• HARD MAPLE FOR BODY FRAMEWORK.
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A Little-known Wood which Ranks Next in Usefulness to Ash and Oak for Body Construction.
By a Timber Salesman.
IT is everywhere noticeable that purchasers of business motors are, very wisely,' paying increasing attention to the kind of wood used in The construction of the bodies of their vehicles:
Hitherto, the choice of wood has usually been left to the bodybuilder, but owners have begun to realize that motor vehicles, commercial or otherwise, closely resemble human beings, and that a vehicle with a arong, reliable engine and a weak, inferior body, is much the same as a person who has a brilliant brain but lacks the physical strength to make full use of it.
However, close attention to the kind and quality or wood used on the vehicle is time well spent. After all, owners pay the piper for the body as well as for the chassis and are, therefore, entitled to know something of the materials from which bodywork is constructed. Many have, forgotten that in the past.
The trouble is that although mankind leads a sort of wooden-bound existence (look around and see how many things are made of wood), there are few outside the woodworking trades and timber yards who know much about timber. Therefore, in order to be of some assistance• to purchasers, it is intended in this article to give a little information, without wading into technicalities, about an old and tried wood which again seems to be coming into protClinence, and which could be more largely used than it is, for framework,
viz, hard maple. • Of' course, for combining the qualities of strength, reliability, resiliency and durability,. English ash is still second to none, and for toughness, rigidity and the power to etand heavy jolting and, great strain, English oak is incomparable. Nevertheless, hard maple, although, perhaps, not so durable as oak or ash, may be accepted with confidence for the framework of almost any, type of body.
The Useful Properties of Hard Maple.
Grown, in America, the hard maple, or rock maple, ranks as a first-chiss hardwood, and in•North America it is extensively used Mr constructional purposes in the wooden houses. When freshly cut the wood is white, but after being exposed to the light for some time it turns to a rosy hue and when polished has a beautiful silky lustre. The grain is fine and close and, on account of the nature of its fibres, which cleave together with extraordinary tenacity, it has no equal as a screw-holding wood. Another -uncommon property possessed by this useful. wood. is its power to absorb shocks without damage to the structure and to deaden metallic noises.
. These qualities make it particularly ..suitable for n40 the construction of bodies of vehicles which have to stand heavy wear and severe jolting, . and in this respect some aver that it is even preferable to oak, although that is a matter of opinion.
On nearly all commercial vehicles the body framework is subjected to constant strain, especially in passenger vehicles, which, in many cases, have to be so frequently stopped and started. This etends to loosen the joints and fastenings,' and one will notice the nuts wearing, or sinking • into the weed. Not so with maple. • Bolts, fastenings and screws in hard. maple remain firm,' thus preVenting " that irritating • metallic vibration so often td beheard, and -:which • usually commencesall 'too soon after the vehicle has left .the maker's "works. Irideed, maple has often been' described as the —rattle-proef -hardwood."' The Resistance of Hard Maple to Wear.
This remarkable " standing" quality is attributable to the possession of a characteristic which makes :Lida wood althost unique. It resiSts all frietiOn." For an explanation of this (even if it were wanted) one would have to go deep -into the science of the structure of wood and flounder about in botanical eata, of little or no interest to the' average buyer:
However, it is a fact that maple is self-resisting and, no matter to what amount of friction it is subjected, it will merely polish and eeein to take on an even harder surface where most other woods will quickly Show signs of wear. Being extremely hard, corners will stay square and retain that handsome aPnearanca Of "newness "so agreeable to the eye in all woodwork and essential in all passenger coach work. •
From the bodybuilder's point of view maple his one big drawback:. It is inclined to twist if not well eeasoned, and only practical men can realize the enormous amount of trouble this prank of nature eause-s woodworkers. All of which, of course, rebounds on to the timber merchant. To him, in days gone by (and sometimes to-day) maple was a nightmare on account of the unconscionable time it takes to season perfectly.
To season maple naturally requires two to three years. That may be the reason why the demand for this wood has not been up to expectation. However, in these days, when artificial seasoning has been brought almost to a state of perfection, maple is usually sold ready for immediate use.
The cost of maple compares favourably with other leading hardwoods, but whatever is paid for it good value is obtained for the money, and that should appeal to the user of commercial vehicles.