Peninsula Plywood Gorporation

Port Angeles, Wcshington

The Olympic Peninsuio's only rr- r , i plywood mill-a cooperotive orwe .'re prouct oI our snqre rn gcnizotion, owned by its own. building the Plywood Industry working stockholders. qnd crlso o greoter Port Angeles.

Manulcrcturers oI the well-known Exterior " Ftn Ply" Gradcg

Progress and Development in Manufacture and Usage o[ Plywood

(Continued from Page 78) Express Company. It proved so satisfactory that by 1947 there were over 30,000 raihvay refrigerator cars built wholly or in part of plywood.

The demand for exterior plyrvood for railway refrigerator cars has grown until now it is impossible for the industry to supply all that is wanted.

During World War II exterior plywoo'd became in very great demand for boats of all sizes, houses of all types, containers, and many other uses. The assault boats that carried our soldiers across the Rhine and the PT boats like the one that was used by General MacArthur to go from the Philippines to Australia, and many other boats both large and small made use of exterior plywood extensively.

For many years the width and lengtl-r of plywood r,vas liqjted to the width and length of the presses but in recent years by the use of scarfing equipment, plyr,vood can be secured in almost any'ividth or length and has been supplied in five-foot widths and fifty-foot lengths. The length is limited only by the space available in the plant. In fact, if space would permit, it could be made a thousand feet long or longer. Several railway refrigerator cars har.e been built using only two panels on each side and one on each end, six panels enclosing the car.

A large number of single wall railroad freight cars have been built of large panels ol '/s", 9-ply exterior plyrvood reducing the overall weight of the car and therebf increasing the pay load capacity by several thousand pounds. On account of the large sized plyrvood panels that are now produced the labor cost of building either a freight car or refrigerator car is reduced very much ,below the cost of building the same cars of four-inch siding and lining, and I am sure that as time goes by the railroads are going to utilize more and more plylvood to take the place of steel and lumber.

One of the most interesting and important developments in the plywood manufacture in recent years is the plastic overlay. This is particularly important on account of the tendency of Douglas Fir Plywood to weather-check when exposed to the elements as an exterior material, and unless excellent methods of painting are used it would develop small ha-ir checks which cause oainted surfaces to deterior- ate. The plastic overlay overcomes this tendency as it has a very smooth surface and when painted it is a great improvement over the conventional type of plywood. This material is now being used as an exterior sheathing on railway refrigerator cars instead of steel sheathing with very satisfactory results and several hundred refrigerator cars are being built this year using the plastic overlay plywood.

During World War II practically all Douglas Fir Plyrvood lvas required to be used in the war efiort.

The highest production was reached in 1942 when 1,800 million feet was produced. Since that time production has been considerably less, particularly on account of the scarcity of suitable peeler logs and a scarcity of other materials entering into the manufacture of plywood; also, because of the difficulty of securing mac.hinery and equiprnent to keep the plants up to their usual efficiency.

Below is the annual production of the Douglas Fir Plywood plants in the United States for the past 22 years as compiled by one authority. This does not include British Columbia plants lvhich have nou' reached a very sizeable production.

Douglas Fir Plywood Production 1925-1946

In Million Square Feets/s Inch- 3-ply

1925.. ....153

1926.. ....173

1927. . ...206

1928.. ....276

1929.. ....358

1930.. ..305

1931.. ....235

1932.. ....200

1933. . ...390

From Mark N. Bcldwin

"We wish to congratulate you on this anniversary and also compliment you on the way you have handled this lumber magazine. If you should happen to have a Golden Anniversary we will hope to be with you then. Jerry Sullivan, Jr., joins me in congratulating you on this big ociasion." Mark N. Baldwin, Sullivan Lumber Company, San Diego.

Plywood

Wholesale Distri6utors

Adequote slocks ore' mainloined qt oll timesincluding Mohogcny, Wclnui, Ook qnd primq Vero. The woterproof plywoods ore designed for mqrine use qnd qlso moke distincfive ofilces, stores, public buildings snd homes.

P.

BOX t96g

Insurok is o lominoted plostic sheet of rnony uses for tcrble, bqr or counler tops, sinks, wolls ond decorqfive efiecis. lt is cigorefie ond heol resistonl, clcohol-proof, ond comes in o voriety of groins, colors cnd pofterns.