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FURNITURE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

by
Anco L. Prak and
Thomas W. Myers

Department o f Industrial Engineering

North Carolina State University

-.
THIRD EDITION

Under the sponsorship o f

The Furniture Foundation, Inc.
and
The School o f Engineering o f
North Carolina State University
 Copyright , 1977,
1979, 1981

Department of Industrial Engineering

North Carolina State University
Raleigh, N . C.

All rights reserved. T h i s book, or any part thereof, may

n o t be reproduced in any form without written permission
of the Head o f the Department o f Industrial Engineering,
North Carolina State University.

Printed i n
United States o f America
ii
 FOREWORD

The School of Engineering a t North Carolina State University offers

a four-year curriculum i n Furniture Manufacturing and Management
w i t h i n the Industrial Engineering Department. The purpose of t h i s
program is t o provide young men and women w i t h academic preparation
f o r a career i n the furniture industry.
The preparation and publication o f t h i s t e x t has been made possible
t h r o u g h support from the Foscue Furniture Fund.
We acknowledge the help and encouragement from the Furniture Foundation
and i t s President, Dr. Henry A. Foscue, who has been responsible for
the growth and many improvements i n the Furniture Manufacturing and
Management curriculum.

L. K. Monteith
Dean of Engineering
North Carolina State University

iii
 PREFACE

Students i n the Furniture Manufacturing and Management curriculum spend

a major part of t h e i r j u n i o r year on the design of a furniture manufacturing
f a c i l i t y . T h i s assignment is s p l i t i n t o two natural parts; i n the f a l l ,
the students do the calculations p a r t and i n the spring, the plant layout
follows. This t e x t i s written specifically f o r the calculations p a r t o f
the project. T h i s task requires the students t o view the manufacturing
process i n quantative terms. A t the s t a r t the students receive drawings
of commercial furniture which they use as "representative" items f o r the
project. They then proceed t o calculate 1umber requi rements , dry ki 1n
capacity, rough mill capacity and equipment and so on, a l l the way through
finishing and packing.
This course i s preceded by a descriptive course covering production
machinery for which the t e x t , Production Woodworking Equipment, by Rudolph
Willard i s used.
The nature of the course has dictated t o a certain extent the manner of
presenting the subject matter. For example, i n teaching the course, the
authors place more emphasis on the calculation of f i n i s h i n g conveyors t h a n
on the finishing schedule i t s e l f .
We gratefully acknowledge the generous help given by many companies and
individuals. We especially thank the following for permission t o reproduce
material supplied by them.

American Drew, Inc. Furniture Production Magazine

Athens Home Decor .
Gordon I s , I nc
Brooks Furniture Manufacturing, Inc. Henkel-Harris Company, Inc.
Burl i ngton House Furniture J . M. Lancaster, Inc.
Buss Automation Moore Dry K i l n
DeVi 1b i ss Re1 iance Universal
Forest Products Stanley Furniture
Thomasvill e Furniture Industries, Inc.
I t i s hoped t h a t readers outside the Furniture Manufacturing and Management
curriculum will f i n d the book useful and will freely communicate any suggestions
t o the authors.

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

CHAPTER I THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY

CHAPTER I 1 ORGANIZATION OF A FURNITURE FACTORY
CHAPTER I11 LUMBER RECEIVING, STORAGE AND DRYING
CHAPTER I V THE ROUGH END: PROCESSES
CHAPTER V THE ROUGH END: LUMBER UTILIZATION
CHAPTER V I THE ROUGH END: PRODUCTION RATES
CHAPTER V I 1 VENEER AND PLYWOOD
CHAPTER VI11 MACHINING PARTS
CHAPTER I X MACHINING RATES
CHAPTER X PRODUCTION CONTROL
CHAPTER X I ASSEMBLY
CHAPTER X I 1 F I N I S H ING METHODS
CHAPTER X I 1 1 THE FINISHING CONVEYOR
CHAPTER X I V RUBBING AND PACKING
CHAPTER XV WAREHOUSING AND SHIPPING
CHAPTER X V I THE COST OF MANUFACTURING FURNITURE
CHAPTER X V I I PREDICTED COST - STANDARD COST
 CHAPTER I
THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY
INTRODUCTION
Approximately 5400 firms manufacture furniture in the United States.
The majority of these firms produce furniture f o r the millions o f
homes, apartments, and mobile homes across the country. Furniture
used i n the home i s classified i n t o two basic segments.
Casegoods refers t o the wood furniture found in bedrooms, d i n i n g rooms
and other areas of the home. This segment includes a l l cabinet-like
items, tables and wooden chairs. Three commonly referred t o subseg-
ments of casegoods are:
1. Bedroom
2. D i n i n g Room
3. Occasional Tables.
There are about 3100 firms t h a t produce furniture in t h i s categ0ry.l
O f t h i s number, approximately 1000 have 20 or more employees.

Upholstered furni ture i s the segment t h a t includes such items a s sofas

and chairs found i n living rooms and family rooms. Approximately 1700
companies produce upholstered furniture for the home. These are firms
that manufacture upholstered furniture on wood frames or manufacture
wood frames for upholstered furniture. I t does n o t include those firms
engaged i n reupholstering.
The U.S. Department of Commerce recognizes five segments i n the furniture
manufacturing industry for i t s census o f manufacturing reporting.
U.S.D.C. Standard Industrial Code
Wood Household Furniture SIC 2511
Upholstered Household F w n i ture SIC 2512
Metal Household Furniture SIC 2514
Wood Office Furniture SIC 2521
Metal Office Furniture SIC 2522
The Wood and Upholstered Household Furniture categories closely para1 le1
the casegoods and upholstery segments respectively. A number o f firms
produce b o t h types o f furniture.
 1-2

Several hundred firms spec alize in furniture produced for use in busi-
nesses, schools, churches, l i b r a r i e s and other non-home uses. Obviously
there are a few furniture tems t h a t are likely t o be found in b o t h homes
a n d the other places mentioned. Upholstered furniture and items such as
bookcases are two good examples. Labels identified with these specialized
segments are institutional , metal , office, casual , kitchen and juvenile.
SOME DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

The furniture manufacturing industry has grown from the stage of cabinet-
makers and apprentices in the 1700's t o i t s current position. Approximate
wholesale (factory s a l e s ) volume of the 5000 plus furniture manufacturers
in 1980 was 12.5 billion dollars.
Of the over 5000 firms producing furniture, a b o u t 60 percent employ less
t h a n 20 people and these account f o r a b o u t ten percent of industry sales.
The six largest casegoods manufacturers account for a b o u t 1 2 percent of
annual sales in t h a t segment while in the upholstered furniture segment,
four firms account f o r a similar percentage. The largest single firm
accounts for about two and a half percent ($280 million plus) of the total
industry sales.
Currently, North Carolina, Virginia, California, and Tennessee are the
leading s t a t e s producing wood furniture, and these account f o r a b o u t 55
percent of total shipments. North Carolina, California, Mississippi,
and Tennessee account f o r a b o u t 60 percent of total upholstered furniture
shipments.
NORTH CAROLINA - FURNITURELAND, USA
Within a 200 miles radius of High Point, North Carolina, i s produced approx-
imately one half of the total wood bedroom and wood dining room furniture
and almost a third of the total upholstered furniture. Approximately one
quarter of the furniture sold annually in the country comes from North
Carol i n a .
The Southern Furniture Market Center, located in High Point, i s the show-
place f o r the introduction of new furniture styles and fashions. Starting
in 1921 with the Southern Furniture Exposition Building , there has evolved
the largest concentration of furniture exhibits in buildings and factory
showrooms anywhere in the world. Now the Southern Furniture Market Center
i s a complex of a b o u t two million square f e e t which houses hundreds of
exhibitors. Additional showrooms are concentrated a l o n g the "Furniture
Highway" t h a t carries buyers t h r o u g h other showroom c i t i e s such as Lexington ,
Thomasville, S t a t e s v i l l e , Hickory and Lenoir. Major national markets are
held annually in April and October. About 85 percent of the nation's
r e t a i l furniture purchasing power i s represented a t these shows.
 1-3

Table 1-1 exhibits an approximate distribution of furniture sales by

geographical areas i n the United States.2

Percent o f Percent of
Region State Total (100%) Region State Total (100%)
North- Maine __
0.3 North Kent uc ky 1.2
east Vermont 0.2 Central Ohio 5.8
New Hampsh i re 0.2 Indiana 2.6
Massachusetts 2.7 Mic h i g an 4.2
Connecticut 1.6 I1 1 i noi s 5.9
Rhode Island 0.5 Wisconsin 1.8
New York 9.9 Minnesota 1.6
Pennsylvania 5.6 Iowa 1.2
New Jersey 3.9 Missouri -
2.4
Del aware 0.3
Mary1 and 1.9 26.7
Dist. of Columbia 0.8 Mid- Montana 0.2
West Virginia 0.8 west Wyoming 0.1
Vi rgi n i a 2.2 Colorado 1.1
30.9 Utah 0.7
Idaho 0.3
South North Carolina 2.6 Kansas 0.8
South Carol i na 1.2 Nebraska 0.7
Georgia 2.1 South Dakota 0.2
F1 o r i da 3.2 North Dakota 0.3
A1 abama 1.7 4.4
Mississippi 0.7
Tennessee 2.0 South- Arizonia 0.8
Louisiana 1.6 west New Mexico 0.4
Arkansas 0.8 Texas 4.8
15.9 Oklahoma 1.1
-
7.1
West Was h i ng ton 1.6
Oregon 0.9
California 11.9
Nevada 0.3
14.7
Table 1-1 : Distribution o f Furniture Sales by Geographical Area

FURNITURE RETAILING AND CONSUMER DEMANDS

Most of the furniture purchased f o r use i n the home i s bought from the
thousands o f r e t a i l furniture and department stores across the nation.
Furniture r e t a i l e r s typically carry items f o r a l l areas of the home i n
a variety o f s t y l e s , finishes, fabrics, etc. The furniture found i n most
r e t a i l stores represents a number of different furniture manufacturers.
 1-4

A furniture r e t a i l e r buys what he believes w i l l s e l l . Having what the

consumer wants i n stock i s desirable from the r e t a i l e r ' s standpoint b u t
the variety of products i s so large t h a t t h i s i s d i f f i c u l t . When the
consumer comes i n , the r e t a i l e r can show w h a t i s on display and available
f o r immediate delivery. In a d d i t i o n , he can show other items v i a manufac-
t u r e r s ' catalogs t h a t would have t o be ordered and delivered weeks l a t e r
i n most instances. The casegoods and upholstery segments of the furniture
business d i f f e r significantly a t t h i s p o i n t .
When a r e t a i l e r orders a given bedroom or d i n i n g room g r o u p , the manufac-
turer may or may n o t have the items i n stock. On the other h a n d , when a
r e t a i l e r orders a given upholstery piece i n a particular f a b r i c , the
manufacturer will seldom have the item i n stock. Upholstered furniture
i n general i s custom-made. The manufacturer does n o t carry each particular
s t y l e i n a variety of fabrics i n stock. Retailers carry a variety of
upholstered items i n " p o p u l a r " fabrics. These items are general l y con-
sidered as "floor samples" and are not for sale t o the consumer. The
manufacturer provides the r e t a i l e r w i t h a "swatch" or sample book t h a t
includes small samples of the different fabrics t h a t can be ordered. The
consumer selects the upholstered item a n d then i t i s ordered from the manu-
f actu rer .

Consumer demand for household furniture i s influenced by a number o f

factors. In general , furniture purchases can be termed as "postponable."
The public obviously places higher priority on expenditures f o r food,
clothing, she1 t e r and transportation. Thus disposable personal income and,
more importantly, discretionary purchasing power (money available for non-
e s s e n t i a l s ) have a significant influence on the demand for furniture. When
the r a t e o f inflation exceeds the r a t e of increase i n personal income, dis-
cretionary income i s reduced and furniture sales are influenced. An asso-
ciated factor i s the a v a i l a b i l i t y and cost o f consumer c r e d i t for purchasing
such goods as furniture.
Population characteristics are also factors t h a t have recognized effects on
furniture demand. In general, as the population increases, demand will i n -
crease. The age distribution of the consuming population also influences
demand. Persons i n the 30-40 age group historically purchase more furniture
than any other age category. As the age distribution changes over time,
furniture demand will be influenced.
The following are recognized as occurrences t h a t stimulate furniture
purchases :
1. Marriage
2. Having children
3. Buying a home
4. Remodeling
5. A change i n financial status
6. Meeting s t y l e changes.
 1-5

A t h i r d area that has an impact on furniture demand i s the nature and mag-
nitude of home construction a c t i v i t i e s . The r a t e of construction of single
family homes, apartments and other types o f family dwellings has a signi-
ficant influence on furniture demand. Design trends i n construction i n f l u -
ence demand. For example, a trend toward smaller, more compact homes may
r e s u l t i n a demand f o r scaled-down furniture designs and, i n general, fewer
pieces of furniture.
Furniture i s a "style" and "fashion" industry similar i n nature t o the
clothing industry. Annual introductions of new merchandise i s the r u l e
rather than the exception i n most firms. There are many comonly-referred-
t o design categories. Early American, Contemporary, French, Ita1 ian and
Spanish are a few of the most common design labels. Consumer buying trends
s h i f t from one s t y l e t o another w i t h time. Also there are definite regional
s t y l e preferences. Preferences for color of finish in the different s t y l e
categories vary from year t o year. Preferences for fabric texture, f i n i s h ,
color and other characteristics change from year t o year.
Of the 5000 plus furniture manufacturers i n the United States, no two have
the same product l i n e . The consumer thus has a very large variety o f
products t o consider.
FURNITURE MANUFACTURING AS AN ENTERPRISE
Chapter I 1 will discuss how the typical casegoods and upholstered furniture
manufacturing company i s organized. I n general, each manufacturer i s con-
cerned w i t h producing the product on one hand and selling the product on
the other. This t e x t i s primarily concerned w i t h production aspects o f
the business. Making furniture requires effective planning, directing and
controlling o f a number o f resources or ingredients. These resources are:
Materi a1 s Equipment Faci 1 i t i es Money Peopl e.
A firm's product l i n e i s the concern of both the producing segment and the
sales segment. However, product l i n e decisions are generally the concern
of t o p management and sales leadership. Production interacts, b u t i t s
primary objective i s t o attempt t o profitably produce the products required.
The following discussion will consider the production resources mentioned
and allow previous comments about product l i n e and sales a c t i v i t i e s t o suffice.
Materials
The major raw material used i n making household furniture i s wood (or wood
related products). Lumber, plywood and particleboard are the three p r i n - -
cipal forms in which wood i s used. Dozens of different wood species are
found i n furniture, many having different drying, machining, sanding and ~

f i n i s h i n g characteristics. Other important materials are fabric, p l a s t i c s ,

s t a i n s , lacquers, hardware, paper products and cushioning materials. Man- -
aging the acquisition and use of raw materials i s a major concern. .- i_
 1-6

Processes and Equipment

Trees harvested from our forests f o r use in making furniture begin the pro-
cess a t e i t h e r a saw mill or a veneer mill. These operations a r e j u s t two
of the many necessary t o provide the furniture manufacturer w i t h the ingre-
dients needed t o make a piece of furniture. Some of the more important a r e
glue factories, f i n i s h i n g materials suppliers, hardware manufacturers , firms
t h a t make p l a s t i c parts or supply raw materials, t e x t i l e m i l l s , plywood mills,
particleboard or fiberboard m i l l s , manufacturers of packaging materials
and many others.
Processes within the furniture plant vary b u t the traditional steps for
wood household furniture (casegoods) are:
1. Drying o f lumber
2, Manufacturing plywood
3. Machining parts
4. Assembly
5. Finishing
6. Packing.
In addition to these, the uphol stered furniture manufacturer a1 so must
work w i t h fabrics. The traditional steps are:
1. Fabric cutting
2. Sewing
3. Upholstering.
I n order t o convert lumber, plywood and other materials into component
parts, dozens o f different machines are used. Machines from simple table
saws t o computer-controlled, multi-function machines are employed. Many
machines are common t o a l l manufacturers b u t there are also many specialized
machines used only by a handful of companies.
The variety of devices for handling materials i s also large. Simple shop
trucks on wheels, electronic sorting conveyors and automatic finishing con-
veyors are just a sample. I n i t i a l experimentation w i t h r o b o t technology i s
underway i n a few firms.
The variety and complexity of the equipment used i n making furniture creates
the need for organized and effective maintenance programs. Machines and
devices must be able t o run i n a manner t h a t gets the j o b done safely.
Facilities
Offices , factori es , showrooms and warehouses are necessary f a c i l i t i es f o r
the furniture manufacturer. Many small firms provide for a l l these and
other needs i n a few thousand square f e e t o f space. Larger companies have
hundreds of thousands of square f e e t i n each category.
 1-7

Heating, plumbing, lighting, p a r k i n g and a i r conditioning are traditional

concerns for a l l manufacturers. Furniture manufacturers also have special
problems i n the area of f a c i l i t i e s and work place environment. A good
exam l e i s the problem o f wood waste and d u s t collection. As w i t h equipment,
P
faci i t i e s maintenance i s an important concern.
Firms that expand or renovate t h e i r f a c i l i t i e s are faced w i t h design and
location problems. Deciding where t o build a new plant and developing
detailed arrangement of a l l areas and work places are complicated problems.
Money
All furniture manufacturers are i n business t o make money. Profitable
operation i s n o t a firm's only objective b u t w i t h o u t i t , the firm will cer-
tainly perish. Firms spend money f o r materials, labor, equipment, buildings,
managers, typewriters, advertising, sales commissions and many other items.
The principal source of revenue f o r most firms i s in the sale o f i t s product.
Profitable operation does n o t j u s t happen. I t takes effective management
of a l l the firm's resources t o make and s e l l a product f o r a p r o f i t . Manage-
ment must organize, plan, control and make decisions a b o u t a l l the varied
aspects of manufacturing and selling.
Managing a profitable operation i s a d i f f i c u l t and challenging task. The
nature of the furniture manufacturing industry makes the j o b more challeng-
i n g t h a n in many other industries.
People
Every product requires people t o make, s e l l , support and manage the a c t i v i t i e s .
Furniture manufacturing i s more "people intensive" t h a n many industries. A
number of different types of jobs and areas t h a t are found i n furniture
factories will be presented i n the next chapter.
People have t o be organized, managed, motivated and most importantly, involved
i n the operation of a manufacturing firm. Probably the most challenging
and a t t r a c t i v e aspect of the furniture industry i s that people are the most
important resource. The a b i l i t y t o work w i t h and for other individuals i s
important.

1977 Census o f Manufacturing, USDC.

U.S. Department o f Commerce Reports
 CHAPTER 11

ORGANIZATION OF A FURNITURE FACTORY

GENERAL

In the previous chapter, the terms "casegoodsii and "upholstery" were

discussed as the two primary segments of the household furniture
industry. The purpose of this chapter i s t o present an overall view
of how the manufacturing a c t i v i t i e s of these two types of firms a r e
typically organized.
A furniture manufacturing company i s i n business t o produce and to s e l l
furniture. I t i s i t s purpose t o make money. To achieve this, the
furniture must be sold f o r more money than i t costs t o produce. The
importance of the selling function cannot be underestimated. There a r e
quite a few companies i n business t h a t have poor manufacturing
f a c i l i t i e s and a good sales organization, whereas a good factory with
a poor sales organization usually goes out of business f a s t . Perhaps
t h i s i s due to the f a c t that a poor sales record automatically leads
to poor manufacturing procedures. Small cuttings have to be made w i t h
frequent model changes. T h i s upsets a smooth r u n n i n g factory and soon
we have poor sales - and poor factory.
Generalizing, we m i g h t s t a t e that good or bad sales determine whether
a company stays i n business and, once a company stays i n business, a
good or bad factory determines how much p r o f i t will be made.
In order to operate a business successfully, i t i s necessary t o know how
much i t costs to produce each item. Many old-fashioned companies produce
and s e l l furniture without knowing individual cost figures. A t the end
of the year inventory i s taken and a p r o f i t (or loss) i s calculated. B u t
suppose there i s a p r o f i t of $40,000. How does the company know whether
this represents $20,000 p r o f i t on walnut furniture and $20,000 profit on
birch furniture? Perhaps there was a $10,000 loss on walnut and a
$50,000 p r o f i t on birch and concentration on the birch l i n e m i g h t give
a p r o f i t of $70,000. So, i t i s necessary t o have cost figures.
W e have stressed the importance of sales i n the f i r s t paragraph and one
m i g h t t h i n k t h a t i t would be a good idea t o place the sales organization
i n charge of the manufacturing. Although i n a sense this i s done every-
where, i t i s not a good principle. Likewise i t i s not right to place
sales under the manufacturing department. The sales department has a
preference f o r a long range of furniture and tends to overlook the
complications i n the factory. The manufacturing departments prefer a
short l i n e of patterns and tend t o neglect the problems of selling such
a short line.
 11-2

There i s an obvious need for compromise between the ideal sales program
and the ideal manufacturing program. The stahdard solution f o r obtain-
ing the best results i s t o place sales and manufacturing side by side
under t o p management. The organization diagram looks l i k e t h i s :

TOP MANAGEMENT

SALES MANUFACTURING

Within the sales department, there i s a breakdown of responsibilities

into such areas as advertising, contract sales and sales by geographical
area. These d e t a i l s will not be covered i n t h i s course.
Manufacturing a c t i v i t y i s separated into two main categories, the
production departments and the service departments.

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENTS
The diagrams shown i n Figures 11-1 and 11-2 exhibit the typical production
departments found in a casegoods and upholstery factory, respectively.

Lumber Yard and Dry Kilns

The function of the lumber yard i s primarily storage of the raw material
lumber. Since lumber has t o be dried before i t can be used for furniture,
we use the lumber yard also f o r a i r drying the lumber. For some species
which give trouble in kiln drying, a i r drying can be the main purpose o f
the yard. In view of the limited number of persons working i n the yard,
i t i s convenient to place the dry kiln operation under the yard foreman,
and t h i s i s the most common practice.

Rough End
The rough end cuts the dried lumber boards into s t r i p s o f wood of specific
dimensions. Sometimes these s t r i p s are rectangular pieces that are used
in the finish machine room t o make such parts a s r a i l s or posts. Other
times the rough mill cuts s t r i p s to random width and glues these together
t o form a panel. The final product of the rough mill i s always a rectangular
piece with a specific rough length, rough width and rough thickness.
 I LUMBERYARD 8 DRY KILNS~
~

LUHBER YARD 8 DRY KILNS

I I
ROUGH END ROUGH END
I
I FABRIC STORAGE 8 CUTTINGJ
I
1
[FINISH MACHI;E ROOM I MACHINE ROOM I

1
I PARTS STORAGE I
I

il?
W
U
I
CABINET ROOM 0

IFINISHING
1
RUBBING AND TRIMMING I SPRING UP , 1
1 t
e
IPACKX WG

WAREHOUSE AND SH IPP I NG

Figure 11-1: Production Departments o f a

Casegoods Factory
Figure 11-2: Production Departments o f an
Upholstery Factory

I I I I
 11-4

Veneer and Plywood Department

In this department veneers are cut t o size, spliced o r taped together
and pressed t o form plywood. Besides veneers, the plywood department
may also use lumber panels (from the rough end), particleboard o r
hardboard f o r the interior layers. For the outside layers, various
plastics a r e used as well as so-called "face veneers."

Finish Machine Room

The finish machine room uses the rectangular strips and panels produced
by the rough end and the plywood panels from the plywood department.
These products are machined t o the finished (accurate) dimensions
specified f o r the furniture part. These operations include planing o r
moulding t o accurate thickness, shaping or moulding to accurate width,
cutting t o exact length, tenoning and many more operations. Sometimes
a part will be machined i n three operations, sometimes i t may take as
many as f i f t e e n operations. In a casegoods factory the finish machine
room i s by f a r the largest department and requires the highest investment
i n equipment.

Sanding Department
Sometimes a sanding machine i s used t o equalize the thickness of a panel
o r to cut some other dimension. Used this way, sanding is just another
form of machining. Most of the sanding does not f i t into this category.
The main function of sanding i s to prepare the wood surface f o r finishing.
Since i t is easier to sand a part w i t h a machine than to sand an
assembled piece of furniture, the sanding department precedes the cabinet
room.
Quite often the sanding department is integrated i n the finish machine
room.

Parts Storage
In a casegoods factory, this area i s used t o accumulate parts t h a t have
been machined and sanded, ready for assembly. Once a l l parts for a given
piece of furniture a r e ready f o r assembly, they are then released to the
cabinet room and the e n t i r e inventory i s assembled.
Parts storage i n an upholstery factory i s a perpetual inventory of a l l
frame parts. Frame assembly orders a r e generally for small quantities.
These parts a r e pulled from stock and assembled. The woodworking
departments a r e operated t o maintain desired inventories of frame parts.
 11-5

The Cabinet Room

The c a b i n e t room i s t h e assembly department. P a r t s produced by t h e

f i n i s h machine room and t h e sanding department a r e glued, screwed,
bolted, n a i l e d and s t a p l e d together t o make t h e f u r n i t u r e . For
someone n o t f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e i n d u s t r y , t h e c a b i n e t room i s where
he s t a r t s t o recognize t h e product.

One o f t h e main features o f a casegoods c a b i n e t room i s t h a t t h e

manufacturing pace o r rhythm changes here. I n t h e machine room,
i t may take f o u r weeks t o complete fourteen machining operations on
1,000 i d e n t i c a l p a r t s . These p a r t s a r e a l l completed on t h e same
day, o f t e n i n t h e same hour. I n t h e c a b i n e t room, i t may take o n l y
one hour f o r each case t o be b u i l t , b u t i t may t a k e f i v e days f o r a
s e r i e s o f 1,000 cases t o be completed. Another feature, and a very
conspicuous one, i s t h e change i n volume. Once a case i s assembled,
i t r e q u i r e s a l o t more space than was needed f o r t h e p a r t s t h a t go i n t o
i t . We s h a l l see t h a t t h e change i n pace and i n b u l k has a major
i n f l u e n c e on t h e manufacturing process and l a y o u t .

The assembly o p e r a t i o n i n an u p h o l s t e r y f a c t o r y o f t e n goes by t h e

name "Cabinet Room" even though cabinets a r e n o t produced. Because
frames a r e assembled i n small q u a n t i t i e s , r e l a t i v e l y simple t o o l s ,
w i t h quick change-over features, a r e used p r i m a r i l y .

The F i n i s h i n g Room

The f i n i s h i n g room i s t h e department t h a t puts on t h e s t a i n s , lacquers,

varnishes and o t h e r m a t e r i a l s necessary t o g i v e t h e f u r n i t u r e t h e d e s i r e d
appearance. U s u a l l y t h e f i n i s h i n g m a t e r i a l s a r e a p p l i e d by spray gun.
Since spraying one c o a t o f m a t e r i a l w i l l o n l y take about a minute, t h e
handling o f t h e f u r n i t u r e between spraying operations can be t h e l a r g e s t
t i m e element. Most f u r n i t u r e f a c t o r i e s use a f i n i s h i n g conveyor t h a t
takes t h e f u r n i t u r e from spray booth t o spray booth and t h e handling
i s reduced t o a minimum.

Rubbing and Trimming

The b e t t e r grades o f casegoods w i l l o f t e n r e q u i r e rubbing. This process

w i l l g i v e t h e surface a n i c e s i l k - l i k e appearance. I n t h e same department,
t h e hardware i s p u t on and sometimes t h e back panels.

-
Packing Department

The packing i s as much a p a r t o f t h e product as any o t h e r even i f i t i s

n o t shown by t h e f u r n i t u r e s t o r e . The l a r g e r f u r n i t u r e manufacturers a l l -
s h i p nationwide by means o f t h e i r own t r u c k s , r a i l r o a d , o r cotninon carrier. __
I t i s very important t h a t t h e f u r n i t u r e a r r i v e s i n good c o n d i t i o n . This
n e c e s s i t a t e s much care i n packing. Skids and cartons are t h e most important
items used.
 11-6

Upholstery manufacturers often s h i p a 1arge percentage of their

production i n t h e i r own trucks, u s i n g blankets as padding. Leaving
the carton off reduces cost and increases the t r u c k ' s capacity. Paper
or p l a s t i c wrapping i s used as a protective covering.

Warehouse/Shi p p i ng
In a casegoods operation a warehouse i s necessary t o hold the cartoned
furniture until orders a r e received and/or u n t i l an e n t i r e order can
be f i l l e d . I f a firm has a long product l i n e and the time t o cut
"around the 1 ine" i s 1ong, then finished goods inventory may be large,
requiring a large warehouse. The main features of casegoods warehouses
a r e the material handling equipment, such as conveyors, f o r k l i f t s , squeeze
l i f t s , etc.
The only time one f i n d s a warehouse i n an upholstery firm i s when the
company has a warehouse program
I' .I'A warehouse program i s a sales
strategy where the firm inventories a certain small fraction o f i t s l i n e .
Other goods a r e made on a customer order basis and not inventoried.
S h i p p i n g of finished goods may be part o f the s a l e s department's
responsibilities, b u t i t usually i s part of the plant. Close t i e s
w i t h the sales department a r e necessary.

Fabric Storage and C u t t i n g

For upholstered furniture, fabrics, leather and plastics are used. These
materials a r e purchased i n r o l l s and stored i n this form. Many
upholstering companies will offer choice o f 500 fabrics, so storage i s
a major problem.
Fabrics a r e rolled o u t on tables and cut into the shapes required. A
good many fabrics can be cut i n "lays" of twenty o r forty sheets, b u t
some designs have t o be cut i n single layers.

Sewing Department
The sewing department i s much l i k e a garment factory. However, most of
the time a sewing machine operator w i l l sew only one type o f item a t a time.
Specialty sewing machines a r e used f o r boxing on cushions, q u i l t i n g , and
zippers. Dispatching work t o the various sewing areas i s a sizable
problem and some firms a r e u s i n g conveyors i n this area,

Spring-Up
S p r i n g i n g - u p an upholstery frame provides a base for the subsequent
upholstery steps. T h i s includes springs, webbing, cardboard, and other
materials.
 11-7

Upholstering Department

The u p h o l s t e r i n g department receives t h e frames from t h e spring-up , t h e

covers from t h e sewing department, foam rubber, c o t t o n , and o t h e r
m a t e r i a l s from storage. These m a t e r i a l s a r e p u t together t o make
upholstered f u r n i t u r e . Usually u p h o l s t e r i n g i s d i v i d e d i n t o t h r e e
sections: i n s i d e upholstering, o u t s i d e u p h o l s t e r i n g and cushions.

Not every f a c t o r y has a1 1 t h e aforementioned p r o d u c t i o n departments.

I n casegoods p l a n t s , we do n o t f i n d t h e f a b r i c s and u p h o l s t e r i n g
departments. I n a c h a i r f a c t o r y , we do n o t f i n d a plywood press.
Besides these d e l e t i o n s , which r e s u l t from t h e product, t h e r e may be
some others.

A number o f companies, known as dimension m i l l s , a r e i n business t o

manufacture f u r n i t u r e p a r t s t o customer's s p e c i f i c a t i o n . A f a c t o r y
t h a t purchases i t s p a r t s from such a source w i l l n o t have a lumber
yard, rough m i l l o r f i n i s h machine room. This means t h a t one can s t a r t
i n t h e f u r n i t u r e business w i t h a much lower investment. Sometimes
l o c a t i o n i s a f a c t o r . For some f a c t o r i e s i n C a l i f o r n i a , i t i s
cheaperto buy p a r t s made from eastern hardwoods from an East Coast
dimension m i l l than t o purchase the lumber and s h i p i t across t h e
country. Most f u r n i t u r e p l a n t s buy some dimension lumber i n one form
o r another.

Some casegoods manufacturers purchase a l l plywood from o u t s i d e vendors.

A few f i r m s have c a p t i v e p a r t i c l e b o a r d manufacturing operations.

THE SERVICE DEPARTMENTS

Cost Accounting

I n many f a c t o r i e s t h e main f u n c t i o n o f c o s t accounting i s t o p r o v i d e

management w i t h performance r e p o r t s . For t h i s reason, c o s t accounting
u s u a l l y i s d i r e c t l y under t h e t o p management. However, i t s connections
w i t h t h e p l a n t ought t o be close. I t should p r o v i d e r e l i a b l e c o s t
i n f o r m a t i o n t o g i v e t h e management an o p p o r t u n i t y t o evaluate t h e
performance of the p l a n t .

Production Control

Production c o n t r o l i n v o l v e s f o r e c a s t i n g , scheduling, and e x p e d i t i n g .

I n o r d e r t o produce a s e n s i b l e schedule, a sales f o r e c a s t b y i t e m i s
necessary. A p r o d u c t i o n r u n i s i n i t i a l l y a l i s t o f f u r n i t u r e items t o
be produced; t h i s l i s t i s exploded t o come up w i t h t h e q u a n t i t i e s and
due dates f o r a l l component p a r t s .

To have a schedule and adhere t o i t a r e two d i f f e r e n t t h i n g s . One

production c o n t r o l f u n c t i o n i s t o m o n i t o r and i n i t i a t e c o r r e c t i v e a c t i o n .
 11-8

Purchasing
From an organization point of view, i t i s obvious t h a t purchasing
should be closely tied t o production control. The purchasing agent
has to deal w i t h outsiders who generally t r y t o s e l l more a t higher
prices. I t takes special t a l e n t to deal with suppliers. A great
deal o f money i s involved. Most companies will delegate purchasing
to one of the top employees. I t is not uncommon for the president o f
a company t o take charge of purchasing. Naturally, as f a r as quantities
and delivery dates are concerned, the purchasing department must do
what i s required by production control.

Quali ty Control
I t i s important that the quality o f the furniture i s maintained a t
the desired level. To make furniture as well as we know how is n o t
a good policy. The design, the price range, the customers require
a specific level of quality. I t i s necessary that someone be responsible
f o r seeing t o i t that t h i s level i s maintained. I n most p l a n t s , there i s
someone charged w i t h quality control. The inspectors assigned t o various
production departments report directly t o h i m .
Des i gn
Depending on the merchandizing policy of the company, a number of
furniture designs are necessary each year. Many companies hire outsiders
to do t h i s job one s u i t e a t a time. Some prefer to have a man of t h e i r
own t o do i t . I n each case, the designer s h o u l d be guided by the
sales department t o create a piece of furniture that will s e l l and
guided by the production s t a f f to make something that can be produced w i t h
reasonable cost.

Product Engineering
While design i s responsible f o r the appearance and function of the
furniture, the product engineer i s concerned w i t h how the designer's
concept i s realized. Product engineering includes material selection,
construction d e t a i l s , and communicating t h i s information t o manufacturing.

