Shaping-lathe roundup machine is key to profitable manufacture of composite sheathing panels in Massachusetts or Maine

Abstract

A process is described in which a shaping-lathe headrig produces flakes of optimum geometry while rounding 8-foot peeler bolts to their maximum cylindrical diameter. The cylinder are then passed, at a rate of 5 to 7 per minute, to a veneer lathe for production of continuous veneer, which is Subsequently clipped into 4- by 8-foot sheet.. Veneer cores are flaked in a separate operation; these flakes, mixed with the flakes resulting from roundup, veneer residue, and panel trim, are pressed into 4- by 8-foot core sheets 9/32 to 13/32 inch thick. In a separate pressing operation, the flake cores are faced with 1/8-inch veneer to yield structural exterior composite sheath-ing of superior quality. By this process, a ton of bark-free peeler bolts should yield more than .9 ton of sheathing (OD basis); less than .1 ton (mostly sanderdust) ends 88 fuel. All other residue, except bark, is incorporated in the sheathing. The proposed plant will consume 5,000 to 6,000 peeler bolt. per 3- shift day. Baaed on an average log diameter (small end, inside bark) of 10 inches, annual production during 240 3-shift operating days should be 100,000,000 square feet of 17/32.inch panel (1/2 inch nominal). Plant cost plus operating capital is estimated at $23,000,000. when sited in western Massachusetts or in central Maine, the operation should return a before-tax profit of about 36 percent (and an after tax profit of 18-1/2%) of the entire investment; cash flow should be about 28-1/2percent, or $6,520,000 annually, after taxes.

Citation

Springate, Norman; Koch, Peter; Plough, Irving. 1978. Shaping-lathe roundup machine is key to profitable manufacture of composite sheathing panels in Massachusetts or Maine. Forest Products Journal, Vol. 28(10): 42-47