This continues until the log is reduced to about a seven inch core,
which is useless for the purpose. The veneer as it comes rolling off the
log presents all the diversity of colors and the beautiful grain and
rich marking that have perhaps for centuries been growing to perfection
in the silent depths of our great forests.
From the lathe, the veneer is passed to the cutting table, where it is
cut to lengths and widths as desired. It is then conveyed to the second
story, where it is placed in large dry rooms, air tight, except as the
air reaches them through the proper channels. The veneer is here placed
in crates, each piece separate and standing on edge. The hot air is then
turned on. This comes from the sheet iron furnace attached to the boiler
in the engine room below, and is conveyed through large pipes regulated
by dampers for putting on or taking off the heat. There is also a blower
attached which keeps the hot air in the dry rooms in constant motion,
the air as it cools passing off through an escape pipe in the roof,
while the freshly heated air takes its place from below. These rooms
are also provided with a net-work of hot air pipes near the floor. The
temperature is kept at about 165 deg., and so rapid is the drying process
that in the short space of four hours the green log from the steam box
is shaved, cut, dried, packed, and ready for shipment.
After leaving the dry rooms it is assorted, counted, and put up in
packages of one hundred each, and tied with cords like lath, when it is
ready for shipment.
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