Indus t r i a1 Engi neeri ng

Industrial engineer ng may involve methods study, time study, tool design
and the l i k e . ThSs department would work w i t h the foremen i n methods
study, w i t h purchas ng regarding a new machine, with quality control
regarding a problem on new materials.
 11-9

Maintenance
Machines have to be maintained by lubricating, replacing of bearings,
bolts, and other parts and sharpening of cutting tools. G r i n d i n g saw
blades and knives i s one of the principal a c t i v i t i e s of maintenance.
A l o t of the maintenance can and should be done by outside help.
Rebuilding a worn out planer can best be done a t the factory t h a t made
i t . G r i n d i n g carbide tipped tools require special equipment and many
plants rely on outside firms for this service.

P1 ant Engineering
Under this heading m i g h t come heating, a i r conditioning, plumbing,
wiring and even the watchman's job.

Personnel Department
The personnel department i s responsible f o r recruiting and h i r i n g people
for the plant. In many firms the personnel or i n d u s t r i a l relations
department i s responsible f o r formal t r a i n i n g programs. Social security,
unemployment insurance and many other d e t a i l s have to be taken care of.
Sometimes the payroll is calculated by the personnel department and the
actual checks may be written by the treasurer o r comptroller's office.
The breakdown o f these service departments has to be somewhat arbitrary
and one will hardly find two companies that do i t the same way. Usually
the work is divided among a small group of people according to t h e i r
capabilities. Sometimes one engineer i s i n charge of quality control
as well as the boiler house and methods study and maintenance are thrown
i n w i t h the job.
I n most plants the service functions are carried o u t under the responsibility
o f production personnel. The foreman i n each department may be d o i n g his
own production engineering. Often these men a r e very effective. The
question is whether enough time i s available t o carry o u t t h i s function
effectively .
Now t h a t we have briefly stated the purpose of the various departments,
l e t us s e t u p a diagram showing the relationship between them. In order
for such a diagram t o be complete, i t must show where the chain of coFand
s t a r t s . Obviously the start i s a t the owners of the company. Ownership
may be i n one of several different forms. If a company i s incorporated,
certain rules are l a i d down for the selection o f o f f i c e r s , etc. A typical
diagram f o r a large company i s given i n Figure 11-3.
 11-10

1 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT

I
VICE PRESIDENT- SALES SECRETARY / TREASURER VICE PRESIDENT- MANUFACTURING
I
I

COST ACCOUNTING PERSONNEL

ADVERTISING PURCHASING PROD. CONTROL

SALES OFFICE PLANT SUPERINTENDENT PLANT ENGINEER

SALESMEN DEPARTMENT SUPERVISORS

YARD AND KILNS

PLYWOOD
MACHINE ROOM
SANDING
CABINET ROOM
FINISHING
RUB AND PACK
WAREHOUSE/SH I P P I NG

Figure 11-3: Typical Organization Diagram of a Large

Furniture Manufacturing Company
For a small company, such an elaborate organization would be kind of t o p -
heavy and in order t o reduce overhead, the functions are combined. A
company employing eighty and selling $2,000,000 would have an organization
diagram as shown in Figure 11-4. More often than n o t , in a small company
such a diagram i s never p u t on paper and i t i s shifting with the a b i l i t y
o f the people. For instance, i f he shows t a l e n t , the cabinet room foreman
might design a bedroom s u i t e , working closely with the sales manager. Or
the bookkeeper might gradually get involved in personnel work and end u p
doing the hiring and f i r i n g .
 11-1 1

PARTNER # 1 PARTNER # 2
SALES MANUFACTURING
OFFICE PERSONNEL
ADVERTISING PURCHASING

i
f
SALESMEN PLANT SUPERINTENDENT
ENGI NEERI tJC
PRODUCTION CONTROL

HACH INING
ASSEMBLY
FINISHING
SHIPPING

Figure 11-4: Typical Organization o f a Small

Furniture Manufacturing Company
 CHAPTER I11

LUMBER RECEIVING, STORAGE AND DRYING

INTRODUCTION
In a l l b u t a few furniture factories lumber i s the most important raw
material. In many types of furniture the cost of lumber exceeds the cost
o f a l l other materials p u t together. Almost invariably, lumber i s the most
bulky material used. I t further has a unique characteristic i n needing t o
be dried.
These factors lead t o a separate department, the lumber yard, which has a s
i t s function:
1. unload
2. grade*
3. sort*
4. double surface*
5. stack
6. hold and a i r dry (and/or forced-air dry)*
7. k i l n dry
8. hold i n dry storage
9. deliver t o the rough end
10. keep inventory records
*Optional
T h i s operation i s usually directed by the yard foreman.
I t i s n o t his responsibility t o buy lumber or t o decide w h a t needs t o be
bought. T h i s i s t r a d i t i o n a l l y a matter o f company policy, e i t h e r directed
by or closely supervised by top management. Even though considerations
l e a d i n g to management decisions regarding lumber are not p a r t of the yard
as such, they will be covered i n this chapter. HoweverS they can be i n -
vestigated more f r u i t f u l l y a f t e r a discussion o f the physical yard operation.
Lumber receiving, storage and drying procedures have a significant e f f e c t
on overall material u t i l i z a t i o n . T h i s i s especially true f o r some species
and thicknesses of lumber. Furniture manufacturers need t o be constantly
aware o f e f f o r t s t o minimize the amount o f deterioration t h a t occurs w i t h
lumber from the time i t i s received until i t enters the rough end.
UNLOADING, GRADING AND STACKING
Lumber i s shipped t o the furniture p l a n t by r a i l o r by truck. To keep the
s h i p p i n g cost as low as possible, the lumber i s dead-hacked. (Sometimes
called dead-piled or bulk-piled; the terms apply t o stacking without a i r
spaces between the boards. )
 111-2

Trucks and f l a t - b e d r a i l r o a d c a r s a r e u s u a l l y unloaded by f o r k l i f t . For

t h i s purpose t h e s h i p p e r may place t h e l o a d on b o l s t e r s so t h a t the f o r k s
can be i n s e r t e d e a s i l y . Chains are used t o h o l d t h e lumber d u r i n g shipment.

The unloaded packages a r e a l s o placed on b o l s t e r s and when these packages a r e

stacked t h r e e o r f o u r high, b o l s t e r s a r e placed between them. I t should be
p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e lumber i s s t i l l dead-hacked and t h a t t h i s t y p e o f s t o r -
age i s temporary. I f the lumber should be l e f t t h i s way, no d r y i n g w i l l
take place. Much more serious i s t h e e f f e c t o f prolonged dead-hacking on
t h e development o f s t a i n and r o t . Depending on t h e m o i s t u r e content o f t h e
lumber, t h e species, t h e intended use and t h e c l i m a t e , lumber should be
s t i c k e r e d w i t h i n one t o f o u r days.

F u r n i t u r e manufacturers commonly buy 1umber by species , thickness , and grade

[or grade mix). An exception t o t h i s i s t h a t some firms buy mixed hardwoods
f o r p a r t i c u l a r uses. When t h e lumber i s received, i t i s a l r e a d y s o r t e d by
species and thickness. Where one firm may use o n l y a few d i f f e r e n t v a r i e t i e s
o f lumber (species/thickness) , another may work w i t h many d i f f e r e n t types.
I n general, d i f f e r e n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and t h e n a t u r e o f t h e production process
c r e a t e t h e need t o m a i n t a i n t h i s segregation by species and thickness throuqh
t h e storage, d r y i n g and c o n v e r t i n g stages. Thus i n s t a c k i n g lumber, each
species and thickness i s handled separately.

Stacking w i t h s t i c k s i s r e q u i r e d t o d r y t h e lumber. Grading, f u r t h e r s o r t i n g

b y grade o r length, and double s u r f a c i n g a r e o p t i o n a l procedures. I f any o f
these o p t i o n a l procedures are desired, they should be done i n c o n j u n c t i o n
w i t h t h e stacking. This r e s u l t s i n handling i n d i v i d u a l boards o n l y once be-
f o r e t h e a c t u a l c o n v e r t i n g begins.

I n some instances, a company may buy on f a i t h . Sometimes t h e grade and q u a n t i t y

a r e checked on a sampling basis. Many companies grade a l l incoming lumber. This
has the advantage t h a t t h e t o t a l board footage o f each package i s known, which
f a c i l i t a t e s i n v e n t o r y and waste c o n t r o l procedures.

The dead-hacked packages t h a t a r e unloaded from t r u c k s o r f l a t cars l e n d them-

selves q u i t e w e l l t o mechanized handling and s t a c k i n g procedures. ldhether
stacked by hand o r by machine t h e purpose i s t o place t h e lumber i n l a y e r s ,
separated by k i l n s t i c k s i n a package o f uniform size. This s i z e must be
corresponding t o t h e d r y k i l n s and t h e lumber l i f t i n t h e rough end. A common
s i z e i s board l e n g t h x 8 ' wide x 4 ' high. The k i l n s t i c k s a r e 8 ' long,
1 ' / 4 " o r 1 1 / 2 1 1 wide,and 3 / 4 ' ' t o 1" t h i c k . The number o f k i l n s t i c k s r e q u i r e d
w i l l depend on t h e thickness o f t h e lumber. A good p r a c t i c e i s t o use k i l n
s t i c k spacings given i n Table 111-1.

Thickness o f Lumber Spacing o f K i l n S t i c k s

I 414 I 18" - 24"

24"
i
5/4
6/4 24"
I 8/4 __ 1 24" 1
Table 111-1: K i l n S t i c k Spacing
 111-3

One of the most important things in stacking i s t o get perfect alignment

of the kiln sticks. If we place three packages of 4/4 lumber, each of them
f o u r feet high on t o p of one another, the pressure exerted by the load on
the bottom layer i s i n the order of 400 pounds per lineal foot of kiln
sticks. Therefore, imperfect alignment can result i n sufficient stress t o
deform the wood.
When stacking i s done by hand, stick guides should be used t o ensure proper
a1 i gnment.
Lumber i s generally shipped in a more or less random mixture of lengths --
6 , 8, I O , 12, 14, and 16 feet. I t i s an unfortunate consequence o f t h i s
practice t h a t many lumber yards contain packages of lumber of mixed lengths.
This i s bad i n two ways. The package will contain large voids, and this
gives poor utilization of yard space and dry kiln capacity. In the second
place voids i n the package mean unsupported kiln s t i c k s , improperly retained
boards and a considerable number of avoidable drying defects. Figure 111-1
shows how an improperly stacked lumber package can lead t o twist, cup and bow.

Figure 111-1: Improperly Stacked Lumber Package

Because of these d i f f i c u l t i e s i t i s f a r better t o s o r t the boards f o r length.

The only combination that should be allowed i s t h a t of six and eight foot
boards to make 1 2 , 14 and 16 foot layers.
 I1 1-4

Sorting by l e n g t h i s important and should be done whenever possible. Other

types o f sorting t h a t may occur are:
1. S o r t i n g by species. Sometimes a shipment of "mixed" hardwood may
be sorted, although the species a r e normally used as a mixture
i n t h a t case.
2. Sorting for color.
3. Sorting f o r grade.
One North Carolina factory buys hard maple lumber t h a t i s used for making
church pews, chairs in l i g h t and dark finishes and cases. The lumber i s
transferred t o a sorting chain where the boards that will g i v e long clear
cuttings are pulled out as "pew grade." The remaining boards a r e sorted for
l i g h t and dark color. In each category the boards a r e sorted for length.
Figure 111-2 shows such a sorting chain.
The capacity of such a sorting chain i s 60-80 M (1 M = 1000 Bft.) per
e i g h t hour day. The investment i n equipment of this s o r t i s substantial.
Many plants consider t h a t the capacity of these systems i s too f a r above
their requirements. However, i f sorting cannot be done mechanically, i t
should be done by hand i f a t a l l possible. S o r t i n g by hand will probably
cost about $5.00 per M. If we can improve space utilization i n the dry
kilns from 80% t o 90% as a r e s u l t of sorting, we gain back part o f the
cost. For example, the drying cost may go down from $25/M t o $22/M. The
most important gain i s i n the improved quality of the lumber. More uniform
support f o r the boards and more uniform a i r flow will give us straighter
lumber. The increase i n lumber utilization i s bound t o pay f o r sorting
regardless of the method used.
I t may be good t o p o i n t out t h a t an occasional board t h a t i s too long gives
even worse results than the short ones. I f a lumber package i s b u i l t
of 14 foot boards and there happen t o be two boards of 16 foot length that
have been mixed up i n t h i s l o t , i t i s cheaper t o cut these boards back t o
14 feet before including them i n the 14 f o o t package. In the f i r s t place,
the utilization o f yard and kiln space i s poor. We need 16 foot space f o r
this package. Furtherathere is the danger of shifting this lumber load or
another one. Often somewhere along the l i n e , perhaps inside the kilns,
,lumber i s moved by pushing one load against another. If one board protrudes,
i t will ''dig" i n t o the adjacent load. As a r e s u l t , b o t h loads are shifted
and k i l n s t i c k alignment i s l o s t .
If lumber i s obtained from a local mill a t random length, i t i s probably
advisable t o trim the boards t o exact 8, 10, 1 2 , 14, and 16 f o o t dimensions
anyway. A 15 foot board will never end up as 15 f e e t of usable material
b u t the extra foot sticking o u t can cause a l o t of trouble. In one plant
uneven length loads even led t o misalignment bad enough t o t e a r down the
heating c o i l s inside the kiln!
 111- 6

Double surfacing of green lumber i s a relatively rare practice. The main

purpose in this operation i s t o reduce the thickness of boards t h a t have
been cut too thick. A l o t of the lumber used by the furniture industry
originates from small sawmills. Quality control i n these small mills i s
notoriously poor,and i t is n o t uncommon for a load of 4/4 lumber t o contain
t h i n boards of 0.90, 0.92 inches as well as thick boards of 1.30, 1.35 inches
thick. I t i s virtually impossible t o build a good straight package from such
lumber. Consequently much, and sometimes most, o f the lumber will develop
some bow, cup or twist. Some of these defects can be removed by facing and
planing. Some plants purposely do n o t double surface the green lumber i n
order t o have more facing and planing allowance. There i s one fallacy i n
this argument; as likely as n o t , most bow and twist will occur i n the thin
boards which do not have the built-in allowance. I t i s i n order t o keep the
t h i n board s t r a i g h t t h a t we plane down the thick lumber.
An additional reason f o r double surfacing the lumber i s t o promote more u n i -
formity i n drying conditions. Since the drying time is roughly proportional
t o the thickness raised t o the 2nd power, an important gain i s made by double
surfacing. However, the main advantage i s i n the package alignment.
Once the lumber has been unloaded, graded, sorted and surfaced, i t has t o be
stacked. Stacking by hand was mentioned e a r l i e r i n the chapter. If t h i s
method i s used, i t is important t o combine the stacking w i t h unloading and
grading (assuming no sorting and/or surfacing). I t i s desired t h a t stick
guides are used such as i l l u s t r a t e d i n Figure 111-3.

Figure 111-3: Stick Guides

 ill-8

Mechanical s t a c k i n g can be much f a s t e r than hand s t a c k i n g and more and more

l a r g e companies are i n v e s t i n g i n automatic stackers. An automatic s t a c k e r
i s normally combined w i t h a breakdown h o i s t . Figure 111-4 shows a combination
o f these machines. The breakdown h o i s t i s a t t h e back. I t t i l t s and r a i s e s
t h e s o l i d stacked lumber package so t h a t one l a y e r o f lumber s l i d e s o f f a t
a time. The lumber then i s transported forward on f o u r chains. One operator
untangles t h e lumber i n case some boards s l i d e on t o p o f one another. He
a l s o operates a number o f stops w i t h which he can separate t h e endless "ribbon"
o f boards i n t o groups t h a t make up s i n g l e l a y e r s i n t h e package.
The l a y e r continues forward on t h e chain u n t i l i t i s i n p o s i t i o n above t h e
k i l n s t i c k s . Now t h e arms a r e r e t r a c t e d and t h e chain i s taken up i n such a
fashion t h a t t h e boards do n o t move h o r i z o n t a l l y . One by one t h e y drop onto
t h e package. F i g u r e 111-5 explains t h e mechanism.

1. /c arm
LChain
I
'kiln &ick

3.

F i g u r e 111-5: Mechanism o f Moore Chain-Arm Stacker

 111- 9

The labor savings of mechanized stacking are quite substantial. Table 111-2
gives the direct labor time i n manhours per 1,000 Bft.

Method of Stacking Manhours direct labor

f o r stacking 1,000 Bft.
414 8/4
By hand 1.3 1.1
Mechanical
O 3 I .2

Table 111-2: Direct Labor Time i n Manhours

A system similar t o t h a t i l l u s t r a t e d i n Figure 111-4 costs about $100,000.

If a labor r a t e o f $2.50 per hour i s assumed, i t will take about 16 M per
day t o pay f o r the investment i n 10 years. If the stacker i s used a t f u l l
capacity, which i s 60 M t o 100 M per day, i t will pay f o r i t s e l f i n about
two years.
From the above figures i t looks as though every plant should use an automatic
stacker. However, i t is usually somewhat d i f f i c u l t t o make use of the labor
saved. l d i t h the stacker we need a three man crew, not counting the grader.
I f we can f i n d suitable work f o r this crew during the remainder of the day,
the stacker works fine. I f not, i t may be just as well t o continue t o stack
by hand f o r amounts up t o 20 M per day.
DRYING THE LUMBER
For the application o f lumber i n furniture, i t is essential t h a t it i s dry.
The mositure content should correspond t o the average conditions encountered
in the consumer's home. Generally this is taken t o be s i x t o eight percent.
By exposing the lumber t o the outside a i r , one can dry i t down t o a level o f
14 t o 20 percent b u t not beyond this. Therefore, kiln drying i s a necessity.
(There a r e a few firms i n the upholstered furniture f i e l d t h a t only a i r dry,
b u t even there, this practice is not a good one.)
Besides allowing the lumber t o be dried t o a lower moisture content, the
kiln drying process will give f a s t e r and better drying. Accurate control
of conditions makes i t possible t o dry lumber w i t h a m i n i m u m o f defects.
The basic principles of lumber drying are covered i n wood technology courses
and a r e considered outside the scope of this text.l The main concern here i s
w i t h the inventory and equipment problems and sol utions.
 111-10

How does one determine kiln drying time? Most furniture plants do not
operate their kilns on a time schedule basis. They use a so-called moisture
content schedule such as the one for hard maple given in Table 111-3.

Moisture Content Dry Wet Bulb Wet

a t S t a r t of Step Bulb Depression Bulb
Percent OF OF OF

Above 40 130 5 125

40 130 7 123
35 130 11 119
30 140 19 121
25 150 35 115
20 160 50 110
15 180 50 130
Equalizing 180 28 152
Conditioning 180 8 172

Table 111-3: Schedule for Hard Maple2

T h i s schedule gives the temperature and humidity conditions t h a t are re-

commended for kiln drying 4/4 hard maple. I t does not t e l l us anything
a b o u t the length of time t h i s process will take. The time will depend on
variations i n the wood (especially specific gravity), the w i d t h of the load
and a i r velocity i n the kiln. I f the load i s poorly stacked, the a i r velocity
may vary between different locations and drying may be nonuniform. In t h a t
case the schedule should follow the boards w i t h the highest moisture content
and the process may be very slow indeed.
Nhen the same species i s dried repeatedly i n the same kiln, the operator
may o b t a i n enough experience that he can run i t on a time schedule. An ex-
ample o f such a schedule i s given i n Table 111-4 on the following page.
Such a schedule i s f a i r l y common for the American furniture industry. i t i s a -
safe schedule without risking much in the way of drying defects. There i s no ~

d o u b t t h a t drying can be accomplished f a s t e r b u t generally more defects will

occur. German kiln manufacturers who build kilns w i t h h i g h a i r speeds claim -
drying schedules two and three times faster-. These f a s t schedules are realized
by two factors. __
 111- 11

1. Higher temperatures. When the moisture content is below 30%,

the r a t e of drying depends on diffusion. This can be speeded
up considerably by the use of higher temperatures.
2. The combination of smaller kiln charges and higher a i r speeds.
This results i n less variation between the i n l e t side and o u t l e t
side of the kiln. As the drying rate i s controlled by the
l'slowes t" board, greater u n i formi ty of conditions w i 11 result
i n higher speed of the overall process.

Dry Wet
Bulb Bu7 b
OF OF

50 248 130 125

45 220 130 125
40 190 130 123
35 166 130 119
30 140 140 121
25 120 150 115
20 101 160 110
15 78 180 130
Equalizing 18 180 152
Conditioning 6 180 172

Table 111-4: Schedule f o r 4/4 Hard Maple3

In order t o make calculations of k i l n capacity required, one must make some

assumptions about the time i t will take. The Forest Products Laboratory i n
Madison, Wisconsin, has collected information 011 industry practice. Table I I I - -
5 i s based on their figures. The figures for drying from 20 t o six percent
could also be used for drying from 24 t o eight percent. By adding 15 percent
~

t o the time for 20 t o six percent, one obtains an approximate time for either
25 t o s i x percent or 30 t o eight percent. -
 111-12

Time i n Days Required t o K i l n

Species Dry 4/4 Stock From

20 t o 6% M.C. Green t o 6% M.C.

Ye1 1ow Pop1a r 4.5 -

+ 1.5 8.0 -
+ 2.0
Black Tupelo

Syc am0re
Hackberry 5.5 + 1.5
- 9.5 -
+ 2.5
S o f t Maple
Water Tupelo

American E l m
Ash
Mahogany 5.5 -
+ 1.5 12.0 -
+ 2.0
Sweet Gum Sapwood
Cherry

Butternut
Mal n u t
Rock E l m + 2.5
Beech 6.5 -
+ 1.5 13.5 -
Hard Maple
Birch

Red Oak 9.0 -

+ 3.0 21.0 -
+ 6.0
Sweet Gum Heartwood

Pecan 9.0 -
+ 3.0 25.0 -
+ 5.0
White Oak

Table 111-5: Approximate K i l n Drying Periods f o r 4/4 Lumber4

Suppose t h a t i t i s company p r a c t i c e t o l o a d t h e k i l n s a t 24% MC and d r y t h e ~

lumber t o 8%. The average of t h e values given i n t h e l e f t hand column o f

Table 111-5 would be a reasonable b a s i s f o r making k i l n c a p a c i t y c a l c u l a t i o n s . -
 111-13

These figures apply t o 4/4 lumber only. In order t o obtain the appropriate
time f o r other thicknesses, it is necessary t o multiply the times given by
a correction factor. The appropriate correction factor is given i n Table 111-6.

In Order t o Obtain Kiln Multiply Entry of

Drying Time for Lumber Table 111-5 by
of Thickness : Factor:

5/8 .49
3/4 .65
4/4 1.oo
514 1.40
6/4 1.84
8/4 2.83
10/4 3.95
12/4 5.20
2" squares 2.41
2 1/2" squares 3.36
3" squares 4.42

Table 111-6: Adjustment Factors f o r K i l n Drying Times 5

DRY KILN CAPACITY

The most straightforward manner i n which t o arrive a t the required k i l n
capacity i s t o figure the lumber requirements i n standard packages per year.
For instance, it may be decided t o standardize on a package 8 feet wide and
4 feet high. Assuming an average l e n g t h of the package of 12 feet, the board
footage i n such a package can be calculated readily. For example w i t h 4/4
lumber, the number o f courses will be given by:
48 = 26

where 1.08 represents the average thickness of the lumber and .75 the thickness
o f the k i l n stick. The amount o f lumber i n each course i s given by:
Q4/4 = 12 x 8 x 1.0 x .85 = 81.6 Bft.
where e 8 5 is a f a c t o r allowing f o r 15% a i r space between the boards.
 ILZ- 14

T h e . t o t a 1 amount o f 4/4 lumber i n t h e package i s then:

= 26 x 81.6 = 2120 B f t .
p4/4

L e t us f u r t h e r suppose t h a t t h e annual requirements o f 4/4 lumber o f a given

p l a n t a r e 1,000,000 B f t . of hard maple and 800,000 B f t . o f y e l l o w poplar.
This, according t o t h e above c a l c u l a t i o n , i s equal t o :
- sooo~ooo = 472 packages maple
M4/4 - 2120
and
-
y4/4 - 8oo'ooo = 378 packages poplar.

According t o Table 111-5, t h e average d r y i n g times f o r these species a r e

6.5 and 4.5 days, r e s p e c t i v e l y , f o r d r y i n g from 20 t o s i x percent M.C. The
k i l n c a p a c i t y r e q u i r e d f o r these two species i n 4/4 i s then found t o be:

&.,,4 / 4 = 472 x 6.5 = 3068 package days

and
= 378 x 4.5 = 1701 package days.
KCY4
14

I f no o t h e r lumber was used, t h e t o t a l annual k i l n c a p a c i t y would be:

KCT = 3068 + 1701 = 4769 package days.

I f a k i l n had a c a p a c i t y o f 10 packages, i t would t a k e 477 d r y i n g days t o d r y

t h i s amount o f lumber. With a k i l n c a p a c i t y o f 16 packages, i t would t a k e
298 days. T h i s would be j u s t about r i g h t as we may assume t h a t we can make use
o f t h e k i l n on a l l working days and about h a l f o f t h e weekends.

On can make s i m i l a r c a l c u l a t i o n s f o r o t h e r thicknesses. The number o f pack-

age days a r e a d d i t i v e a l s o when d i f f e r e n t thicknesses a r e involved.
When s e l e c t i n g an a p p r o p r i a t e k i l n s i z e , one should remember t h a t t h e 12 f o o t
l o n g package i s an average and t h a t t h e k i l n should have dimensions s u i t a b l e
f o r d r y i n g combinations o f common l e n g t h s . I n t h e above example we found t h e
answer t o be a 16 package k i l n based on t h e 12 f o o t package. T h i s would be
a s u i t a b l e s i z e as we c o u l d p l a n on k i l n dimensions as f o l l o w s :

Width: 1 1/2' a i r space + 8 ' package + 1 ' a i r space + 8 ' package +

1 1/21 a i r space = 20' f o r two package width.
 I I I - 15

Height: 1 ' f o r track and truck + 4 ' for package + l/3' for battens +
4 ' f o r package + 1 ' for baffles = 10 l / 3 ' f o r two package height.
Length: 4 x 12' f o r 4 packages + 2 ' for clearances and spacing =
50' for four package length.
The 50' length would also accommodate:
16 + 16 + 1 6 '
8 + 10 + 14 t 16'
10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 8'
and many other combinations.
Notice t h a t a 38 foot length for three standard packages plus clearance, would
n o t allow nearly as much f l e x i b i l i t y . When the choice i s between four kilns
of 50 foot length and five kilns of 40 f o o t length, the preference should be
for the 50 foot length. The advantage of four kilns of 50 f e e t over two kilns
of 00 f e e t i s t h a t - i t allows for simultaneous drying of:
loads of different thickness
loads of different i n i t i a l moisture content
loads of different species.
The w i d t h (depth) of a kiln i s influenced by the f a c t t h a t a i r flow i n the
kiln travels i n this direction. Uniformity of drying from front t o back
(package kiln) is affected by the distance the air has t o travel. Entering
a i r picks up moisture and cools as i t travels t h r o u g h the stacks. The greater
the . distance
_ -. t h .a t this a i r has t o travel (entering
. - . . __ t o e x i t ) , the greater the
._
problem. The a b i l i t y t o reverse the a i r flow a l t e r s this concern t o the dis-
tance t o the center of the k i l n . I t is possible t o add booster coils in kilns
using track handling t o o f f s e t this problem. In a package kiln where a fork-
l i f t i s used t o load and unload, a d d i n g booster c o i l s would result in the need
t o be able t o load from front and back.
Consideration of drying uniformity i s also a factor in selecting a k i l n ' s
height. A second important factor for height is the material handling method.
A package k i l n t h a t i s t o be loaded (unloaded) by f o r k l i f t will introduce b o t h
ueight and 1ift-hei g h t capacities as factors.
Once we have planned the kiln drying process to s t a r t o f f a t 20% moisture
content, what are the expected a i r drying times? This will vary according t o :
thickness of the lumber
species
i n i t i a l moisture content
location of the yard
time of year.
Planning can become quite involved as i s i l l u s t r a t e d by the air drying times
given i n Table III-7.
 111- 16

Moisture June - Aug. - Oct. - Dec. - Feb. - April -

Con tent 4 July I Sept. q NQV. $ Jan. Mar. May
60% 0 0 0 0 0 0
50% 1 1 2 2 2 1
40% 2 3 5 5 4 3
30% 4 5 12 11 9 6

I
1
20% 7 9 21 19 15 11

Note t h a t this table applies only t o black gum, only t o 4/4 and only t o one
specific yard i n eastern North Carolina. In principle i t i s possible t o estab-
lish a set of such tables applying t o a l l species and thicknesses of i n t e r e s t
f o r any location. One would have t o study local climate, especially the wind
velocity a t the yard location.
Mith such a set of tables one could s e t up a schedule of delivery dates for the
lumber. One disadvantage would be t h a t these dates would not be evenly d i s -
tributed t h r o u g h o u t t h e year. T h i s would result i n an uneven work load for the un-
loading, grading and stacking crew. For this reason, most plants plan on evenly
spaced deliveries o f lumber, place i t on the yard and use always the driest
lumber available. This will s t a r t off the lumber a t the k i l n a t varying
moisture contents and i n order t o have sufficient capacity, one should plan
f o r the peak load, rather t h a n the average. However, since there i s also a
dry lumber storage area working as a buffer load, the peak capacity of the
dry kilns should be no more than 10% higher than the average.
To calculate k i l n capacity, one should go through the following steps:
1. Find the average time each species and thickness o f lumber will
spend on the yard.
2. From the average yard time, deduce an approximate average moisture
content a t the end of the period of yard exposure. Some values
are given i n Table III-8.
3. From the average entering M.C., estimate the kiln drying time per
species and thickness.
 111- 17

4. For each lumber category, multiply the annual required amount

i n number of standard packages (see pages II1-5,6) w i t h the
appropriate estimated k i l n drying time. Add up the numbers of
package days for a l l categories.
5. Divide the total number of package days by the number of drying
days (approximately 300) t o arrive a t the net average k i l n
capacity i n number of standard packages.
6. Add 10%t o allow f o r increased M.C. d u r i n g a peak drying period.
~ ~~~

Air Drying Time For

Species Drying 4/4 Lumber
From 60% t o 25% M.C.
Yellow Poplar 11 weeks
Black Tupelo
Sycamore
Hackberry 13 weeks
Soft Maple
Mater Tupelo
American Elm
Ash
Mahogany 15 weeks
Sweet Gum Sapwood
Cherry
Butternut
Walnut
Rock Elm
Beech 17 weeks
Hard Maple
Birch

I Sweet
Red OakGum Heartwood 22 weeks

26 weeks

(Values given i n this table can be converted for other thicknesses

w i t h the multiplication factors given i n Table 111-6.)

Table 111-8: Approximate Average Air Drying Time of 4/4 Lumber for
Conditions Prevailing i n North Carol ina 9

As before,the k i l n s must be suitable t o dry a variety o f lengths.

 111-18

LUMBER INVENTORY
The lumber yard i s a processing department i n the sense t h a t lumber i s being
dried there. The second function o f the yard i s t o hold a lumber inventory.
Another part of t h i s inventory i s in the dry kiln and a t h i r d part i s i n
dry storage. The purpose of this inventory, apart from drying, i s :
1. t o a low scheduling o f furniture production "at the l a s t moment."
When on February 20 the factory's production schedule i s extended
from April 10 t o April 24, the lumber for this period's production
must enter the rough mill i n the f i r s t two weeks of March. This
mean we have very-little time t o get ready. The procurement
cycle i s much longer than this period. I t i s t r u e t h a t i t i s
f l exi bl e, b u t we want:
-7 -_ t"-n t.,.....-
ako a- - .d- "v" -aYn- t a n 0 n f n
- a
.
. "II I...,."....,
n z i...
_..-
p ,r i r P f l i r r t t i a t i.n n t.,..-
h e liimher
" I ... a r.....--
. _...- m ket-

Lumber prices go u p and down very much and most companies l i k e t o take
advantage o f "local" offerings which are often made on an occasional
basis only. The local lumber i s sometimes ungraded and much below
the market i n price.
The lumber inventory has another peculiar feature and that i s t h a t we d o n ' t
know j u s t how many furniture parts we can get out of i t . The lumber yield
can be estimated b u t i t w i l l vary i n practice.
The investment i n lumber inventory depends largely on the company's cash
position, t h e i r perception o f what price changes may be in the offering,
and past habits i n production schedule changes. I f the sales department
decides t o double the next cutting o f the cherry s u i t e , we must have a sufficient
cherry inventory t o allow for i t . Lumber buyers who have been "caught" several
times w i t h insufficient inventory levels t o allow for schedule changes, will
naturally tend t o "protect" themselves i n the future by adding t o the inventory.
I t s h o u l d be pointed o u t t h a t a very generous inventory means the lumber i s o u t
on the yard longer on the average. Degrade may take away whatever we gain on
market price increase.
I t i s necessary t h a t lumber inventory and buying process be placed i n the
hands of a knowledgeable and responsible company o f f i c i a l .
DRY SHED (STORAGE)
The dry shed i s an enclosed holding area between the dry kilns and the rough -
end. A package k i l n i s a batch process t h a t produces a " k i l n l o a d " of lumber
a t a time. The rough end i s a more o r l e s s continuous operation. T h u s , when ~

a kiln i s unloaded, i t will take days f o r the rough end t o consume the lumber
even i f i t s t a r t s soon a f t e r the u n l o a d i n g occurs. -
 111-19

The s i z e o f a d r y shed i s i n f l u e n c e d by several f a c t o r s . An i m p o r t a n t concern

i s t h e v a r i e t y o f lumber species/thickness combinations used. For example,
i f a f i r m used o n l y one species and thickness, then t h e d r y shed c a p a c i t y
(storage space o n l y ) would need t o be j u s t s l i g h t l y l a r g e r than t h a t o f t h e
k i l n . The k i l n would be operated t o simply r e p l e n i s h t h e d r y lumber supply
as r e q u i r e d . The k i l n i t s e l f c o u l d serve as temporary d r y storage i f k i l n
c a p a c i t y exceeded t h e r a t e o f lumber consumption and t h e d r y shed were small.

I n companies t h a t use a v a r i e t y o f d i f f e r e n t lumber species and thicknesses,

t h e dry shed w i l l serve as a l o n g term h o l d i n g area. For example, a f i r m ' s
s m a l l e s t k i l n holds, say 20,000 B f t . o f lumber. i f t h e f i r m uses something
l i k e 8/4 oak i n o n l y one product group, produces t h i s group about once every
t h r e e months, and uses o n l y about 6,000 B f t . every t h r e e months, then l o a d i n g
t h e small k i l n w i t h t h i s i t e m w i l l r e s u l t i n something l i k e a n i n e months'
supply. The d r y shed i n t h i s case would a c t as a l o n g e r term h o l d i n g area
f o r t h i s m a t e r i a l . Operating t h e k i l n t o produce j u s t what i s needed ( l e s s
than a f u l l l o a d o r a mixed l o a d ) might r e s u l t i n l o w e r i n g k i l n c a p a c i t y t o
t h e p o i n t t h a t a problem r e s u l t s . Also s t o r i n g lumber i n a d r y shed f o r
several months r e q u i r e s c o n t r o l o f t h e environment t o prevent d e t e r i o r a t i o n
o f t h e lumber.

