turned out at a price .that places a handsome door or sash within roach of the builder of tire meanest cottage.. We have krrown 2os paid for labor only in making a panel door, and he was a good workman who could It in a day. _\V e suppose, thi'orrgh the application of machinery and division of labor, it is_ now done in one twentieth (or less) of that time. In this part of the building is a very useful and ingenious cross-cut saw. In most instances of sawing machinery, wood is taken to the saw —but in this instance the saw is brought to the wood, the cut made, and it returns of itself, if allowed, to its resting-place, where it remains until again called into foquisition. Near it is a small saw-bench for finer work. The sawtablo is moveable, and can bo raised so that the saw ban dhly cut -to the required depth. It is chiefly used in rebsttiug window-sills andlreavy work of-that description. We ; may ■ remark that although the morticing machine outs the wood so that a clean opening is made, it does not draw out the fragments of wood —the chips. Those , remain in the apertu;ef and are, called the When the mortice is cut, the pieces ox framing,are handed to,a. boy, who, with a .lever Mid p punch o? proper the core out of the mortice; ana prevents the danger of splitting the wood through insertion of the tenon. Not the least interesting department near this machinery is that devoted 10 sharpening the Saws. This used to be a tedious process. When it was done byhand with files, it was always more or less uncertain. Perhaps few are aware of the difficulty of sharpening a saw. The teeth require to be all of exactly equal length, to have exactly the same “ set,” that is, to be exactly the same distance at the points from the centreline of the saw, and to be of such form that they will cut the timber with the greatest possible ease, without being choked by sawdust. We need not describe the various forms of teeth necessary for cross-cutting, or cutting in the direction, of the grain. , Each requires a different angle, and that angle is known. It used to depend on the skill of the workman: now it depends upon the machinery, guided by a workman able to guide it. Discs of emery, revolving rapidly at the proper angle, bring tlie teeth up to a fine point and ensure mathematical accuracy.Going into the turning department we find eight lathes. ■‘Most of the work 'done at them is done by boys. It is not, on the whole, , high class work, as it is principally for furniture of everyday use, such as bedsteads, sofas, and chairs. Mr Clayton, , who kindly accompanied us, informed ns that the lads had; only been at the work some six or eight mouths. It was, however, well arid accurately done, arid shows that some have found out what to no with their boys. Amongst other useful applications of the turning Iftthe is the manufacture of broom handles. The floor space occupied by Mr Kindle, in the turnery branch, is 185 feet in length by 22 feet. The Remaining .185 feet by 39 is devoted to the use of various workmen finishing the work previously prepared. Window sashes, when the framing is put together, require glaring, and overlooking Bond street is the glaring-room. There glass is inserted, and they are packed in cases ready for delivery. This, however, is gather out of the order of time, for prior to the packing they have passed through the hands of the sash finisher. In the same way dooi s arc passed through the hands of door finishers and general joiners, and after being thoroughly inspected and passed, they are placed in their proper store-room. The factory and machinery have been leased to Messrs Gibbs and Clayton, who lately suffered so severely through the fire that destroyed their plant and premises in Cumberland street. That enterprising firm devote their' exclusive attention to the manufacture of goods required by Messrs Guthrie and Asher, and expect • shortly to receive from England a large vortioal frame.saw, fistgd \vjth its own engine. When this s,aw- is ready fur work, immense advantage will result, as boards of any depth can be cut to the exact thickness required. The rooms are Well lighted and ventilated, and some ingenious arrangements have been adopted to secure light to the lower storey.

In order to facilitate communication between one part of the premises and another, a metalled road has been made 30 feet wide, and as a pre-cautjjfi-against fire Messrs A. and T. Bprt are layb™ water-pipes through the premises, with which a large hose will be connected ready for immediate use eveiy night, and in such a Sosition as to command the whole yard. A ouble hydrant is also to be fitted on the street fire-plug, with sufficient lengthof hose to utilise both hydrants. As an additional precaution a night-watchman is appointed, who comes on duty when the yard is closed and remains until the resumption of business next morning. To ensure his wakefulness he is required to announce the hours as they pass, by tolling the yard bell, and having done this, he is expected to inspect the premises with the aid of h(s dark' lanthorn. So far Os the 'armngen-enls against fire are concerned,{though common enough at Home, we have pot heard of their adoption by any other firm in the Colonies. En passant we may observe that the Colonial wood supplied by Messrs Guthrie and Asher is chiefly brought by six regular trading vessels from their mills at Catlin’s River. They are preparing to erect another bush mill of larger dimensions, and are also negociating with an Auckland firm for a large kauri mill of 60 nominal horsepower, capable of working up to 100. When we state that in this important establishment 102 men and boys and : 11 horses are constantly employed, we shall bo agreed with : the way is shown what to do with our boys.