Beams from Boltwood: A Feasibility Study

It is estimated that a plant can be built for $1,300,000 to manufacture laminated beams from 100-inch southern pine bolts plus pulp chips or flakes for flakeboard. On a two-shift basis, approximately 146 cords of rough bolts would be consumed daily; output would be approximately 2,750 cubic feet of beams per day plus 188 tons of green chips. The plant would employ 131 people plus truckers and contract boltwood suppliers. Total investment is estimated at $1,700,000 with a 40 percent return on a cash investment of $850,000 (half the capital is assumed to be borrowed). These figures are based on a boltwood price of $18 per rough cord f.o.b. plant, a cost of $0.45 per pound of mixed waterproof adhesive, a chip selling price of $6.20 per, ton f.o.b. plant (green), and a net sale price f.o.b. mill of $3.48 per cubic foot of actual beam volume. The system is predicated on the development of a practical slicer. that will produce a green veneer measuring 0.6-inch thick. The operation would entail the following, steps: 1) scaling incoming bolts; 2) barking; 3) production of S4S, wane-free, heart-center cants plus chips; 4) heating cants; 5) slicing cants into veneer 0.6-inch thick; 6) drying veneers; 7) sizing veneers to 0.5-inch thickness, crook-free; 8) segregating veneers by stiffness; 5) preparing vertical finger joints on ends of veneers; 10) end-gluing and face-laminating; 11) finishing; and 12) shipping. It may be expected that the commercial application will involve many development problems.

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