Another p o i n t i s t h a t t h e rough end w i l l c u t a g i v e n m a t e r i a l u n t i l i t has

f u l f i l l e d a g i v e n s e t o f requirements. Seldom w i l l these requirements be
produced w i t h t h e exact amount o f m a t e r i a l a v a i l a b l e i n t h e d r y shed. For
example, i f a c u t t i n g c a l l s f o r 52 MBF o f 5/4 maple, t h e amount t h a t w i l l
need t o be d r i e d w i l l depend on whether any o f t h e m a t e r i a l i s p r e s e n t l y
a v a i l a b l e ( d r y ) i n t h e d r y shed. I f 8 MBF were already d r y and being h e l d
i n d r y storage, then a minimum o f about 44 MBF would need t o be d r i e d f o r
t h e c u t t i n g i n question. Rather than chance coming up s h o r t , an e x t r a
amount (overage) may be d r i e d . When t h e p l a n t uses t h e m a t e r i a l , any t h a t
i s n o t consumed w i l l be h e l d f o r subsequent c u t t i n g s .

A " k i l n load" o f m a t e r i a l may be something l i k e 48 MBF. A p a r t i a l l o a d

( o r mixed load) may a c t u a l l y be d r i e d t o reduce t h e amount of m a t e r i a l
c a r r i e d over i n storage. These procedures have obvious e f f e c t s on t h e d r y
storage c a p a c i t y requirements .

The reader i s r e f e r r e d t o :
Wood Handbook (Handbook No. 72 - U.S. Department o f A g r i c u l t u r e )
Dr.y K i l n Operators Manual ( A g r i c u l t u r a l Handbook No. 188)
Textbook o f Wood Technology, Vo. 11, Brown, Panshin and F o r s a i t h ,
McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.
Dry K i I n Operators Manual.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

From G. E. Tucker: A Plan For Scheduling t h e Receipt o f Rough Lumber

On t h e Yard o f A F u r n i t u r e P l a n t . (Thesis, N.C. State, 1963).
Dry K i l n Operators Manual.
 CHAPTER I V

THE ROUGH END: PROCESSES

FUNCTION OF THE ROUGH END
The purpose of the rough end i s to convert the rough lumber i n t o rectangular
pieces which can be processed by the finish machine room.
In order t o discuss the rough end process and lumber yield, a few terms
should be defined.
Lumber i s the raw material obtained from the sawmill -- t h a t i s the
rough boards.
Blank is the name of the rough end product. I t i s the rectangular piece
t h a t g o e s t o the finish machine room.
Rough Dimension i s the dimension of the blank.
Finished Dimension i s the dimension of the furniture part.
A rough end blank can be e i t h e r r a i l stock o r Dane1 stock.

A. Rail Stock

Figure IY-1: Rail and Panel Stock

 I I
Typical Rough Actual Finished Actual
Lumber Board Dimensi ons Rough Dimen si o ns Finished
Specified Dimensions Specified Dimensi ons Specifi ed Dimensions

14.06 ft. x 6.5 x 1.16 16.8 x 2.05 x 1.12 16.257 x 1.761 x 1.001
5/4 13.95 ft. x 9.3 x 1.39 17 x 2 x 5/4 16.9 x 2.02 x 1.19 161/4 X 13/4 X 1 16.255 x 1.762 x 1.003
9.91 ft. x 11.8 x 1.36 17.1 x 1.99 x 1.20 16.255 x 1.761 x 1.002 H
<
I
N
12.04 ft. x 6.1 x 2.31 33.4 x 2.02 x 1.92 32.509 x 1.743 x 1.748
8/4 10.14 ft. x 7.8 x 2.19 33/2 x 2 x 8/4 33.7 x 1.98 x 1.88 321/2 x 13/4 x 13/& 32.512 x 1.747 x 1.751
7.85 ft. x 9.l x 2.09 34.2 x 1.99 x 1.93 32.518 x 1.746 x 1.747 I
~ ~~

15.96 ft. x 8.1 x 1.18 23.4 x 18.7 x 0.97 22.010 x 18.243 x 0.74!
4/4 12.19 ft. x 11.3 x 1.02 23 x 183/~x 4/4 23.1 x 18.9 x 0.98 22.012 x 18.241 x 0.74! I
12.05 ft. x 6.2 x 1.11 23.1 x 18.9 x 0.98 22.014 x 18.240 x 0.74:
I
Tab1 e I V - 1 : Distinctions Between Actual and Specified Dimensions
 IY- 3

Figure IV-1 exhibits the distinction between r a i l and panel stock. The rough
size blank ( A ) may produce more than one finished s i z e r a i l . However, t h i s would
most commonly result from the rough length being a multiple of the finished ~

length (plus allowance for cut-up). The panel ( B ) may produce only one part,
such as a top of a solid case. As shown i n the figure, a panel can be used ~

to Produce a few wide r a i l s . Rails having finished widths greater than

2 inches can be produced most economically by gluing up random w i d t h pieces ~

into panel stock. ~

The finished dimensions specified for the furniture part decide w h a t the rough
dimensions s h o u l d be and what thickness of lumber should be used t o make i t .
Table IV-1 gives some examples of the finished dimension, the rough dimension
and lumber dimension, both as specified and examples of what may be encountered
i n practice.
I t will be noted t h a t the variation i n the finished dimension produced i s
only a few thousandths of an inch, whereas in the rough dimensions, much larger
variations occur. One of the main features of the rough dimension blank i s
that i t has a f l a t surface and i t will ride a machine such as molder in a
straight line.
The rough lumber contains a good many defects t h a t cannot be tolerated i n the
final product. Some minor defects may be allowed i n hidden parts such as i n
upholstery frames. However, since they are permitted, i n a sense they cease
t o be defects; i n t h i s chapter we shall use the word defect mostly in the
sense of a defect t h a t i s not allowed.
The function of the rough end is twofold: converting dimensions and removing
defects. In almost a l l cases these two functions are carried o u t together.
The reason for combinina the dimensioning and the defecting function can be seen
easily. Suppose one woild do f i r s t one and then the other. One m i g h t take
the rough boards, inspect them and throw away any boards containing a defect.
The defect-free boards can subsequently be converted t o the desired dimensions.
I t i s obvious that this method will give a very poor yield, since almost every
board contains some defects. The other sequence, dimension f i r s t , followed
by defecting, i s more practical. When manufacturing small pieces, such as
brushbacks, this method i s quite good. An automatic conversion system can
be used, cutting up our boards w i t h a minimum of labor, and inspection will
l a t e r pick out any brushback containing defects. (Such an inspection would
probably be carried out by the next operator.) However, i f this system would
be used on parts of larger dimensions, too many parts would contain one or
more defects.
In the furniture industry the dimensional conversion and the defecting are
almost always combined. One of the most d i f f i c u l t problems i n the furniture -
factory i s how t o make the various cuts so as t o get the maximum number o f
usable pieces. That i s , cutting the lumber t o obtain the desired output of
~

blanks and consuming the l e a s t amount of i n p u t material. Chapter V will con-

sider t h i s i n more d e t a i l . The remainder of t h i s chapter discusses the pro- -
blem o f converting the raw iumber i n t o usable pieces i n terms o f traditional
processes employed.
 IV-4

II
. . I I

I 1 5
1 9
I

Figure IV-2
Figure IV-2 shows a board t h a t contains four defects t h a t have t o be removed.
With the cut-off saw, the board has been cut i n t o three usable sections and
four sections of waste. The usable sections have been ripped t o give twelve
blanks.

I I

Figure IY-3
Figure IY-3 shows the same board cut i n t o four sections ignoring the defects.
On the rip saw the defects have been removed and the end result i s thirteen
blanks. This is one more than was obtained with the f i r s t method. Having
better success w i t h the l a s t method does not necessarily mean t h a t i t should
be adopted. Take for instance the board shown i n Figure IV-4 and Figure IV-5.

1 5 9
W
v
2 6 0
I1 10 w
W $ ,
3 7 11
jr
12
. 4 8

Figure IY-4
 IY-5

Figure IY-5
In this case if the defects are removed on the cut-off saw, 12 blanks are
obtained. If the cut-off saw i s used w i t h o u t regard t o defects and these are
removed on the rip saw, one ends up w i t h only seven blanks.
Comparison of the results w i t h the two boards gives one approximate rule:
I f the defects are running i n the length direction, they can best
be removed on the rip saw. I f the defects run across the board,
they should be removed on the cut-off saw.
Unfortunately i t i s not quite as simple as t h a t . So f a r we have only
considered one s i z e blank, b u t i n practice, one has t o produce many
different sizes of blanks. The long ones give the most trouble. If l o n g
blanks only are cut, a l o t of waste material has t o be thrown out. T h i s
waste contains pieces o f f a i r dimensions, large enough t o produce short
blanks. One must, therefore, combine the cutting of l o n g and short blanks.
Suppose we use our same board again,

Figure IY-6
and we must produce blanks of the following three sizes:
 IV-6

c
I B 1
1 C I
Figure IV-7
A serious e f f o r t i n cutting as many blanks as possible out o f the board i s
represented i n Figure IV-8.

Figure IY-8
If we look a t this pattern closely, we will see t h a t i t can only be cut on
a bandsaw.

Figure IY-9
Figure IV-9 shows an arrangement t h a t contains perpendicular lines only b u t
i t still cannot be cut on a cut-off/rlp saw combination.
 IV-7

r
c B1 U#I , B"
B2 $
R B7 S
R3 c2 I

Figure IV-10
A s l i g h t rearrangement of the blanks will give the result shown i n Figure IV-10.
These pieces can be cut i f the board i s ripped f i r s t along the lines PQ and RS.
Then the resulting strips are cross cut and the resulting pieces re-ripped t o
give us two blanks A, two blanks C and seven blanks B. Note how we automatically
get mosf o f the short category B.
Reviewing the p o s s i b i l i t i e s , the question may arise: Do we have time t o
consider a l l these alternatives? Is the rough end personnel capable of making
the best choice? I t looks a b i t l i k e we need a geometry professor t o decide
where t o cut the board. In practice we have to rely on snap judgment of the
operators. The layout of the rough end will be set up i n a way that the f i r s t
operation i s e i t h e r the cut-off saw o r the rip saw and one i s unable t o vary
this from board t o board.

ROUGH LUMBER
b

SCRAP CUT OFF SAW

SCRAP e FACER

SCRAP c PLANER
*

SCRAP RIP SAW - ALL LONG BLANKS

SOME MEDIUM BLANKS
FEW SHORT BLANKS -
b 1 CI

_-
scRAP c SALVAGE SAW SOME MEDIUM BLANKS
MOST SHORT BLANKS
~ ~ ~ ~-

Figure IV-11: Rough End Operation Sequence

 I V-8

Using this particular sequence, our board should be cut up as shown i n

Figure IV-12.
I

I--- I

Figure IV-12
Note that the Figure IV-12 cut-off saw has ignored the short length of
blank B. The board has been cyt i n t o one length A and one length C. (Actual
boards are 8 , 10, 12, 14 o r 1 6 f e e t long and normally more t h a n two lengths
come o u t of one board.) This is a good practice i n many cases. If our pro-
duction goal i s t o cut 500 pieces each of A, B, and C, we have t o cut for a
maximum number A and C. Doing so, we will probably be able t o get as many
as 700 or 800 pieces of B from the off-fall. Only if the lumber were virtually
free of defects, could we expect a shortage of B.
I t becomes a different story i f the production goal i s , for instance, 500 pieces
each of A and C and 2,000 pieces of B. In t h a t case some boards may be cut
according t o Figure IV-4.
Some plants, however, have the tendency t o cut t o o many boards i n this fashion.
The cut-off sawyer t r i e s t o leave as few defects as possible. The result
is that by the time 500 pieces of C have been produced a total of 2,900 pieces
o f B are available instead of the required 2,000. The 900 pieces above the
requirement are stored for future use. B u t when another 2,000 pieces of B are
needed, history repeats itself and instead of cutting 1,100 pieces of B , one
finds t h a t 3,000 have been cut. The superfluous 1,900 pieces are stored. After
operating i n this fashion for some time, enormous quantities of short blanks
tend t o accumulate. These will probably end up i n the boiler room. Now, not
only the lumber is wasted b u t a l l the labor that has gone i n t o this unnecessary
e f f o r t i s wasted also.
Among the defects that need t o be removed, one should certainly count severe
bow o r warp. T h i s defect i s peculiar in the way that i t can be removed by
cutting a board i n short lengths w i t h o u t actually throwing any part away. One
is reasonably free i n the choice of where t o make the cut.
r v-9

Bow

--
 IV-10

The amount of warp will determine whether blanks up t o 16", up t o 18", up

t o 24" or longer should be cut. A similar defect category i s cup. Severe
cup needs t o be removed by ripping or "busting" prior t o rough facing and
planing. One factor of importance i s the relation between the finished
~

thickness and the nominal thickness. If 4/4 lumber is used to cut clear parts ~

of 7/811 finished thickness, the boards must be perfectly straight or they

will not ''plane out.'' In practice one finds t h a t 13A161 i s the maximum finish- ~

ed thickness t h a t can be made from 4/4 lumber. If the required thickness of

the part i s "/16"~ we obviously can tolerate some warp and s t i l l expect the
~

blanks t o "plane out.11

THE ALTERNATE ROUGH END
As we have seen i n Figure IV-10, i t sometimes works out very well t o r i p a
board before i t goes t o the cut-off saw. Looking a t t h a t example, a rough end
m i g h t operate according t o diagram given i n Figure IV-15. Note t h a t instead
of facer and planer, a double planer i s used. This is done because i t i s im-
practical t o face a f u l l length board. Such a board will only give truly
straight pieces i f i t i s cut off a t every elbow. The resulting short pieces
can be faced perfectly. Figure IV-16 shows the result of facing a board f u l l
length in comparison t o facing i t in sections.

SCRAP rr DOUBLE SURFACER

RIP SAW

- SOME NARROW BLANKS

SCRAP A RIP SAW
b---

Figure IV-15: A1 ternate Rough End Operation Seguence

 rv- 11

Facing Sections

Figure IV-16: Alternate Methods of Facing a Board

It can be seen t h a t it i s impractical t o use a facer on a f u l l length board.
However, i f the facer-planer operation i s replaced by a double surfacer, we
have a different situation entirely. A double surfacer i s a two-sided planer.
The main difference between i t and the facer-planer combination i s the feed
mechanism. In a facer the board is moved by a number of metal or rubber
fingers. These fingers hold the board b u t do n o t exert enough pressure t o
deform it. As a r e s u l t , a facer gives a true f l a t surface on a board. A
board that has been faced and planed has two smooth surfaces parallel t o each
other and both of these surfaces are truly f l a t . A double planer works with
a feed roll mechanism which exerts so much force t h a t the board i s flattened
o u t while i t is machined. Consequently, a board t h a t has been double planed
has two smooth surfaces parallel t o each other b u t these surfaces are n o t
completely f l a t as a rule.
In manufacturing processes where true flatness of the boards i s not important,
the "rip f i r s t and then crosscut" procedure i s sometimes used. Ripping f i r s t
is of additional advantage i f widths of blanks are pretty much standardized.
The process lends i t s e l f quite well t o some of the following two types of
factories :
1. Kitchen cabinet and TV cabinet industry.
I f the standard cabinet construction i s panel on frame, the
width of the frame members is usually standard. True flatness
of these frame members is not quite as important as in some
other types of construction. Instead of r i p p i n g the stock w i t h
a single rip saw blade, the most practical type of operation i s
t o use a gang rip saw. The sequence i s : double surfacer--gang
r i p saw--cut-off saw.
2. Early American chair factories and other plants using large
quantities of turnings.
In a plant making Early American chairs, there i s a need for very -
large quantities of squares. These squares can be 2" x Z " , 1 1/211 ___

1 ' / 2 " , 1" x 1". Of each thickness, a multitude of different

lengths i s needed. Whether the blank has a true f l a t surface i s -
not important, The on!y t h i n g t h a t matters i s whether the b l a n k
will "turn out.1' The sequence of operations may be: rip saw--cut-off __
saw. The facing and planing can be l e f t o u t entirely.
OTHER PROCESSING ALTERNATIVES
The rough end process diagramed i n Figure IV-11 was labeled as the most
common sequence of operations. Figure IV-15 exhibited an alternate arrange-
ment of similar equipment. There are other, somewhat different, processes
being used t o produce rough blanks.
One type of process that i s reasonably well developed, b u t limited i n appli-
cation, is finger jointing. Mention was made e a r l i e r t o the f a c t that
"dimension stock panels" were commonly used as an economical method o f pro-
ducing s t i c k s whose finished w i d t h exceeds 2 l / 2 " . Finger jointing offers
a comparable advantage i n terms of finished length. Obviously, material u t i -
lization can be significantly improved i f one can join two short sticks end-
to-end t o produce a longer one. Figure IV-17 exhibits a typical finger j o i n t
that can be used t o join two sticks end-to-end.

7
L

Figure IV-17: Typical Finger Joint

T h i s j o i n t provides an end product of acceptable strength b u t w i t h the disadvantage
of a glue l i n e on two faces and a saw-tooth j o i n t l i n e on the other two faces.

Figure IV- 18 shows one possible combination of processes f o r utilizing the

finger jointing concept. Rough lumber i s run through a double surfacer f i r s t
as was the case i n the rip f i r s t rough end already discussed. Then the sur-
faced lumber i s passed through a gang rip saw that cuts the board into several
strips of the same w i d t h (each board would result i n one edging s t r i p ) . C u t -
off saws are used t o remove defects that are not permitted. Thus from the cut-
off saws, we get random length, defect-free sticks of the same width.
 IY-13

I
1
ROUGH LUMBER
I
i
I

I SCRAP I DOUBLE SURFACER 1

-. FINGER JOINT MACHINE

t
I
JOINT PRESS 81 CURE
I
J

SCRAP CUT-OFF SAW L BLANKS

a
L

Figure IV-18: Finger Jointing Operation Sequence

Each of these s t i c k s is t h e n finger jointed (male on one end, female on the

other). Now any number of these random length sticks can be glued together
t o produce longer sticks that are cut t o desired rough lengths a t another
crosscut saw. There is equipment available that can machine the finger j o i n t s ,
apply glue and press the j o i n t s together i n a manner t h a t results i n a contin-
uous s t i c k of i n f i n i t e length. In addition there i s the "helical" crosscut saw
that can be used t o cut such a continuous, moving stick. This saw can be elec-
tronically controlled t o cut various lengths based on the speed (FPM) of the
process.
 IV- 14

For situations where exposed j o i n t lines are not objectionable, the finger
j o i n t process may offer significant increases i n material u t i l i z a t i o n over
more conventional processes, More important i s the fact that i n many furni-
ture manufacturing firms a considerable portion of the parts produced are
n o t exposed i n the final product. Bedroom and d i n i n g room casegoods manu-
facturers m i g h t j u s t i f y such a separate process t o produce only i n t e r i o r com-
ponents.
In addition t o finger j o i n t i n g , there are a number of other relatively new
concepts being considered for the job o f converting rough lumber i n t o rough
blanks for furniture components. Mini-computers have been combined with rough
end equipment t o make cutting decisions and keep track of material produced.
Devices capable of "sensing" and transmitting the location of defects are a
related concern i n these techno1 ogical advances.
GLUED UP PANELS

So f a r we have discussed the rough end products i n terms of blanks of a

specific length and w i d t h . Technically speaking, t h i s i s a l l the rough end
produces. Some of these "blanks," however, may be 20" wide. Obviously there
are no boards that wide, so the product must be glued up. In practice a sub-
s t a n t i a l portion of the rough end production consists of glued up panels.
These panels are not only made for the tops and end panels of solid furniture
b u t for several other purposes as well. W e can distinguish between four cate-
gories of glued u p panels.
1. Wide panels for solid furniture parts. Table tops, case t o p s ,
end panels, doors, shelves, drawer fronts and drawer sides.
2. Lumber core for plywood panels for the same uses.
3. hlide panels t o be band sawn. The typical example i s the back-
post o f a chair. Due t o the curvature of the piece a l o t of lumber
would be l o s t i f i t were cut out of one single board.
4. Wide panels to be re-ripped f o r solid parts of intermediate widths.
In the f i r s t category l i s t e d , requirements depend on the designer's specification.
In most cases the fewer glue lines are shown, the better the appearance of the
product. In a l l cases the glue lines should r u n approximately parallel. The
task of the rip sawyer, therefore, i s to r i p the stock t o maximum random w i d t h
w i t h parallel edges. T h i s leads immediately t o the problem of how t o obtain
a panel 18 5/8'1 wide from random w i d t h pieces. The problem is solved w i t h a
matching saw, sometimes called equalizing saw. This machine can be a r i p saw
o r a table saw w i t h a traveling blade. The operator sorts pieces until he has
a t o t a l w i d t h of 13" t 16". Then he adds one wide board t o b r i n g the t o t a l
!
t o 21" t o 24". The wh l e s e t o f boards,which has n o t been glued up y e t , i s
passed t h r o u g h the matching saw which cuts through the l a s t wide board t h a t
has been added. The t o t a l w i d t h o f the boards i s now equal t o 18 5 / 8 ' 1 . The
s e t o f boards s t z y s t o g e t h e r and i s glued up.
 IV-15

For a lumber core, the number two category, the specifications are somewhat
different. The appearance is of no importance. Usually a l o t of attention
i s paid t o the freedom of stresses. In order t o produce a plywood panel with
a lumber core t h a t will not warp, i t i s desirable that the strips which go
i n t o the lumber core are n o t wider than about 2". Small defects such as a
wormhole or a small sound knot may be permitted i n core stock.
The rip sawyer has the task to saw random w i d t h , maximum 2" wide, some taper
being permitted.
For the type of product i n the third category l i s t e d , the requirements a r e
much the same as f o r the vide panels for solid casegoods. The loss i n band-
sawing i s one piece A and one piece B per panel (See Figure IV-18). The total
losses a r e smallest when the panel has a maximum width. This maximum w i d t h is
usually determined by the g l u i n g equipment. Specific w i d t h of the panel i s
given by: W = Wa t N ( W + W s ) .
P

Figure IV-19: Calculating Panel Width f o r Band Sawn Parts

For the f o u r t h category l i s t e d , depending on the amount, shape, s i z e and dis-
tribution of defects i n the lumber, it i s n o t practical t o cut solid parts over
a certain w i d t h directly out of the lumber. Practically every factory will glue
up parts wider than 2 or 3 " . The panel i s a multiple of the desired pro-
duct. The panel i s a multiple of the desired product ( p l u s saw kerfs).
The panels are glued u p i n special g l u i n g equipment. The most common i s s t i l l
the glue reel or clamp c a r r i e r . High frequency g l u i n g and steam heating gluing
equipment have been introduced. The rapid replacement of lumber cores by particle
board cores has prevented a general use o f the continuous edge g l u i n g machines.
-
Giued up paneis may or may n o t be planed before re-ripping. __
JOINTING EQUIPMENT
It is possible t o make excellent glue joints from the r i p saw, provided that
one follows these rules:
1. The Lumber Must Be Dried Without Excessive Stress.
I t i s important that the edge of the lumber does n o t immediately
deform upon cutting. If i t has a convex or concave shape, the
glue l i n e is bound t o be bad.
2. The Lumber Must Be Faced and Planed.
I f the lumber is t h i n and the facer has only touched i t a t a few
spots, i t may very well turn or wobble when i t goes through the
rip saw. I t i s essential t h a t the board i s faced on about two-
thirds o f the surface. I t is desirable t h a t i t i s planed on a
similar portion of i t s surface. Many p l a n t s t r y t o face and plane
off as l i t t l e material as possible i n order t o have enough planing
allowance a f t e r the panel i s glued up. This i s a dangerous pro-
cedure as i t may result in a t h i n board going through the r i p saw
i n a crooked line.
3. The LmBer Must Be Glued Up Within One or Two Hours After Ripping.
EYen if the lumber has been dried w i t h o u t stresses and the humiditv 1

i n the plant is controlled, there i s the danger of deforming the

surface of the saw cut before i t i s glued up. Drying (or absorption
o f moisture) i s n o t uniform in a rectangular piece of wood. This
may lead t o deformation serious enough t o spoil the gluing job.
4. The Rip Saws Must Be Maintained.
5. The Rip Saw Blades Must Run True.
6. Pwlper Gluing Procedures Must Be Used.
The purpose of jointing equipment in the rough end i s not t o produce a gluing
surface for an edge gluing process, rather i t i s a device t o save time and
material. If a board i s jointed before it reaches the r i p saws, the r i p sawyer
does not have t o cut an edging s t r i p f i r s t . This saves a considerable amount
of labor. Furthermore, because there i s a tendency t o cut off a generous
edging s t r i p , an automatic jointing process usually wastes less lumber.
The most advanced type of jointer i s a r i p saw w i t h a special automatic feed
device t o l i n e the board up w i t h a fence. Two o f these machines i n a rough end
l i n e will reduce the required rip saw labor by 10 t o 20 percent depending on
the w i d t h of the boards.
 IV-17

GLUING
Whenever two pieces of wood are glued together a number of steps have t o take
place i n sequence. This sequence i s :
Appl i cation --- Trans f e r --- Wetting --- Cure.
Since application i s almost always on only one side of the assembly, the glue
must be transferred t o the other side. This step must take place when the
glue i s s t i l l in good condition t o flow and t o wet the surface.
Wetting i s essential t o a good glue bond. I t can be looked on as the estab-
l i s h i n g of intimate contact between the glue and the wood surface. I t i s a
time dependent phenomenon. Everyone knows that when one steps o u t in the
rain i n a good quality raincoat, the raindrops will just roll off the surface.
If one stays i n the rain long enough, the raindrops will penetrate the fabric
eventually. Before they do they must wet the surface which, i n most cases,
can be seen from a conspicuous color change. The same s o r t of t h i n g happens
when glue is applied t o wood. I t is n o t sufficient t h a t the glue is adjacent
t o the wood, i t must establish intimate contact t h r o u g h wetting.
Just as the resistance to wetting can be improved by chemical treatment of
the raincoat fabric, the a b i l i t y t o wet wood depends on the chemical character-
i s t i c s of the wood and the glue. Fortunately, (for gluing, t h a t i s ) there i s
a tremendous attraction between water and cellulose. Wetting usually i s no
problem. However, some species, notably birch, have some resistance t o wetting
and we must control the speed of the gluing process t o allow wetting t o take
place before curing.
Curing is the solidification of the l i q u i d glue. I t must s t a r t a f t e r wetting
and it must be completed before the j o i n t i s subjected t o stress. I n many
cases t h i s means that we want virtually complete curing before we take the
assembly out of the press. However, i n g l u i n g u p a solid panel, i t i s suffi-
cient t o have a cured area near both faces of the panel. This glue bond will
then h o l d the assembly together u n t i l the glue i n the center has cured. Once
that has happened, the panel has f u l l strength or a t l e a s t 70 percent of i t .
I t i s necessary to understand t h a t a l l gluing operations involve a c r i t i c a l
time cycle. Sometimes the following terms are used t o describe the process,
the glue and the limitations.
Storage Life i s the time the glue will remain i n good condition when
stored as received.
Pot Life i s the time the glue wil remain i n good condition when mixed
ready t o use.
 IV-18

Open Assembly Time is the time between application of the glue t o

one surface and the covering of the glue w i t h the matching surface.
I t i s , therefore, the time t h a t the glue l i n e i s exposed completely
t o the atmosphere.
Closed Assembly Time i s the time between the b r i n g i n g together of
the matching surfaces i n an approximate position and the realization
o f the exact position (usually. through application of pressure).

TYPES OF GLUE
This i s n o t the place t o give a complete survey of woodworking glues, b u t
a brief review i s i n order. We can divide glues into the following categories:
1. Natural glues, such as starch, casein and animal
2. Synthetic resin glues which are subdivided into
a. Thermoplastic glues such as PVA
b. Thermosetting glues such as urea formaldehyde, melamine
formaldehyde, phenol formaldehyde, resorcinol formaldehyde.
3. Speciality adhesives
a. Contact adhesive
b. Hot melt adhesive.
In furniture manufacturing we encounter principally urea i n plywood a n d edge
gluing, PVA in edge gluing and assembly, and hot melts in edge banding.
Animal Glue
Animal glue i s made from bones, hoofs and hides. Pellets, which have t o be
soaked i n water and heated t o about 180 F., make the glue. Use of animal
glue has been discontinued largely because of process problems.
P VA
PVA stands f o r polyvinyl acetate b u t the modern PVA glues contain several
additives besides t h i s . I t i s a white emulsion qlue sold ready t o use.
The curing mechanism i s quite simple. The PVA droplets, which are suspended
i n water, will fuse when they come i n contact w i t h one another. The i n t e r -
mediate water film i s removed through absorption by the wood. If accelerated
by preheating the wood, curing can be accomplished in a few minutes. Without
heating, the curing time i s 15 t o 30 minutes.
PVA i s ideal for use w i t h mechanical application devices. These tend t o be-
come clog ed when used w i t h animal glue or urea. PVA i s , therefore, the most
Y
popular g ue today i n the cabinet room. I t s main disadvantage i s price. I t i s
several times more expensive t h a n urea.
 IV-19

Urea
Urea, or more exactly, urea formaldehyde i s a thermosetting glue which i s
completely dominant in plywood and particleboard operations. Urea and for-
maldehyde will form a polymer, a very large and very rigid molecule. The re-
action i s relatively slow and the rate can be controlled by the pH and the
temperature.
Urea formaldehyde i s sold as a "prepolymer," t h a t i s to say, polymerization
has progressed t o a certain point and the reaction has been arrested by
making the conditions unfavorable. In the liquid form, which i s perhaps 60
percent urea formaldehyde and 40 percent water, i t will have a storage l i f e
o f several months. In dry powder form, i t may keep as long as two years
provided temperatures are moderate.
To s t a r t u p the polymerization reaction once again we merely have t o add
acid t o lower the pH. Heat i s helpful too b u t by i t s e l f i t s e f f e c t i s limited.
Common procedure i s n o t t o add an acid t o the urea b u t a s a l t which will pro-
duce the acid when heated. Ammonium sulfate i s such a s a l t . Although the
complete reaction mechanism i s more complex, we can represent t h i s as follows:

The liberated s u l f u r i c acid will cause the curing time to be shortened from
six months t o a few seconds. The heating will shorten i t further.
In order t o avoid 'lprecure" (curing before transfer or wetting), i t i s
desirable t o inhibit the reaction t o some extent. This i s done by buffering
the s o l u t i o n with chemical additives. This will cause a delay in the libera-
t i o n of the acid. I t will permit a longer open assembly time. I t will also
increase the pot 1 i f e significantly.
The ammonium s a l t and the additives are commonly referred t o as the catalyst.
Chemically speaking t h i s i s incorrect terminology.
Urea i s a nonreversible glue. Once the glue l i n e has been formed, i t cannot be
liquified again. T h i s makes i t v i r t u a l l y impossible to repair defective glue-
bonds made w i t h urea. Animal glue and PVA are reversible, which means t h a t
w i t h heat and water, the solid glue may be liquified again.
.

t
 CHAPTER V

THE ROUGH END: LUMBER UTILIZATION

INTRODUCTION
Lumber i s the most important material resource used i n the manufacture
of furniture. The rough end i s a c r i t i c a l manufacturing department i n
terms of how effectively this resource is utilized. Obviously the more
output (usable blanks) t h a t can be produced from a given u n i t of i n p u t
[boards), the greater the utilization of the raw material and the lower
the u n i t cost of the end product. T h i s chapter deals specifically w i t h
lumber u t i l i z a t i o n o r , as i t i s frequently called, lumber yield. I t i s not
a comprehensive treatment of the subject b u t should introduce you t o the
more important aspects involved.
YIELD CALCULATION PROCEDURES
I t is necessary t o use some convenient means t o describe the relation
between the original quantity o f lumber, the quantity of usable material
and the quantity of waste. Industry practice i s t o calculate the board
f e e t i n a l l blanks, multiply these by t h e i r respective quantities and
add them up. T h i s gives a total number of board f e e t f o r the rough end
production. This may be called "Footage of Product.l' The total footage
of product i s determined per cutting order and per species and thickness,
or sometimes on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. The amount of lumber i n
board f e e t t h a t went into the rough end t o produce this quantity i s taken
from the footage figures of each lumber package t h a t comes into the rough
end. T h i s quantity i s called "Footage of Lumber." The name ''gross foot-
age" o r "gross" i s sometimes used also. Footage of lumber minus footage
of product i s waste.
The fol lowing terms a r e used:

Yield = Utilization -- Foota

toota:e e ooff !/umber
roduct loo%

klaste = Waste on gross =

Footage of lumber - Footage of product
Footage of 1 umber
Kaste on net =
Footage o f lumber - Footage of product
Footage of product
Sample calculation of u t i 1 iz a t i on :
Coripany A has used 5,280 B f t . of 614 birch. From t h i s l u m b e r t h e
f o l l owi n g items were produced :
 v-2

Quantity Rough Dimensions

21 20 28 '/2 x 1 3/4 x 6/4
4080 16 '/4 x 2 '/4 x 6/4
1040 1 8 3/4 x 1 3/4 x 6/4

C a l c u l a t e the lumber u t i l i z a t i o n .

2120 x 28 ' I 2 '

144
3/4 6/4 = 2120 x 0.520 = 1102 Bft.

4080 x l 6 6/4 = 4080 x 0.381 = 1554 Bft.

144
1040 x l 8 1443/4 'I4
3/4 = 1040 x 0.342 =-
356 Bft.
Total footage o f product = 3012 Bft.

Utilization = E x 100% = 57.0%

- 3012 x 100% = 43.0%

klaste on gross = 52805280

klaste on net = 5280 - 3012 x 100%= 75.3%

3012

I f i t i s known t h a t t h e . p r o d u c t i o n c a l l s f o r a t o t a l footage of product of

3012 Bft. and one knows from experience t h a t a waste on net of 75.3% can
be expected, the amount o f lumber r e q u i r e d can be c a l c u l a t e d .
100 + waste on net
Footage of lumber = Footage o f product x 100
Footage of lumber = 3012 x 1.753 = 5280 Bft.
I f one does not use the "waste on net ,I' the footage of lumber i s c a l c u l a t e d
as follows:
100
Footage of lumber = Footage o f product x utilization

Footage of lumber = 3012 x e = 5284 B f t .

