Document 5LORXyKQRmbJXd2wOmenzvG35

f ^/* wtj) r- ? ;8iPSiIi8it8|lS8BiSPSl|p^ t/ * Record Group 4 >> * ' %\ |A A -* S " 1*12-2- : I-MBm;,:>r>Mm nvv no;----------:--:----- ---------. : I^ * ~ f **2^ *nri~* J? 5tv 1j - 4: <*" r** ' * \> -~^.i t - l Primary Year -{<^2,2. Secondary Year Media Qje-~^o<~4 Title )UL<.iA^orcc^cilu.i^ w \TL6tA3 -U Ct*> 'v 'Fg .c Jt o '- ies Si* Vi'A||f: OoUlac'-, W22-, 4*> SfuA^Woo^ 'Fxxu^hi^^ v^V6loleiAN.i Author f.L.'b V-OVJOIA4L. ,.81: "811118 -'--e8|;|Mv; Repository V" P 1_ Lib^r-^ Notes _i_HV i .1 F* P L. s Cc5V\Citr' rT-S UA-tk^ kce-^v /v.^ abv'Cf^-bV wvAtu w x Au 'iWk ^ c ^^Iic aA:\5s v v 5 iistsfi - ' iA^S(SS^'Sc: w.`;-*-*ar'.'J-#h^*{|!i j* *"* ' --if' cvjl ^J^.c{iV^aA , \^2.0& ' ^ - r 8 <- V r- l -> i -y <4:* N39025.01 MEMORANDUM Oil VISITS TO OSHTAIU FACTORIES DURING OCTOBER, 1922,TO STUDY WOOD EIEISHIUG PROBLEMS Daring October and November, 1922, visits were made to representative factories engaged in making wooden products re quiring finishing by means of paint or varnish, etc. The pur poses of the trip were: 1. To become acquainted at first hand with the condi tions under which wood finishing is carried out in these indus tries. 2. To learn the particular purposes which the finishes are expected to accomplish and how nearly these objects are being attained. 3. To discover what troubles are being encountered that might be overcome by experimental work at the laboratory. 4. To make contact with individuals and concerns who may be able to assist us in our work later on. Visits were made to: International Harvester company, the Peering, McCormick, and Weber Works, Chicago, making agricultural imple ments. Mr. V. K. Hawthorne, Secretary*, American Railway Association, Chicago, concerning the finishing of wooden railway cars. . ',, Kiel Furniture Company, Milwaukee, making tables. Republic Furniture Company, Milwaukee, making furniture. Milwaukee Chair Company, Milwaukee, making chairs. 1 N39025.02 Northwestern furniture Company, Milwaukee, making office furniture. Mayhew Company, Milwaukee, making furniture and talking machines. Crocker Chair Company, Sheboygan, making chairs. Northern furniture Company, Sheboygan, making furniture. Brand & sons Company, Oshkosh, making office furniture. frost Veneer Seating .Company, Sheboygan, making theater seats and cheap seats. Dillingham Manufacturing Company, Sheboygan, making refrigerators, folding chairs and bath room cabinets. Buckstaff Company, Oshkosh, making caskets and chairs. Smith-Barnes-Stroeber Company, Milwaukee, making pianos. Waltham Piano Company, Milwaukee, making pianos. Bush and Gerts Piano Company, Chicago, making pianos. Matthews Bros. Mfg. Co., Milwaukee, making special interior woodwork. Conway Company, Milwaukee, making interior woodwork. Chas. Abresch Company, Milwaukee, making auto bodies. Oreat Lakes Boat Building Corpn., Milwaukee, making motor boats and golf olubs. Gould Manufacturing Co., Oshkosh, making toys. Adams Biting Company, Chicago, making Tarnish. Mr. Walter Murray, finishing Products Company, Indianapolis, fillers and stains. 2- A large variety of wood finishes were observed during these trips from the single coat of enamel applied 07 spray gun to toys to the 8 or 9 coat, hand rubbed srrface given to some pianos, The following statements are based upon the observa tions of the writer during these trips, and the statements of the various men interviewed. Since many of the statements are not based upon data resulting from research they are not to be 1 accepted as final statements of established facts. Toys and cheap seats. The finishing material for toys must cover uniformly by dipping or spraying in one coat, dry in 24 hours, and not peel off when exposed to the weather. The species used are pine and birch and an<n&mel flniali-irS* employed. Kiddy cars are given a first coat of colored primer followed by one coat of coach varnish. Articles requiring a design in 2 or 3 colors are done in one operation by means of a special stencil and the spray. Chair seats selling for 7 or 8 cents each require a very cheap finish that can be applied by a machine very similar to a glue spreader. They are given a filler of corn starch and hot water and one coat of varnish. Theater seats are filled, water stained, buffed on wheels of rattan cane and given a coat of varnish. folding chairs tables are finished similarly. Railway cars. Passenger coaches are now being made mostly of steel. They are painted primarily for appearance rather than for --' Jt -- ** 'V4#'-y *-.rUf* .* T* 3 crz i> * c* :o anoicr T3*T 8^v ar>a <9oI900l IIB 3^05! :qqx5 vd :i o la ecr h is eiiirq; )Ti3 9TS LOSOO tO >r-: oh exs . 