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Friday. October 21. 1955
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBTTHB &HX3R
Research Important in Development Work
Leading to New Plywood Industry Products
You catch the odor of wet fir
"Don't expect to see grey-haired
Ph.D.'a in white smocks squint
ing into test tubes," says Harold
Evans, Plywood Research Foun
dation's executive director.
Touring the Foundation lab,
which . is located in Tacoma,
Wash., you learn that a devel
opmental researcher is only part
scientist. He's primarily a skilled,
highly imaginative production
engineer. He's a dirty-overalled
mechanic who has time to stop
and think.
One of the lab's work areas
looks suspiciously like a machine
shop, with benches, lathes, a
rack piled with steel bar stock.
Farther along you find working
models of plywood mill equip
. -ment glue spreaders, hot
presses and trim saws. You see
panels of plywood by the hun
dred, more kinds than you knew
existed.. The green-fir smell
comes from the boil tank used
for testing the wet-strength of
laminates.
A non-profit corporation es
tablished in 1945, Plywood Re-
m search Foundation, carries on
continuing research in applied
fir plywood technology. Its goal
eJs threefold: (1) to improve man
ufacturing methods and ma
chinery; (2) to up-grade the me
chanical properties, appearance
and value of present plywood
products; and (3) to develop new
products that can. be produced
as secondary manufactures to
utilize waste wood
Patents Licensed
Royalties on Foundation pat
ents licensed to mills and mill
equipment manufacturers cover
some 12 of the lab's current
expenses. . The balance is sub
scribed by some 95. western fir
plywood producers.
How ' does this research team
go about its business? Projects
start, Evans explains, with ger
minal ideas. .
The staff contribute more than
their share of these ideas, for
they're thoroughly familiar with
fir plywood production prob
lems. But the Foundation claims
no monopoly on originality.
Instead, it serves as the fir
plywood industry's cleari n g
house for ideas and technical in
formation from all sources.
Evans and his researchers keep
close tabs on developments in
other industries that may find
application in plywood produc
tion. The Foundation gladly ex
changes information with trade
assooiations, federal agencies and
independent research labs.
Evans' team also evaluates
ideas suggested by mill em
ployees. Under the "PRF Plan,"
in effect since 1945, the Founda
tion will assume the expense of
developing, patenting and licens
' ing millworkers' inventions that
promise benefit to the industry.
Royalties received are split 50-50
with the original inventor.
Bare ideas come first, but they
seldom serve the industry until
they're given practical applica
tion on mill production lines.
Some projects are relatively
simple from an engineering
standpoint. For example, the job
of developing marking equip
ment to rule guide-lines for nail
ing at 16" intervals across struc
tural sheathing panels presented
n, great difficulty.
One Job Three Years
; Some developmental jobs are
not so easy. It took the Founda
tion three years to complete a
moisture detector unit that
would automatically check mov
ing veneer for moisture level.
This device, which is now ac
cepted as one of the notable ad
vances in production control
equipment in the history of the
industry, measures the wood's
electrical conductance .and ca
o pacitance, a true indication of
moisture content.
Foundation researchers built a
pilot model detector in cooper
ation with Laucks Laboratories,
Incv Seattle, who now produce
the units under license from the
Foundation and market them
under their trade name. Laucks
"Sentries" are now in operation
on dryer lines in plywood, furn
iture, paper, lumber and hard
board mills. In some instances
this equipment ups dryer line
output as much as 20, afford
ing savings that quickly amortize
the cost of the detector. Mills
have reported savings of $3,500
per month per dryer line.
. With the quality of peeler logs
offered to plywood mills grad
ually declining, research aimed
at up-grading mill output- be
comes increasingly important.
Evans points to Texture One
Eleven exterior paneling as an
example of a firsj-grade product
manufactured from lower-grade
veneer. Made from unsanded
panels of Vs" C-grade plywood,
Texture One-Eleven siding is
grooved lengthwise to show at
o tractive vertical shadow lines
when installed. Edges are ship
lped. When the Foundation of
fered the product to mills, a doz
en plants adopted it. Some now
devote nearly l10th of their
production time to Texture One
Eleven. Q The Foundation's semi -dry
process of hardboard manufac
ture, first licensed in 1953, de
veloped from research to find
profitable uses for veneer left
overs as well as cores from ve-
m X e 3,-. ft
LABORATORY HOT PRESS for testing new
methods of manufacturing fir plywood re
ceives a "sandwich" of veneer and glue at the
Plywod Research foundation where studies of
plywod technology are conducted.