We must make up our minds c a r e f u l l y a s t o what products a r e t o be counted
for the purpose of c a l c u l a t i n g t h e 1umber u t i 1 i z a t i o n percentage. Let's
examine f o u r a c t u a l methods of e q u a l i z i n g quanti ties.
 v-3

1. The machine room produces:

101 tops
103 l e f t end panels
102 r i g h t end panels
99 drawer fronts
408 r a i l s
The cabinet room proceeds to assemble 101 cases, two of which do not
contain drawers. One right end panel was damaged i n assembly. Left
over are :
2 l e f t end panels
4 rails
A shortage order i s made o u t for:
2 tops
2 r i g h t end panels
4 rails
4 drawer fronts
After these additional parts have been produced, two more cases a r e
assembled and these two plus the two others from the f i r s t run are
f i t t e d w i t h t h e i r drawers. So we end up w i t h 103 complete cases and
no parts l e f t over. The procedure i s costly i n terms of set-up times
and paper work, b u t from the material point of view, good economy i s
achieved. I t i s clear t h a t a l l parts are used i f they a r e n o t broken
and consequently, we must count a l l parts i n our calculations f o r the
1umber yi el d.
2. The machine room produces:
101 tops
103 l e f t end panels
102 r i g h t end panels
99 drawer fronts
408 r a i l s
The cabinet room proceeds t o assemble 100 cases (the amount the order
c a l l s f o r ) . One extra drawer front is made t o complete the order. The
following items are thrown away:
1 top
3 l e f t end panels
2 r i g h t end panels
8 rails -

I t i s obvious that we should not count the parts t h a t are thrown away
as "usable products,'' The factory i s only credited w i t h 100 s e t s o f
parts.
 Y-4

3. From a previous cutting some parts are l e f t over. These are added t o
the parts made by the machine room and from the combined t o t a l as many
cases as possible are b u i l t . The parts l e f t over are stored for use
i n a future run. The quantities are given i n the table below

Left Over Produced i n Stored

From C u t t i n g Cutting Total Used For
Name of Part No. 211 No. 217 Available Now Future
top 4 101 105 103 2
l e f t end panel 0 103 103 103 0
r i g h t end panel 11 102 113 103 10
drawer fronts 5 99 104 103 1
rails 22 408 430 41 2 18
The man i n charge of the leftover parts should make a note of the
large number of r i g h t end panels l e f t over. In the next cutting,
100 pieces of a l l parts should be ordered b u t only 90 r i g h t end panels.
A t f i r s t s i g h t this system appears t o be perfect; we use a l l parts
produced eventually, and we do not set up machines t o make up shortages
of two or four pieces. Econoqy i n materials use and i n labor a r e com-
bined. However, we should take note of the potential f a u l t s of this
system. In the first place, how good is the physical layout of the
leftover parts storage? I f we have neat racks and shelves, we may
expect t h a t the leftover end panels will be i n good shape when we i n -
tend t o use them. Frequently the leftover panels are stored i n what
amounts t o a b i g p i l e of j u n k . By the time we want t o use them, two
are l o s t , three a r e warped so badly t h a t they are useless and the re-
maining panels a l l have dents and scratches. Another t h i n g t h a t may
happen i s that we store the ten r i g h t end panels for use i n a future
cutting of the s u i t e and there never i s another cutting. I t is clear
t h a t we must fi rst s a t i s f y ourselves that:
a. the leftover parts are stored properly
b. the piece of furniture will be produced again i n the
future
c. parts are machined accurately enough t o be interchange-
able between cuttings
before we can count these parts i n our lumber utilization calculations.
4. A factory produces furniture on order from a stock of parts. Many of
these parts can be used i n different pieces of furniture. Orders for
the machine room a r e by part name and number. An order may call for:
100 tops No. 624
150 tops No. 738
200 l e f t end panels No. 645
200 r i g h t end panels No. 645
Since the t o p No. 624 m i g h t be combined w i t h the end panels No. 645,
 v-5

and also w i t h other end panels, there is no need t o balance quantities.

In the long run, of course, the number of tops will amount t o half the
number of end panels,but from day t o day, there is no need t o balance.
Consequently, we will always c r e d i t the plant w i t h the actual amount
produced .
In the foregoing examples, the quantities of parts were discussed, not the
quantity of blanks made by the rough end. These are n o t always identical.
In such machining operations as turning, we may expect t o lose five or ten
percent of the blanks. Should these losses be charged t o the utilization
figures or not? I t is impossible t o segregate material and process caused
defectives. So we must choose one of three practical methods:
1. If we count the blanks, we have a utilization figure one or two
days a f t e r the lumber is cut. For the purpose of training the
people, this is by f a r the best. I t is not very effective i f
one t e l l s the rough end crew: "Six weeks ago you d i d a sorry job."
No one will remember.
2. I f we count actual parts used, we have a utilization figure t h a t
is more accurate b u t i t comes too l a t e t o be of psychological
value i n motivating the rough end crew.
Some plants use the following system which i s probably the best i n the average
furniture factory. I t is simple, straightforward and effective.
3. An order c a l l s for 100 sets of parts. The rough end has the task
of producing enough blanks t o make 100 s e t s of parts. This means
t h a t they will have t o add an allowance of five or ten percent
t o most parts and more t o a few others. Whether the rough end
produces 104 blanks, 106 blanks or 110 blanks i s of no consequence
f o r the utilization figures. Only 100 parts are credited t o the
rough mill. If the machine room i s short ten pieces, they give
a verbal order t o the rough end and the additional blanks are made,
b u t no c r e d i t is given.
Interpretation o f utilization figures i s not easy. For plant and department
supervision t o manage the rough end effectively, i t is necessary t o be able
to-examine the figures and identify those factors contr b u t i n g t o actual
results. Without this degree of control, management is unable t o take action
t o correct problems that are causing l e s s than acceptab e performance. Also
this degree of control is needed t o consider the merlts of suggested improve-
ments and new developments.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE YIELD
There are many factors t h a t have an e f f e c t on the actual lumber yield for a
-
time period or production run. Listed below are three significant factors for
discussion. --.

1. Grade of lumber cut

2. O u t p u t requirements
3. Operator performance
 V-6

Grade of Lumber C u t
Furniture manufacturers purchase lumber by grade or grade-mix based on the
National Hardwood Lumber Association's grading rules. Typical grades are
First and Seconds (FAS), Number One Common (lC), and Number Two Common (2C).
Common grade mixes purchased are Number One Common and Better (1C & B)
and Mil 1 or Log Run.
Many firms buy the grade mixes. With 1C & B, the purchaser i s buying the
implied mixture permitting i n some instances a certain amount of 2C t o
be included. In such cases the purchaser and supplier agree on a maximum
allowable percentage of lumber below the 1C grade. With the Mill Run mix,
a l l lumber t h a t results from cutting a log i s included. When buying lumber
of mixed grades, the purchaser expects t o receive certain minimum percentages
of the better grades. When buying lumber by grade, the purchaser expects
almost a l l the lumber received t o be of the grade specified or better.
I n order t o evaluate the effect of lumber grade on actual yield, i t i s nec-
essary t o have some reasonably accurate information on the grade or grade
mix of lumber used for a particular cutting or i n a given time period. Most
firms attempt t o verify the grade of lumber received from t h e i r suppliers.
This procedure could be referred t o as "checking" o r "tallying" rather than
grading i n the majority of firms, for skilled lumber graders are i n short
supply. Thus most firms have only approximate records o r data on the grade
of lumber stacked i n each package or bunk. S o r t i n g lumber by grade is not
common. Due t o these procedures, almost a l l firms work w i t h average yield
figures t h a t are established over a period of time for the range o f raw
material used. They do not have yield data or figures based on specific
lumber grades. Thus if a cutting c a l l s for 10,000 net board feet of 4/4
maple and the average yield figure i s 50%, then the estimated gross require-
ment is 20,000 board feet. If the 20,000 board feet has disproportionate
amounts of h i g h or low grade lumber, the actual lumber required t o complete
the j o b may be significantly lower or higher than the estimate based on the
average. Over the long run, the figures will indeed "average out," b u t i n
the short run these procedures may be cause for concern. If the 20,000
board f e e t above contained an unusually large amount of higher grade lumber,
then the yield figures may be very pleasing t o management. However, what
i f rough end performance were poor for this particular cutting and erased
the above normal yield? If this happened, yields would appear satisfactory
to management when i n fact rough end personnel deserve some c r i t i c a l comments
on their efforts.
Determining the grade of lumber received and stacked does not guarantee t h a t
the same grade or grade mix will be delivered t o the rough end. Air and
k i l n drying result i n certain amounts of normal degrade. Occasionally,
unusually h i g h amounts of degrade will occur and substantially affect the
"true" grade of the lumber. This problem may not merit the expense of re-
grading a f t e r drying, b u t does merit management's attention i n viewing the
overall problem of lumber yield control.
 v-7

O u t p u t Requirements
There are several sub-parts to consider here. First, the s i z e of the
required rough blanks affects the yield. In general the longer or wider
a part, the poorer the expected yield. I n the case o f an edge glued panel,
w i d t h would not be a factor f o r you are gluing several random w i d t h pieces
together to create the panel w i d t h . Normally solid parts a r e edge glued
when t h e i r w i d t h exceeds 2 l/2 t o 3 inches.
A second concern i s the variety of lengths needed.. If you need several
different s i z e parts, i t i s best t o cut for more than one a t a time. This
was i l l u s t r a t e d e a r l i e r i n Chapter IV. Most manufacturers have a variety
of part needs that includes long, medium and short lengths. A bedroom
furniture manufacturer i s likely to have a distribution o f part sizes where
the majority a r e less t h a n 30 inches i n length. Histogram A i n Figure V-1
exhibits the distribution of parts for a bedroom manufacturer.

Percentage
of
40
30
II n
33

Parts 20

10

A: PART - LENGTH HISTOGRAM

Length (inches)

Percentage
40 I 30
of 30
Volume 20 20
20 i 16 -
11
~

10
3
-
-
~

I i3: VOLUME LENGTH HISTOGRAM

 V-8

The t h i r d sub-factor is the volume or board footage required i n the various

lengths. Figure V-1 ,B i s the corresponding histogram showing the d i s t r i b u t i o n
of volume for each range of length.
Other output related factors are color, grain appearance and shop grade
(clear, one-face, sound, etc.). Blanks that a r e allowed t o be "sound"
rather than ''clear" will a f f e c t resulting yields. Wood color i s considered
a defect i n certain instances and can thus affect yield.
All these output factors combine t o have a significant e f f e c t on lumber
yields. Unusually h i g h proportions of required volume i n longer lengths,
requiring a l l clear, two-face materia1,and other similar circumstances must
be considered when evaluating actual yield results.
Operator Performance
The lumber cutting decisions i l l u s t r a t e d i n Chapter IV emphasize the im-
portance of operators who are b o t h skilled and motivated. Training of rough
end personnel i s extremely important t o achieving acceptable lumber yields.
Besides training, the operators should have for their use devices which
can help them i n making decisions about where t o make cuts on a board. Two
good examples of such aids are the backgauge and shadow or guide lines.

Figure Y-2: Backgauge

 v-9

A backgauge i s a device, u s u a l l y homemade w i t h i n t h e p l a n t , t h a t i s placed

on t h e i n f e e d s i d e of a cut-off saw. The purpose o f t h e backgauge i s t o
r e a d i l y i d e n t i f y t h e l e n g t h combinations t h a t can be c u t from t h e remainder
o f t h e board. An o p e r a t o r can glance a t t h e board and gauge and determine
which l e n g t h c u t ( s ) i s p o s s i b l e t o make t h e b e s t use o f t h e g i v e n board.
Backgauges r e q u i r e a few minutes t o s e t up each time a new s e t o f l e n g t h s
i s encountered b u t t h e time i s a wise investment. F i g u r e V-2 (page V-8)
e x h i b i t s t h i s concept.

Guide o r shadow l i n e s are used f o r v a r i o u s purposes b u t a common a p p l i c a t i o n

i s a t t h e i n f e e d s i d e o f r i p saws. The l i g h t s c a s t a shadow l i n e by p l a c i n g
a h i g h w a t t lamp (enclosed i n a hood) above t h e work s t a t i o n and p o s i t i o n i n g
a w i r e below t h e hood. The w i r e casts a shadow onto t h e work d i r e c t l y below.
See F i g u r e V-3.

Figure V-3: Shadow L i n e Device

 v-10

By l i n i n g the shadow line up w i t h the rip saw blade, the saw operator can
see accurately where the saw blade will cut through the board. T h i s device
enables the operator t o determine i f a specific w i d t h cut can be made free
of defects. Also when defecting a board, the shadow line helps the operator
position the board for a cut that produces the l e a s t amount of waste.
There are a number of motivational techniques such as incentive plans and
bonus systems that could be adapted for rough end personnel. Consideration
should be given t o any idea or concept t h a t could improve the operator's
desire t o perform a t his best. Yield results can be used as a motivator.
The a b i l i t y t o determine, show, and discuss yield figures w i t h employees
will emphasize the importance of their jobs and make them more anxious t o
improve. Some companies have employed incentive plans based on y i e l d and
production performance.
To effectively manage lumber u t i l i z a t i o n , i t must be measured. Measure-
ments must be of a nature t h a t supervision can identify problem sources.
If an operator can blame poor yield figures on several bad packs of lumber
w i t h o u t supervision being aware of actual lumber quality, then necessary
control i s lacking. Supervision should be able t o not only identify problems
b u t should also be able t o commend individuals when they are deserving.
LUMBER COST
A t r i p l e dresser requires 6.5 board f e e t of 6/4 maple. If the current
selli'ng price of 6/4 maple i s $250 per thousand board feet (MBF) delivered,
what cost should be charged for the dresser? Your f i r s t reply should be t o
question what expected or average yield i s typical for 6/4 ma l e . If 50%
76.5/0.50).
!
's a typical yield figure, then t o get 6.5 Bft. net, we need 3.0 Bft. gross

The price per gross board foot i s $.25 ($250/1000). Thus the cost of the
6/4 lumber for the dresser can be estimated as:
(13.0 Bft.)x($.25/Bft.) = $3025.

In the above example, the 50% waste i s assumed t o be of no value. In some

instances this i s true and i n some i t is misleading. Many firms burn their
wood waste t o heat the p l a n t , provide steam for k i l n s , and other purposes.
If this happens, then the wood waste has a value equal t o an alternate fuel.
Few, i f any, firms consider wood waste as having any value from the stand-
p o i n t of estimating material cost.
Another p o i n t of interest relative t o wood waste i s the practice of including
or not including certain small parts when determining the amount of material
required t o make a piece of furniture. Glue blocks, corner blocks, braces,
and cleats are just a few of the typical parts involved. For example, a
t r i p l e dresser m i g h t require 30 t o 40 glue blocks (2'' x l / 4 ' ' x l / 4 " ) i n
assembling the dressers. ?he t o t a l footage necessary t o make these i s
 v-11

negligible and producing them from normal waste i s no problem. The labor
t o produce these blocks is n o t free, b u t the wood is considered free.
The principal objective of a manufacturer should be t o minimize the total
cost of an end product. In general this implies t h a t the lumber cost
should be minimized. T h i s i s true up t o a p o i n t . Efforts t o minimize
material cost can result i n extra labor and overhead costs that exceed the
savings and t h u s produce a higher t o t a l cost i n the end. The traditional
approach is t o support e f f o r t s for increasing lumber yield. Improving
lumber yield obviously decreases the material cost per board f o o t of end
product.
Plywood, plastic, various composition products and other materials have
become substitutes for lumber. Reasons for this are related t o simple
economics i n most instances, although durability, dimensional s t a b i l i t y
and other performance characteristics have been factors.
Over the past several years, a number of efforts have been made t o de-
velop procedures for determining the most economical grade or grade mix
of lumber t o purchase. An important aspect of these e f f o r t s has been
the development of yield data for the various grades of lumber and re-
quired output. T h i s data allows the user t o estimate the expected yield
for a given set of requirements f o r several grades o r grade mixes. Using
the yield data, lumber prices and processing costs, the most economical
grade mix of lumber can be determined.
The impetus for these studies1 was the result of buying trends for hard-
wood 1umber. Furniture manufacturers on the whole consume mostly medium
and h i g h grade lumber. A typical purchasing procedure is t o order 1C
and B, permitting a certain percentage (10-20%) t o be 2C. The demand
for lower grade lumber i s generally below the volume t h a t commonly is
produced by saw mills. Significant oversupply situations m a y develop.
As a r e s u l t of such oversupply, the price for low grade lumber f a l l s
to a level t h a t i s below real value as a raw material t o furniture manu-
facturers. In order t o demonstrate the value of low grade lumber, i t
was necessary t o develop r e a l i s t i c data on obtainable yields and process-
i n g costs.
Based on the yield data developed, the work2 i l l u s t r a t e d that price
d i f f e r e n t i a l s between lumber grades can occur i n a magnitude that i n -
dicates the processing of low grade lumber t o be economical. For example,
consider the following problem:
Smith Furniture Company has a scheduled cutting t h a t c a l l s for
50,000 Bft. (net) of 4/4 oak. Assume current price and estimated
utilization data are as follows:
 Y-12

Grade Price Per MBF Estimated Yield

FAS $250 72 %
#1c $200 58%
#2 c $120 42%
Based on these figures, the estimated gross lumber requirements
and t o t a l lumber cost are below.
Gross Lumber Lumber Cost for
-
Grade Required (MBF) C u t t i ng
FAS -50
.72
= 69.5 (69.5) ($250) = $17,400

#1c -50
.58 = 86.2 (86.2) ($200) = $17,240

-
#2C .42 = 119.0
50 (119.0) ($120) = $14,300

Now l e t ' s consider process ng costs. Assuming an estimated r a t e of

$50 per MBF, we get:
Gross Lumber Processing Total Cos t/Lumber
-
Grade Lumber (MBF) cost cost and Processing
FAS 69.5 $1 7,400 $3,475 $20,875
#1c 86.2 $1 7,240 $4,310 $21,550
#2C 119.0 $14,300 $5,950 $20,250

The example i l l u s t r a t e s how price differentials can possibly offset the

poorer yields and extra processing costs.
Several questions exist about the practicality of applying the concept of
least cost grade mix. The accuracy of the yield estimate is an i n i t i a l
concern for i t has been developed i n laboratory situations or through
computer simulations. However, there have been experimental factory runs
made and compared w i t h predicted yields. These experiments have shown a
reasonable degree o f accuracy i n most instances. Another re1 ated concern
i s the procedure required t o u t i l i z e the yield data. The general procedure
is t o estimate the expected yield for a c u t t i n g . A typical c u t t i n g i n a
plant will include dozens of different size blanks i n one specie and thick-
ness. The rough end will process lumber for these blanks i n a way t h a t
results i n a number of different combinations of blank sizes. A set of
five lengths may start the cutting a t the cut-off saws. In a period o f
time, the requirements for one length will be f i l l e d and a new length will
be added. Requirements for a l l five lengths will never be completed
simultaneously, thus a large variety of size combinations are processed
over the span of the production l o t . One method t o overcome this problem
is t o classify or catagorize a l l blanks required i n t o several size ranges,
sumnarize total volume i n each range, and predict the expected yield based
on this condensed description of output. T h i s would introduce some degree
of inaccuracy b u t would make the application more practical.
 Y-13

Production capacity i s an important concern when you consider significant

changes i n the grade mix of lumber cut. Using the Smith Furniture Company
example, assume t h e i r rough mill capacity was about 25 MBF per eight hour
day. I t would require just under three days t o process enough FAS t o
complete the j o b , whereas, with #2 Common, i t would take almost five days.
Most rough end operations must produce a certain "output" per day to supply
the remainder of the plant w i t h needed rough blanks. Processing lower
grade lumber without overtime or starting an extra s h i f t would reduce the
r a t e of output of rough blanks. Working overtime or s t a r t i n g a second s h i f t
would involve extra costs that should be considered. I n the problem, we
assumed t h a t processing costs per MBF were the same regardless of grade.
Lower grade lumber would process a t a slower r a t e f o r several reasons; one
being that the decisions a t the cut-off and r i p saws are more d i f f i c u l t
because of the greater amount of defecting that i s required.
Another concern related t o processing is the available capacity for kiln
.
dryi ng A significant change t o lower grade lumber would increase demand
f o r dry kiln capacity. T h i s would present a problem i f kiln f a c i l i t i e s
were limited. Yard inventory would be similarly inf uenced i n t h a t an
increased volume of 1umber would result i n increased yard stocks However, .
total inventory investment may not be changed signif cantly since the i n -
creased volume i s a t a lower u n i t cost. Yard space, hand1 i n g , etc. , woul d
increase w i t h volume.
One l a s t concern i s the s t a b i l i t y of demand and supply conditions within
the overall hardwood lumber markets. Lumber prices fluctuate depending on
current conditions. Significant increases i n demand f o r lower grade lumber
would tend t o increase prices especially i f supplies became limited. Like-
wise,reduced demand for higher grade lumber would tend t o lower prices.
Thus the price and value d i f f e r e n t i a l s will vary depending on existing
demand and supply. C u t t i n g more low grade lumber may be economically feasi-
ble under certain conditions, b u t those conditions will change and the manu-
facturer must be able t o react accordingly.
In general, the use of lower grade hardwood lumber f o r manufacturing furni-
ture needs more consideration. B u t regardless of the quality of lumber
purchased, improving yields should be a constant concern. A number of
e f f o r t s have been made t o automate or a l t e r the traditional rough end pro-
cess i n order t o obtain higher yields. As mentioned i n Chapter IV, one area
of e f f o r t i s the attempt t o substantially reduce or eliminate the human
judgment involved i n cutting lumber. A number of firms and individuals have
been involved i n the development of scanning, sensing and computer-controlled
equipment. The advent of the mini-computer a t reasonable prices has had an
impact i n this area.
A concept t h a t has received the most e f f o r t i n t h i s area i s the use of
automatic sensing devices to locate defects and transmit t h e i r location
along w i t h overall board dimensions t o a mini-computer. The computer has
knowledge of p a r t blanks needed and rapidly decides f o r a given board the
iiL..-L
U e a L e u t t l i i g decisions." 8y hooking a saw iip t o t h e coiiipiiter, these
decisions can be transmitted and used t o cut the board.
 Y-14

A significant amount of work has been done already and much more i s y e t to
be done. The potential savings are tremendous and, f o r larger firms, may
j u s t i f y very sizable investments i n development, installation and f a c i l i t i e s .

"The Yield of Dimension Stock; Instruction Manual for Use of Yield

Tables," School of Forestry, N. C. State University, June, 1966.
Ibid.
 CHAPTER V I

THE ROUGH END: PRODUCTION RATES

PRODUCT ION RATES

Since t h e amount o f work depends on t h e grade o f lumber, i t i s i m p r a c t i c a l

t o c a l c u l a t e l a b o r as a f u n c t i o n o f t h e rough end product. The usual p r a c t i c e
i s t o c a l c u l a t e l a b o r per 1,000 board f e e t going i n t o t h e rough end.
I n t h e average casegoods p l a n t w i t h a rough end c o n s i s t i n g o f one lumber l i f t ,
t w o c u t - o f f saws, one facer, one p l a n e r and f o u r r i p saws, t h e p r o d u c t i o n
c a p a c i t y i s 2,000 board feet ( B f t . ] per hour, c u t t i n g 4/4 lumber. This f i g u r e
may vary somewhat from p l a n t t o p l a n t . The h i g h e s t f i g u r e s run up t o 1,300-
1,400 B f t . p e r c u t - o f f saw per hour; t h e lowest, excluding r e a l l y poor f a c t o r i e s ,
a r e in the 700 - 800 range. Most o f t h e p l a n t s come v e r y c l o s e t o 1,000 B f t .
per c u t - o f f saw p e r hour. I f t h e operators work hard, i t i s p o s s i b l e t o c u t
t h i s much and s t i l l i n s p e c t b o t h surfaces o f t h e board before d e c i d i n g where
t o c u t i t . I f t h e p l a n t does n o t consider i t necessary t o " f l i p over" t h e
boardsl t h e p r o d u c t i o n c a p a c i t y should be upwards of the 1,000 B f t . per c u t -
o f f saw p e r hour f i g u r e . I n a few p l a n t s i t has worked o u t w e l l t o c u t two
boards a t the same time. This does n o t a l l o w c u t t i n g f o r d e f e c t s and most o f
these remain i n t h e m a t e r i a l t o be c u t o u t by t h e r i p saw. I n making upholster-
ing frames, i t may be p r a c t i c a l t o i g n o r e most o f the n a t u r a l defects.
If 5/4 o r 6/4 lumber i s c u t , t h e p r o d u c t i o n c a p a c i t y goes up b u t n o t q u i t e i n
p r o p o r t i o n . The board i s heavier and e s p e c i a l l y f l i p p i n g i t over w i l l slow
down production.

The above f i g u r e s apply t o t h e s i t u a t i o n where two c u t - o f f sawyers share one

helper. I f the c u t - o f f sawyers have t o p i c k t h e i r own boards from t h e lumber
package, p r o d u c t i o n i s considerably l e s s . Replacing t h e lumber l i f t w i t h a
breakdown h o i s t should r e s u l t i n comparable production r a t e s (1,000 B f t . / c u t - o f f /
hour) w i t h o u t t h e need f o r a helper. A breakdown h o i s t w i t h lumber d e l i v e r y
chains can feed lumber t o as many as f o u r c u t - o f f saws.

The r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e v a r i o u s c o n d i t i o n s and t h e production i s shown i n

Table VI-1.
-
I t takes about f o u r r i p saws t o handle t h e o u t p u t of two c u t - o f f saws. The
question i s whether one has t o c u t random w i d t h o r standard width. A f u r t h e r ~

f a c t o r i s whether t h e r i p sawyer has t o p i c k h i s own boards from a mix running

p a s t him on a b e l t o r whether t h e boards are s e l e c t e d by someone e l s e and f e d -
t o him by means o f a d i s p a t c h conveyor. Another f a c t o r i s whether edging saws
a r e i n c l u d e d i n t h e rough end process. I f so, then the r a t i o o f c u t - o f f t o -__
r i p saws w i l l change depending on the amount o f panel (edge glued) production
versus t o t a l production.
 VI-2

No Helper
I
Cut I C u t 1 yoard
Inspect Inspect
Cut '
Cut 1 Board
Inspect Inspect
hickness
1 2
Sides
Boards 1
Si de
2
Si des

I 5/8 1 1100 I 1000 1 900 1500 1200 1000

1
I
4/4 I 1000 1 900 1 800 1300 1100 1000

5/4 1000 900 1200 1100

6/4 1100 1000 1300 1200

8/4 1300 1100 1500 1300

Figure VI-1: Approximate Production i n B f t . Per Hour Per Cut-Off Saw

Requirements f o r surfacing equipment a r e generally one facer and one planer
per rough end "line". A l i n e should be considered a s having from 1 t o 3
cut-.off saws and/or 2 t o 8 rip saws.
The number of salvage saws i n a rough end will vary. A r a t i o of one salvage
saw per three rip saws i s a reasonable rule of thumb. Also a b u s t i n g saw may
be needed prior t o the surfacing operations t o rip severely cupped lumber i n -
t o two or more parts.
The production rates discussed i n this section are actual production rates.
There is no need t o add an allowance f o r getting the lumber on the lumber l i f t
or personal allowances as they are already included. Rough ends employing
unconventional processing procedures will vary i n the amount of production
per hour.
As stated a t the beginning of this chapter, production rates may be influenced
by the grade of lumber being cut. Normally the lower the grade mix of lumber
being cut, the slower the production rate. This i s true primarily because
the cutting decisions are more d i f f i c u l t due t o the increased number o f defects.
An exception t o this relationship m i g h t occur i n a situation where the o u t p u t -
can be of "sound" grade, containing any number of sound defects. ~

Another concern related t o lumber grade i s the fact that when a rough end is
designed assuming a given grade mix of lumber, a significant change i n i n p u t -
grade (firx) caii ri?sii:t i n t h e i-OUgh end being e i t h e r Over or under required - --
capacity. For example, assume t h a t a bedroom manufacturer typically cuts #1
 VI-3

Comnon and Better lumber and desires t o increase rough end production by,
say, 15 percent. Two methods t h a t could be used t o get this increase would
be t o , one -- work overtime, and, two -- improve the grade mix of lumber so ~~

t h a t fewer units of i n p u t must be processed t o get the desired amount of out-

p u t . Option one can be used on relatively short notice, whereas, option two
~

will take weeks to implement because the lumber must be purchased and dried
before cutting. -~

EDGE GLUING
The production r a t e o f the glue reel i s the capacity of one set of clamps
divided by the time i t takes the crew t o unload and load one s e t of clamps.

Capacity per section

Production Rate = 'Unloading and loading time per section
The curing time allowed f o r the glue is the production time for one complete
revolution of the clamp carrier. This is found by:
Curing time = (# sections) x (unloading and loading time per section).
For the selection of the glue reel s i t e , i t i s better to change this equation
around.
Curing time required for glue
# sections = Unloading and loading time per section
To calculate glue reel s i t e s , i t i s best t o start w i t h the selection of the
width of the reel. A wide reel will allow more different combinations of
lengths b u t a s we go up i n w i d t h , we introduce more walkinq time f o r the
operators. I t is not necessary t o have a glue reel w i d t h t h a t f i t s every
panel s i z e perfectly. Rather we should attempt t o get:
1. a good f i t for the most frequent sizes
2. a possibility of making a l l panels needed.
For instance i n a bedroom furniture factory, we will have dresser and chest
end panels w i t h standard sizes. The maximum length is clearly indicated
by the longest t r i p l e dresser top.
Suppose production would involve (percentages of total square f e e t of
panel ) :
20% end panels approximately 22 x 19
18% end panels approximately 32 x 19
10%chest tops approximately 28 x 19
11%bed panels approximately 55 x various widths
16%dresser tops up t o 72" long
25% miscellaneous item of a l l sizes
 VI-4

From these data, we might select a 6 l/2 foot slue reel. This would allow
us to glue up in one section.
3 short end panels for a utilization of:
22 = 85%
.f8
2 long end panels for a utilization of:
32 82%
78=
2 chest tops for a utilization of:
2, x 28 = 72%
78
1 bed panel for a utilization of:
55
-= 71%
78
The above figures are based on six clamps per section.
If instead we chose a 10 foot glue reel with eight clamps per section, we
would change this to:
4 short end panels for a utilization of:

3 long end panels for a utilization of:

4 chest tops for a utilization of:

4 x 28 = 93%
120
2 bed panels for a utilization of:

It might be argued that such a glue reel would have a capacity o f three panels -
of 32 inches long. This would mean that one of them could be clamped with two
clamps only. This practice is not recommended. The upper limit o f what can ~

be clamped safely with two clamps is about 30 inches and in some cases, only
24 inches. Much depends on the stiffness of the outside pieces. If we glue -
Np 814 m;Pi?ogap.yi we m.nght even fl@+ =--- results c1amprng 36 inches w i t h t o p
=-: flivd
clamps since we could select outside pieces 4 inches wide and more. If we ___

glue up 4/4 gum which has been ripped from #2 Common, we do not find many
wide pieces, and we will glue up quite a few panels where the outside pieces
are only 2 inches wide.
 VI -5

In practice we could u t i l i z e the "leftover" clamps by adding another

panel of small dimensions. A logical combination would be two end panels
of 32 inches p l u s one t o p of 28 inches. T h i s would give a utilization o f :
2 x 32 + 28 77%
120=
Please note that a l l utilization figures given above apply t o the length
of the stock only. Utilization i n the other direction (that i s , the w i d t h
of the stock) i s limited by the usable length of the clamps, which i s nor-
mally 32 inches. (Special "thick stock" clamps are 24 inches long.) For
4/4 stock the full length of these clamps is rarely utilized because:
1. Case ends and tops are wider t h a n 16 inches,
and
2. GIhen g l u i n g up more than 24 inches width, the panels will
have a tendency t o "buckle up" unless hold-down attachments
are used.
Most of the 6/4 and 8/4 stock is glued up t o be reripped or bandsawn. In
these cases, a w i d t h o f about 30 inches is normal. W i t h the thicker stock
"buckling" is no problem.
The production rate of the glue reel is about 100 or 150 square feet of panel
per manhour. A small glue reel can be operated w i t h three men, one a t the
glue spreader and two a t the reel. T h i s gives a production of 300 t o 450
square feet per hour. The rate of production obviously depends on the size
of the panel.
As stated before, the number of clamping sections i n a glue reel depends on
the required g l u i n g time and the production time per section.
A much f a s t e r method of g l u i n g up s o l i d core stock is the one using continuous
feed equipment. The production rate of this machine i s several times higher
t h a n that of a glue reel. The operator does n o t have t o t i g h t e n clamps or
t o hammer down a buckling panel. He merely feeds the machine. Since the
machine is g l u i n g an endless "ribbon" o f wood, there i s no need t o match the
panels ahead of time.
For a Panel Flo of 66 inches w i t h a platen length of 15 f e e t , a feed rate
can be obtained of about 7 FPM for 4/4 stock and 10 FPM f o r 5/8 stock. This
is equivalent t o heating time of two minutes for 4/4 and one and one-half
minutes for 5/8 stock. Moisture content of the lumber and type of glue are
determining factors.
These data apply to panels 10 inches wide and up. Panels t h a t are not that
-
wide, such as drawer sides, have t o be cut i n multiples and reripped. The ~

flying r i p saw does not return i n time t o cut narrow panels. Since the con-
tinuous machine has such advantages over the glue reel, one may well wonder ~

wb# so ma~ycompanies s t i ? ? use the ? a t t e r . The reasen i s the slightly lower

 VI-6

rate of glueline failures t h a t occurs with the reel glued panels. For i n -
stance a plant might f i n d t h a t over a year's time the reel glued panels show
1.1% glueline defects and the panels glued i n a continuous machine, 1.9%.
The higher labor cost of the reel i s like an insurance premium against de-
fective furniture.
From a theoretical p o i n t of view, the use of the reel i s pretty absurd. I t
would seem t o make more sense t o make an e f f o r t t o carefully control the
mechanical and chemical conditions of the continuous gluing method. However,
many highly successful furniture manufacturers have tried t h i s and s t i l l
returned t o the reel operation. The continuous method has three weaknesses
t h a t are inherent t o the system:
1. High, uniform pressure i s d i f f i c u l t t o maintain since the feed
is in the direction of the pressure; the pressure i s in fact
depending on friction.
2. Heating will result i n stresses t h a t may tend t o rupture the
gluebond while i n the machine or when i t leaves the h o t platen
secti on.
3. Urea formaldehyde has relatively poor gap-filling properties.
Unless the stock is pressed together firmly, a weak glue j o i n t
may occur.
When panels are used i n solid tops or seats for Early American chairs, i t
makes sense t o pay a premium for a lower reject percentage. When panels are
used as cores f o r plywood, o r are t o be reripped as r a i l s , or when we consider
drawer sides, the continuous machine i s clearly superior.
However, for veneered panels i n most constructions, the lumber core i s being
rep1 aced w i t h particleboard.
The electronic or high frequency gluing equipment for edge glued lumber
operates on batch principle. Therefore, production rates are s l i g h t l y below
the continuous machine and panels have t o be glued up in f a i r l y large multiples.
One of i t s advantages i s i n the lower floor space requirements. Positive
edge pressure comparable t o t h a t i n a gluereel i s another factor.
PARTICLEBOARD CORES

Most furniture manufacturers i n the casegoods l i n e are using particleboard

i n one form or another. The majority will buy t h i s product usually for about
T2 t o 20 cents per square foot of 3/4 board. Since each furniture factory
produces a large amount o f wood waste, some of the larger companies have in- -
s t a l l e d conversion plants t o make particleboard from t h e i r own wood waste. ~

A successful captive system is the Lanewood extrusion process originally

-
developed by the Lane Company i n Altavista, Virginia, Some plants are able
t o produce a board for less than half the commercial price for a similar board.
 CHAPTER V I 1

VENEER AND PLYWOOD

INTRODUCTION
In casegoods and table plants, plywood i s one of the most important materials.
For t h i n plywood, used i n drawer bottoms, case backs, e t c . , commercial plywood
i s purchased by the majority of the furniture manufacturers. On the other
hand, the plywood for case tops, ends, drawer f r o n t s , doors and so on is
manufactured by most furniture manufacturers i n captive plywood operations.
The captive plywood department i n a furniture plant d i f f e r s from a commercial
plywood operati on i n several respects. Whereas a commerci a1 plywood plant
makes plywood primarily i n standard sizes such as 4 x 4 f e e t and 4 x 8 f e e t ,
the captive plywood department makes a variety of smaller sizes. These sizes
are usually single product sizes i n the case of tops and large end panels
and multiple product sizes f o r the smaller furniture parts. Another differ-
ence i s the variety of face veneers. Some furniture panels may have faces
made up of two different species which never occurs i n standard commercial
plywood. As a further point of difference, the commercial plywood plant
will s t a r t w i t h the logs, veneer manufacturing being a major part of the
operation, while the plywood department will s t a r t w i t h veneers purchased from
veneer m i 11s.
Furniture manufacturers require relatively smal 1 amounts of plywood i n
widely varying sizes; they also require a h i g h degree of control over the
appearance of the face. I t i s because of these requirements that the captive
plywood department i s an economical proposition. There are a few custom ply-
wood plants that will manufacture furniture panels to specification. These
are exceptions, however. Most plywood i s e i t h e r standard s i z e made by h i g h
volume commercial operations or custom sizes made i n captive departments.
We shall discuss plywood manufacturing as i t occurs i n a furniture plant.
We will s t a r t w i t h a look a t the product t h a t i s made i n the plywood depart-
ment.
THE PRODUCTS OF THE CAPTIVE PLYWOOD DEPARTMENT
The plywood products that are going into furniture can be divided into three -
categories :
1. Heavy panels f o r t o p s , ends and drawer fronts.
2. Thin, f 1a t panels for panel =on-frame construction backs + drawer
bottoms and d u s t frames.
3. Curved plywood mostly for drawer fronts.
 v 11-2
Various types of constructions and manufacturing methods may be used i n
each of these categories:
1. T h i c k panels, usually 3/4" or 1 3 / 1 6 1 1 when used i n cases, b u t
going up t o 1 l / ~ +for " table and desk tops. Requirements include
s t a b i l i t y , strength and a smooth f l a t surface. Examples of con-
structions that are comnonly used are shown i n Figure VII-1.