'S-Sice ! '' j .; aao **xev rig s ot jcrxw Jox i afeeciw j aixstio -rswIxfiS r:.3 v:er#i protection. Wooden freight cars are thought by many to fail mechanically before the wood has a chance to decay, hence they too are usually painted for appearance. Under present conditions only the cheapest paints will he used for freight cars and this is applied in one coat by spray. After the car leaves the shops it is not likely to be repainted unless it gets into an accident and has to be repaired. A straight iron oxide paint is called for in the specifications, but the paints actually used contain a large amount of filler and are of very poor viality. Wo paint at all is used inside the car. The attitude toward painting freight cars at the present time is shown by the fact that many cars are being turned out with no paint at all except the necessary identifi cation marks. The Lackawanna on the other hand is as careful about the painting of freight cars as it is with passenger coaches. Agricultural implements From the standpoint of the maker of agricultural ;implements the finish is applied chiefly to help the sales, although the production departments are doing their best to give as durable a finish as possible at a low price. The farmer seems to prefer bright colors. There is also a psychological factor involved in that a machine painted bright seems to weigh less to the farmer than the same machine painted in somber tones- The farmer takes so little -4 .aoiioeuOTqr IlnohTnricsai fair sts ooi sir srf 1X1?; .^STqa tuisqsT arf l .^sTxsq; soilloecta lodmrdma sir a jt IIs dcsasTff o SexxTod noi^BO id" dxrorfs 3 9doeco XtroxTpA aasleail \a0dtZ3 3 . .STig -sa^joi 3XOYS(J `"n'siTd :icfo3m care of Ms implements that no finish will last more than one season as a rule anyway. Painting for preservation must he done hy the farmer rather than by the implement maker. A great variety of species are used. por many parts they are used indiscriminately .one part that was observed for example consisting of gum, yellow pine, oak, cottonwood and maple, hubs of wheels are made of birch and oak, spokes of oak and Mckory, and rims mostly oak. Axles are all Mckory. Bolsters and gears are oak and Mckory. Wheel and gear stock is dried to 8 per cent for regular farm implements, 6 per cent for southwestern or mountain regions. The rest is dried to about 12 per cent. The finish must be inexpensive. Por the most part the materials are applied by dipping. The finisMng coats for wagon sides are brushed on because the inside is given only ' the priming coat. Spraying is considered too expensive be cause of the amount of material wasted. *?% f The finish consists usually of a priming coat which Jfis long in oil, say 25 to 33-1/3 per cent oil, a second coat Jt shorter in oil or a coat of color varnish and a final coat H of spar varnish. At tiie Beering Works the priming coat is \v\ . iv omitted,as they claim,to get equal durability for less cost. ? The other plants do not concur in this practice, i She materials used are all of an. inexpensive grade, but great care seems to be exercised in their selection and claim to get better durability from the lower priced paints and varnishes than from the expensive ones. Extensive -5. ** -3 * Cl V*/ VM -j C* I :rcf 9^ *o slqmsxe . elqsm Gcs iiso HrrsS's 63 seichei iXStflKTO-a . . ' ,v- < user end- :a` C03SW 0 D3XTi30 3C0 2I retfrorfa te qa lo ce jo >sno dtp' * e*hT r mi-slo tv j d xt s exposure testa are conducted on samples submitted by the makers. Physical and chemical analyses are also made. After a yearfs exposure, purchases are based on the outcome of the tests. The materials sent in by the manufacturers on these orders are checked against the analyses of the original samples and are rejected if they fail to agree. Motor boats The stern, trimming, and interior of the boats at the plant seen are made of mahogany or cedar with, a varnish finish. The wood is filled with a paste filler with which the stain is combined and then given 3 or 4 coats of spar varnish. Oak, white pine, and spruce are the principal species used for the remaining parts. The interiors are finished with 2'V or 3 coats of flat white paint followed by 2 or 3 coats of enamel. The outside of the hulls are given half a dozen coats of "yacht white" a straight white lead paint giving an egg shell finish. Bottoms are given 3 coats of anti-fouling paint and the inside of the hulls 3 coats of gray lead paint. Durability .is not a primary consideration since these are pleasure crafts which are painted usually twice a year for appearance. The requirements of the finish are (1) it must take patching without showing the line where new paint meets the