THE USE OF ASH FOR COMMERCIAL BODIES.
Page 71
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A Comparison of English Ash with American Ash, with a Reference to the Kiln-drying of Timbers.,
By a Timber Salesman.
MY remarks about American ash in my last article lhave quite naturally produced a mild " storm of protest from the American quarter of the trade, and judging from one letter received by the Editor, one would imagine I had stated that this wood was fit for little else than firewood. In fairness to my friends in the American hardwood trade, I hasten to correct that impression.
Everyone who has had practical experience knows that American ash—kiln-dried or otherwise—is useful for a good many purposes, and is extensively used in a good many industries with very satisfactory results. Nevertheless, I still adhere to my statement that it is, generally, much inferior to English ash, and does not possess the qualities of toughness, durability and resiliency to anything like the degree to be found in the English wood, and, where strength and reliability are the first considerations, I would never recommend it.
' Even during the War, when timber was so very scarce, American ash was condemned for use in constructing aeroplanes on account of its brittle nature and general failure in tests of reliability.
That there are ash trees growing in America which produce timber equal in quality to our own ash cannot be denied, but they am in a Small minority. American ash as imported into England is a mixture of many different species of the wood. No attempt is made to sort the different kinds, which vary greatly in nature, thus making it impossible to obtain supplies of any standard quality. Consequently, the yield of wood equal in every respect to English ash is a very small percentage.
How American Ash is Brought to this Country.
Logs, boards and planks of American ash have been imported into this country for a good many years. Formerly, it came in logs only, but possibly for the last 25 years a far greater quantity has been imported cut into square-edged planks and boards. Coming in the form of square-edged planks gave it a great advantage, although it was the cause of the closing down of many of our sawmills, which had thrived on the work of sawing the logs. It made transport much easier for the Americans, as a ship could carry far more planks than logs, and the consumer was able to buy more accurately the quantity he needed without having to take the waste caused in squaring up log-cut planks. Then, in America, the process of drying timber by means of kilns became greatly improved, and the Americans were quick to perceive that still greater saving in the cost of transport could be effected by artificially drying the wood before it was shipped, as all timber loses weight in drying, thus reducing the shipping weight.
Furthermore, the consumer and merchant found it no longer necessary to carry large stocks of the wood, waiting for it to air-dry. This obviated the necessity of having a large amount of capital tied up in wood and, naturally, American ash soon came into great demand. Seeing the success they had achieved, the Americans adopted the practice of kiln-drying nearly all sawn-timber, with the result that they were able to flood the English market with square-edge ash planks, already dried and fit for use, with abundant supplies available, at a price well under that for which English ash could be bought, and without waiting for the somewhat slow deliveries of the English merchant. This dealt a staggering blow at our home-grown timber trade, from which it has never really recovered,
although, since the War, the home-grown wood trade has shown a marked improvement.
However, as time went on it was discovered that imported square-edge American ash, obviously kilndried, although useful for a good many purposes, such as use in heated buildings, gun stocks, athletic goods, etc., was not to be compared with English ash for purposes where strength and reliability are the prime factors, especially for the construction of commercial motor vehicles, and a great prejudice sprang up in this country against all kiln-dried timber. This became known on the other side of the Atlantic, with the result that the Americans, with great . business acumen, have, within the last few years, shipped an increasing number of logs. These, of course, are not kiln-dried. There is, however, still a preponderance of squareedged planks, kiln-dried, being imported, and many arrive in the yards corky, light as feathers and, in the vernacular of the timber yard,. with the " guts " dried out.
It is useless to deny that these planks have been kiln-dried, as it is well known in the timber trade that, in timber-producing countries, America, Finland and Sweden, it is now the general practice to pass all the
planks from the saw throttgh the drying kiln In America, the wood is dried out completely, making it very susceptible to atmospheric changes in such a humid climate as ours.. Other countries only partially dry the wood by kiln.
Kiln-drying of wood has reached almost perfection, making it extremely difficult for any but practical persons to detect it. A wood turner, for instance, can at once tell if he is working kiln-dried wood. Should the wood be artificially dried, he finds great difficulty in avoiding chipping. • Perhaps, in reading my last article, some may have overlooked that I was dealing with timbers suitable for commercial bodies, which are required to stand heavy strain and hard wear, and to last as long as possible. Private car bodies are in a different category. With the changes of fashion, the shape alters and the old bodies are scrapped in a comparatively short time. Elegance and " show " are the first considerations, and the vehicles are not always expected to " pay " for themselves, as is the case with commercial vehicles.
The Danger of Imported Pests.
The following may be of interest :— •
Many strange and peculiar flies, some alive, were found in a parcel of American ash planks cut from logs. They had eaten their way into the timber to a serious extent. It was thought they must have been in the logs before they were cut, and a specimen of the fly was submitted to the Imperial College of Science, asking if this fly was peculiar to American ash. Mr. J. W. Munro, of the Entomology Department, furnished the following reply, which appeared in the Timber Trades Journal of October 16th, 1926 :— " The insect is a species of Neoclytue. It is the Neoelytus exythrocephalus, the most injurious borer in American ash, and known in the United States as the red-headed ash borer. It is at present an American insect, but I frequently find its larva! in American ash In home timber yards, and it may become domiciled in Britain if our climate allows. It affords an excellent illustration of the risks we are running of introducing pests in timber imported into this country."