--
L .

/
I
I-
-

.
-
, /
I ' . I
4
.*

..
I
-
.

I
1

! .
1/28
6
'/e

l/28
face
crossband
lumber core
crossband
back
,-
(

-
-.-c
( ,
I
, ,.

--
#
- /
, I

--
t t
1/28
1/ 1 6
5/e
1/ 1 6
'128
face
crossband
particleboard
crossband
back
(a1 (b 1

>
-
:
/
l/16 h i g h pressure
1aminate
l/i6 crossband
+ 5/e lumber core
--
I I "
# -

I
-

I $
-
4 4:'
" l/16
l/32
crossband
backing sheet
(e 1

Figure VI 1-1 : Thick Panel Plywood Constructions

 VII- 3

Type ( a ) i s the conventional construction which i s preferred

for French Provincial furniture because of the shaped edges.
I t i s also practical for flush drawer fronts because i t
eliminates the need for veneer edge banding. For a few items
which require unusual strength such as large unsupported con-
ference tables, a lumber core i s preferred because i t i s
stronger ( i n the grain direction) than any type of particle-
board.
Type (b) shows the construction which i s used w i t h extruded
particleboard cores. When this type of board i s used, i t i s
necessary t o use a 5-ply construction.
Types (c) and ( d ) show panels made w i t h a platen board. I f
the board i s of the multi-layer type and the surface i s made
of "fines," the crossband may be omitted. When a h i g h pressure
laminate i s used as a face, the comnon construction i s 3-ply
as shown i n [d]. Because of the h i g h cost, the construction
is not balanced b u t a backing sheet i s used on the bottom.
Either f o r strength purposes or because the edge is showing,
a lumber core may have t o be used. I n t h a t case, the p l a s t i c
face is applied over a crossband as shown i n ( e ) . Whenever
h i g h pressure laminates are used the panel i s made in a cold
press. All other types of plywood are normally made i n a hot
press.
2. T h i n panels are 3/1611t05/1611forpanel-on-frame, to 5 / 3 2 1 1
I/J'
for drawer bottoms, d u s t frames, etc.

'/28 face
c

-..
/---
*
m

-
, '
#
#
---
---- t
'
, \ t

e
I
*

.
-
I

,
1 / 16
l/16
cross band
center
1/16 crossband
li2e back

Figure VI 1-2: T h i n Panel Plywood Constructions

Five-ply constructions as i n ( a ) are more expensive t h a n 3-ply
constructions b u t they tend t o stay f l a t t e r and are, therefore,
used for t o p s and sometimes for end panels.
3. Curved plywood i s made two different ways.
-
~-~ ~~
 Y 12-4

1
/28 face

- '/i6
'/2
crossband
band sawn 1. core
1/ i 6 crossband
'/28 back

Figure VII-3: Curved Plywood Constructions

Type ( a ) i s made w i t h a band sawn lumber core. This construction
has the disadvantage that the gluebond quality i s very dependent
on the accuracy of the band sawing. Since this type of product
i s used primarily f o r curved drawer fronts, the solid lumber core
has the advantage of g i v i n g a more presentable edge.
Type (b), made usually w i t h seven veneers o r nine, is e i t h e r
pressed w i t h the a i d o f band sawn forms i n a cold press o r between
aluminum electrodes i n a h i g h frequency press. I t should be noted
t h a t i n the case of 7-ply panels, the veneers #2, #4 and #6 have
to be passed through the glue spreader. W e would normally choose
the same thickness f o r #2 and #6 i n order t o have a balanced con-
struction b u t i n this case, we want #4 also t o be of the same
thickness i n order t o avoid d i f f i c u l t i e s w i t h the glue application.
The veneers t h a t go into a furniture panel must exceed the finished panel s i z e
by a t l e a s t three quarters o f an inch i n length w i d t h . The veneers may
s h i f t i n the press, and then there must be enough f o r a trimming allowance.
In a l l three categories of panels, the face may be l i s t e d on the b i l l of
itlaterials r;n.ere!y by species, grade and thickness, b u t in t h e case o f fancy
faces, i t may be necessary t o r e f e r t o a drawing such a s Figure VII-4.
 YIL-5

Figure VII-4: Book-Matched Veneer Face

Such drawings are a necessity when two or more species are used. I n a ply-
wood b i l l of materials, the length represents the dimension i n the grain
direction. The face of Figure VII-4 would be 16 3/41' x 28 1/2". For the ply-
wood sheet one goes by the face; for this panel: 16 3/4''x 28 (rough) or
15 3/k11 x 27 1/2'' (finish).

VENEER PURCHASING AND STORAGE

Face veneers are normally sliced and a l l sheets that come out of the same bolt
are kept together. T h i s collection is known as the f l i t c h . The veneer com-
pany will take out of the f l i t c h three samples, one near the t o p , one near the
center and one near the bottom. These samples are carried by the salesmen,
who leave them w i t h the furniture factory t h a t buys the f l i t c h . Although this
i s not always done, the furniture plant can compare the veneer w i t h the samples
t o make sure t h a t they have received the r i g h t f l i t c h . The f l i t c h e s are shipped
i n crates t i e d w i t h s t e e l strapping. The veneers, and of course the package,
s t i l l have the length of the original bolt, sometimes a s long a s 17 feet.
T h i s may create a storage problem t h a t can be solved by storing the veneer
crates on end o r using a room with a diagonal aisle.
The veneers used for centers, crossbands and backs are normally rotary cut
and purchased by grade rather t h a n by sample. The lengths are much shorter
t h a n those common for faces. The reason i s that for gum, yellow poplar and
such veneers the manufacturer w i 11 remove defects and s e l l essenti a1 1 Y cl ear
stock. These veneers are often bought from local sources and they aremostly -
shipped on pallets. The amount of veneer kept on hand may be only three t o
f i v e days production, whereas there may be a two months' supply of face veneer ~

on hand.
 V 11-6

VENEER PREPARATION
The manufacturer of the veneer does the drying. Therefore, one never f i n d s a
veneer d r i e r i n a furniture plant. I t i s desirable for the face veneers t o
be shipped and stored a t a moisture content of 10 t o 12%. A t t h i s moisture
content veneer tends t o be l e s s b r i t t l e , and i t can be handled w i t h l e s s break-
age. If the veneer has arrived a t a moisture content of 18 t o 20%, i t should
be allowed to dry a l i t t l e b i t before i t enters the plywood press.
The main a c t i v i t i e s i n veneer preparation are clipping and splicing. There
are two types of equipment for cutting veneer t o sizes.
1. The shear clipper is a machine with a scissors type action that
i s used primarily for cutting green veneers. In some instances,
i t is used for c u t t i n g dry veneers b u t i t has the disadvantage
of cutting only a few sheets a t a time.

Cross section of knife Enlarged view of a veneer

showing cutting action edge produced by shear cl i pper.
o f shear clipper.

Figure YII-5: Principle of the Shear Clipper

As shown above, the edge o f a sheet o f veneer t h a t has been cut with a shear
clipper i s not rectangular. Consequently, veneers must be jointed before
they can be spliced. Shear clippers a r e often used for cutting face veneer
t o rough length. The resulting edge is only a problem when splicing sections
end-to-end. Another method used f o r cutting face veneer t o rough length i s
a radial arm saw.
2. The anvil clipper has a much sharper knife that comes down i n a
sliding motion u n t i l i t h i t s a hardwood anvil.
 YII-7

Figure VII-6: Operating Principle of the Anvil Clipper

The anvil clipper can be used t o cut a package or "book" of veneers about
1 l/2I1 o r 2" high. The anvil becomes somewhat damaged a f t e r two or three
hundred cuts. The machine i s designed t o receive a square anvil t h a t can
be rotated when the surface becomes too rough. I t also can be turned end
for end so t h a t the anvil may be used eight times over before i t i s discard-
ed. As long as the anvil i s in good shape, a l l veneers will have one perfect
edge. The good edge is the one behind the knife. The veneer in front of
the knife has a slightly beveled edge due t o the bevel of the knife. I t ,
therefore, has t o be recut prior t o splicing. An advantage o f the anvil
clipper is t h a t jointing i s unnecessary. In fact, the edge from an anvil
clipper i s superior t o that which can be made on a jointer.
On both types of veneer. s i z i n g equipment, one cuts veneers into single
product sizes or simple fractions thereof. Whenever the product size i s
two, three, four or five times the single veneer sheet s i z e , the veneers
must be spliced i n some way or another. Before veneers can be spliced,
they must be given rectangular edges. T h i s i s similar t o the jointing of
boards t h a t are glued up on a glue reel. The machine t h a t i s used for the
veneers i s also called a jointer.
The two basic types of jointers are stationary head machines t h a t are vir-
tually identical t o a lumber j o i n t e r and a traveling head jointer.
There are four different methods for splicing veneer.
1. The original method of veneer splicing was done with paper tape.
In some operations paper tape i s s t i l l applied by hand t o make
a veneer j o i n t . Slightly more advanced is the method employing
a table w i t h a glass top and a hand t a p i n g device. Light bulbs
are fixed underneath the glass so t h a t the operator can see i f
the veneer j o i n t i s t i g h t even a f t e r the paper has covered i t .
A comnon method involves the use o f a veneer t a p i n g machine. Two
veneers are fed i n t o the machine side by side and while they are
mechanically transported forward, paper tape i s applied on the
top. These machines have the advantage of making generally t i g h t
joints.
 V 11-8

The disadvantage of kraft paper i s that i t makes an inferior

construction when i t i s glued inside the plywood. If paper
tape is placed underneath the face veneer, i t will frequently
cause loose veneer. For t h a t reason the tape i s applied on
the outside o f the facesand i t is subsequently removed by sand-
i n g the plywood panel.
2. The most comnon way of making a veneer j o i n t i s w i t h the tapeless
splicer. The veneers are fed side by side i n t o the machine
which presses the edges together and heats the j o i n t , while the
veneer goes forward. I t is necessary t o prespread the veneer
edges w i t h glue. Some jointers are equipped t o apply glue t o
the edge of a veneer package. Or else a package of veneer is
lined up and placed i n a clamp inside a small spray booth. The
type of glue is urea formaldehyde w i t h a f a i r amount of the
retarder. This makes i t possible t o dry the edge u n t i l i t i s
no longer tacky and i t can be handled w i t h o u t smearing the tape-
less splicer. A common practice i s t o dry the glue overnight.
If the drying period i s too longsthe glue may s t a r t curing and
then we cannot expect a decent j o i n t from the splicer.
3. Another type of machine is also a tapeless splicer b u t i t is not
referred t o by that name. Generally i t i s called a cross feed
splicer. The veneer i s fed i n t o the machine perpendicular t o the
j o i n t s that are t o be made.
The prime advantage of this splicer i s its application for random
width veneers. Veneers of a l l w i d t h can be glued up t o make an
endless ribbon of veneer. A t the t a i l end of the machine, there
is a limit switch and clipper device t h a t will cut off a predeter-
mined s i z e from t h i s ribbon. The arrangement is very similar t o
the continuous panel g l u i n g machine w i t h the flying rip saw. Glue
spreading is identical t o the second method. Cross fed splicers
give better veneer yields.
4. The fourth and l a t e s t process uses a special machine applying glue
thread. The thread is led through a heated thread guide which
zigzags on a horizontal plane under a pressure r o l l e r and i s
applied t o the two sheets of veneer t o be glued together. The
swinging movement of the thread guide makes a continuous wavy l i n e
which covers the j o i n t s adequately on both sides. During the
subsequent pressing, the side of the veneer t o which the glue thread
has been'applied i s placed inwards. No marks are l e f t as neither
paper nor animal glue is used.
The veneers which have been clipped and spliced are not always ready for the
plywood press. Especially where faces are involved, i t is c m o n t o inspect
the veneers 100%. The best way t o s e t up such an inspection station i s t o
use a glass table w i t h a l i g h t source so t h a t cracks will show up easily. Small
cracks can be repaired w i t h tape or i n some cases by hammering.
 VLI-9

VENEER YIELD

This discussion will only consider yields of face veneer. Factories normally
buy cross banding and back veneers cut t o size o r simple multiples of the
sizes required.
Face veneer yields are influenced by the same basic s e t of factors consider-
ed i n the e a r l i e r discussion of lumber. A piece of face veneer, as i t comes
from the f l i t c h , m a y be viewed as merely a very thin board. Chapter V discuss-
es the effect t h a t o u t p u t requirements have on lumber yield. I t points out
three sub-factors under this category; namelys
1. part size
2. variety or distribution of sizes (size mix)
3. volume requirements i n the various sizes (volume mix).
Almost a l l face veneers are produced by splicing two or more smaller pieces
together. T h i s is somewhat similar t o edge gluing lumber b u t it i s different
i n one major respect and t h i s difference has an impact on veneer yield.
Appearance is a c r i t i c a l factor i n almost a l l face veneers. T h i s concern
goes beyond the need for limiting the number of glue lines and have parallel
glue lines. In many instances a face veneer will involve "matching" or
some type of geometric design. For example, a panel may require an appear-
ance like t h a t illustrated e a r l i e r in Figure VII-4.
Anothet more extreme example of this problem i s shown on the table t o p below.

Figure vrI-3: Top Face Yeneer Pattern For An Occasional Tab! e

Veneer yields are obviously influenced by design requirements such as those

just illustrated. These requirements also result in the need for speciai
s k i l l s and handling a t the c u t t i n g operations. As w i t h lumber, operator
performance i s a major concern.
 VII-10

Calculations of veneer yields are basically the same as lumber yields. The
following relationships apply except footage, i n t h i s case, refers t o
square feet, not board feet.

Footage of product loo%

= Footage of veneer
Waste on gross= Footage of veneer - Footage of product
Footage of veneer
veneer - Footage o f product
Waste on net = Footage of Footage of product

FLAT PLYWOOD PRESSES

We have already mentioned t h a t there are hot and cold pressing processes.
While a hot press can be used f o r cold pressing, this i s normally not done
because the equipment i s much more expensive.
Multiple Opening Hot Press
The work horse of the plywood industry and also of the plywood departments
t h a t are found i n the furniture industry i s the multiple opening hot press.

Figure VII-8: Multiple Opening Hot Press

 VII-11

The press consists of 0-frames w i t h hydraulic pistons attached t o the

bottom part. In most installations the pistons are located beneath the
floor level. This is necessary i n order t o have the openings a t a con-
venient height. The furniture type press has i t s opening on the long side
of the platen. Even t h o u g h t h i s necessitates a much heavier construction
of the 0-frame, this type i s the only one t h a t can be conveniently hand
loaded. (Regular "plywood" industry presses often have as many as 30
openings and mechanical loading devices. The mechanical 1 o a d i n g can be
done on the short side o f the platen, which allows use o f a narrower 0-frame.)
Common sizes for platens include 4 ' x 8 ' , 5 ' x 8 ' , 5' x 9' and 5 ' 5 " x 9 ' .
In each instance the actual platen s i z e i s four inches i n excess of the
nominal platen s i z e i n each direction. The number of openings or "daylights"
i s usually s i x t o ten. In the open p o s i t i o n there i s about three inches of
space between the steam-heated platens. Most presses are constructed t o
give a maximum pressure of 150 t o 200 PSI over the e n t i r e platen. When
the platen i s n o t u t i 1 ized completely, correspondingly higher pressures
are attainable. Normal operating pressures a r e i n the order of 120-150 PSI,
applied t o the plywood. Hydraulic pressure must be adjusted t o product size.
The advantage of the multiple opening hot press is the capacity t o cost
ratio. The most expensive p a r t of a press i s the hydraulic system. A
system t h a t will acconrnodate one opening costs almost as much as one t h a t
w i l l allow eight openings. Therefore, the more openings the press has, the
cheaper i t becomes per opening and per square foot of capacity.
I t i s possible t o load the veneers into the press directly and by themselves.
However, this i s d i f f i c u l t t o do and furthermore the glue squeezeout will
contaminate the platens. T h i s will cause plywood t o be dented by hardened
glue l e f t behind from previous pressings. Almost every furniture plywood
operation makes use of caul boards. These are sheets of a hard type of
aluminum which are just a l i t t l e b i t smaller than the platens. The press
crew will lay up the load for one opening on such a caul board. The general
procedure i s t o apply a second caul board on t o p of the veneers. This pre-
vents the veneers from curling up and allows them t o be inserted i n the
press without damage t o them. While the use of caul boards i s t o some extent
optional when pressing large sheets of plywood, they cannot be avoided when
pressing small plywood panels; for instance, eight panels per daylight.
Several s e t s of caul boards are necessary due t o the need t o cool and clean
them before reusing.
S h u t t 1e Press
Caul boards are an essential part of the shuttle press. This press w h i c h
can be single or double opening has caul boards that are twice the platen
length. One half of the caul board i s always inside the press frame and
the other half i s sticking o u t . The way this i s arranged can be seen in
Figure VII-9.
The press crew lays u p the panels on t h a t section of the caul board which
i s outside the iiiaehfne. Whefi a l o a d of pafiiels i s ready t o be taken froiii
the press, the press i s opened and the caul boards are switched. The ply-
wood panels move o u t as the stacks of veneer move i n . No top caul boards
 VII-12

are used; the crew uses wooden sticks t o f l a t t e n down some of the veneers
which have a tendency t o curl up as they enter the press.

top view

Figure VII-9: Shuttle Press

Whereas the construction is limited t o single andedoubk opening presses,
and therefore expensive, the mechanical loading allows the use of small
0-frames. The big advantage i s time utilization. The t o t a l cycle -- open-
unload-load-close -- can be performed i n as l i t t l e as 15 seconds. In com-
parison this may take as much as two minutes for a multiple opening type.
T h i s qutck unloading-load cycle will also allow f a s t e r glues, thereby
speeding up the whole operation.
Single Opening, Short Cycle Hot Press
A third category is the single opening, short cycle, feed t h r o u g h hot press.
These are normally combined w i t h automatic loading and unloading systems.
The feed t h r o u g h press uses a series of mylar conveyor belts for loading and
unloading (see Figure VII-10).
The infeed b e l t is loaded w i t h the equivalent o f a press load. When the
press completes a cycle and opens, the belt w i t h i n the press transports the
the panels t h a t have been pressed onto the outfeed system. Simultaneously
 Y IL-13

the infeed belt reloads the press. Completed panels can be stacked manually
o r automatically. Both the infeed and press belts can be indexed (moved a
l i t t l e a t a time) by the operators t o accomodate loading and stacking. These
tqylar belts have t o be changed periodically.

Hydraulic cylinders

Infeed belt Outfeed belt

Figure VI 1-10: Feed-through Type Press

The single opening, feed through type presses operate i n a range o f 20 - 30
cycles per hour. Large platen sizes (up t o about 20 f e e t long and six t o
nine feet wide) are used t o achieve production rates better than the conven-
tional ten opening presses.
The single opening hot presses are less tolerant of thickness variations in
the stock; most companies have found it necessary t o sand cores t o accurate
thickness.
Cold Press
Plastic covered panels require a cold pressing process. If temperature were
the only consideration, there might not be a separate type of equipment for
cold pressing. However, tied in K i t h the lower temperature i s the use o f -
very much lower pressures. Instead of a 150 PSI as is common for hot presses,
cold pressing i s often done a t 20 PSI. This means, o f course, t h a t the press
~

will be constructed much lighter. A common cold press i s illustrated i n

Figure VII-11. -
 VII-14

Figure YII-11 : Cold Press

The important feature of this cold press is t h a t there are no platens, just
one b i g opening. The stock t o be pressed i s b u i l t up in a stack approxi-
mately 40 inches high and entered i n the press. The pressure i s transmitted
through one product t o the next. Obviously i f there are thickness varia-
tions, the panels in the center can become bowed. For this reason alone,
i t i s necessary that the particleboard cores used i n constructions such
as Figure VII-1Cd) must be planed or sanded t o an accurate thickness.
T h i s machine i s also used f o r gluing panels-on-frame. As i t takes a long
time and many products t o build up a single stack, these cold presses are
normally subdivided i n t o sections. Commercial presses have two t o f i v e
sections, each approximately 3 l / 2 x 2 l/2 f e e t capacity. Many cold press-
i n g operations do not allow the curing t o occur in the press. The package
i s compressed between heavy (2" thick) panels. Above and below these, heavy
I beams are placed. While i n the press, clamps are attached t o these I beams
and these are tightened before the load i s taken out of the press.
 VII-15

CURVED PLYWOOD PRESSES

Curved plywood presses d i f f e r considerably i n construction depending on
the degree of curvature t h a t is required for the product. If the press
i s t o make some part of a box w i t h essentially 90' between sections of
the panel, i t i s necessary t o apply pressure from various sides. Presses
have t o be especially designed for such a purpose. The common curved
plywood product of the furniture industry i s either a chair back o r a
drawer front and these products have only a limited degree of curvature.
These products can be made on almost any type of press w i t h the aid of
matched male and females dies. Because of the problems involved i n
heating, many curved plywood presses are operated cold. The notable
exception i s the press t h a t is operated w i t h h i g h frequency heating. In
this case the male and female dies are covered w i t h a sheet of aluminum.
The two sheets are connected w i t h the high frequency generator and act
as electrodes.
The two types o f curved plywood presses are illustrated i n Figure VII-12.

cold pressing 4 HF press for the

drawer fronts same product

Figure VII-12: Curved Plywood Presses

GLUE SPREADERS
The application o f glue t o veneers and/or panels i s done i n a r o l l e r device.
The cheapest k i n d of glue spreader has two rolls. These rolls are i n con-
t a c t w i t h a trough t h a t contains glue. Generally they have adjustable
scraper blades b u t i t is very d i f f i c u l t t o spread an even application of glue. -

The modern glue spreader, which is used everywhere i n the furniture industry,
is the one shown i n cross section i n Figure VII-13. ~
 VII-16

rubber

steel roller

Figure VII-13: Glue Spreader

The glue i s applied t o the r o l l e r s by means of a doctor r o l l . The doctor
r o l l is made o f chrome plated s t e e l . The r o l l s t h a t apply the glue t o
the veneers are covered w i t h rubber which has a finely grooved profile. The
glue i s applied t o the veneer in l i t t l e ridges. Obviously these ridges are
spread o u t as soon as pressure i s applied. I t i s of the utmost importance
t o clean the glue spreader thoroughly a f t e r each period of use.
PRODUCTION RATES OF SOME MACHINES
Tapeless Splicer
The tapeless s p l i c e r will generally be operated a t about 50 FPM, depending
somewhat on veneer thickness and type of glue. This does not mean, however,
t h a t we may expect 50 f e e t of glue l i n e per minute. I t i s generally i m -
possible f o r the operator t o keep the machine f i l l e d . When he operates on
long stock, he might produce a t 80% efficiency; for short stock, this may
go down t o 50%.
To calculate the number of machine hours necessary f o r the production of
100 panels o f a given s i z e o we n o t only need the production rate i n terms
of f e e t of glue l i n e per minute, b u t also the number of glue lines that will
occur i n each veneer. An example of a calculation follows:
 VII-17

Data
Face Walnut 1/28 24 x 32" i n 6 sections
Crossband (2) : Yellow poplar 1/16 32 x 24" i n 2 sections
Core Particleboard 5/8 32 x 24"
Back Ye1 1ow pop1 a r 1/28 24 x 32" i n 3 sections
Calculation
Face G1 uel ine 1 x 5 x 24 = 120"
Crossband : G1 uel i ne 2 x 1 x 32 = 64"
Back G1 uel i ne 1 x 2 x 24 = 48"
Total veneer glueline per panel = 232 'I
Total veneer glueline per 100 panels =

loo
12
232 = 1933 feet.

Feed r a t e of s p l i c e r - 60 FPM
Estimated efficiency - 66.7%
Actual production =
66.7 x 60 FPM
60 min/hr. x loo = 2400 f t / h r .
Total standard splicing time per 100 panels =
1933 f t * = ,81 hrs,
2400 f t / h r .
Anvil Clipper
The production r a t e o f the anvil clipper depends on the quality of the veneer,
the length and width of the desired product and the number of veneers i n one
book. A good rule of thumb i s t o allow one shear clipper and two anvil c l i p -
pers for every three tapeless splicers.
Glue Spray Station for Veneer Edges
This equipment, which i s only needed when no glue spreading jointers are
used, can be estimated by another rule of thumb, one spray station t o s i x
tape1 ess spl i cers.
Multiple Opening Hot Press
In order t o find o u t what the capacity of a hot press i s , we must f i r s t deter-
mine the glue curing time. What type of glue will be used? The answer i s -
always ( i n furniture operations) urea formaldehyde. By changing the catalyst
and retarder, we may vary the curing time of urea formaldehyde from 10 seconds __

a t 350" t o two days a t room temperature. We normally s e l e c t that glue which

will give us maximum speed while s t i l l not causing any "precure." -
 VII-18

As soon as the veneer package enters the hot press, the bottom veneer i s
heated rapidly. When the caul boards are cooled between pressings, t h i s
heating i s delayed a l i t t l e . B u t always the bottom glueline will be the
c r i t i c a l one. A f a i r rule of thumb i s : If the glue cures i n n minutes
a t the press temperature, the time from inserting the veneer package
(between cauls) t o the time o f closing the press and applying pressure
should not exceed n/3 minutes.
T h i s rule can be applied i n reverse. If we can manage t o load and close
a press i n 1.3 minutes, we may select a glue that will cure i n four minutes.
There i s another limitation and t h a t i s due t o the steam pressure developed
inside the plywood. If too high temperatures are used, the steam pressure
may blow the plywood apart. The specific gravity, moisture content and
amount of glue used will be determining factors. Using standard furniture
species such as gum o r yellow poplar a t 8%M.C., we can often work a t
300F. and cure the glue i n two minutes. However, most multiple opening
hot presses work a t s l i g h t l y lower temperatures, say 250F. and use urea
formaldehyde curing i n about four minutes.
T h i s curing time i s not equal t o the pressing time. We must heat the inner-
most glue line,which takes time. This time depends on distance from the
nearest surface, total thickness of the plywood, density of the species.
Even though the time i s approximately proportional t o the square o f the
thickness, we may compromise on t h i s for thick panels. An i n t e r i o r glue
l i n e i n a thick panel i s n o t of too much concern t o us. Therefore, most
plants use a simple rule. The time for pressing i s given by:
t p = t g + a d
where:
t = pressing time
P
tg = glue curing time
a = r a t e o f heat transfer
d = distance from innermost glue l i n e t o the nearest surface.
If t = 4 minutes, a common value would be: a = 1 2 min./inch.
9
Using these values, i f a panel had a 1/28" face veneer and a 1/2Q" crossband,
then the following press time would r e s u l t .
t = t + a d
P 9
= 4 + 12 (l/28" + 1/20") = 4 + 1 2 (.086)
= 5.0 minutes.

I f the pressing time i s 5.0 minutes, the cycle, load-close-press-open-unload,

will take a b i t more than t h a t , say 7.0 minutes.
If Me work an eight hour day and assume t h a t a n i g h t crew (or one early b i r d )
turfis OR the s t e m a h a l f I'ioiir before stat-ting time, we can get about seven
and a half hours o f pressing cycles i n one day. We add no allowance t o the
 VII-19

standard operation time; since the press i s such an expensive piece of

equipment, i t i s better t o add an extra man t o the crew rather than t o
allow some extra time. We must allow about 30 minutes a t the end of
each day f o r clean up.
Using the example figures given above, we will f i n d a capacity o f :
7 1/2 x 60
= 64 press loads per day.
7
Knowing the desired capacity i n number of platen loads, we can now s e l e c t
the number of daylights required.
The simplest method of arriving a t a practical platen s i z e i s t o s t a r t w i t h
the largest common case top. Suppose a plant makes occasionally a 78" dress-
er b u t the "bread and butter" models are 56", 58" and 60" long. Now a f i v e
foot w i d t h of platen (remember t h a t actual s i z e i s 4" more than nominal)
will allow us t o f i l l the platen almost completely. The most versatile platen
size in this case is n o t 5 x 10, b u t 5 x 8, 5 x 9 or even 5 x 11. I t i s easy
t o see t h a t an odd length/width r a t i o will give us more f l e x i b i l i t y and gen-
e r a l l y , better area utilization.
The capacity of the press i n terms of square f e e t o f plywood must be calcu-
lated w i t h a utilization factor. I f sizes are pretty uniform and we have
selected an "ideal" platen s i z e , maybe .80 i s attainable. For most operations,
i t i s s a f e r t o assume .70 and i f we expect odd s i z e s , .65 or even .60 i s safer.
We normally calculate i n terms of press capability and then allow a crew which
i s large enough t o cope w i t h the work. The number of men i s variable. The
best way t o discuss this subject i s w i t h a layout diagram such as shown i n
Figure VII-14.