old, (2) it must wear by chalking to give a good surface for repainting, (3) it must not crack off when abraded, (4) it must be capable of sanding smooth. -6- t S'XI/'S 0CIS9 3 l30X3'al r9tcxr3oq3:e alsxxsusxrt ?s osioaxfo : BsS-oefcex 'jsocf xoioM :sea ffselq JBoow ehT i fienidfcoo *101 JB9SXT oo 3 -so S . ISCSSIXa tdo&X" lo 111 XXexia : 9hf Bus 1S9XC[ 9X8 ixL3X3eqq;s )f>oq eaLsf BXo ehf q9X xol iaxrm dx ' golf clubs. are file heads/of persimon or dogwood and the shafts of hickory, The finish must (1) look well, (2) keep moisture out. (3) not show marks when hit by the iron heads of other clubs in the golf bag. A wax finish is sometimes applied, but it becomes dull in the retail stares unless polished up occasionally. It is applied best on buffing wheels and the wax has some gums mixed with it. The finish now used consists in stain ing and filling, and then applying a special shellac mixture made into a paste with oil by means cff "padding." The shellac mixture is placed on a cloth pad and rubbed in vigorously. The head is filled, sanded, shellaced, sanded again, given a coat of valspar and rubbed with rotten stone and oil, and finally polished with paraffine oil. Hefriterators. Ash and elm refrigerators are treated first with com- % bined oil stain and filler, followed by two coats of surfacer and one of long oil varnish. They are sanded between coats. The finish must not discolor when in contact with water, and must stand fairly rough treatment. Interior wood work Most interior wood work is installed in the white and finished by the painting contractor. In some cases it is finished before shipping. The finish generally consists of paste filler, stain, if desired, and two coats of varnish the last one being rubbed. Paint and enamel finishes are also -7 a-Stffo llox) is ica (S) io-g ahi ni zib a sco oecf &I \vlls anUTS 9ffloa 1~ 5L3 Hi 835 3 OoHi b903lq ai *'A ** *- M. ssrt.5aj;iii Sedctoi bna 9ti3:i3xs5 frsreyjfc'ileg 'Jtio'9ii2cf 0 9H0 J0H3 ri8ixrit:9[,i` bns;te tsircr 2~ ' X3 >w loiTatnl I ;cf J&enaiHii >tf 09ii2_inxi Ilil, .9oas5 a 9no eras! frequently used on interior wood work. Much special work for churches, public buildings, some stores, etc., is finished before shipping. She finishing of this work is carried out very much like the finishing of furniture, both in the variety of finishes used and the methods for obtaining them. It can therefore be discussed under the next heading. 1 garniture. fhe most important species to be finished for furniture are oak, birch, maple, gum, walnut and mahogany. Birch and gum are stained usually to imitate walnut or mahogany. She purposes of finish on furniture are: (1) to en hance the natural beauty of the wood, (2) to enable a less valuable wood to be substituted for a more expensive one, (3) to prevent loss of the beauty of the wood by weathering, (4) to prevent raising of the grain, opening of matched joints, etc. that take place if the wood is not finished, {5} to give a smooth surface that can be easily cleaned, (6) to prevent the surface from rapidly absorbing liquids that may fall upon it, (7) to minimize swelling and shrinking by retarding mois ture changes. A smooth well ssnded surface is essential for a good furniture finish. She final sanding should be done shortly before the finishing process begins, as the grain of unfinished wood raises gradually ton exposure to the air. The first process is generally staining. Water staim are most widely used except that golden oak is often finished 8 with oil stain. In the latter case the stain is often combined with the filler. Water stains have the great disadvantage that they raise the grain of the wood, requiring sanding again before applying the subsequent coats. Since sanding is the most espensive operation in finishing this is a great objection, The water stain is accused by some of opening up glue Joints in veneered work and causing trouble with swelling. Other concerns, however, do not experience the latter troubles. Oil stains have the disadvantages of (1) "bleeding" that is the color strikes through the varnish coats laid on top, (2) not giving as uniform coloring, (2) fading more rapidly in the light, (4) not giving as brilliant colors as the water stains. Spirit stains are expensive. Stains are applied by dipping or brushing. They can be sprayed, but not much seems to be done in this way. Most "fumed oak" is obtained by water stain rather than by using the fume box. In some cases oak is first sponged with water to "raise the grain", and then sanded before staining. This is too expensive to find very wide use, however. I When water stains are used, the grain is raised more or less and the work must