PILOT MODEL of marking equipment which
imprints guide-lines for nailing at 16-inch
intervals across structural sheathing fir ply
wood panels get a test run at the Plywood
Research foundation's laboratory.
neer lathes. It requires compar
atively inexpensive plant equip
ment. Inquiries about this pro
cess were received from many
parts of the world.
Future developme n t s? Al
though Evans hesitates to discuss
work now in progress, he's will
ing to hazard some speculation.
As for new products, he pre
dicts rapid growth in production
of panels with low-density cores,
either foamated plastic or coarse
particle laminates.
Resin overlays, he believes,
have barely brushed the dust
from a broad potential , market
for factory - finished plywood
products. There's cost-engineering,
he adds.'
Development of inexpensive
exterior-type, cold-set adhesives,
still just over the horizon, will
lead to some economies in cur
rent production costs. But Evans
thinks that any significant saving
must come from the expense of
handling.. Towards this end the
Foundation makes a running
study of handling procedures and
time-motion data.
Automation Question
And what about plant automa
tion in the industry? Practicable,
but only to a degree, says Evans.
Logs have defects, and nobody
as yet has devised an electric
eye that will register whether a
given sheet of veneer will sand
smooth. ,
But he sees no reason why ma
chines, in the future, shouldn't
for example, pull and sort ve
neers as they come from the
clipper.
It takes equipment worth some
$25,000 to displace a workman,
according to Foundation esti
mate. Considering that many fir
plywood mills are running double-shift,
further mechanization
seems warranted. However, he
explains, some mills in the north
west are recent enterprises, still
struggling under the handicap of
originally ' inadequate capital
structure. Some mill equipment
is leased, not owned outright,
and some is now obsolescent.
If you add the industry's
growth and subtract its prob
lems, he says, your answer's op
timism. Since he joined the in
dustry in 1931, Harold Evans has
watched fir plywood develop
from a specialty product into a
leading structural material. That
development followed consistent,
cumulative advance in product
and production technology.
And he expects that advance
to continue.
Budget-Priced Home
Designed Using Plan
Made for Magazine
New Boat Plans
Undergoing Tests
Eight -brand new plans . for
small boats ranging in size from
a 7'9" pram dinghy to a 20' in-board-outboard
cruiser, are be
ing construction-tested by the
Douglas Fir Plywood Associa
tion. All of the plans for easy
building with fir plywood are
from the boards of nationally
famous marine architects.
The eight plans were aimed at
the amateur builder with con
struction simplicity as the key
note. In addition to the pram
dinghy and the 20-footer, these
others also are on the list: An
11'3" outboard runabout, a 13'4"
outboard runabout, a l3'9" punt,
a 15' outboard runabout, a. 16'
outboard runabout, and an 18'
outboard day cruiser.
With the exception of the
punt, which is designed for river
and marsh use, all of the new
craft hold to a beam-to-length
ratio of greater than three-to-one.
All are characterized by
light displacement for length,
ease in propelling.
Plans for the new boats will
be made available soon after
completion of building on the
prototypes.
V.V.W.. -
PLANKING on this craft built by Burchcraft Boats, biggest west
coast boat building firm, is resin-overlaid firvplywood, a specialty
product of the plywood industry. The overlay is glass hard, agate
smooth, tough and resistant to wear.
Specialty Products Offer
'Extras' for Home Workshop
The amateur craftsman with
an ambition to give "something
extra"- to his projects, can often
gain a running head start if he
employs easy-to-use fir plywood
specialty products.
These products were designed
for specific " qualities, to meet
specific needs in the building
trades. Since all of them main
tain the big-panel simplicity .that
makes plywood so ideal for "do-it-yourself"
projects, the "some
thing extra" is a real help to the
amateur.
H
FISHING TACKLE box made
of high density ' overlaid fir
plywood will stand up under,
hard usage while maintaining
its fine appearance and easy
usability.
Architects hired by the ply
wood association to design the
eight craft are Frank E. Strick
land and Edwin Monk on the
West Coast, and David D. Beach,
an eastern designer.
High on the list are the panels
designated as' overlays. Resin
fiber surfaces are added to these
panels by hotpress techniques.