Functions I
1 Glue spreader feeder
2,3 Glue spreader tailer
4.5 Dry veneer handler
6.7 Lay up man
8.9 Unstacker
10 Reserve

Ir
I
I I

COOL I NG
CAULS

Figure VII-14: Layout Diagram

 VII-EO

This is a large crew capable of operating a 10 opening press, eight

panels (5 ply) per daylight on a six minute cycle.
If we leave o u t number 3, 5, 9, and 10, we cut the capacity just
about i n half.
Crew size for this and the other types of presses depends on production
requirements and procedures.
 CHAPTER VI11

MACH I N I NG PARTS

INTRODUCTION

The rough end and the plywood department convert boards and veneers t o
blanks and panels. These rectangular pieces must be converted t o furni-
ture parts by some sequence of machining operations. To distinguish t h i s
type of machining from the rough end a c t i v i t i e s , the term "finish machining"
i s used. The department i s called " F i n i s h Machine Room," b u t we will
general ly use "Machine Room" for short.
The machine room i s a unique department i n many ways. Often more capital
i s t i e d up i n machine room equipment than n a l l other equipment p u t to-
gether. The setting up and maintenance of the machines requires the most
skilled labor found anywhere i n the plant.
B u t most conspicuous about the machine roo,,, is the fact %hat the stock
moves slower than i n any other part of the plant. If we disregard the
lumber drying process for the moment, manufacturing starts a t the lumber
l i f t . In many plants stock takes less than one hour from the lumber l i f t
until i t is ready for the moulder. If the stock is glued u p and reripped,
i t m i g h t take an additional day or so. Plywood panels made w i t h a lumber
core m i g h t take a week b u t t h a t i s about the upper limit. The bulk o f the
blanks and panels are produced and ready f o r the f i n i s h machine operations
i n less than two days.
This i s an enormous contrast to what happens i n the machine room. Some
parts are machined i n a day, some i n a week, b u t quite many spend two t o
four weeks i n the machine room. And this i s not because the operations
take so long. A p o s t f o r a case may require one minute 28 seconds total
machining time and s t i l l spend ten days i n the machine room. I n most
machine rooms there i s a very substantial amount of in-process material
and often a good-sized t r a f f i c jam that goes w i t h i t . No department i n
the plant requires more e f f o r t s t o realize a reasonable amount of control
over the production process.
In order t o obtain an understanding of the function of the machine room,
we will f i r s t discuss the selection of machining equipment. Then we will
take a look a t the sequence of machining operations from two points of
view, the sequence of machines f o r a furniture part and the sequence of
parts for a machine. Next we will discuss some of the paper work methods
that are helpful in obtaining better control over t h e operation.
 VIII-2

SELECTION OF EQUIPMENT
An engineer who must s e l e c t a piece of woodworking equipment t o do a
certain job has to consider several aspects. For example, suppose the
question is: What is the most suitable equipment for cutting a t h i n ply-
wood end panel (panel on frame construction) t o s i z e before i t i s glued
t o the frame? Before g i v i n g even a tentative answer, we must f i n d o u t :
1. Do we s t a r t with a single s i z e panel or w i t h a multiple s i z e
panel ?
2. After the panel i s glued onto the frame, i s i t machined again?
3. How many of these panels have t o be cut (per c u t t ng and per
year)?
4. What commercial machines are available t o do this work?
5. For each of the reasonable solutions, what "other work" can
be done on this machine?
6. How much of the "other work" is required?
7. Based on an estimated annual machine load, what i s the machine
cost per 100 panels and f o r each s o l u t i o n ?
8. What i s the labor cost?
T h i s l i s t of questions could be extended for several pages depending on how
much refinement you would want. The main t h i n g that becomes clear i s that
the solution t o our original plywood panel problem depends on the solutions
of many similar problems pertaining t o other parts.
While perhaps i n theory one could f i n d a mathematical solution t o 15
equations w i t h 15 unknowns, i n practice i t i s better t o make a tentative
choice based on experience (of oneself or others) and sound judgment. Once
a l l individual machining problems have been solved i n t h i s way, we should
attempt t o evaluate the " t o t a l s o l u t i o n " I t then will be possible t o f i n d
the optimum solution by the variation method. T h a t i s , we can make " t r i a l "
modifications and evaluate the new total solutions. All modifications lead-
i n g t o improvement are adopted. To go back t o the o r i g i n a l question, o u r
reasoning m i g h t be :
1. We will purchase birch plywood f o r various panel sizes. Consider-
i n g other sizes used and supplier's price l i s t , i t i s decided t o
purchase the end panels i n multiples, three t o a panel.
2. I t i s impractical t o t r y t o glue the frames flush w i t h the ply-
wood. We, therefore, will -. assemble panel and frame and then
machine tne assembiy. [ h i s means that no great accuracy i s
 V I 11-3

required when the multiples are cut as long as we maintain an

approximate 1/411 oversize for cutting a1 lowance.
3. Techn cally speaking, three types of machines are feasible;
a rip saw, a variety saw and s l a t bed machine.
4. Since we are c u t t i n g never more t h a n 400 end panels a t one
time, the set-up time of the s l a t bed machine rules i t o u t .
5. A r i p saw could mar the surface of the panel, requiring more
sanding.
6. A variety saw requires t h a t the operator hold on t o the panel
until i t has been cut entirely.
7. To avoid the disadvantages of (5) and (61, we decide t o use a
variety saw w i t h a rubber faced r o l l e r feeding device t h a t can
be removed from the machine.

In a similar way we choose a machine and a method for every operati on.
Next we establish standard times f o r every operat on and ca culate the
machine requirements for the plant. Suppose that we end up w i t h :

As these sawing machines are n o t utilized very much, we now reconsider the
following p o s s i b i l i t i e s :
1. Eliminate the s l a t bed machine and keep one r i p saw and one
variety saw i n the machining room.
2. Keep the s l a t bed machine and the variety saw and eliminate
the rip saw. (This solution has the "built-in" advantage t h a t
i f we're i n a b i n d , we m i g h t be able t o use one of the rough
end rip saws. 1
3. Keep the s l a t bed machine and the rip saw and eliminate the
variety saw.
4. Keep the s l a t bed machine only.
5. Keep the rip saw only.
6. Keep the variety saw only.
7. Keep a l l three sawing machines.
 VIII-4

The result of this study might be t h a t we need the variety saw for some
work t h a t just cannot be done anywhere else. Solutions number 2 and 6
appear t o be a t t r a c t i v e alternates t o our original plan. We might evalu-
a t e the three feasible solutions as follows:
-
1
~

Annual Annual

6
Investment $

17,000

3,000
3,400

600
Labor Cost $
~

4,700

6,380
-4
Remarks

May expect
some d i f f i -
culty i n
drawer

7 22,000 4,400 4,166

Table VIII-1: Cost Comparison of Machine Alternatives

The obvious solution now becomes:

1. Eliminate the rip saw.
2. Install the variety saw.
3. Reserve space i n layout for s l a t bed machine b u t do not y e t
purchase.
In the discussion so f a r we have considered the problem of machine selection
f o r a new manufacturing p l a n t . Most machine selection problems do not occur
under these conditions. The common, everyday problem of choice of equipment
applies t o an existing plant w i t h a variety of machines present. In many
cases the solution i s more o r l e s s urgent and there would not even be time
enough t o acquire and i n s t a l l a new piece o f equipment.
The solutions then a r e limited by the equipment on hand. Just as i n the
case of the new plant, solutions for different machining problems are
interdependent because a machine can only be loaded a certain number o f
hours. As new machines become available, when the volume of work i n certain
categories grows the company will consider the installation of additional
equipment. Such an investment project requires, i n most cases, an analysis
of the return on investment o r payback period.
Whether the problem of machine selection applies t o an existing plant o r a
new one, the responsible engineer must have an up-to-date knowledge of wood-
working equipment.
 VI 11-5

In many plants the functions of product engineering and process engineering

are combined. In t h a t case the details of the furniture construction are
designed w i t h the available equipment i n mind. Whenever product and process
engineering are separate, the process engineer should always have an oppor-
t u n i ty t o make counter proposals f o r certain construction details.
Plants which do not have a healthy give and take relationship between these
two engineering functions spend a l o t of unnecessary money.
SEQUENCE OF MACHINES
The machining operations t h a t must be performed on a furniture part usually
have to go i n one particular sequence. There are occasional opportunities
t o switch the order o f two machines,but generally speaking,only one sequence
i s r i g h t f o r a certain problem. There are three considerations t h a t deter-
mine the sequence:
1. Reference Plane. Virtually every cut t h a t i s taken on a wooden
furniture part must be taken w i t h reference t o one or two planes.
In the rough end we already have encountered some examples. A
board i s faced t o give i t one f l a t plane. T h i s plane then
serves as a reference when i t passes through the planer. Another
example i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n Figure VIII-1.

Figure VI 11-1

The holes which are bored i n the drawer front must be positioned
w i t h reference t o edges of the front. Obviously the drawer front
must be molded and passed through the double end tenoner before
i t is possible t o do the boring. In the case of the drawer front
we have an option as f a r as the dovetailing i s concerned. This can
e i t h e r go before or a f t e r the boring.
2. Smoothness of Surface. The surface of many furniture parts must
be smooth. T h i s i s not always easy t o accomplish as several
machines tend t o mar the wood. The drawer front, for example,
might be marred i n the dovetailing machine. For that reason, the
sanding of the surface should come a f t e r the dovetailing. The
boring operation mentioned above may tear the surface a b i t ; t h i s
i s not objectionable since t h a t place will be covered by the hard-
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 V I 11-6

dent some surface where i t would show. For t h i s reason, sand-

i n g must come a f t e r boring. Generally speaking, sanding opera-
t i o n s always come l a s t , b u t t h e r e a r e exceptions.
3. Convenience i n Handling. There a r e a number o f occasions where
one sequence i s much e a s i e r than another. We may even v i o l a t e
t h e smoothness p r i n c i p l e i n order t o save time. A good example
i s given i n F i g u r e V I I I - 2 .

Figure V I I I - 2

The c h a i r l e g shown i n Figure V I I I - 2 has a square s e c t i o n and a

tapered, turned section. Sanding of f l a t surfaces can be done
b e s t on pass-through machines such as a wide b e l t sander. I t i s
obvious t h a t t h e c h a i r l e g w i l l t i p over i f we l a y i t on t h e bed
o f t h e machine. The o n l y way t h a t we can sand t h e square s e c t i o n
i s by p u t t i n g t h e l e g i n a box. The use o f boxes w i t h a wide
b e l t sander w i l l slow down production tremendously. A l l t h i s can
be avoided i f we sand t h e l e g s before t u r n i n g . I t i s t r u e t h a t a
f a i r amount o f surface i s sanded which w i l l be c u t away l a t e r , b u t
t h e convenience i s so g r e a t t h a t t h i s method i s p r e f e r r e d .

SEQUENCE OF PARTS

Another problem a l t o g e t h e r i s t h e sequence i n which p a r t s should go through

one p a r t i c u l a r machine. The most important c o n s i d e r a t i o n by f a r i s set-up
time. I n o r d e r t o keep set-up time as low as possible, we want t o schedule
p a r t s t h a t have t h e same s e t up n e x t t o one another. An example i s given
i n Figure VIII-3.

F i g u r e V I 11-3
 VIII-7

Figure VIII-3 shows the drawer fronts f o r a t r i p l e dresser. I t can be seen

readily that there are nine fronts i n four different sizes. Obviously the
four identical fronts marked #2 would be r u n together as one order. Another
t h i n g t h a t i s apparent is that there are two molder s e t ups and two tenoner
set ups. Through the molder we want t o run the fronts i n this sequence:
#1, #3, #2 and #4. Through the tenoner,the sequence i s #1, # 2 , #3 and #4.
When work is scheduled through the molder, we should not only consider the
drawer fronts of the t r i p l e dresser, b u t also those f o r other case pieces
t h a t may have the same design. The molder s e t up from scratch may take forty
minutes; a molder s e t u p w i t h only one dimension change (such as changing
from drawer s i z e #1 t o # 2 ) may take only ten minutes. A molder s e t up
changing only the length of the product may require f i v e minutes. Since the
difference i n set-up time is so great, proper scheduling i s very necessary.
A molder with a good schedule of work should produce about as much as two
machines w i t h random schedules.
The other sequence problem was an engineering problem. What sequence of
parts to run on a machine i s a production problem and i t i s the machine
room foreman who has responsi b i l i ty.
ROUTE SHEETS

While the selection of machining procedures i s an engineering problem, i t i s

often not an engineer b u t the machine room foreman who makes a l l these
decisions. In many plants, engineering functions are routinely carried out
by production personnel. I t should be recognized t h a t the machine room fore-
man i s the man w i t h the most practical experience,and often he knows better
how t o solve machining problems than anyone else. Nevertheless, selection
of machining procedures should n o t be l e f t as a problem for the machine room
foreman t o solve on the floor. I t may be i n order for h i m t o have the deciding
voice i n these matters, b u t the essential point i s that the machine selection
should precede the manufacturing process. Perhaps ( i f there i s no engineering
department) the machine room foreman and the production control man should
s i t together and go over the drawings and select the equipment on which t o do
the work.
The equipment selection should be recorded. Preferably t h i s record should
accompany each order going i n t o the plant. Many factories follow such pro-
cedure and use a route sheet. The route sheet always contains such informa-
t i o n as the name o r number o f the p a r t , the piece of furniture i t belongs
to, the rough dimensions and finished dimensions. The most important part
o f the route sheet is the lower part which l i s t s the operations in sequence.
In the example given i n Figure VIII-4, the machines are l i s t e d by code numbers
and the operation i s described i n two o r three words. In the Operations
columni we can also p u t such information as feed r a t e p tools and attachments
t o be used, etc. The sample route sheet also contains the set-up time and
process time per 100 pieces. Sometimes there i s a space on the route sheet
t o make a small drawing of the partsand often the time information i s l e f t
out.
 VIII-8

r
N. C. STATE UNIVERSITY
ROUTE SHEET
ARTICLE NUMBER PART NUMBER TNUMBER
- l PERy ARTICL
E
WANTED 402- 636 402-6536-/08
ARTICLES ARTICLE NAME PART NAME

n//@HTST4N0
- , I ' 1
ROUGH BLANKS MATERIAL ROUGH THICK. I
BFT./R. BLANK R. BLANKS/ARTICL
POPLLqR 4
c

FWlSH PARTS PARTS PER

ROUGH BLANK
/
ARTICLE
/
FINISH LENGTH FINE WIDTH FINISH THICK.
5-L- I
RBFTJPART

I OPERATION
NUMBER I STATION 1 DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION
FACE
PLY
~ ~~

CROSSBANDS BACK

P44AJE
I 3 13 RIP
1 4 1 6 WOULD
I 5 1 8

1 7 1

1 9 1

I l2 I

I l5 I

I 18 I I
I 19 I
20
I t
Figure VIII-4: Route Sheet
 VIII-9

The r o u t e sheet i s made on a p r i n t e d form. The p r i n t e d form i s f i l l e d o u t

w i t h t h e a p p r o p r i a t e i n f o r m a t i o n f o r t h e f u r n i t u r e p a r t , e i t h e r by t y p i n g
i t i n s i x copies o r by making one master copy f o r t h a t p a r t and using a
d u p l i c a t i n g machine f o r producing the copies needed f o r each c u t t i n g .
The o n l y t h i n g t h a t i s l e f t t o be done when a c u t t i n g goes i n t o t h e p l a n t
i s t o f i l l o u t t h e c u t t i n g number and t h e q u a n t i t y o f pieces ordered.
Sometimes a l a r g e order r e q u i r i n g more than one t r u c k load of m a t e r i a l
i s sent i n t o t h e machine room w i t h one r o u t e sheet per t r u c k . Perhaps
more common i s t o use one r o u t e sheet f o r t h e f i r s t t r u c k and a number
of f o l l o w e r t i c k e t s .

The standard time i n f o r m a t i o n i s n o t o n l y o f value i f t h e p l a n t i s o p e r a t i n g

on a piece-work system, b u t a l s o i n day-work s i t u a t i o n s . Knowing t h e time
an o p e r a t i o n should take, t h e foreman should be i n a b e t t e r p o s i t i o n t o
p l a n and schedule t h e work. The operator knows what i s expected o f him and
can p l a n h i s work accordingly.

The standard times are a l s o r e q u i r e d f o r t h e c a l c u l a t i o n o f machine load-

i n g and/or number o f machines required. This i s discussed i n more d e t a i l
i n Chapter I X .
Some companies l i s t t h e rough end operations on t h e r o u t e sheet preceding
t h e f i n i s h machining. There a r e some arguments f o r t h i s p r a c t i c e and
some against. Here we w i l l t r e a t t h e rough end p r i m a r i l y on a footage
b a s i s and t h e f i n i s h machining on a p i e c e basis. Under t h i s system, i t
i s more c o n s i s t e n t t o i n c l u d e o n l y f i n i s h machining on t h e r o u t e sheet.
The q u a n t i t y information may be used i n t h e rough end, b u t t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n
may be s u p p l i e d some o t h e r way.

PROCESS CHART

While t h e r o u t e sheet i s i d e a l t o t r a v e l w i t h t h e work l o a d i n t h e machine

room, one cannot take a q u i c k l o o k a t 38 r o u t e sheets. For some phases o f
engineering, p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r p l a n t l a y o u t work, i t i s advisable t o b r i n g
a l l i n f o r m a t i o n p e r t i n e n t t o the machining o f one p i e c e o f f u r n i t u r e t o -
gether on one sheet o r c h a r t . Figure V I I I - 5 shows such a ''process c h a r t ' '
f o r a c h a i r . Across t h e top, t h e b i l l o f m a t e r i a l s i s w r i t t e n w i t h t h e
rough dimensions of each p a r t . The rough dimensions are s l i g h t l y b e t t e r
f o r t h i s purpose than t h e f i n i s h e d dimensions and o b v i o u s l y i t i s n o t
p r a c t i c a l t o i n c l u d e both.

Note t h a t where a p a r t i s produced as a double l e n g t h blank, t h e rough

l e n g t h i s given as, f o r example i n t h e TOP BACK box, 9.
I n t h e same box
we f i n d t h e w i d t h a s % .
This means a 26" glued up panel w i l l be (band)
sawn i n t o 20 p a r t s . The thickness o f t h e TOP BACK i s g i v e n as (6/4 + 8/4).
This means, obviously, t h a t a 27" x 26" panel o f 6/4 i s glued onto a
27" x 26'' panel o f 8/4. Please note an important convention. The "width"
( h e i g h t ) o f t h e t o p back, as we o r d i n a r i l y t h i n k o f i t , i s s t a t e d as t h e
thickness, 6/4 + 8/4. The "thickness" o f t h e back i s s i m i l a r l y given as
t h e !~!idth. The con\tention i s tt!at We s t a t e t h a t t h e lumber t h i c k n e s s makes
the thickness o f t h e p a r t . Reversal o f w i d t h and thickness i s n o t p e r m i t t e d
i n t h e documentation.
 V I 1 1-1 0

N a t u r a l l y , if t h e c h a i r company acquired a steam bender, t h e dimensions

of t h e t o p back would probably be changed t o 14" x 3" x 4/4 t o be con-
s i s t e n t w i t h t h i s manufacturing method.

The machine o p e r a t i o n s a r e l i s t e d i n successive squares* r e a d i n g from

t o p t o bottom. The l o c a t i o n o f these squares i s designed t o f a c i l i t a t e
t h e adding o f t h e times on each h o r i z o n t a l l i n e . I t i s , o f course, n o t
p o s s i b l e t o l i s t a l l operations i n t h a t manner. For example, t h e WB
(wide b e l t ) SANDER i s used a t t h e end o f t h e sequence f o r BACK POSTS and
f o r r a i l s . For t h e FRONT POST t h e wide b e l t sander comes e a r l i e r . For
t h a t reason, t h i s WB SANDER e n t r y i s c i r c l e d ; t h i s shows an ''abnormal"
sequence and helps a v o i d e r r o r s i n a d d i t i o n . Even so, t h e process c h a r t
can be rearranged t o show both f r o n t p o s t and back p o s t WB sander e n t r i e s
on t h e same h o r i z o n t a l l i n e and the need f o r one c i r c l e would disappear.
On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e WB sander e n t r i e s f o r t h e TOP BACK and t h e CENTER
BACK have t o be a t a d i f f e r e n t place. Otherwise a whole h o s t o f c i r c l e s
w i l l appear elsewhere. However, i f i t was contemplated t o have one WB
sander t o be used f o r producing accurate t h i c k n e s s panels and another
f o r p o l i s h i n g operations, then t h e process c h a r t must show them as two
separate e n t r i e s , f o r example, WB TH and WB POL.

The process c h a r t i s a h e l p f u l t o o l i n p l a n t l a y o u t work. For example,

t h i s process c h a r t t e l l s us t h a t most machines can be arranged i n t h e
sequence corresponding t o t h e c h a r t . The WB sander may have t o occupy
a compromise l o c a t i o n .

The e n t r i e s i n t h e squares and c i r c l e s , S f o r set-uptime and P f o r process

time, a r e c o n v e n t i o n a l l y f o r one s e t up and process t i m e p e r hundred pieces
o f f u r n i t u r e . The process time P 0.27 f o r t h e g l u e r e e l i s 20 panels o f
29" x 30" x 6/4. These 20 panels y i e l d 200 back posts and so 100 c h a i r s .

The PLANER e n t r i e s f o r t h e back p o s t merely r e f l e c t t h a t t h e p l a n e r i s

s e t up f o r 1 3 / 8 1 1 , t h e panels a r e planed; then t h e s e t up i s changed t o
1 l/4"and t h e panels are planed on t h e o t h e r side. T h i s i s e x p l a i n e d by
2s and 2P. The e n t r y under B.POST BORE shows 2s and P. T h i s i s explained
by t h e separate s e t ups f o r r i g h t and l e f t back posts. As each back post
i s bored o n l y once, t h e P d e s i g n a t i o n c a r r i e s no m u l t i p l e .

The convention used here i s t h a t a process i s 2P i f t h e l o a d i s r u n through

t h e machine and then r u n again. I f on t h e o t h e r hand, t h e operator f i n i s h -
es t h e p a r t i n one handling, i t i s a s i n g l e P, even i f t h e p a r t was, f o r
example, bored a t both ends w i t h a s i n g l e spindle.

*Standard i n d u s t r i a l engineering p r a c t i c e i s t o use c i r c l e s f o r "operations",

squares f o r " i n s p e c t i o n " and t h r e e o t h e r symbols f o r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , delay -
and storage. I n a machine room, loads o f p a r t s a r e t r a n s p o r t e d from each ~

machine t o t h e next; almost always t h e r e i s a delay. One can see t h a t t h e

same process c h a r t would become t h r e e times as l o n g w i t h o u t g i v i n g any e x t r a -
i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t i s usable. The a u t h o r s ' preference f o r squares i s simply
because t h e most space i s a v a i l a b l e f o r w r i t i n g . .__
 VIII-12

SELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVE PIECES OF FURNITURE FOR CALCULATING PRODUCTION

REQUIREMENTS

Whenever a p i e c e o f f u r n i t u r e i s a c t u a l l y manufactured, i t w i l l always be

necessary t o s e l e c t t h e machining sequence f o r it. The question may a r i s e
whether i t i s a l s o necessary t o s e l e c t t h e machining sequence f o r every
p a r t o f every p i e c e o f f u r n i t u r e which we p l a n t o make i n a new p l a n t
t h a t we a r e designing.

This i s unnecessary and i t i s impossible. We g e n e r a l l y d o n ' t know y e t

what i s going t o be made. Management has some idea, b u t t h i s i s o f t e n l a c k i n g
i n d e t a i l s . Perhaps t h e planned p r o d u c t i o n f o r t h e new f a c i l i t y i s described
as :

"about 6.5 t o 7 m i l l i o n d o l l a r s worth o f merchandise per year,

m o s t l y bedroom f u r n i t u r e i n approximately t h e same p r i c e b r a c k e t
as we have been making i n our o l d p l a n t , perhaps upgrading a l i t t l e
and i n c r e a s i n g t h e percentage o f French P r o v i n c i a l s t y l e s . "

The engineer designing t h e new p l a n t now can analyze l a s t y e a r ' s p r o d u c t i o n

schedules o r l a s t y e a r ' s s a l e s records and g e t some idea as t o what t h e
f u t u r e p r o d u c t i o n m i x t u r e i s going t o be. I n s t e a d o f making process c h a r t s
f o r 237 d i f f e r e n t pieces o f f u r n i t u r e , he may w e l l s e l e c t a number o f repre-
s e n t a t i v e items. A l i s t o f s u i t a b l e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e items may read:

4/6 bed #lo1 (Danish)

3/3 bed #202 (French)
bunk bed #302 ( E a r l y American)
double dresser #722 (Spanish)

t
t r i p 1 e dresser #234 French)
c h e s t on c h e s t #442 I t a l i a n )
bachelor c h e s t #359 ( E a r l y American)
n i g h t t a b l e #266 (French)

These pieces represent a l l t h e types o f work t h a t have been done i n t h e o l d

p l a n t . The s e l e c t i o n of t h e items i s toward t h e "higher end o f t h e l i n e "
t o t a k e care o f t h e expected upgrading. Suppose t h a t t h e s a l e s r e c o r d o f
t h e t h i r d q u a r t e r o f l a s t year shows:

11,200 beds $ 349,100

6,400 dressers 459,800
7,300 chests 342,000
4,100 misc. items 92 3200
$1,243,100

I f we m u l t i p l y these q u a n t i t i e s by f i v e and a l l o w a 10% p r i c e increase f o r

upgrading, we have a volume o f :
 VIII-13

56,000 beds $1,920,000

32,000 dressers 2,529,000
36,500 chests 1,881,000
20,500 misc. items 507,000
$6,837,000

This corresponds we1 1 enough w i t h management's t a r g e t of 6.5 t o 7 m i l 1 i o n dol l a r s

annually. Now t h e j o b i s t o d i v i d e t h e 56,000 beds i n t o t h r e e groups (#101,
#202 and #302), a r r i v i n g a t a t o t a l sales f i q u r e o f about 1.9 m i l l i o n d o l l a r s ,
and t h e 32,000 dressers i n t o two groups adding up t o about 2.5 m i l l i o n , e t c .
We may w e l l end up adding o r s u b s t i t u t i n g one o f t h e items t o a r r i v e a t a
reasonable grouping.

When we have a t e n t a t i v e l i s t , such as the one on t h e previous page, b u t

w i t h q u a n t i t i e s , we may r u n a few checks such as:

1. C a l c u l a t e t h e lumber requirements and compare w i t h l a s t y e a r ' s

use.

2. Count t o t a l number o f drawers and compare w i t h l a s t y e a r ' s

production.

3. C a l c u l a t e percentage o f French, I t a l i a n , Danish, e t c . , and

compare w i t h l a s t y e a r ' s .

-When we a r e convinced t h a t our s e l e c t i o n s are reasonable, we should present

t h e l i s t t o management and say, "This is our i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f your
plans. Should we go ahead and design a p l a n t t o make t h i s ? "

When management agrees t o t h i s , i t i s safe t o go ahead. U n t i l such an

agreement on some l i s t has been obtained, t h e r e i s l i t t l e sense i n making
any process c h a r t s .

I t should be recognized t h a t t h e production f o r e c a s t i s n o t complete as l o n g

as c u t t i n g s i z e s a r e n o t determined. One c u t t i n g o f 18,000 bunk beds #302
i s n o t a good r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f 18,000 bunk beds i n 12 s t y l e s made i n 27
c u t t i n g s . But 30 c u t t i n g s o f 600 bunk beds #302 i s a f a i r representation.
Our goal i s t o g e t a reasonable approximation o f n o t o n l y t h e process time
i n v o l v e d i n t h e f u t u r e p l a n t , b u t a l s o t h e s e t up times. For c e r t a i n
machines such as t h e moulder and t h e tenoner, these may w e l l exceed t h e
process time.

When a l l o f t h e numbers have been worked and reworked and t h e j o b i s com-

plete, i t looks l i k e t h i s :
 VIII-14

Sty1e No. Cutting Quant ./

No. Description C u t t i ngs/ Y r . Site Yr.
21,000
17,000
302 bunk bed 30 6 00 18,000
722 double bed 24 500 12,000
234
442
t r i p l e dresser
chest on chest
50
29
400
500
20,000
14,500
89.95
64.95
1 1799,000
941,775
359 bachelor chest 55 400 22,000
266 n i g h t table 41 500 20,500
6833,750
Table VIII-2: Representative Items and Quantities for Cal cul a t i ng
Production Requirements for New Bedroom P1ant
 CHAPTER I X
MACH I N I NG RATES

INTRODUCTION
The choice of machining equipment for a particular operation depends
on the economics o f the possible alternates. I t i s , therefore, necessary
to o b t a i n cost figures for these alternates, and t h i s means that standard
times are needed. These times are also required f o r the calculation of
machine and d i r e c t labor requirements.
Whereas i t i s a relatively simple matter t o s e t approximate standards
for a rough mill on a ''per board foot" basis and f o r a plywood press
on a ''per square foot" basis, i n the finish machine room there may be 40
different types o f machines, some of them capable of d o i n g eight or ten
different types o f machining Operations. A simple answer that i s uni-
versal ly appl icable simply does not exist. I t i s necessary t o establ ish
standard times for every class o f operations on every machine.
Standard times may be obtained by d i r e c t time study or by the use o f
Some pre-determined times such as MTM. However, i t i s readily apparent
that there i s an enormous amount of work involved i n obtaining the nec-
essary data. A double dresser may contain 150 different machining oper-
ations. To take time studies of a l l of these operations could well be
impossible because the dresser may be produced only three times before
being discontinued. The 150 operations take place i n a short time span
and, say, two time study men could not cover more t h a n 120 in three
cuttings because they cannot study several operations a t one time. In
t h i s example, only p a r t of the standards would have been established by
the time the dresser was discontinued.
Furthermore, the standard times are required before regular production
i s started. When a company produces samples of a new design and contem-
plates showing these items a t a market, a reasonably accurate predicted
manufacturing cost i s required. Therefore, unless one i s willing t o
make decisions based on crude estimates, the standard times are required
before the piece of furniture i s ever produced.
Some method is needed which will allow the compilation of the standard
times based on the drawings and the chosen machining sequence. To use
one of the conventional predetermined time methods i s usually too i n -
Yoived a n d t i m e consuming. Because of t h e h i g h morinlSiji rate of I ur II I -
C**-a'

ture designs, i t i s j u s t too expensive.

 IX-2

However, i t i s o b v i o u s l y n o t necessary t o always s t a r t from scratch.

One drawer s i d e looks p r e t t y much l i k e any o t h e r . I n f a c t , many f u r n i -
t u r e designs c o n t a i n standard component p a r t s which a r e used over and over
again i n d i f f e r e n t designs. Other component p a r t s a r e so s i m i l a r t h a t a
minor adjustment o f t h e standard times o f one design w i l l r e s u l t i n a v a l i d
standard time f o r another. Some examples are c h a i r back posts, drawer f r o n t s
and m i r r o r frame p a r t s .

I t t u r n s o u t t h a t a very s u b s t a n t i a l number of operations can be categorized

and t a b l e s of standard times may be constructed. With such a s e t o f t a b l e s ,
i t i s simply a m a t t e r o f l o o k i n g up t h e times r e q u i r e d f o r a f u r n i t u r e item.
The s e t o f t a b l e s i s often r e f e r r e d t o as t h e "time standards," whereas,
t h e items looked up i n them are "standard times."

TO s e t up these time standards, one must have a number o f standard times

and knowledge o f t h e p a r t i c u l a r machine t o determine whether i n t e r p o l a t i o n
i s v a l i d . The p r i n c i p l e s i n v o l v e d i n s e t t i n g up time standards are simple
enough. One has t o recognize what i s t h e c r i t i c a l f e a t u r e o f t h e p a r t . I n
some operations t h e standard times are simply a l i n e a r f u n c t i o n o f one d i -
mension. I n o t h e r cases, they may depend on two dimensions and t h e degree
o f complexity. Four examples o f machines are discussed below i l l u s t r a t i n g
t h e mechanics o f s e t t i n g standards.

THE MOULDER

A moulder has feed r a t e s o f 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, 100 and 150 FPM. The
s e l e c t i o n of t h e feed speed determines t h e production r a t e . The choice i s
based on t h e species o f t h e lumber, t h e d e s i r e d surface q u a l i t y o f t h e p a r t ,
t h e type of c u t , e t c .

Say i t has been e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t an acceptable q u a l i t y i s obtained w i t h a

feed r a t e o f 100 FPM f o r hidden p a r t s and 75 FPM f o r exposed p a r t s . Does
t h i s mean t h a t we can d i v i d e t h e l e n g t h o f t h e product by t h e f e e d speed
and g e t our answer? Not q u i t e . When t h e moulder runs a t 100 FPM, one does
n o t g e t 100 f e e t o f product every minute. A moulder working on a narrow
moulding may s l i p from time t o time. The feed r o l l e r t u r n s b u t i t s l i d e s
over t h e product, which does n o t move. This may be a very s h o r t i n t e r r u p t i o n
o f no l o n g e r than one second, o r i t may be a case where t h e operator has t o
i n t e r v e n e t o c l e a r t h e stock. I n an extreme case, a piece o f s t o c k might
break and assume a p o s i t i o n which would block the p a t h o f pieces t o f o l l o w .
Now t h e o p e r a t o r has t o stop t h e machine and remove t h e broken piece before
t h e process can be resumed. We must a l l o w f o r these production i n t e r r u p t i o n s
by adding a process delay allowance t o t h e c a l c u l a t e d time. Since wide
stock w i l l n o t s l i p much and seldom breaks, a 5% process delay allowance
proves t o be s u f f i c i e n t . For stock l e s s than 1 " wide, a 10% allowance i s
more r e a l i s t i c . This means t h e r e a r e four moulder production r a t e s :

Stock l e s s than 1 " wide, exposed: m

100
x 75 = 68.2 FPM
 IX-3

Stock 1 " and wider, exposed: 100

-
105 x 75 = 71.4 FPM

Stock l e s s than 1" wide, hidden: loo x 100 = 90.9 FPM

Stock 1 I' and wider, hidden : loo x

1D5 100 = 95.2 FPM

One may ask whether thickness and length have any influence on the r a t e .
Very t h i n stock requires special equipment. All normal furniture stock
f a l l s w i t h i n the rough thickness range of 5/8 t o 8/4, and we can safely
assume t h a t there will be no change i n feed r a t e due t o variations i n
thickness. A moulder will not process stock t h a t i s real short, such
as six inches. Each model has i t s own minimum length of stock t h a t can
be processed. As long a s the stock i s long enough, we may assume t h a t
length has no significant influence on the production r a t e , provided
the operator can keep the hopper f i l l e d .
I t is a simple task t o make up a table of moulder production r a t e s
s t a r t i n g w i t h the four r a t e s i n FPM. Suppose we calculate the production
r a t e f o r a hidden part 1 3 / 4 " wide, 16" long. We normally calculate such
a r a t e per hundred pieces and express the time i n hours.
100 PCS. x 16/12 F t .
Production rate = 95.2 FPM/min. x 60 m i n . / h r . = 0.0234 hrs ./lo0
The same calculation can be made f o r any number of lengths. An easy way
t o obtain a large number of values i s t o calculate the production r a t e
f o r a piece t h a t i s 1" long. Obviously there i s no such piece, b u t i t
simplifies our subsequent calculations. For a wide hidden part 1 " long:
100 PCS. x 1/12 F t . = 0.00146 hrs./lOO
Production rate = 95.2 FPM/min. x 60 m i n . / h r .
We can now multiply this figure w i t h the various lengths we want t o p u t
i n our table. For a piece 16" long:
Production r a t e = 16 x 0.00146 = 0.0234 hrs./100
The end r e s u l t of a s e r i e s of such calculations i s given i n Table IX-1.
The times i n Table IX-1 a r e inclusive of the allowances f o r mishaps i n the
process ; they do not i ncl ude personal a1 lowances.
Set-up times and the proper use of allowances i n process calculations a r e
discussed on page IX-14.
 IX-4

6" MOULDER

Length Hidden P a r t s Exposed P a r t s

i n Inches
Width < 1 " Width > 1 " Width < 1 " Width > 1"
12 .019 .018 .024 ,023
14 .022 .021 .028 .027
16 .025 .024 .032 .031
18 ,028 .027 .036 .035
20 .031 .029 .041 ,039

22 .034 .032 .045 .043

24 .037 .035 .049 .047
26 .040 .038 .053 .051
28 ,043 .041 .057 .055
30 .046 .044 .061 .059

32 ,049 .047 .065 .062

34 .052 .050 .069 .066
36 .055 .053 .073 .070
38 .058 .056 .077 .074
40 .061 ,059 .082 .078

42 .065 .a63 .086 .082

48 .074 .070 .098 .093
54 .083 ,079 .110 .105
60 .092 .088 .122 .116
66 .lo1 ,097 .135 .129

Intermediate lengths should be rounded o f f t o the n e a r e s t even numbers

o f inches. When many lengths over 42" o c c u r , i t i s better t o inter-
p o l a t e than t o round o f f these values.
Table IX-1: Processing Times i n Hours Per 100 Pieces
 IX-5

THE BAND SAW

Next l e t us l o o k a t a t o t a l l y d i f f e r e n t type o f machine, t h e band saw.
The band saw does n o t have a mechanized feed system.* This means t h a t
we cannot use t h e same approach t h a t we used w i t h t h e moulder. For
moulder work, we d i v i d e d t h e l e n g t h by t h e a c t u a l feed r a t e and ob-
t a i n e d t h e o p e r a t i o n time. For t h e band saw, t h e r e i s no constant feed
r a t e . The r a t e o f feed w i l l vary w i t h t h e l o c a t i o n o f t h e sawblade i n t h e
piece. For instance, take t h e p a r t shown i n F i g u r e IX-1.