be smoothed before going on. This is done in a number of ways, usually it is sanded,of course, after allowing the work to dry. pour to 24 hours are allowed for this purpose. A better Job results if the piece is given a "wash eoat", i. e., a thin coat of shellac before sanding as this causes splinters of wood to break off smooth leaving no fuzz. Instead of sanding, some use a cane rub. In this case the wash coat of shellac must be omitted. The work is rubbed 9 : Ixo dilvf 9xi-j '8X31 ^9L? -gni'^Xqcr.B xxoifs-xeco esxrooe ax * gxrxaxrso oxcaii sqpcs (X) lo Xsl afsoo xqsx 9Troar tefsw Qdt 9-_-rr.2rv .be-'jstqa ro-ii C'X 't-Tf ;:.? gxriaxr -^cf 0-V of :iefsw ' *- : -- 'S !" ax aixfi1 i 88eX TO .V* ZX.J-7 s xti enoh axriwoXXa v :.U f 1,-. * x ;txrq: axi 03 d8SW" ' : i-o-^r xt 3o axhf I .ssxfl rfsjsw edt with waste rattan cane either by hand or with a tufting wheel. Cocoanut titer seeins to te a still tetter material for this purpose. The nest process is filling. The purpose of this is to fill up the pores so that the later Tarnish coats will flow out smoothly and leave no pin holes where the varnish is drawn down into the pores. The requirements of the different woods vary greatly from the very open grained oak to the closer grained tirch. The test filler is a paste filler of silex and oil with the amount of oil varied to suit the requirements of the wood, the closer grained woods having a larger proportion of oil. It is essential that the silex te ground very fine and preferably "floated." Paste fillers, however, have teen very largely displaced ty liquid fillers or surfaeers. These are a varnish containing pigment to fill the pores. The liquid filler serves also as a "first coater" and where oil stains are used they can te combined in the filler. Liquid filler is usually applied ty brush or dipping. Paste filler is always followed by a coat of shellac to seal the pigment in the pores. With liquid filler this is not so essential, tut it seems to te the common practice any way. In place of the shellac a cellulose lacquer may te used. Some concerns mix, half and half, cellulose lacquer with shellac for this purpose. There is also such a mixture on the market which sells for less than either shellac or cellulose lacquer alone. Both shellac and lacquer are almost always applied by sptay. -10- After a few hours the wort is sanded {steel wool is sometimes used instead) and any defects, small holes, cracks, etc., filled with a shellac cement by means of the heated blade of a steel spatula. The work is now ready to "body up" to the final finish. The procedure varies widely with the quaUfcy of the goods and the kind of finish desired. lor a wax finish the work needs only one or two coats of wax, and is then rubbed to a polish. Such a finish can be turned out in 2 or 3 days. jfor a varnish finish, 1 to 3 coats of rubbing varnish are applied, usually by spray. Some maintain that the spray gives a more even coating than the brush. While others hold the opposite view. There is a tendency for the labor unions to object to the spray on sanitary grounds, but the employers claim that their real objection is to the jtact that it turns out work faster. . 0 Usually the work is placed in a kiln over night fear the varnish to dry. The temperature varies in different plants from about 80 to 130P. Usually there is some control of the humidity as well, but there seems to be very little real knowledge of the influence of this factor. The theory that seems to be moBt widely accepted is the following: Drying of varnish is more rapid at higher temperatures, but if the temper ature is too high the rapid evaporation of the volatile con stituents eauses blistering of the varnish. By increasing the humidity it is claimed that the rate of evaporation at a given temperature is diminished so that a higher temperature can be used without blistering. However, if the humidity is .too high, the varnish takes on a dull, muddy appearance. -11- Too low humidity is said to cause the varnish to dry from the surface down, and too high humidity causes it to dry from the bottom up. A very important reason for humidity control in var nish drying kilns lies in the swelling and shrinking of wood with moisture changes. This factor is generally overlooked in discussing these questions. "When the temperature in the win is raised the relative humidity is greatly decreased and the wood begins to give off moisture, This may result in checking of the wood and in blistering of the varnish. l`he humidity in the kiln should be maintained at such a value as to keep the moisture content of the wood constant during drying of the varnish. The work should be sanded