SEEING IS BELIEVING

Evening Star, Issue 20052, 18 December 1928, Page 2

SEEING IS BELIEVING

H.Z.'S INDUSTRIAL SKILL NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE IN WOODWORK (Prize Essay Written by W. W. Small.) In the earliest time of which the scientists of to-day have any knowledge the men had nothing but wood with which to work for their food and home. They kindled fire with wood, they tilled the ground with a wooden plough, and they built their houses of the same material. All through the ages wood has been the main article used in man’s work. At the present time, however, when stone and steel are so much used in building, we are apt to overlook the multitude of uses to which wood may be put. There are comparatively few people who know of the intensely interesting work which goes on every day at a local factory, where every kind of wood is put to every kind of purpose. Because 1 was fortunate enough to bo amongst a party which was shown through the whole works, I am in a position to reveal to the uninitiated the features of this industry. After wo had been introduced to our guide, we were ushered through to the open part of the - .ctory, where the rough work of cutting the planks from the logs is carried out. Here, to begin with, we received many surprises, for there were saws of every description—double circular saws able to, cut up a log of sft diameter, a band saw which runs on a wheel of 4-Jft diameter, and many others of a novel character. There were also finishing planes, not, as you may imagine, the old jack-plane, but machines which are able to put a perfect surface on literally hundreds of feet of timber in a minute. After we had been sufficiently impressed by these new spectacles we were shown a machine which put the groove and. tongue on planks which had been already dressed. Thus they were ready for the pari of the house in which they wore to be used. Near this machine was a room where dressed oak was stored, all ready to be converted into furniture and household articles such as picture frames. I suppose that yon will b'e wondering where all the sawdust and shavings which have accumulated- during these operations are now reposing. They are not lying about the floors of the workrooms and hindering the movements of the men, but they have been quickly removed by a magnified vacuum cleaner. Our guide showed us how a strong draught drew all the waste products up a tube to the furnace house, and a few minutes afterwards we were able to see for ourselves the final use to which it was put, for in this industry there is no waste. The furnaces were kept stoked by the dry sawdust, which, though you may not think so, makes an excellent fuel, the fires having a tremendous heat and lasting power. The heat which was generated here was used for two purposes. When the planks are first cut they are still green,” and if put into buildings or furniture they would quickly warp out of all normal shape. For this reason they have to bo “ seasoned,” a process which would naturaUy take some years, but in this case science has prevailed over Nature, and by means of drying kilns the timber is quickly brought into a fit state to use. , The heat from the furnace furnishes the means to accomplish this. The wood is carefully stacked in special rooms, which are kept heated long enough to thoroughly dry and'season the boards. The other use of the furnace is really a whole industry in itself. On entering an upper room we were just in time to see a cloud of steam emerge from a chamber which bore some resemblance to a baker’s oven, and from this oven two men brought out a piece of soaked wood, which they proceeded to clamp on a machine which looked rather like the pictures of the “ rack ” of the days of the Inquisition. When the. plank was firmly in place the ends of it were bent up until _ a perfect semicircle was formed. This, we were told, was the half of a dray wheel. Nothing appeared easier than to bend this piece of wood, yet before it had been treated it was a solid piece of ash. We saw many interesting articles made in this department—shafts, wheels, tops for vans, as well as other twisted shapes which were produced from the toughest of wood. I am quite convinced now that nothing is impossible so far as wood is concerned. We were next ushered into the cabinetmaking department, where we saw joins and dovetailing which made us most envious. The most important feature of this part of the industry was the door-making, and here we were given still more reason to be proud of New Zealand workmanship. After we had seen the perfect article which we had followed through the various stages in its manufacture—the dovetailing, the grooving, the polishing, tfio fitting, and numerous other processes - we were shown two partially dismembered doors' which were made in the United States and Canada. I should here remark that one of the main features of the New Zealand door was its strength, and the amount of wood which was left in the joining. These two doors were made ot inferior wood, they did not fit so well, and instead of having full width of wood in the mortising, one of them had about half-width, whilst the other was only dowelled, and would not stand up to any severe strain at all. This was truly a good demonstration of the superiority or our own manufacture, and it made one most desirous ox supporting home industry. The Americans may be able to produce quantity by means of mass production, out they certainly cannot come anywhere near our quality. There really seemed to be no end to the articles of interest which we were shown, and I am sure that none of us had any suspicion of the variety of uses to which-wood can be put, and we all wished that we could have'speiit an entire day in tayersing the different departments of the trade, t instead of having a short two hours in which to see all these novel sights. .1 think that if more people knew of the existence of this manufacture they would soon be convinced of the folly of buying imported goods of inferior quality, rind Would realise the wisdom ot the slogan " Buy New. Zealand Made Gqods.ll