Figure IX-1

The band sawyer can develop a q u i t e reasonable speed between A and 8,

b u t then he must slow down t o come t o a complete stop a t C. Obviously,
t h e speed i s v a r i a b l e .

A f u r t h e r v a r i a t i o n occurs between one p i e c e and another. Whereas t h e

moulder w i l l c u t t h r e e parts,each i n e x a c t l y 2.48 seconds, t h e band sawyer
may use 14.5, 18.2 and 15.9 seconds r e s p e c t i v e l y .

A p r a c t i c a l approach t o e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e production r a t e o f band saw

work i s t o t a k e time s t u d i e s o f t h e work. I t i s n o t necessary t o take a
time study o f each i n d i v i d u a l p i e c e t h a t has t o be band sawn. I f we have
taken time s t u d i e s on p a r t # l o 1 and #lo2 o f F i g u r e I X - 2 , we need n o t t a k e
a time study on p a r t #103.

101

F i g u r e IX-2

*It i s p o s s i b l e t o i n s t a l l a mechanical feed on t h e band saw, b u t few

band saws a r e equipped t h a t way.
 IX-6

I f i t takes 14.5 seconds t o band saw p a r t #lo1 and 12.5 seconds t o band
saw p a r t #102, i t seems a s a f e conclusion t h a t we need 13.5 seconds f o r
p a r t #103. But what i f t h e r e i s no such s i m i l a r i t y i n design? Consider
p a r t s #201, #302 and #403 shown i n F i g u r e IX-3.

F i g u r e IX-3

I f We know t h a t p a r t #201 r e q u i r e s 18.0 seconds and p a r t #302 r e q u i r e s

29.5 seconds, t h e r e i s no way o f determining t h e p r o d u c t i o n t i m e r e q u i r e d
f o r p a r t #403. A l l t h r e e a r e o f a d i f f e r e n t category. We have t o estab-
l i s h a range o f p r o d u c t i o n times (such as we had f o r p a r t s #101, #lo2 and
# l o 3 f o r each category o f band saw work. T h i s w i l l i n v o l v e probably a t
l e a s t t h i r t y d i f f e r e n t time s t u d i e s and p o s s i b l y more.

For example, t h e standards may be d i v i d e d i n t o t h r e e broad categories:

1. Panel band sawing
2. Rectangular s i n g l e p a r t band sawing
3. Complex band sawing.

In each o f these categories, we w i l l s e t up groups o f s i m i l a r d i f f i c u l t y .

The f i n a l r e s u l t o f such grouping w i l l g i v e a s e t o f t a b l e s - - IX-2, 3 and
4.
 IX-7

Length
Inches

12 .15 .24 .30

18 .19 .31 .39
24 .23 .38 .48
30 .27 .45 .57
36 .31 .52 .66
42 .35 .58 .75

Production times i n hours per 100 pieces.

Times are for 4/4 lumber. For 5/4 and 6/4 lumber, add 50%. For 8/4
lumber and thicker, add 150%.
Times are based on parts 2 - 4" wide cut from panels wider than
24". For parts narrower than 2 " , subtract 5%. For parts wider
than 4", add 5%. For panels less than 24" wide, add 5%.
Table IX-2: Panel Band Sawing
The large difference i n times for band sawing panels of different thicknesses
is explained by the fact that of 4/4 lumber we nail three panels together
and band saw these as one u n i t ; of 6/4 lumber, we nail two panels together;
and of the heavy panels, we band saw only single panels.
To a l l band saw times we have t o add the marking time. If the band sawyer
does his own marking, this time should be added t o the machine time. If
someone else i s doing the markjng for h i m , we have t o add the labor b u t
i t does not affect the machine time. Marking time, including nailing t o -
gether of panels, m i g h t average 50% of the actual sawing time. In some
p l a n t s , one marker marks a l l stock for two band sawyers.
 IX-8

iiE
Length
Inches

12 .29 .37 .45 .60

18 .37 .45 .54 .69
24 .45 .53 .63 .78
30 .53 .61 .72 .87
36 .61 .69 .81 .96
42 .69 .77 .90 1.05

Production times in hours per 100 pieces.

Times are for 4/4 lumber.
For 5/4 and 6/4, add 5%; for 8/4 lumber, add 10%.
Times are based on parts less than 3" wide. For parts wider
t h a n 3", add 5%.
I f a part i s t o be band sawn on b o t h sides, take the full time
for the most d i f f i c u l t side and half the time for the easier
side.
Table IX-3: Rectangular Single Part Band Sawing

T H E PLANER
The striking difference between the production rate basis for the moulder
and the band saw is t h a t a t the moulder, i t i s the machine t h a t determines
the rate and a t the band saw, the operator controls the r a t e . In some
machines we find both of these situations. When planing wide panels,
the planer feed rate is the limiting factor. When planing narrow s t r i p s
o f wood: the planero w i l l take them f a s t e r than one man can feed them.
Therefore, the operator i s the limiting factor.
 IX-9

12 .32 .50 .36 .60

18 .37 .60 .42 .71

24 .42 70 .48 .82

30 .47 .80 .54 .93

36 .52 .90 .60 1.04
42 .57 1 .oo .66 1.15

Production times i n hours per 100 pieces.

Times are based on thicknesses shown i n sketches.
For considerable differences, add or subtract up t o 10%
f o r parts t h a t are more or less d i f f i c u l t than sample
shown , respectively.
I f part is t o be band sawn on both sides, take the f u l l
time f o r the most d i f f i c u l t side plus half the time for the
easier s i de.
Table IX-4: Complex Band Sawing

If we s e t up a table i n the usual way, we f i n d t h a t the l e f t side

represents the maximum operator capacity and the r i g h t side represents
the maximum machine capacity. Figure IX-4 shows this.
 IX-10

LENGTH WIDTH
Narrow Wide

Short 0per a t o r s man u a 1 1 I

1imi t
Long

Figure IX-4: Standard Time Chart f o r Planer

THE LATHE
In a l l types of equipment covered so f a r i n this chapter, there was a
clear relationship between l e n g t h of the piece and the time needed for
the operation. While this i s a frequently occurring relationship i n
woodworking equipment, i t does not always apply.
For the t u r n i n g lathe, the length of the turning has no influence what-
soever on the production r a t e except when a very long t u r n i n g , such as a
s i x foot bed post,is turned i n two passes w i t h each pass t u r n i n g about
h a l f the length of the product. The time depends on the diameter and
the species of the t u r n i n g and on the d e p t h of cut. The interpretation
of the terms diameter and depth o f cut can be seen i n Figure IX-5.
 IX-1 1

Depth of cut

#501
Diameter

#601 Y Diameter
i-

Turning #501 has a diameter of 1 5/8" and a depth of cut of 1.05".

T u r n i n g #601 has a diameter o f l3/16I1 and a depth of cut o f 0.57".
Turning #611 is identical t o t u r n i n g #601, b u t being made from
round stock, the depth o f cut i s only 0.37".
This explains why some factories run t h e i r t u r n i n g stock through
a dowel machine before t u r n i n g . This sometimes will increase the
lathe capacity 25 t o 50%.
Figure IX-5: Diameter and Depth of C u t
 IX-12

- .

Diameter -t < 1" 2" - 3"

Depth of
cut
0 - .25 .50 .62 .75
.26 - .50 .57 .70 .e5
.51 - .75 .64 .78 .95
.76 - 1.0 .71 .86 1.05
> 1.0 --- 94 1 .15

Production times i n hours per 100 pieces.

Times are based on hard maple. For species t h a t have tendency
t o ''tear out," add 10%.
Table IX-5: T u r n i n g Lathe

For other machines, mostly the same principles apply. A modern approach is
t o make a series of time studies on one machine f o r similar operations and
then feed the results plus the dimensions i n t o a computer. The computer i s
programmed t o do a regression analysis and derives the "best f i t " equation;
f o r example, t = 0.014 L2 + 0.039 L - 0.008 W + 0.3 T. Standard times can
be calculated by the same computer. The risk in t h i s method is t h a t the
best f i t equation assumes one continuous function when i n f a c t , a step
function may be more appropriate.
COMPLEXITY AND ACCURACY OF A SET OF STANDARDS
The f o u r examples cited i n t h i s chapter give the impression t h a t the setting
of time standards i s not such a b i g undertaking a f t e r a l l . This i s not so.
First, the preceding examples have been simplified somewhat, mainly t o show
the general principle without getting bogged down i n l o t s of details. For
example, one set of moulder standards which were used industrially contained
i n excess of 15 densely printed pages.

A two plant company making d i n i n g room and bedroom furniture decided t h a t

an incentive system was needed. E i g h t engineers and time study men worked
f o r two years t o p u t every operation on piecework. Afterwards i t took three
men t o maintain the system.
 IX-13

I t is of great importance t h a t piecework rates i n a machine room a r e

accurate. If a man works 25% harder than the man next t o h i m and takes
home a smaller paycheck, he is unhappy. He will concentrate his e f f o r t s
on beating (cheating?) the system and/or on promulgating discontent. There-
fore, piecework standards take a l o t of careful e f f o r t t o p u t together.
If the standards are used f o r calculating predicted cost of manufacturing,
individual standards may be off + 25% and the calculated cost can s t i l l
be w i t h i n -
+ 2% as long as there 7s no bias i n the standards.
Bias means t h a t the standards generally deviate on the h i g h o r on the low
side. If bias i s absent, the average o f a l l standards i s correct. I f a
cost C was made up of 10 equal cost increments, C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , ------- 3 C l O
and each o f these had an associated e r r o r , 1, 2 , e t c . , o f -
+ 25%, then
the sum C would have an error equal t o

C 12 + ,22 + ----- + IO2.

Since ci = 2 Ci x 0.25,

C = f C 1 2 x (0.25)2 + C22 x (0.25)2 + ------- + C l o 2 x (0.25)2

and inasmuch as
c = c1 + c2 + ------- + ClO

Therefore,

C = 0.25 x ~x 0
($2

= 0.25 x C x vl/lO .
-
Similarly i f C i s made up of 150 equal components, the error i n C , E ~ is
, found
t o be ~

= 0.25 x C x v 1 / 1 5 0 . ~
 IX-14

(This r e l a t i o n s h i p holds o n l y i f a l l c o s t components a r e equal which, o f

course, they a r e n o t . S t i l l as l o n g as we d o n ' t make bad e r r o r s i n
dominant components o f t h e cost, t h e e r r o r s tend t o cancel o u t . )

SET-UP TIMES

The t o t a l time i t takes t o complete a c e r t a i n j o b o r d e r a l s o includes

time t o s e t up t h e machine before p a r t s are run. During t h i s time, t h e
machine and t h e operator a r e n o t producing any p a r t s . How does one es-
t a b l i s h a set-up time? I n t h e f i r s t place, i t should be mentioned t h a t
the set-up time cannot be expressed i n time p e r piece o r p e r 100 pieces
With one s e t up one can c u t f i v e p a r t s , o r 50, o r 5,000; t h e o n l y l i m i t
i s t h e d u l l i n g o f t h e c u t t i n g t o o l . Since i t i s n o t known i n advance
how many pieces a r e produced, a constant time value p e r o r d e r must be
used regardless o f t h e s i z e o f t h e order.

Set-up times vary f o r d i f f e r e n t machines. I t i s obvious t h a t i t takes

considerably l o n g e r t o s e t up a double end tenoner than a band saw.
Set-up times a r e a f f e c t e d by t h e type o f p a r t t o be run. The moulder can
be s e t up f o r a r e c t a n g u l a r r a i l i n a f r a c t i o n o f t h e t i m e t h a t would be
needed t o s e t up t h e same moulder f o r a piece o f complex m i r r o r frame
stock. Set-up times vary according t o what t h e machine has been s e t up
f o r p r e v i o u s l y . To change t h e s e t up o f t h e moulder from one s i z e drawer
s i d e t o another, r e q u i r e s o n l y a minor adjustment. However, i f we change
f r o m t h e m i r r o r frame stock t o a drawer side, we may have t o change every
cutterhead. It i s t h i s l a s t category o f v a r i a t i o n s t h a t i s t h e hardest
t o p r e d i c t . I n f a c t , i t i s so d i f f i c u l t t o p r e d i c t t h a t we are o f t e n
f o r c e d t o more o r l e s s i g n o r e i t .

Set-up times a r e never zero. Even i f a band saw r e q u i r e s no mechnical

adjustment, t h e o p e r a t o r has t o read t h e t i c k e t ; he has t o v e r i f y t h a t
the stock i s r i g h t ; he has t o p o s i t i o n t h e load; perhaps he has t o i n s p e c t
o r submit f o r i n s p e c t i o n t h e f i r s t few p a r t s machined.

ALLOWANCES

An o p e r a t o r ' s output i s v a r i a b l e and f r e q u e n t l y i t w i l l drop t o zero f o r

a s h o r t i n t e r v a l . The foreman may g i v e him some i n s t r u c t i o n s o r t h e
machine may need s e r v i c e o f some kind.

There i s another category, personal delays, t h a t must be taken i n t o account.

Fatigue i s i n v o l v e d here among o t h e r things. For these delays, a reasonable
allowance i s made depending on the demands o f t h e job.

The times l i s t e d i n t h e t a b l e s o f t h i s chapter a r e times which represent

constant, u n i n t e r r u p t e d work a t a ''normal " work pace.

I n o r d e r t o o b t a i n r e a l i s t i c p r o d u c t i o n times, we add a percentage f o r

personal allowances and unavoidable delays. For an easy j o b , such as t h e
~ a u l d e rwhere 2 ma:: has sofie o p p o r t u n i t y to r e s t ihS:e h i s iiiachifne con-
t i n u e s t o produce, 10 t o 14% w i l l be enough. For o t h e r types o f machines,
15 t o 20% may be a p p r o p r i a t e .
 IX-15

I t i s obvious t h a t one can include the allowances i n the tables o r add

them t o the individual times t h a t are taken from ''normal" tables. Another
system i s t o add a l l normal times together for a certain amount of pro-
duction and then add the allowance t o the t o t a l .
In some factories, the output per worker i s significantly l e s s than optimal.
Scheduling e r r o r s , lax supervision or sometimes simply habit can cause the
output t o be, f o r example, 75% of "normal" standard. Or said another way,
the production times are 133%of the "normal." In planning f a c i l i t i e s for
a company l i k e t h a t , i t may be prudent t o assume a more generous allowance
than 15 t o 20% f o r the purpose of capacity calculations.
PRODUCTION CAPACITY -- UTILIZATION OF MACHINES
I f a factory works a 40-hour week and has 11 days off each year, i t will
work 2,000 hours per year. I t looks l i k e one can d i v i d e 2,000 into the
total number of band saw hours (including 20% allowance) and f i n d the number
of band saws required. This procedure i s incorrect.
As we have seen i n Chapter VIII, i t i s necessary t o schedule a l o t of
machining work i n a certain sequence i n order t o avoid duplicating set ups.
This means that the band saw work does not become available a t a constant
rate. On Monday, 20 hours o f band saw work may become available; on Tuesday,
12 hours and on Wednesday, none a t a l l . Perhaps on Thursday, we will get
26 hours. I f we allow plenty of time f o r completion, we can balance t h i s
s o r t of variation by maintaining a certain amount as a buffer inventory.
Another consideration i s the variation i n the product styles. One suite
of furniture may require no band sawing a t a l l and another, a l o t of i t .
Since the demand of one s u i t e may suddenly exceed t h a t of another, we can-
not anticipate a steady amount of band saw work.
The suggested method of incorporating this variability is t o base the cal-
culations on a lower number of working hours f o r a particular machine.
For instance, one can use a factor of 60% utilization of I'variable" machines
and 80% u t i l i z a t i o n of ''steady" machines. This gives an annual capacity
of 1,200 hours and 1,600 hours, respectively. In other words , one assumes
that:
1. Machines t h a t are used steadily, such as moulders, tenoners and
dovetailers, will work up t o 1,600 hours out of each 2,000
hour year.
2. Machines t h a t are used i n varying degrees, such as band saws
and routers, wil I work up t o 1,200 hours out of each 2,000
hour year.
These assumptions should be based on experience w i t h various categories
of equipment. Some plants use time clocks on the machines t o obtain
accurate information.
It goes w i t h o u t saying t h a t working i n two s h i f t s w i l l g i v e d i f f e r e n t
f i g u r e s , u s u a l l y 1.6 t o 1.8 times those o f a one s h i f t operation.

DIRECT LABOR CALCULATIONS

The time values t h a t are obtained f o r t h e annual machine hours a r e i d e n t i c a l

t o t h e d i r e c t man hours i n v o l v e d i f t h e machine is operated by one man and
he i s responsible f o r t h e s e t up. For some c a t e g o r i e s o f machines such as
a double end tenoner, we must m u l t i p l y t h e machine hours by two t o o b t a i n
t h e d i r e c t l a b o r figure. I f s p e c i a l machine s e t t e r s ( c l a s s i f i e d as i n d i r e c t
l a b o r ) a r e employed, t h e set-up time has t o be excluded from t h e machine
hours t o o b t a i n d i r e c t l a b o r .
 CHAPTER X

PRODUCTION CONTROL

I NTRODUCTI ON

While i t i s n o t w i t h i n t h e scope o f t h i s book t o g i v e a thorough coverage

o f p r o d u c t i o n c o n t r o l , i t i s proper t o i n t r o d u c e t h e s u b j e c t a t t h i s
p o i n t . When a f a c t o r y i s equipped w i t h t h e necessary machinery t o produce
a c e r t a i n volume o f f u r n i t u r e and t h e necessary raw m a t e r i a l s a r e made
a v a i l a b l e , we a r e s t i l l a l o n g way from producing t h i s f u r n i t u r e . A
f a c t o r y does n o t r u n i t s e l f , and t h e more d i v e r s e and complex t h e product
mix, t h e more m a n i p u l a t i o n r e q u i r e d by t h e management t o make i t go. I n
a f u r n i t u r e f a c t o r y , t h e f o c a l p o i n t o f t h i s management e f f o r t l i e s a t
t h e p a r t s storage o r p a r t s accumulation area. Here t h e rhythm o f t h e
manufacturing process changes from a "batch" process t o an "assembly l i n e "
process. The two a r e as d i f f e r e n t as day and n i g h t .

PURPOSE

The d e s i r e o f p r o d u c t i o n c o n t r o l i s t o :

1. S a t i s f y customer demands as q u i c k l y as p o s s i b l e .
2. Operate t h e f a c t o r y a t t h e lowest p o s s i b l e c o s t ; i n o t h e r
words, produce as much as p o s s i b l e p e r man hour.
3. Perform these f u n c t i o n s a t t h e lowest p o s s i b l e investment
i n inventories.

A q u i c k i n s p e c t i o n o f these d e s i r e s w i l l show t h a t they a r e c o n t r a d i c t o r y

t o one another. To s a t i s f y customer demands, we must m a i n t a i n i n v e n t o r i e s
o f a l l o u r pieces o f f u r n i t u r e . To r e p l e n i s h these i n v e n t o r i e s , we must
make frequent (and t h e r e f o r e s h o r t ) p r o d u c t i o n runs o f most items o r e l s e
m a i n t a i n hugh i n v e n t o r y l e v e l s . E f f i c i e n t p r o d u c t i o n r e q u i r e s l o n g runs.
Low investment l e v e l s r e q u i r e small i n v e n t o r i e s .

The f u n c t i o n o f p r o d u c t i o n c o n t r o l i s t o devise a p l a n t h a t i s a s u i t a b l e
compromise between t h e t h r e e d e s i r e s and then make t h e f a c t o r y conform t o
t h a t plan.

One should r e a l i z e t h a t i n p r o d u c t i o n c o n t r o l time equals money and t h a t

p a r t o f t h e scheme i s t o speed t h i n g s up. The assembly o f f u r n i t u r e from
vu1 i s 5 quick p r ~ c e s s . I t lends i t s e l f f , ~c=nveyorizat-~n, and t h e
n > W +l.2
c

assembly and f i n i s h i n g process can o f t e n be accomplished i n l e s s than a

day. On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e manufacturing o f p a r t s from lumber o r o t h e r
raw m a t e r i a l may t a k e as l o n g as s i x weeks. During t h i s time, m a t e r i a l s
 x-2

are committed, work i s performed and no customer demands can be s a t i s f i e d

u n t i l the furniture i s assembled and finished.

PRO DUCT1ON CONTROL FUNCTIONS

To understand production control better, we can divide the subject i n t o
separate b u t interrelated functions. These functions are:
I. Sales Forecasting
I I. Inventory Control
111. Production Planning and Scheduling
IV. Production Expediting.
All of these functions are carried o u t under a common production strategy.
Production Strategy
The management has t o make a decision about what k i n d o f company they want t o
run. A famous example was Henry Ford's decision t h a t the customer could have
any color car as long as i t was black. Another i s t h a t o f a small company
making only one s u i t e o f low-priced Early American bedroom furniture. An order
received before 10 a.m. was delivered ( i n an area covering parts o f five s t a t e s )
the next day. A f a i r l y common decision i s t h a t o f making t o order only. (The
vast majority o f the upholstering industry operates t h a t way.) This means the
customer will always have t o wait.
One t h i n g which cannot be done successfully i s t o change from one strategy t o
another every three months. All furniture manufacturers sell to many r e t a i l
stores. As long as these r e t a i l e r s get what they expect, they will tend t o come
back w i t h another order. A company strategy i s needed. One strategy is not
necessarily better than another, b u t f o r a company w i t h given t a l e n t s , equipment
and resources, one strategy may work better t h a n another.
The decisions t h a t are part of this strategy are:
1. Length o f the l i n e
How many suites?
How many pieces?
How many finishes?
How many covers (upholstery)?
2. Del ivery promise and fraction kept
3. Finished goods inventory level
4. C u t t i n g cycle.
(Note: As will be shown, only three o f these four factors may be chosen
independent1 y. )
 x-3

The Length o f the Line

Length o f the l i n e i s a very major decision. Nevertheless, the actual number
i s often the result o f many individual decisions t o add t o the l i n e and not a
policy decision on the whole issue. Good reasons for a short l i n e are:
relatively h i g h cutttng sizes w i t h short cycles, resulting i n low
manufacturing cost and low inventory cost; concentration on a short
l i n e may prove effective i n sales; and fewer suppliers are needed
f o r hardware, finishes, etc.
In s p i t e of the advantages a we may decide t o have a 1 onger 1 ine because of:
saturation of the market i n the present line; a policy t o be the
principal o r only source o f bedroom ( d i n i n g room, upholstered)
furniture t o our r e t a i l e r s ; sometimes the need t o furnish several
r e t a i l e r s i n one town w i t h different suites.
Delivery Promise and Fraction Kept
While i n times o f good business backlogs may be mounting and customers will
have t o wait longer, there will have t o be some s o r t of policy f o r "normal"
times; f o r example, four weeks a f t e r receipt o f an order w i t h 90% of promises
kept. Naturally a h i g h percentage (99%) o f promises kept will require more
safety stock i n inventory and will i n f a c t result i n 90% being delivered much
e a r l i e r . Ninety percent adherance should be enough t o gain c r e d i b i l i t y ,
especial l y i f f a i l u r e s t o del iver are explained t o the customers.

C u t t i n g Cycle* and Finished Goods Inventory Level

Once a decision has been made t o have a l i n e o f 200 items which are to be
delivered i n four weeks w i t h 95% performance3 the remaining factors a r e com-
pletely dependent on each other. Our objective might be reached by any o f the
following combinations.
Finished Goods Inventory
($1
3 0
4 30,000
6 120,000
8 250,000
10 450,000
12 750,000
Decisions are based on company financial resources and economic l o t sizes.

*
Please note that cutting cycle and cutting size are related by ....
Cutting size = Rate of Production = Rate of Sales.
C u t t i n g cycle
 x-4

Sal es F o r e c a s t i n g

I f o u r c u t t i n g c y c l e i s 10 weeks and o u r d e l i v e r y promise i s four weeks and

i f furthermore i t takes o u r f a c t o r y s i x weeks t o produce a c u t t i n g , we must
l o o k some 10 f 6 + 1 - 4 o r 1 3 weeks i n t o t h e f u t u r e * a t t h e t i m e we decide on
t h e c u t t i n g s i z e . We would know what o u r sales w i l l be f o r these 13 weeks.

U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h i s i s n o t possible. The f u t u r e buying behavior o f o u r

customers i s n o t p r e c i s e l y p r e d i c t a b l e . However, we can and do make p r o j e c t i o n s
based on p a s t experience, and we can add a c e r t a i n percentage f o r e r r o r i n o u r
forecast. I n t h e example a t t h e bottom o f t h i s page, we have an i t e m i n stock
seven weeks and then we a r e o u t o f stock f o r t h r e e weeks on t h e average. If
sales are slower than expected, we w i l l be i n s t o c k perhaps e i g h t o r n i n e weeks.
We s t a r t breaking d e l i v e r y promises o n l y where sales exceed o u r f o r e c a s t and
then o n l y f o r t h e f i r s t batch o f orders d u r i n g t h e s t o c k o u t period. This w i l l
be o n l y a small percentage o f a l l orders received. Howevers t h e r e i s one
major problem and t h a t i s a d e a l e r may o r d e r t e n d i f f e r e n t items a t one time.
I f we a n t i c i p a t e b e i n g o u t of stock f o r t h r e e weeks a f t e r r e c e i p t of o r d e r
o n l y 5% o f t h e t i m e f o r each item, t h e p r o b a b i l i t y t h a t we have a l l a v a i l a b l e
w i t h i n t h r e e weeks i s (0.95)lO = 0.599.

L e t i t s u f f i c e t o say t h a t we need t h e best p o s s i b l e f o r e c a s t (which i s never

very good r e a l l y ) t o g a i n t h e confidence o f our r e t a i l e r s . The p r a c t i c e o f
o r d e r i n g c u t t i n g s i n round numbers o f 500 and 1000 i s more c o s t l y than most
people r e a l i z e . F i g u r e X-1 on page X-8 i s an example o f a c u t t i n g released
by t h e Sales Department.

Production Planning and Scheduling

To d e f i n e p r o d u c t i o n planning, i t i s e a s i e s t t o begin by e x p l a i n i n g p r o d u c t i o n
scheduling. I f i t takes s i x weeks from t h e c u t - o f f saw t o t h e packing depart-
ment, then we c l e a r l y need a f i r m p r o d u c t i o n schedule o f s i x weeks i n l e n g t h .
The head o f t h a t schedule i s i n t h e f i n i s h i n g room w h i l e t h e t a i l i s j u s t
about t o e n t e r t h e rough m i l l , As soon as a d a y ' s work has been f i n i s h e d ,
another d a y ' s work must be added. ( I t i s more conventional t o add a week
a t a time.) Such a schedule d o e s n ' t do much good f o r t h e k i l n operator.
He needs t o know when we w i l l c u t t h e c h e r r y s u i t e so as t o g e t ready f o r i t .
Likewise, t h e purchasing agent may have t o cope w i t h d e l i v e r y times o f e i g h t
t o 12 weeks on c e r t a i n items.

*
Example:
S i z e o f c u t t i n g 11 decided Week 20
C u t t i n g 11 produced Week 26 ( 6 weeks a f t e r o r d e r r e l e a s e ) -
C u t t i n g 11 ready f o r shipment Week 27 ( a l l 1 week f o r scheduling and
1oading t r u c k s ) ~

C u t t i n g 12 ready f o r shipment Week 37 (10 weeks l a t e r than previous c u t t i n g )

C u t t i n g 11 must l a s t f o r orders ~

received t k i r o ~ ~ g h Week 32 (!b!e can be g u t for 4 weeks and keep

our p romi ses ) __
Week 33 - Week 20 = 13 weeks.
 x-5

Therefore, the schedule must be longer than the six weeks mentioned before.
A practical schedule m i g h t be six weeks firm plus three weeks relatively
firm plus three weeks tentative. (Many plants work on the basis of one month
i n each o f these categories. )
Clearly t h i s will be f i n e f o r the factory where t h i n g s stay more or l e s s the
same. B u t what about change from mostly poplar and gum to mostly oak? Do
we need another dry k i l n ? When do we plan t o b u i l d the new dimension plant,
o r when do we purchase an automatic chair seat boring machine? To make
i n t e l l i g e n t decisions, we must have a p l a n t h a t extends over a period o f years.
If the heavy use of oak i s temporary, we are better off to buy i t kiln-dried.
A factory needs t o p l a n ahead f o r one t o three years for these kinds of
decisions. Then we make u p our schedule w i t h i n the context of the plan.
There i s n o t h i n g wrong w i t h revising the p l a n frequently, b u t i t i s wrong
not t o have one.
The production schedule, as indicated above, i s a dynamic a f f a i r ; i t grows
a t the t a i l end a s i t i s finished and cut off a t the head. While the overall
plant production schedule will s t a t e the date on which something i s t o be
ready, the s t a r t i n g date i s different by department. I f we work i n production
days ( w i t h an annual calendar of 246 days), the ready date may be x. Then
the f i n i s h i n g date may be x - 1 and the clamp date x - 3. There are many
plants who oversimplify by stating that the dates for sanding, machining,
plywood, e t c . , are a l l x minus a fixed number. I t i s better t o assume
different figures part-by-part a s some are much more complex than others.
The mathematics of the whole t h i n g can be based on two days per operation or
some standard time figure for each machine center. These time standards will
include not only the operation time b u t also the queue time (which i n the
machine room i s f a r greater than the operation time).
An example o f a production schedule and an example of a rough mill schedule
are given a t the end o f t h i s chapter. (Figures X-2 and X-3)
The order i n which the rough end schedule l i s t s the various jobs i s n o t
necessarily the same as the order i n which the furniture i s assembled. The
rough end objective i s n o t only t o get the job done, b u t t o do i t a t the
l e a s t cost. T h i s means r u n n i n g a t a l l times a mixture o f dimensions t h a t
will give close t o optimum yield. This means i n turn t h a t 5/4 cherry require-
ments f o r several cases must be processed together. General practice i s t o
give the rough mill shop tickets f o r a b o u t a week o f work (sometimes two weeks)
to enable t h a t department t o make yield-effective combinations.
Production Expediting
Making a schedule and making the plant adhere to i t a r e two different things.
I t doesn't happen by i t s e l f . What must be done to accomplish the following
of the schedule? As stated above, the assembly and f i n i s h i n g process are
conveyorized and relatively easy t o control. I t i s the machine room t h a t i s
the bottleneck. Seventy-five t o ninety percent of a l l expediting i s done there.
 X-6

If the schedule is written intelligently, parts requiring 1 2 or 15 operations

are allowed a month and parts requiring only three operations a r e given a
week (or other times i n the same proportion). When there a r e 50 jobs on the ~~

floor and 1 2 machines, one supervisor can handle the whole t h i n g . B u t when
there are 250 jobs and 75 machines, i t i s unrealistic t o expect t h a t the fore- ~

man can handle the t h i n g w i t h nothing b u t a l i s t of due dates t o go by. If

a band sawyer has eight j o b s i n his queue, he can handle these on the basis o f : ~~

1. First i n -- f i r s t o u t
2. Last i n -- first out
3. Easiest j o b f i r s t
4. Hardest j o b f i r s t
5. Job w i t h the most subsequent operations f i r s t
6. Job nearest the machine f i r s t .
Of these, only numbers 1 and 5 appear rational b u t under certain circumstances
e i t h e r one of these may prove t o be very bad. From his viewpoint, the bandsaw
operator cannot really know which job i s most urgent. The foreman can figure
i t o u t , b u t i t i s advisable t o have some system that shows the relative priority
levels.
Management Tool s f o r Expediting
The simpliest tool t o use i s route sheets of different colors. Blue must be
finished before one may start on yellow and so on. If the colors are about
a week apart, there will be no more t h a n three o r four i n the machine room
and most work stations would be limited t o two. I t i s one o f the cheapest
expediting systems imaginable. However, i f a t i c k e t i s l o s t o r p u t beneath
the stock, i t tends t o stagnate t h a t particular load. In a large machine room,
i t i s desirable to have a more "centralizedt' expediting system. A popular form
i s the check sheet such as the one i l l u s t r a t e d i n Figure X-4. T h i s simple sheet,
one for each item of furniture, i s located i n the foreman's office on a clipboard.
For the parts that are completed, the quantity i s entered on the sheet. T h i s
forces the foreman to stay on top of overruns and shortages. I t also allows
h i m t o take the check sheet f o r an item to be assembled i n four o r five days
and s t a r t looking for i t . Two days before clamp date he has to have a pretty
good handle on the status of the items not yet completed. Compared to the
color coded route sheets, the check sheet gives supervision a l l the necessary
information i n one place. On the other hand, the machine operator has t o be
told w h a t t o do next.
Another system i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n Figure X-5. This i s page 3 of a report of
about 40 pages. The machine room p a r t i s pages 3 through 34. So Figure X - 5 -
shows only 3%o f the total information. All parts f o r a l l pieces o f furniture ______

are l i s t e d i n order o f the date that they should leave the department. I t can
be seen i n t h i s example t h a t 11 p a r t s are l a t e . The system very neatly points
out the most c r i t i c a l area t o the foreman. The clamp date column entry gives -
h i m further perspective. He can see t h a t "the s a n d i n g room i s supposed t o get
five days and i f he gets i t o u t today, they will s t i l l have two days t o catch up."
 x-7

The danger o f such a system i s t h a t t h e r e e x i s t s a tendency t o a l l o w t h e

departments a generous amount o f time. Then a f a i r percentage o f t h e stock
w i l l be l a t e , and t h e a t t i t u d e p r e v a i l s t h a t i t does n o t r e a l l y m a t t e r a l l
t h a t much. Yet another system i s t h e p r i o r i t y r a t i o method. T h i s r a t i o
can be f i g u r e d i n several ways. A popular method i s t o t a k e

days l e f t u n t i l clamp d a t e .
priority rate = number o f operations l e f t t o do

The p a r t s i n process i n t h e machine room are l i s t e d on a computer p r i n t o u t

i n o r d e r o f ascending p r i o r i t y r a t i o . The lowest r a t i o represents t h e h i g h e s t
p r i o r i t y , and t h e foreman p u t s most o f h i s e f f o r t s i n t o t h e "top o f t h e l i s t . "

Accumulation Area Between Machining and Assemb'iy

A l l o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l p a r t s f o r a p i e c e o f f u r n i t u r e must be present before

assembly can begin. Obviously a l l t h e p a r t s f o r a dresser a r e n o t discharged
from machining and sanding a t t h e same time. I n t h e accumulation area, t h e r e
a r e a number o f f u n c t i o n s t h a t may t a k e place:

1. Check t o see t h a t a l l t h e components have been d e l i v e r e d u s i n g a

check sheet s i m i l a r t o Figure X-4, page X-11.
2. On t h e same check sheet, make a f i n a l count which w i l l show t h e
assembly department e x a c t l y how many items can be assembled as
compared w i t h t h e q u a n t i t y on t h e schedule.
3. Schedule sub-assemblies such as case ends so t h a t t h i s work i s
completed b e f o r e f i n a l assembly begins.
4. Assemble w i t h d r y j o i n t s (no g l u e ) one sample o f t h e p i e c e o f
f u r n i t u r e t o make sure t h a t no unforeseen f i t t i n g problems w i l l
appear d u r i n g f i n a l assembly.
5. Make s p o t checks f o r q u a l i t y o f c r i t i c a l p a r t s such as adequate
sanding o f case tops, drawer f r o n t s , o r posts.