between coats, but this is not always done. The last coat is rubbed with pumice or rotten stone and water or oil. The water rub is said to be "cooling" and the oil rub "heating." The water rub can be done more quickly after applying the last coat of varnish and it gives a cleaner job, but it cuts more deeply into the varnish and requires more Skill in operating. The oil rub can be carried out faster.' The water rub is used for the best work. Mechanic al rubbers are used on large flat surfaces. Final polish is put on by rubbing over with paraffine oil. Zapon (cellulose lacquer) finishes are being used more widely. They are applied in place of the varnish. Enamel finish consists of a first coat short in oil, each succeeding coat containing more varnish. Usually a -12- last coat of Tarnish is given. Three to five coats are applied c% each coat dried 36 to 48 hours. A fhe time required for finishing furniture varies from '? E days for a wax or Zapon finish to 10 or IE days. The cost of M finishing seems to run about 10 per cent of the total manu V. facturing cost. $ 4 Pianos * fhe finishing of pianos is merely a somewhat more 0' elaborate form of the methods used for furniture. a few are I being turned out with wax or cellulose lacquer finishes, but t the great majority have a polished varnish finish. Staining r and filling are done the same as for furniture. A thin coat or two of shellac may be applied. The work is then sanded, 3 after which 3 or 4 coats of rubbing varnish are put on. Var nish is nearly always applied by brush. One to two weeks is allowed between coats of varnish. The work is then "coarse rubbed* with pumice and water and any defects patched with transparent cement. A flowing coat of varnish is then applied, rubbed with pumice and water, "fine rubbed" with rotten stone and water, and finally hand polished. Just be fore packing it is "oiled off" with paraffine oil and benzine. A "satin finish" is obtained by following the fine rubbing with a treatment with dry rotten stone, brushing it over the work with a fine brush, finally wipe off with a damp cloth. Oil must not be used on this finish. -13- I Problems i Prom the oh serrations made on this trip it appears that most of the problems which interest the wood finishing industries are due to the effort to cut down the cost of finishing by using cheaper materials or more particularly by cutting down the number of coats used and the time allowed for drying, in the majority of cases the solution of the difficulty would be easy if it were not for the pressure to speed up production and cut down the costs* Finishers are unanimous in saying that the finishes used today are not as good as those employed some years ago when the finisher was given more time and permitted to use better materials* Much of the responsibility for this decrease in quality may fall upon the public because of its failure to distinguish between good and bad finishes in making its pur chases. For example, a piece of furniture with a wax finish that required only 4 days in the finishing room may sell for the same price as the same article bearing a good varnish finish that required 10 days and considerably more labor to apply. Under such circumstances there is little to encourage the manufacturer to keep up the quality of his finish. ' A greet obstacle in the path of progress in wood finish ing is the absence of exact definition of the properties desired of the finish or accurate means of measuring how nearly particular material possesses the desired properties. Chemical analysis and physical tests have not been sufficiently closely related to service records to serve as accurate measures of quality. 17 Exposure tests of small panels are the nearest approach to a means of determining the suitability of different materials, but they require an inconveniently long time to carry out and the conditions of exposure are seldom exactly the same as the service in view. Price being the only characteristic definite ly attached to different materials it becomes the chief basis for purchase. Depending on his mental attitude the user either buys the cheaper product because he is not sure that the more expensive one will give him proportionately better service, or he buys the higher priced material on the theory that price is directly, proportional to quality. The problem of finding suitable materials for pre venting changes in the moisture content of wood in atmospheres of changing humidity is one Whose importance is being increasing ly realized. The following problems have been encountered during the above visits and are listed here without much attempt at systematic classification: 