The Practical Lumberman by Bernard Brereton

TS .!3 7 The Practical Lumberman BY Bernard Brereton FOIRTII EDITION 1921 l^0mm^. ^<£-6'-^ C e>t C-ca/ -*• «*-*-*-''e<' LC^^y^t.^rca^c/ ^^^^g/cgZ^^ The Practical Lumberman FOURTH EDITION PROPERTIES AND [USES OF DOUGLAS FIR, CALIFORNIA REDWOOD AND THE LEAD- ING COMMERCIAL WOODS OF THE PACIFIC COAST Rapid Methods of Computing Specifications, Contents and Weight of Squared and Tapering Lumber, Octagon Spars and Logs LOG TABLES AND GRADING RULES THE METRIC SYSTEM Includes Conversion Tables and Information Relative to Foreign Export Shipments TABLE OF DISTANCES From Pacific Coast Ports to Foreign Ports, also Inland Waters of Puget Sound, Columbia River and British Columbia THIS BOOK IS FOR SALE ONLY B|fJH^ M^THOR A.ND PUBLISHER BERNARD^ BRERETON P. O. BOX 1158 TACOMA, WASH. MAILED ANYWHERE ON RECEIPT OF PRICE, $1.50 British Countries Using Sterling, Price Seven Shillings, Postpaid COPYRIGHT 1921 BY BERNARD BRERETON M\ 20 1921 ICU617402 from the press of Pioneer Bindery and Printing Co. tacoma, wash. PREFACE The object of the author in presenting this book to the public is to furnish reliable data pertaining to the properties and uses of Douglas Fir, California Redwood and Pacific Coast Forest Products. The various subjects treated will save the Lumberman and Logger many hours of research, as the numerous problems covered cannot be solved without the practical and technical knowledge that can only be gained by a long and varied experience in both the Lumber and Shipping industries. In the section of this book devoted to logs will be found the log tables in general use in British Columbia. Washington, Oregon and California, the methods for computing same, also the log grading rules and a special table computed by the author showing the actual or solid contents in board feet of logs ranging from six to forty-eight inches in diameter. Shipowners, Captains and officers of the merchant marine, or any one con- nected with the operation of cargo carriers, will appreciate the information re- garding the system for computing the general and lumber carrying capacity of oil and coal burning steamers also the Table of Distances which will enable the reader to ascertain the distance from the leading ports of the World, to any Douglas Fir or Redwood Cargo Mill on the Pacific Coast. As Belgium, France, Italy and Countries using the "Metric System" require lumber and specifications to conform to their standard, the writer has special- ized on this subject, so as to enable shipowners and lumbermen to successfully cater to this trade, which will increase to vast proportions as soon as exchange is stabilized and the demands of the Foreign buyer are satisfactorily complied with. The increasing number of orders from the Atlantic Coast for Douglas Fir, which is usually shipped there in cargo lots via the Panama Canal, is sufficient evidence that the production of Eastern Pine is fast diminishing, and it is only a matter of a few years when the Southern States will cease to be a factor in the export lumber market. The United States and Foreign nations will then be mainly dependent on the forests of the West as a source of their supply of lumber for finish and heavy or light constructional purposes. It is therefore only a question of business policy that anyone engaged in the lumber or shipping industries, regardless of their position or location should avail themselves of the opportunity offered in this book to increase their knowledge of Western lumber so that they can successfully cater to this trade. To those desirous of obtaining reliable data concerning Douglas Fir or Cal- ifornia Redwood, the information in this book can be absolutely relied upon as I have personally supervised the manufacture, inspection or shipment of up- wards of fifty million board feet of Pacific Coast Lumber annually for a period of over twenty-five years. While the treatment of some of the subjects is necessarily brief it is to the point as the most casual perusal will disclose and if this work is the means of enlightenirig buyers and sellers of lumber throughout the world on the value and use of Pacific Coast Forest Products, one great purpose of the writer will be well accomplished. In conclusion, I wish to express ray appreciation to the officials of the United States and British Columbia Forest Service, the Bureau of Foreign and Do- mestic Commerce, the Lumber Trade Journals and my friends in the Lumber and Shipping Industries who have so courteously furnished me with much valuable material for this work. BERNARD BRERETON, Author and Publisher. DOUGLAS FIR DOUGLAS FIR (Pseudolsuga Taxifolia) Douglas Fir, widely known as Oregon Pine, reaches its best development for commercial purposes on the Pacific Coast, from the head of the Skeena River, in British Columbia, and southward through the States of Washington and Oregon to Central California. The