Two grades are manufactured,
medium density and high den
sity. The basic difference is in
thickness of overlay.
Medium density was designed
as an optimum paint surface.
The resin fiber overlay provides
a "tooth" which literally grips
the paint, giving you a smoother,
tougher, longer-lasting finish.
For a really professional-looking
finish job, these panels can't
be beaten. '
High density was designed to
take hard wear. The surface is
smooth as glass, agate tough. It
may be used without finish to
show off the fine wood charac
teristic of the panels,. Several
color tones of overlay give you
a decorator choice. It is ideal for
such areas as counter tops, shop
bins wherever you need . a
surface that will stand up under
really rough usage. For surfaces
in children's play areas where
there's likelihood of scribbling
or scrambling, these panels are
just the ticket.
Newest item on the list of ply
wood specialty products is an
exterior building panel called
Texture One-Eleven. Vertical
grooves give . these panels a
dramatic shadowline. They are
ideal as accent shots in. your
"do-it-yourself" new home or re
modeling project inside or
out. A rough finish gives them
just the country casual appear
ance called for in modern arch
itecture. '
If you want to play up the na
tural grain' of beautiful wood.
you can turn to brushed ply
wood, which is marketed under
that name and. several trade
TEXTURE ONE ELEVEN PLANTER boxes for patio or terrace,
are a lot easier to make than hey look. The difficult custom-built
effect shown incorporated in the design does not involve fancy
carpentry. 1 is achieved by use of grooved fir plywood called
Texture One-Eleven. This is a W panel manufactured with 100
waterproof glue with deep grooves on the panel face. It ellmes vith
41 o' A m r TV-. a Vnvai navt Yto maila oimnlv Kit ntintf
the panels to the size required and assembling them with the trim.
names.' Steel brushes cut out the
soft-wood on the surface, leav
ing the natural grain in raised
relief. These panels lend them
selves to a simple, dramatic fin
ishing technique in which one
color or, tone is applied to the
raised surfaces and another, col
or or tone is wiped into the val
leys. -- -- !
For that outside finish job on
your house - new or remodel
ing you may want wide-lapped
siding. Plywood is the only
material that can give you this
effect economically. You may
want to cut' the panels yourself.
Wide-lapping siding is available
in pre-cut packages, however,
complete with furring strips and
wedges, and with surface of med
ium density overlay for the fin
est possible paint finish.
Barking of plywood "peelers"
used to be done laboriously by
hand, the barking crews using a
conventional peeling tool called
a spud, after the log had been
steamed. Now debarking is done
by machine and only a few ply
wood mills use the old system of
steaming a log before peeling.
Some, however, maintain that
steam peeling is the best method.
Tests undertaken by expej-ts
at the Forest Products labora
tory at Madison, Wis., have
oroved that plywood has. pound
for-pound strength even greater
durability and other qualities
than that of steel.
If you have a unique building
project,' a query to the Douglas
Fir Plywood association, Taco
ma 2, Wash., may run up just
the solution you need. If your
question will fit on a postcard,
gt it off today. ' V
PICTURE TUBES
REJUVENATED
Is your picture tube dull and weak?
Most picture tubes ceil be restored
to original brightness , at only a
fraction of the cost of replacement.
For further information CALL1
Electronic Servica
18 N. GRAPE
PH. 3-1971
1
Daily's U-Drive
Medford Airport
If you can spend $3,500 on a
new home, here's a package of
living space that would be dif
ficult to, match for twice that
money with another plan and
another building system.
This house came off the draw
ing board of New York Design
er Norman Cherner on an order
from Pageant magazine. The
magazine specified that the low
budget price had to include these
factors:
Two bedrooms.
All-weather comfort with com
plete heating system. -
Kitchen equipped with stove
and sink and refrigerator.
Shower and bathroom fixtures
complete. -
A fireplace. '
"View-focus" on southern ex
posure. ' , . - -
How successfully Pageant's
bill of particulars was met may
be seen in the accompanying
artist's sketches. There's modern
eye-appeal in every line of this
house. The plan will show you
that it's engineered to save steps
and take advantage of the con
venieces which today's science
can provide.
Part of the secret is that you
build this one yourself, saving
the usual 60 per cent in labor
costs.
And the rest of the secret is
that this is a home actually de
signed for the amateur carpenter.
