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HOW TO SELECT TIMBER FOR BODYBUILDING.
Page 113
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Some Valuable Hints on the Characteristics of the Woods Used in Constructing Motor Bodies. What to Choose and What to Refuse.
(By a Timber Salesman.) TO be able to select exactly the right sort of wood for any particular purpose_ is a very valuable qualification, held only by a few. Many men, perhaps experts in construction, have scanty knowledge of the wood they work, and even those with years of experiL once have been known to make unaccountable mistakes in choosing the wood.
This is not so very surprising when one comes to think about it. Timber is a natural product and in trying to fathom its various qualities one is at once up against the mysteries of Nature which are often beyond the, province of human intellectual capacity.
However, timber is, at the present time, through various causes, a costly commodity and, when purchasing it, mistakes in selection sometimes become very expensive. Space will not permit me to deal minutely with a subject so vast and so complex, but a few hints in a general) way on woods largely used in the motor bodybuilding trade may be of value.
When selecting ash (especially American ash) be sure the planks have -weight. Those nice,cleanlooking, almost white planks, which seem as light as a feather, are to be rejected. They are the " corky " and " dead " wood, and are very brittle. Good-quality ash is always heavy wood.
• In ordinary deal the blue grain (as all woodworkers know) is the sap, but in American whitewood. the white part of the wood is the sap. "Prime" quality whitewood should be a pure canary colour. The bluey-grey-to-brown part is the heart of the wood, and is hard. Some boards are all sap, and have a white appearance throughout. They are known in the timber trade -as "clear saps." They are, of course, useful faro good many purposes, but they should be priced much cheaper than the prime" quality. The buyer must be wary of this. (Magnolia, a comparatively new wood imported to this country, is now often used as a substitute for American whitewood, which it somewhat resembles. It runs from 7 ins. to 17 ins. wide and is considerably cheaper than whitewood.) Points in Choosing Mahogany.
In choosing mahogany of good quality look out for
the roe, which has a light and shade effect produced the angle of the crossing grain. This will show torough polish and varnish with beautiful effect. Look alsofor the black pith flecks, or specks, for .should there be no evidence of any of these characteristics one may he sure one is looking at inferior-quality wood. If you are purchasing log-cut mahogany boards, and -wish to ascertain whether they are well seasoned, look
• for the stick marks on the boards. The more pronoun'eed these marks are the more seasoned is the wood. I am referring to wood naturally seasoned, which is the best, not to that artificially seasoned by kiln drying. For the benefit of those who may not know I will explain the meaning of "stick marks." When mahogany logs are cut into boards they are piled away "in sticks." That is to say, the boards are piled on top of each other with piling sticks separating the boards from each other, in order to let in the air and so to season the wood. The sticks are laid across the boards at spaces of about 2 ft. to 3 ft., and, the air not being able to get to that part of the wood which rests on the stick, a distinct mark is left across the boards when they are depiled and the sticks taken away, making it obvious, by the contrast in colour, how long the boards have been in sticks.
When requiring oak for any part where strength is. the prime factor, choose English oak, the strongest and 'toughest wood in the -World. American oak, although perhaps of a nicer appearance, is sometimes very brittle when dry.
Testing Beech for Seasoning.
In selecting beech, try with your knife whether the bark of the planks will chip off easily. If it does, you can be assured the planks are dry and ready for use. If the barkappears to be stuck on as if with glue, you can be equally assured that almost as soon as the planks are in the comparatively warm stmosphere of your workshop they will split or "shake," because they are wet.
Walnut should be examined very minutely. Wormholes, which are frequently to be found in this wood, are sometimes very hard to detect through being filled up with dust. When this happens the natural colour• of the wood makes it difficult to trace them.
Prime quality teak boards should have a distinct and clear "ring .' when dropped end on to a stone or hard floor. Inferior quality teak will only give out a dull sound.
If you are selecting boards or planks which are stood up on end be sure to examine the bottom ends as well as the tops. This may seem to ixsuperfinous advice. But ask any timber salesman and he will tell you that those sent to select timber will almost invariably look up at the top and forget the bottom.
In buying softwood matchings it is cheaper in the long run to pay a little more and have a first or good second-quality stock. The inferior qualities always contain a large percentage of the boards with the tongues broken, and you may have to purchase, say, 200 ft. in order to obtain 150 ft. that can be used.
When you enter a timber yard to inspect timber remember shifting wood is a strenuous and dry job, and a sound investment is a little beer money to the porter who is showing you the stuff. You will be surprised how his memory revives under this influence and he will begin•to show yOu all sorts of nice boards and planks which he had "quite forgotten." That is a genuine secret of how to select timber.