1. influence of the species of wood on the durability of paint and varnish coats. This can be restated from another point of view as the problem of the proper way to apply paint or varnish to various species to get the maximum service. Dif ferences in the structure of the wood, its shrinkage with change in moisture content, its content of oils, resins, tannin, etc. may affect the coating. Since plywood does not swell and shrink as much as solid wood construction, paint or varnish coatings might be expected to last longer on the former. Similarly the -18- structure and shrinkage of wood are different on end grain, quarter or flat sawed faces, a fact which may affect the ap plied coating. S. Influence of moisture in the wood on the dur ability of paint and varnish. If the wood is wet, that is, contains free water in the pores and cell cavities it is well known that it cannot he successfully painted, it is not known, however, whether lesser amounts of water in the wood affect the durability of the paint, for example, whether a paint coat ap plied to wood with a moisture content of 6 per cent will last longer than the same paint on the same wood at IS per cent moisture content. Probably the factor of greatest importance in such cases is the swelling and shrinking of the wood with change in moisture content, making it advisable to paint the wood at a moisture content corresponding to. the average mois ture content it will have in service. 3. Influence of the number of coats on the durability of paint and varnish. In some places the attempt is being made to do away with the priming coat by increasing the oil in the second coat. How much this affects the durability is not known. 4. Influence of thinner on the durability. Benzine i has very largely replaced turpentine as a thinner in paint and varnish. It is claimed by some that this decreases the dur ability of the paint. Where paint is applied by dipping it often is thinned more than when applied by brush. This may also decrease durability. 5. Influence of nature of pigment on durability of paint. A numoer of subdivisions of this problem are already 19- apparent t including (a) Straight white lead pigment as compared with lead-zinc-inert pigment. (h) Best pigments to use when we consider a paint that must he applied by dipping. {c) Value of "struck colors" as compared with "concentrates." (d) Best extenders to use with'"concentrates." (e) Value of red lead as compared with other red paints for intermediate coats of dipping paint. 6. How to obtain an opaque finish with high "body" and polish without danger of cracking. This is the problem of auto body finishing, for example. . 7. Problems of staining wood: (a) Ways of getting the advantages of water stains without raising the grain of the wood. (b) Method of staining heart and sapwood of such species as walnut uniformly in one dip. (c) Method of bleaching dark wood like ; walnut so as to take a lighter finish. (d) Means of getting different pieces of wood like oak, in the same piece of furniture to stain alike, She reasons for this lack of uni formity in the staining of oak is not clearly understood. It is variously attributed to the use of different species in the same piece, differences in the tannin-content, in the -20 relative proportion of "flakes" or of summerwood, in the direction of the wood fibers, or in the direction of the saw cut (plain or quarter sawed). 8. Problems of filling wood properly. The com mercial fillers are said to be of very inferior grade, it is probable that the expenditure of more care in' filling would result in a better and more economical finish through saving in the more expensive varnish coats and rubbing. 9. Problems of sealer for use over filler. .Shellac is expensive and has several disadvantages, in humid weather it becomes milky. When used under varnish and exposed to humid atmospheres it may turn white. 10. Problems of varnishing. (a) Methods cf accelerating drying of varnish. . The factors influencing the results obtained in varnish drying kilns are not well understood, particularly the question of the influence of humidity on the rats and manner of drying of the varnish. (b) Methods of preventing the "printing" of varnish in packing or vvhen people sit upon it. (c) Method of obtaining a varnish or other polish finish that will not chip easily (for golf club s, for example). (d) Reasons for cracking and peeling of var nish and how to prevent it. -21- (e) Acid resistant varnish finish for toilet seats, etc, (f) Means of keeping varnished table tops from showing marks when hot dishes are placed on them, 11. A mechanical substitute for hand polishing of pianos. ;-' : -SS-