It takes advantage of the new
est building methods with big
modular panels of fir plywood.
As Pageant pointed out, put
ting the modular sections togeth
er "is like assembling a doll
house. You just can't make a
mistake or a misfit."
Notice the sweep of windows,
tilted to reduce reflection and
sun's warmth. They tie the liv
ing room to the garden-view out
side. The kitchen is but a step
from the dining area in one di
rection, the bedrooms in the oth
er. The children's room opens
naturally onto the hall and
screened porch to extend their
play area without interfering in
the remainder, of the house.
Room sizes are not lavish, but
are more than adequate. This
is a "livable" home; no wasted
space. Yet it doesn't look like
a budget, home, either inside or
out. Wide areas of glass make
it pleasantly sunny. The attrac
tive roof overhang shades you
from the high-angled summer'
sunshine, but lets in the lower
angled winter rays.
The master bedroom has its
own 4-foot sliding glass , door
to the porch and garden, ideal
for ventilation on warm summer
nights, but sheltered by the
porch roof. '
And on top of all this, the
house was designed for a bed
room addition that would not
look "tacked-on". Placed at
right angles to the line of the
house, it would face onto the
garden or terrace, maintain the
indoor-outdoor living character
istics. Fir plywood is specified for
both exterior finish and sub
flooring to gain maximum
strength and appearance value
with top economy and speediest
construction. It also is used for
built-ins and accent shots, al
ways with an eye to easing the
task for the amateur carpenter.
Complete blueprint specifica
tions are available from Pageant
magazine for only $1. Address
your request to The Pageant
House, Dept. A, 535 Fifth Ave.,
New York 17 .N.Y.
50-Year-Old Plywood
Industry Marks Date
(Continued From P-l)
their ruggedness for hundreds of
jobs. .Versatile and with the
toughness of steel, plywood
found usage in projects ranging
from skyscrapers to storage bins.
The era stimulated another
great period of expansion in
which the number f plants in
the industry about tripled while
total fir plywood output more
than tripled. -
In its Golden Jubilee year, the
plywood manufacturers can show
a total annual industry payroll
of 115 million dollars with the
nearly 100 mills worth an esti
mated 220 million dollars. These
mills will produce this year about
4 billion feet.
The future? Excellent! The fir
plywood industry sees greater
progress in the coming half cen -tury
than it achieved'during the
colorful first 50 years. Stanford
Research Institute, in a survey of
future demand for wood and fi
nanced ty Weyerhaeuser Timber
Co., predicts a demand for ply
wood of 7-billion feet by 1975.
That's enough plywood to form
a pathway of 4x8-foot panels
laid end to end from here to
the moon. New uses, new mar
kets, new horizons . for "Ameri
ca's Busiest Building Material."
l aJtt. ... uk Mm 1 .sis : .mik .
ill "v IMfil ; J
i mum . - -
; FREE SHOW ; '
ftpHaT A Fir Plywood Jubilee free show
Wi hi, is coming to town! Ifs a circus-
jf t type exposition and will have
s ii- something of interest for every
B Mjtl. member of your family. See
i i llrc sound-color movies. See' the
JOTlf- clever "menagerie" of circus an-
iafln.f imals made entirely of plywood.
jtyt See "Golden Ideas" for outdoor
i llffi indoor living. See dramatic dis-
l I plays depicting fir plywood's
I'lll. I importance to this community,
vflfil ' Sa,urt,av ""d Sunday, Medford ' - g
I py
A TODiUTH
TO THE
On Their Golden Jubileej
We Should All Be Proud
of the progressive plywood industries in South
ern Oregon, and grateful for their contributions
to the economic, civic and social life of our
communities;
Companies like Southern Oregon' Plywood,
Oregon Veneer, Medford Veneer and Plywood,
Fir Ply, Empire Plywood, Grants Pass Plywood,
Veneer Products help -make this area a better
place to live and also help advertise the scenic,
sport and employment advantages of the Rogue
River Valley.
o
We are proud that Mc
CULLOCH Products have
helped the industry by pro
ducing the world's finest
tools for falling and back
ing .
I
vv VIA
IV3cCU1L
CKlAnW SAWS
;. . . . i
Distributed in So. Oregon and Northern California by
Southern Oregon
Equipment Company
3540 NORTH PACIFIC HIGHWAY
MEDFORD, OREGON