Birch - Commercial Wood

BIRCH - COMMERCIAL WOOD Several birches are recognized by botanists and foresters; but from the standpoint of the practical wood user, there are only three important kinds—the paper or white birch (Betula papyrifera), the yellow birch (Bekaa lutea), and the red or cherry birch (Betula lenta). Paper birch is found across the northern part of the United States and Canada, but is most abundant and commercially important in New England, and especially in Maine. The red or cherry birch occurs in smaller quantity from New York southward through West Virginia; while the yellow birch is common in New York, New England, and the Lake States, but most abundant in the latter region. The heartwood of yellow birch is reddish, and much of it is marketed and used for the same purposes as cherry birch, and, without distinction from the latter, for the manufacture of furniture, interior finish, and the like. The principal uses of the paper or white birch are for spool stock, box lumber, woodenware, dowels, shoe pegs, and other small articles. Closely related to the paper birch is the Western birch (Betula occidentalis), a small amount of which is used for interior finish in Oregon and Washington.

The wood of red and yellow birch is heavy; of average hardness, stiffness, and strength for hardwood; and above the average in toughness. For this reason, birch makes a good wagon hub; and much yellow birch is used for this purpose.

The factory uses of the various birches are summarized in Table 71.

Table 71 Factory Uses of Birch Purpose Per Cent Mill Work 28 Furniture and Fixtures 21 Boxes and Crates 19 Spools and Bobbins 7 Woodenware and Novelties 6 Vehicles 3 Musical Instruments 3 Handles 2 Dowels 2 Boot and Shoe Findings 2 Car Construction 1 Agricultural Implements 1 Other Uses 5 Total 100 A tabulation of the uses reported for red and yellow birch gives the following list: Automobiles Cabinets (phonograph recBackgrounds (display win- ords) doors) Cabinets (toilets) Balusters Cabinet work Barber chairs Cameras Barber shop furnishings Canes Barrel starchers (laundry) Capitals Baseboards Carpet sweepers Baskets (fruit and vegetable) Carvings Billiard tables Cases (medicine) Boat parts Cases (railroad tickets) Bobbins Casing Bodies (light vehicles) Caskets Bookcases (exterior) Chair frames (upholstered Bookcases (interior) furniture) Bookracks Chairs Bottoms (heavy vehicle bod- Chairs (adjustable) ies) Chairs (dining room) Bottoms (wagons) Chair seats Boxes Chairs (office) Boxes (cheese) China closets Boxes (veneer) Clocks Box shooks Coffins Brackets Columns (porch) Broom handles Consoles Brush blocks Cooperage stock (slack) Buffets (bar fixtures) Cores (veneer) Bureaus (exterior) Counters (bar) Butter churns (frames) Counters (store and office Butter molds fixtures) Cabinets (music rolls) Cradles Crating Leaves (table) Creamery accessories Lining (motor boats) Crutches Mandolins Cutting boards (meat) Mantels

Doors Match safes Dowels Match strikers Dressers Mirror backs Dressing tables Moldings (house) Electrotype bases Moldings (piano) Elevator cars NeWels (stairwork) Equipment (playground) Organ cases Farm implement parts Organ cases (exterior pipe Farm machinery parts organ) Fixtures (bank) Organ keys Fixtures (laboratory) Ornaments (furniture) Fixtures (soda fountain) Panels (veneered) Fixtures (store and office) Paper plugs Flooring Parlor cabinets (exterior) Folding beds Parlor furniture (frames) Frames (cheval mirror) Parlor rockers Frames (couches) Parquetry flooring Frames (davenports) Passenger cars (interior finFrames (light vehicle bodies) ish) Frames (light vehicle seats) Patterns (machine parts) Frames (lounges) Pedestals Gameboards Pen racks Gear parts (light vehicles) Pen trays Glove boxes Piano benches Grain doors Piano cases Grilles Piano chairs Grille work Piano keys Guitars Piano players (exterior) Hallracks Piano stools Handrails (porch) Picture mouldings Handrails (stairworks) Plane handles Harp sides (musical instru- Plumbers' woodwork went) Pool tables Hoppers (fruit and vegetable) Pulleys Hubs Posts (stairwork) Interior finish Reels (fence wire) Key racks Reels (insulated wire), Launch parts Refrigerators Laundry machines (steam) Risers (stairwork) Lawn swings Road machinery parts Rocker frames (upholstered Steps (stairwork) furniture) Switchboards (telephone) Sash (window) Tables Screen doors Tables (dressing) Seats (water closets) Tables (library) Sewing machine parts Tabourets Sewing tables Tanks (water closets) Shells (drum) Telephones Shoe pegs Telephones (accessories) Shoe trees Toboggans Show cases Tool chests Sideboards (exterior) Toys Sills (road carts) Trunks Skewers Umbrella handles Skis Veneer cores (piano cases) Sleds Wainscoting Slides (tables) Wall cases (store) Sofa frames (parlor furni- Wardrobes (exterior) ture) Window screens Somnols Wind shields (automobile) Spools Woodenware Stairwork Work benches Steering wheels Zither bodies Step ladders Among the uses reported for paper or white birch are: Bails (bucket and pail) Handles (awl) Bobbins Handles (cant hook) Boxes Handles (corkscrew) Brushes Handles (feather curlers) Camp stools (parts) Handles (hair curlers) Chairs (porch) Handles (hay rake) Chairs (turned parts) Handles (long handle Checkers brushes) Clothespins Handles (paint brushes) Crates Handles (shovel) Crutches Handles (toy garden tools) Dowels Hosiery boards Drawer sides Hoops Dry measures Interior finish Duster brush blocks Knobs Flooring Liquor logs Furniture Molding (window) Novelties Spool barrels Paint brushes Spool heads Paper plugs Table slides Piano stools Toothpicks Quills Toy parts (iron toys) Rungs (turned chair) Toy wheelbarrows Sawhorses Twisters Shoe pegs Vehicle parts Skewers Wash benches Speeders Wash boards Spindles (turned chair) Wheels (toy wagons) Spinning wheels Wheels (toy wheelbarrows) Spools