wood is comparatively light but very strong; it is the strongest wood in the world for its weight that is obtainable in commercial sizes and quantities. With the exception of Spruce, Douglas Fir is in greater demand for Airplane construction than any other wood, and material of excellent qual ty for this purpose can be found in unlimited amounts. THE CORRECT NAME Douglas Fir is named after David Douglas, botanist, who explored British Columbia (then called New Caledonia) in 1825-30. It is the most important timber tree on the North American Continent, and is known by a great variety of names, such as Oregon Pine, Oregon Fir, Washington Fir, Yellow Fir, Red Fir, Douglas Spruce, Red Spruce, Puget Sound Pine, and British Columbia Pine. The employment of so large a number of names for one class of tree is very confusing, detrimental and often misleading, and for these reasons the United States Forest Service some years ago took a lumber census which resulted in their adopting the name Douglas Fir, as it was used more than all others combined. MERITS AND USES The stand of timber in Oregon and Washington alone, it is estimated, com- prises 25% of the remaining stand of timber in the United States, and in British Columbia is estimated to comprise one-third of the total timber supply of Canada. It is considered the strongest softwood in the world. (See United States Forest Service Bulletin No. 108). Douglas Fir is moderately hard but easy to work, straight grained, resilient, tough and durable. Combining these qualities of great strength, light weight, ease of working and handling, Douglas Fir more than any other commercial timber, is the ideal wood for practically all building and structual purposes. Owing to the great size of the trees, Douglas Fir timber can be furnished in the largest dimensions required in modern heavy construction. MERITS AND USES—Continued. As complying with qualities essential in a wood acceptable for general building purposes, Douglas Fir is practically impervious to water, holds nails firmly, takes stain well in any shade or color, and combines beauty, utility and durability. It is a superior wood for bridge and wharf building, and heavy timbers or joists where great strength is required, and is unsurpassed for masts, spars, derricks, ship and deck plank, (decking), traming material, car sills, car siding, car roofing, car lining, flooring, ceiling, silo stock, sash, doors and interior finish. The lower grades are used in large quantities for underground mining purposes. The United States Forest Service Bulletin No. 88, says: "Douglas Fir may, perhaps, be considered the most important of American woods. * * * It is manufactured into every form of lumber known to the saw mill operator. For house construction Douglas Fir is manufactured into all forms of dimension stock, and is used particularly for general building and construction purposes. Its strength and comparative lightness fit it for joists, floor beams, and other timbers which must carry loads. "The comparative hardness of the wood fits it for flooring and it meets a large demand. Douglas Fir edge-grain flooring is considered superior to that made from any other softwood. "Clear lumber, sawed flat grain, shows pleasing figures, and the contrast be- tween the spring and summer wood has been considered as attractive as the grain of quarter-sawn oak. It takes stain well, and by staining, the beauty of the grain may be more strongly brought out and a number of rare woods can be successfully imitated." The durability of the wood, and the fact that it resists saturation by water cause it to be used in large quantities for wooden piping, for continuous stave and jointed conduits used in power and irrigation works, for silos and tanks. It makes first-class railway ties, whether treated with preservatives or not. Street pavement of cresoted Douglas Fir blocks properly laid is noiseless, dustless, economical in upkeep, and is durable and long wearing even under heavy traffic such as that of freight and dock yards. The unusual valuable combination of qualities possessed by Douglas Fir adapt it to such a variety of uses that a com- plete list of them would cover nearly all the uses to which wood can be put. WATERBORNE SHIPMENTS DURING 1920 From British Columbia, Washington and Oregon According to the report of the Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau, Seattle, Wash., a grand total of 1,840,791,139 Board Feet of lumber was moved by water from British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. This represents a gain of 475,786,777 Board Feet over the year 1919. Of this amount 1,199,704,338 Board Feet was shipped to Domestic Ports and 641,086,801 Board Feet was shipped Foreign. California took a total of 1,066,123,859 Board Feet in the year 1920, com- pared with 851,681,985 Board Feet in the year 1919.

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