PRODUCTION CONTROL FACTORS INFLUENCING PLANT DESIGN

The standard way o f producing bedroom casegoods i s t o manufacture p a r t s f o r

200 dressers and then t o assemble 200 dressers and t o f i n i s h them. I f a l l
a r e f i n i s h e d i n one c o l o r , then t h i s i s s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d enough; b u t if two
o r more c o l o r s a r e offered, i t i s o f t e n p r e f e r a b l e t o run a l l t h e f u r n i t u r e
i n one f i n i s h and then s w i t c h t o t h e o t h e r . T h i s means h o l d i n g t h e f u r n i t u r e
i n t h e w h i t e f o r several hours sometimes. (The assembly l i n e w i l l assemble
a l l t r i p l e dressers b e f o r e s w i t c h i n g t o double dressers and then t o chest on
chest, e t c . ) The a l t e r n a t i v e s o l u t i o n i s t o have e i t h e r more than one f i n i s h - -
i n g l i n e f o r t h e same k i n d o f f u r n i t u r e o r t o have one capable o f s w i t c h i n g
c o l o r s a t w i l l from one p a l l e t t o t h e next. Since i t i s never known what ~

c o l o r s w i l l s e l l i n what p r o p o r t i o n s , some f i r m s have k e p t p a r t o f t h e assem-

b l e d cases i n t h e w h i t e u n t i l i t was know what numbers were needed i n each
coior. Tiifs f s a
~

a n d undesfr*ab;e pi-aciice .w.hich a:ways gives

____
problems w i t h f u z z i n e s s o f t h e surfaces t h a t were sanded smooth weeks before.
I n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e a r e problems associated w i t h t h e storage space needed and
t h e damage t h a t r e s u l t s from s t a c k i n g .
 X-8

Most upholstery firms and a very few casegoods manufacturers produce parts in
large quantities and assemble a few pieces a t a time. This means that the
inventory i s more compact t h a n i t i s a f t e r assembly o f those same parts. Yet,
when an order i s received, the item can be b u i l t in a short time. The dis-
advantages are:
1 . Many more s e t ups in assembly
2. Need f o r re-sanding o f exposed parts.
A compromise between the two basic methods i s t o machine parts i n l o t s corre-
sponding t o 500 t o 2000 cases and assemble and finish in l o t s of 100 t o 200.
The f u z z problem can be overcome by doing the finish sanding j u s t before
assembly (therefore in the smaller l o t s ) .

B E D P L A N T
Cutting #17

QUANTITY SUITE ITEM ISSUED 7-29-75

250 3000 Dresser
500 3002 Nite table
500 3002 Dresser
500 3904 Chest
700 3005 Chest
300 3008 Chest
350 30@9 Dresser
50 3Q11 Desk
150 3015 Chest
250 301 6 Chest
250 3017 Desk
100 301 9 Dresser
100 3021 Bookcase
250 3023 Nite table
150 96 4/6
100 96 3/3
20@ 98 4/6
200 3080 4/6
350 75 4/6
300 75 313
250 751 4/6
250 75L 3f 3
400 201 2 4/6
250 2012 313
so 9hl9
L W l L 6 i 6 iiE

Figure X-1: Example o f a cutting released by the

Sales Department.
6-X
 x-lo

Figure X-3: Example o f a Rough Mill

Schedule. (one sheet o f 8)
 x-11

Figure X-4: Group Check Sheet

 x-12

Figure X-5: Example of Priority Ranked Parts List

 CHAPTER XI

ASSEMBLY

IN TRODU CT I ON
Assembling i n a furniture factory i s done i n the assembly department, often
called a cabinet room. The term "cabinet room" i s sometimes even used in
a chair factory where there are no cabinets. Ordinarily the cabinet room
has four major functions:
1. Assembly. P u t t i n g parts together t o make the final piece of
furniture.
2. F i t t i n g . F i t t i n g or casefitting i s the act of adjusting the
dimensions or locations of parts t o make the drawer f i t the
opening w i t h a uniform clearance around i t , t o make a pair
of doors match up where they meet and similar a c t i v i t i e s .
I t involves machining operations such as reducing the height
o f a drawer f r o n t by edgesanding and adjusting stops and
h i nges.
3. Cleaning. All exposed surfaces which are t o be finished
should be smooth and free from defects t h a t a f f e c t the
f i n i s h . Examples of such defects are raised grain, dents,
glue spots and cross sand scratches.
4. Inspection. T h i s i s t o make sure t h a t the piece of furniture
i s ready t o finish.
Assembly
Most o f this chapter discusses p u t t i n g the parts together.
Fitting

The amount of f i t t i n g done i n a cabinet room depends on ( a ) the nature of

the construction, ( b ) the quality standards of the company and ( c ) the
degree o f exactness i n the dimensions o f the component parts.
Traditional Early American styles use l i p drawers. T h i s means that the
clearance between the opening and the drawer i t s e l f can be l / 8 " o r 3/16"
w i t h o u t anyone spotting the difference. Two doors w i t h l i p s and a s t i l e
between them require l e s s accurate f i t t i n g t h a t a pair o f flush doors meet-
ing i n the center. The majority of the low priced casegoods uses l i p
&-nwei-s in to e-iriirinate U . ~.reduce to a mfniiiiuiii tiie fftifiig i.equii-eb.

A knowledgeable furniture man will look f o r uniformity i n drawer clearance

i n a h i g h priced piece o f furniture. I t i s obvious t h a t a careful f i t t i n g
j o b i s needed there.
 XI-2

The most important aspect of f i t t i n g i s the precision i n parts manufacturing.

A double end tenoner can produce w i t h a standard deviation of ap roximately
0.001". If such a machine i s s e t up w i t h a rule to the nearest P/3211, the
drawer fronts will a l l be of the same dimension, more o r l e s s , b u t they will
a l l be too large or t o o small. The front r a i l s are cut on a different s e t
up and they will be uniformly off in one direction or another. In factories
where machine s e t ups are made t o the nearest 1/321', the excuse i s generally
that wood i s a l i v e material; i t will shrink and swell. Since the dimensions
change anyway, there i s no point i n machining the parts accurately. This i s
a very faulty argument. Even i f we could expect some of the parts t o shrink
and others t o swell in unpredictable patterns, we would s t i l l g a i n by not
a d d i n g machining errors. B u t the truth o f the matter i s t h a t plywood con-
structions shrink and swell very l i t t l e and a s t r a i g h t solid front r a i l will
have no appreciable change i n the length dimension. Perhaps ten percent of
these r a i l s have serious short grain and thus, shrink o r swell a l i t t l e .
That should n o t influence our accuracy on the other ninety percent.
When variety saws, hand shapers and hand edgesanding techniques are used,
some deviations from the very accurate tenoner work will be noticed. These
need t o be taken care of by casefitting.
One other point bears mentioning. Since we can always cut a drawer front
down w i t h a hand plane or an edgesander, b u t cannot conveniently make a
correction towards 1 arger dimensions , some plants deliberately make a1 1
drawer fronts about 1/i6" oversize and l e t the c a s e f i t t e r whittle them
down u n t i l they f i t . The bad part o f t h i s procedure i s t h a t an average o r
below average c a s e f i t t e r does not do a perfect j o b . The r e s u l t then i s a
clearance t h a t tapers from 3/64" t o 3/32" and t h a t looks worse t h a n vari-
ations i n the w i d t h of the gap from one drawer t o the next.
In summary, good procedure s to machine t o close tolerances, u s i n g metal
gauges, cai ipers and so on; pay attention t o squareness i n machining and i n
assembly; and have as few f t t e r s as possible t o place drawer guides and
stops and occasionally work on a problem of dimensional mismatch.
Beds , chairs and upholstery frames have no moving p a r t s , S O they do n o t require a
f i t t i n g operation. The same i s true of most tables. B u t on extension or
drop leaf t a b l e s , the table s l i d e s , drop leaf supports, e t c . , are frequently
installed i n the cabinet room a t a work station corresponding t o t h a t of a
casefitter.
C1 ean i ng

This is the l a s t cabinet room operation which i s done j u s t before final

inspection. I t s purpose i s t o prepare a l l exposed surfaces for the finishing
room. I t involves hand sanding where needed. The exposed surfaces o f each
part should be machine sanded before coming t o the cabinet room. B u t a f t e r
 XI-3

machine sanding, t h i n g s can happen t o exposed surfaces. The grain can r i s e ,

dents and scratches can occur due t o rough handling, assembly glue can squeeze
out causing glue spots, cross grain sand scratches can cause trouble i n finish-
i n g . Cleaning i s t o remove such of these as would occur. Some defects are
hard t o see so i t i s important t h a t the cleaners' work stations be well lighted.
The cleaning labor force can be a good-sized g r o u p , sometimes second a f t e r
f i t t i n g , often the largest crew on any one j o b . Skill requirements a r e n o t
h i g h b u t considerable training i s needed t o teach cleaners what defects will
cause finishing trouble and to t r a i n them how t o see these defects. Chairs
require much cleaning since j o i n t glue i s likely t o squeeze out and most a l l
j o i n t s involve exposed surfaces.
Inspecti on
There should be one hundred percent final inspection before furniture leaves
the cabinet room to go on t o the finishing room. Defects, when-found, should
be returned t o the cleaners or, i f necessary, t o the patching and repair work
station.
In order t o reduce patching and repair, i t i s wise t o t r a i n subassemblers
and assemblers t o make visual inspection o f each part before i t i s p u t into
an assembly. If a part i s defective, i t should be rejected and not assembled.
One defective part can cause rejection of a complete piece o f furniture i f
not caught before final inspection.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSEMBLY
Assembly involves the f i t t i n g together o f manufactured parts into a complete
u n i t . In most furniture manufacturing operations, component parts are f i r s t
assembled into a piece of furniture and l a t e r finished. Notable exceptions
t o t h i s procedure are K.D. casegoods and tables, and some types of upholstery
frames which a r e finished prior to assembly. However, t h i s chapter deals
w i t h those practices used i n conventional assembly operations.
There i s probably no other department in a furniture factory where the method
o f operation is more closely related t o the basic construction of the product
than i n the cabinet room. Here the work area i s often laid out t o handle a
certain type of construction and i s relatively ill-equipped for the assembly
of differently constructed pieces. Therefore, in casegoods and t o a certain
extent i n upholstery frames, i t i s sensible t o a d o p t a standard type of con-
struction f o r a l l items.
There are very few furniture plants with exactly the same cabinet room layout.
This i s because hardly any p!an%s produce exactly the same product; In f a c t , -
companies t h a t do produce the same product a t more t h a n one location almost
never use the same layout a t a l l locations. The very nature of cases, beds,
~

tables and chairs i s often enough t o j u s t i f y separate assembly lines o r sub-

departments and sometimes entirely separate factories. For these reasons, -
i t i s impossibie t o present a sequence o f operations comon t o a i i cabinet ___
rooms. However, there are a few general principles and conditions t h a t apply
t o a l l k i n d s of assembly work.
 XI-4

NEED FOR SQUARENESS

The need for squareness i n casegoods i s most obvious and of prime importance.
I t i s d i f f i c u l t and costly t o hang doors and f i t drawers into a case t h a t i s
out-of-square. Upholstery frames also need t o be square t o produce a s a t i s -
factory product. I t i s only i n d i n i n g room chairs t h a t squareness i s some-
what less important. However, i f there i s a severe twist in such a chair,
the leveling saw will noticeably shorten one diagonal pair of legs i n making
i t level.
Squareness i s achieved t h r o u g h accurate machining and the use of special tools
i n assembly. Clamps and presses may be constructed so as t o automatically
square the case or frame t h a t i s being assembled. However, f o r case pieces,
i t i s advisable t o add some structural parts in the clamp t o retain t h i s
squareness. The case back i s one possible addition, b u t i t may interfere w i t h
drawer f i t t i n g . Large corner blocks or a temporary diagonal brace may be used.
NEED FOR PROPERLY CURED GLUE BONDS
The structural inegrity of most furniture items depends largely on glue bonds.
These bonds must be allowed t o cure properly. This i s achieved in a variety
of ways :
1. By maintaining pressure until the bond i s s e t . This i s often
done i n panel-on-frame constructions which are kept in a cold
press until the glue bond has solidified. In some assembly work,
high frequency electrodes a r e installed i n clamps t o produce a
f a s t cure, approximately 15 to 20 seconds.
2. By machining parts t o a very t i g h t f i t . This procedure has the
advantage of a "built-in" pressure on the glue l i n e . I t i s quite
practical for products w i t h dowels and chucks. Early American
ladderback chairs are commonly b u i l t t h i s way.
3. Hold the parts temporarily together w i t h n a i l s , staples or screws.
Nails and staples contribute l i t t l e or no strength t o the furniture
b u t they do serve to keep the two faces of the glue bond i n contact
d u r i n g the drying process. On the other hand, screws contribute a
f a i r measure of strength. After the glue bonds have failed i n a
box s e a t chair, glued and screwed corner blocks will often extend
the l i f e of the chair considerably.
NEED FOR MANY STEPS IN ASSEMBLY OPERATION
In the a r t i s a n ' s workshop, i t was standard practice f o r a man t o build an
e n t i r e piece of furniture. I f the piece was large, there was sometimes an
apprentice assigned t o help with the job. Even though furniture was b u i l t
i n t h i s fashion f o r years, there are two basic objections t o using t h i s
method o f assembly i n the large scale furniture manufacturing operations
o f today.
 XI-5

1. The required skill level t o produce a complete piece of furni-

ture i s rare. I t takes a long time t o t r a i n a man t o do the
j o b properly. Personnel turnover i s such that few companies
would be willing t o spend six t o 24 months t r a i n i n g a man.
2. Even the best of the skilled craftsmen i s slow when compared
t o an assembly line. The work station f o r a single craftsman
cannot be laid out efficiently, whereas, work stations for
numberous small operations lend themselves quite well t o some
sort of arrangement along an assembly line. More important
i s the fact that the speed attainable i n a 20-second t o
2-minute work cycle i s almost double that which can be attain-
ed w i t h a 20 t o 40-minute cycle.
I t therefore follows t h a t assembly operations i n h i g h pro-
duction furniture p l a n t s should be broken down into a sequence
of logical steps that permit maximum assembly o u t p u t with
minimum s k i l l requirements a t a specified quality level.
OBJECTIVE OF ASSEMBLY
The objective of the assembly operation i s t o p u t a piece of furniture t o -
gether such that it stays together and gives good service over a reasonable
period o f time. In assembly, parts are usually brought together w i t h some
kind of pressure device or clamp. There are many types of clamping machines
used i n assembly work b u t the principal ones found i n a furniture plant are
as follows:

1. Cold press
2. Assembly j i g w i t h toggle clamps
3. Flat clamp w i t h or w i t h o u t h i g h frequency electrodes
4. Drawer clamp
5. Case clamp

Cold Press
One application o f the cold press was described i n Chapter VII, that being
laminating of plastic covered panels. The other main use of the cold press
i s i n the assembly of end panels and tops for panel-on-frame construction.
Assembled frames are run through a glue spreader and stacked alternately -
w i t h plywood panels prior t o pressing. As i t takes a long time and many
products t o build u p a single stack, cold presses are normally divided i n t o ~

sections. Commercial presses have two or three sections, each approximately

 XI-6

3 l / 2 x 2 l / 2 f t . i n capacity. Many cold press operations do not allow the

curing t o occur i n the press. The package i s compressed between heavy (2''
thick) panels. Heavy section I-beams are placed above and below these panels
While i n the press, retaining clamps are attached t o the I-beams, and they
are tightened w i t h turnbuckles before the load i s taken o u t of the press.
Figure XI-1 shows a typical multiple section cold press.

Figu're XI-1: A Pair of 4-Section Cold Presses

Assembly J i g w i t h Toggle Clamps

Assembly jigs w i t h toggle clamps are often used in sub-assembly work. They
can be made of wood or metal and a r e usually equipped w i t h quick-release
clamps, e i t h e r manual or air-operated. Most plants build t h e i r own j i g s to
meet specific assembly requirements, however, a l l such jigs have the concept
of reference planes incorporated i n t o t h e i r design.
Figure XI-2 shows what i s meant by the use of reference planes in assembly
jigs.
 XI-7

Figure XI-2: One Way Clamp

In Figure XI-2, the two angle members plus the auxiliary stops provide a
s e t of two reference planes against which the clamping u n i t pushes the
frame members t o make it square. The same idea can be applied t o the clamp-
ing of many different sub-assemblies.
I t i s important t h a t the reference planes be positioned and the pressure
applied i n such a manner as t o force the sub-assembly t o come u p square.
For more flexible operations, several furniture companies and a few machinery
manufacturers have designed large assembly tables t h a t will accept almost
any configuration o f stops and clamping units. This i s made possible by
drilling the table top full of holes o r s l o t s so t h a t i t resembles a peg-
board. These holes are then used t o locate the various elements of a par-
ticular j i g . In this way, a company can change jigs w i t h a q u i c k s e t up
and eliminate the need t o build costly permanent fixtures for each j o b .
Figure XI-3 shows an adjustable assembly j i g .
Angle irons

Steel
with Clamping
Units

Frame
Figure XI-3: Adjustable Assembly Jig
 XI-8

F l a t Clamp
( w i t h or w i t h o u t h i g h frequency electrodes)
The f l a t clamp i s probably the most widely used pressure device for clamp-
i n g sub-assemblies. I t operates i n a two-dimensional plane and i s designed
t o clamp a l l types of rectangular framesI cabinet doors and bed panels.
Flat clamps come i n one or two-way clamping models and are available with
manual or power set-up mechanisms. Figure XI-4 i s a two-way clamping machine.

Figure XI-4: Two-way Clamp

 XI- 9

High frequency electrodes are sometimes used w i t h f l a t clamps t o speed

up the time i t takes for a glue j o i n t t o cure. The basic elements of a
h i g h frequency e l e c t r i c gluing system are as follows:
1. High frequency e l e c t r i c generator
2. Electrodes t o create a f i e l d i n the desired location
3. Electrical conductors from generator t o electrodes
4. Electrical shielding t o prevent interference w i t h local
radio equipment
5. Mechanical clamp t o hold stock in position.
A discussion of high frequency e l e c t r i c gluing can be found i n Chapter 15
o f PRODUCTION WOODWORKING EQUIPMENT by Rudolph Willard. Here we are pri-
marily interested i n the arrangement of the electrodes and the clamping
device. The electrodes must be adapted t o the kind of gluing j o b t o be
done because they establish the e l e c t r i c f i e l d i n which the work i s placed.
There are many different configurations o f electrodes possible and most
furniture factories generally design t h e i r own assembly j i g s which locate
the parts correctly and clamp them i n position. Metal electrodes are usually
incorporated into the jigs i n such a way t h a t they s e t up an e l e c t r i c f i e l d
through the glue j o i n t and cure the glue quickly.
Electrode and metal clamp jaw can frequently be combined in one part or the
clamp mechanism can be separate from the electrodes. I t i s important that
no metal parts except the electrodes be within the range of the e l e c t r i c
f i e l d ; otherwise, the metal parts will "steal" the f i e l d from the glue l i n e
possibly causing a short c i r c u i t . For t h i s reason, wood s t r i p s are often
used t o insulate clamp parts from the glue l i n e . While many furniture manu-
facturers build or modify t h e i r own assembly clamps w i t h high frequency
equipment, there i s a t l e a s t one machinery manufacturer t h a t makes a h i g h
frequency assembly machine. The machine i s designed t o do a l l types of
framework and comes equipped w i t h adjustable electrodes for increased flex-
i b i l i t y . Regardless of the o r i g i n of the clamp, the advantages o f h i g h
frequency gluing in sub-assembly work are a quick release and a s t a b l e ,
permanently cured glue l i n e .
Drawer C1 amp
Drawer clamping machines are designed t o clamp conventional dovetail con-
structed drawers. However, some clamps have attachments for clamping French
dovetails i n a drawer front. Figure XI-5 shows a drawer clamp.
In operation a drawer f r o n t i s placed i n the clamp face down. The drawer
sides are stacked i n a location convenient t o the operator w i t h the sides
facing each other. Glue i s applied t o b o t h ends of a pair of sides, and'
they are s e t i n l i n e with the dovetails a t each end of the drawer front.
 XI-1 0

Figure XI-5: Drawer Clamp

The operator then actuates the a i r cylinder, allowing the machine t o press
the sides into the front, a f t e r which the a i r i s released. Next, the drawer
bottom i s slipped into place i n the front and side grooves. The female dove-
t a i l s of the drawer back are then started onto the male dovetails o f the
drawer side on the side o f the stationary jaw. While t h i s i s being done,
the drawer bottom i s guided into the groove i n the back and the drawer side
next t o the pressure jaw i s brought over against the drawer back. When the
dovetails a r e in proper position for pressing together, a i r i s applied and
and the drawer i s assembled. Using t h i s procedure, i t i s possible f o r one
operator t o assemble 80 to 100 drawers per hour.
After clamping, a drawer needs the addition of a guide and some means of
"making i t q u i e t , " The o l d standard of applying four t o eight small glue
blocks t o the bottom i s s t i l l used by many firms. A lower cost alternative
i s stapling o r applying hot melt adhesive.
 XI-1 1

Figure XI-6: Applying a Bead o f

Hot Melt t o the Drawer Bottom

Case Clamp
The case clamp is the work horse o f most casegoods assembly departments as
it is used t o clamp all types o f cases. Essentially, a case clamp consists
o f two jaws, one stationary and the other powered, and a heavy frame. I t i s
 XI-12

usually set up by moving the end t h a t remains stationary during operations

away from the powered jaw u n t i l the distance between the jaws i s the same
length as the case t o be assembled. This i s done by applying a i r pressure
t o the powered jaw. After the set up is complete, the moving jaw i s released
and the case t o be clamped i s placed in t h e machine. Air pressure i s then
applied and the case i s clamped.
Numerous operations can be performed on the case while i t i s .in the case
clamp of which, nailing, stapling and glueblocking are the most common.
Figure XI-7 shows a case clamp commonly used in many furniture cabinet
rooms.

Figure XI-7: Case Clamp

While most case clamps look very much a l i k e , there are some differences in
t h e i r basic designs. For instance, several machinery manufacturers make
both revolving and statiunary case clamps. The revolving feature enables
an operator t o rotate a case while i t i s in the clamp, thus making all parts
of the case more readily accessible and simplifying some of the more compli-
cated assemblies. Another option offered on many case clamps i s power set
 XI-1 3

up. Most clamps come w i t h a manually operated screw spindle f o r making

s e t ups, however, motor driven units are available t h a t reduce set-up
time by as much as one half. In addition, most case clamps are operated
by a i r pressure for a quick release. Case clamping machines can also
be purchased with overhead clamping units for attaching case tops in the
clamp. Regardless of the type of case clamp used, the important consider-
ation i s t h a t i t clamp squarely and accurately.
The most common furniture j o i n t i s the glue j o i n t , often reinforced tem-
porarily or permanently w i t h n a i l s , staples or screws. The standard
equipment described above i s used for such joints. However, there a r e
other ways t o assemble furniture. K.D. or knocked down i s a construction
method used i n some casegoods ( i t i s very common i n European wardrobes).
in a few chairs,and i n almost a l l dining room tables. There i s no such
t h i n g as a d i n i n g room table clamp i n most f a c t o r i e s , because the legs
are shipped K.D. T h i s makes for lower shipping cost and does away w i t h
the need for clamping. The table leg has a lag bolt inserted i n i t . This
i s placed through a hole i n a corner brace and the leg i s pulled t i g h t
against the r a i l s by r u n n i n g a n u t onto the lag bolt. Since assembly i s
generally done i n the customer's home, i t i s obvious t h a t we cannot use
a clamp nor i s there a need for one.
PHILOSOPHY OF ASSEMBLY
W i t h respect t o the furniture cabinet room, there are several different
philosophies concerning the process of assembly. One philosophy suggests
t h a t a piece of furniture should be entirely assembled a t a single work
station by one or two Ncraftsmen,"while another would require a completely
synchronized system u s i n g many people and work stations where a l l parts
mesh together very much l i k e an automobile assembly l i n e . These more or
less represent the two extremes, as most furniture plants tend t o use one-
man work stations t o batch process sub-assemblies f o r assembly a t a l a t e r
time on a larger assembly line.
While the completely synchronized assembly l i n e i s ideal for h i g h production
cabinet rooms, batch processing offers a more feasible solution t o furniture
assembly operations. I t i s v i r t u a l l y impossible t o conceive of a furniture
cabinet room performing l i k e an automobile assembly l i n e mainly because the
length of an average run of a furniture item i s comparatively short and the
cabinet room i s forced t o accommodate a great deal of switching around.
In addition to the difference in philosophy between batch and continuous
processing, there i s a basic decision t o be made concerning the function of
parts and sub-assemblies i n assembly operations. Do sub-assemblies give
shape t o a piece o f furniture or do they derive t h e i r shape from the furni-
ture? The answer t o t h i s question determines whether sub-assemblies are
assembled dry and r i g i d ahead o f time or wet and flexible as an integral
part of and just before assembly. Furthermore, i t dictates the assembly
procedure t o be used on sub-assemblies.
 XI-14
F i g u r e XI-8 presents a c a b i n e t room process c h a r t f o r a t y p i c a l casegoods
assembly department.

PARTS SUB-ASSEMBLY ASSEMBLY STATION OP ERATIONS

End panels

(End panel parts)--*!

I - -' .--'"

End Panel f
Clamp I-*
-----I +------------I Put g l u e i n
mortises
3 ---- -- --i
Rai 1s
Dust bottoms Insert r a i l s
Rai 1s - - - - - - - - - -l___
-II DustClamp
Frame 1
I n s e r t d u s t panels
Dust bottoms -- - --
'-------___I

I------ ------ -b D r i v e j o i n t s t0gethe.r

/
-------- -&
,---- CASE CLAMP Make case square

TOP
1
1
1
I
1
1
:
1
1
t
1
1
* N a i l tenons

I n v e r t case
Screw on t o p
' I
1 1 .
I I
I t A t t a c h base
Base parts- I Base Clamp -b Glue and screw
' I
' I
I I
I
Attach drawer
Drawer guide .) I 1 --_---
guide, one end
I
I
I n s e r t drawer
Drawer p a r t s A d j u s t guide
FITTING A d j u s t drawer/openi ng
I
I Apply stops
I '
I
I
I
I Clean up

5
1
I Break corners
Patch

INSPECTION Inspect

Back -i A t t a c h back
Staple

--------- I n d i c a t e s a1 t e r n a t i v e process

F i g u r e XI-8: Cabinet Room Prncpcs Chart

 XI-15

The various operations are 1 isted i n sequence w i t h alternative processes

given for several parts. Sub-assemblies, in particular, o f f e r a number
o f different p o s s i b i l i t i e s as f a r a s alternative processing i s concerned.
Three examples will be discussed i n the following paragraphs: end panel
assembly, d u s t bottom assembly and base assembly.
End Panel Assembly
End panels are often used t o give a case shape i n the case clamp; there-
fore, they must be dry and r i g i d prior t o assembly. I t i s very hard t o
square up a case w i t h o u t assembled end panels. For this reason, h i g h fre-
quency electrodes o r nails and staples a r e used f o r sub-assembling end
panels t o allow the glue bonds t o cure properly. In low priced furniture,
end panels are generally of a panel-on-frame construction and receive fur-
ther machining a f t e r assembly. For instance, most panel-on-frames are sent
through the double end tenoner t o be equalized a f t e r which they usually
undergo various other machining operations such as mortising, b o r i n g , band-
sawing and shaping. There are three ways to handle this routing problem:
( 1 ) assemble end panels i n the machine room, ( 2 ) assemble end panels i n the
cabinet room and transport them back t o the machine room f o r additional
machining, o r (3) assemble end panels i n the cabinet room and have the
necessary machines located i n the cabinet room. In this case and i n most
cases, i t i s better to sub-assemble parts i n the machine room t h a t require
further machining, thus keeping work flow straight and reducing possible
bottlenecks.
Dust Bottom Assembly
There are many alternatives available when i t comes t o the sub-assembly
of dust bottoms. Typically, dust bottoms are assembled o u t o f four pieces
of wood and a panel. They can be glued up square t o s t a r t w i t h o r they
can be glued approximately square and machined on a double end tenoner.
Most commonly, the d u s t panels are not glued a t a l l , o r sometimes they are
glued and assembled directly next t o the case clamp and used i n the case
assembly while the glue is s t i l l wet. This permits the case t o be clamped
square. The dust panels derive t h e i r shape from the case and n o t vice versa.
I t should be noted t h a t i f a dust panel or any other sub-assembly i s used
i n a larger ( f i n a l ) assembly, the following general principle applies.
Either the sub-assembly i s p u t together i n a fixture with pretty good
accuracy and the glue bonds are allowed to s e t u p (the sub-assembly i s
used as one unchangeable shape) o r the sub-assembly i s p u t together i n
approximately the r i g h t angles and i s used i n the final assembly while the
glue i s s t i l l wet. There i s no acceptable " i n between'' system. I f a sub-
assembly i s made inaccurately and i s allowed t o s i t f o r 20 minutes before
final assembly, the piece of furniture will be out o f square o r , more l i k e l y ,
the glue bonds are broken i n the case clamp. The sub-assembly, i n other
words, must be r i g i d o r limp. If i t i s r i g i d , i t must be square.
 XI-1 6

Some manufacturers avoid using d u s t frame end r a i l s by knocking up their

cases w i t h front and back r a i l s and inserting a panel i n t o the molded
grooves i n the r a i l s . Figure XI-9A shows a typical d u s t bottom assembly,
while Figure XI-9B shows a d u s t bottom construction using only front and
back r a i l s and a plywood or hardboard panel.

Typical d u s t bottom assembly Dust bottom construction

without end r a i l s
A B
Figure XI-9: Dust Bottom Assembly

Base Assembly
Base assemblies are usually p u t together w i t h glue, staples and glue blocks.
In some cases, they are assembled w i t h screws or clamp nails. Regardless
of how a base is sub-assembled, it i s almost always attached t o a case w i t h
glue and/or screws. Bases can be sub-assembled i n advance just like many
other partsS b u t they are assembled t o the case on the case line w i t h the
case upside down.
BALANCING WORK LOADS
One of the biggest headaches i n the cabinet room i s the problem of balancing
work loads. I t i s extremely d i f f i c u l t to coordinate sub-assembly operations
and have them keep pace w i t h the main line. The problem i s further aggra-
vated by a moving conveyor. If pull-off stations are used, the conveyor
transports the piece b u t does n o t pace the work.
N i t h respect t o balancing sub-assembly operations w i t h the output of the
main line, i t was the experience of one plant i n Virginia making bedroom
and d i n i n g room furniture t h a t a t times they had too many drawers and a t
other times, no drawers a t a l l . After some study, the management concluded
 XI-1 7

t h a t they needed a separate drawer department w i t h adequate storage

space t o permit both i t and the cabinet room t o operate independently o f
each other. The company then s e t up a separate and complete drawer depart-
ment containing a l l the necessary equipment t o produce drawers, including
drawer parts storage and dovetailing machines as well as drawer assembly
equipment and space t o store 8,000 drawers. This particular plant now
claims t h a t the drawer inventory allows them t o schedule much longer runs
of t h e i r bedroom and d i n i n g room casegoods. Many plants do n o t have the
space required t o produce drawers f o r inventory; consequently, t h e i r runs
are often limited by the number of drawers available.
The assembly of panel-on-frame constructions i n the machine room i s another
means of balancing work loads by keeping parts such as end panels o u t of
the cabinet room until they are ready for final assembly. Self-locating
j o i n t s , such as notches machined into front and back r a i l s t o receive
drawer guides, serve t o spread work loads o u t and reduce the labor require-
ments i n the assembly area. W i t h i n the cabinet room, the use of elaborate
assembly jigs and fixtures helps t o eliminate additional operations and
usually increases o u t p u t significantly. High frequency electrodes and
quick release mechanisms enable a single operator t o do much more work
t h a n could be done on conventional assembly equipment.
The cabinet room i s always i n a s t a t e of flux w i t h changing requirements
for work force composition and u t i l i z a t i o n . A work content analysis on
each piece o f furniture assembled i n the cabinet room can help t o balance
work loads on a l l operations. Such an analysis should break down assembly
into a logical sequence of operations and develop an assembly procedure
for each item manufactured. These procedures would be used t o s e t u p the
cabinet room each time the item was run and could, eventually, be combined
with other procedures t o develop a standardized cabinet room layout.
SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS

I t should now be apparent t h a t cabinet rooms must be able t o handle a

variety of work and maintain a h i g h level of output a t the same time.
Each plant and every product has i t s own characteristics, however, there
are some procedures common t o a l l assembly operations. In an attempt t o
arrive a t a logical sequence of operations t h a t could be used in most
furniture assembly departments , two students in the Furniture Manufacturing
and Management curriculum a t North Carolina State University conducted a
series of cabinet room studies a t nine different furniture plants. Figure
XI-8 f a i r l y accurately depicts the r e s u l t s of these studies as i t i s a
l i s t o f standard cabinet room operations common t o most casegoods plants.
While this l i s t i s representative of what takes place on a case l i n e , i t
does n o t go i n t o much detail on case assembly procedures nor does i t say
anything a b o u t the assembly of beds, chairs and upholstery frames. There-
fore, the following will contain detailed descriptions o f the assembly o f
a case, a bed, a d i n i n g room chair and an upholstery frame. Since only
 XI-1 8

one process will be given f o r each piece, the reader should be careful
n o t t o assume i t i s the recommended procedure as many good alternative
methods are being used throughout the industry. In some cases, s i g n i -
ficant variations i n assembly operations will be noted.
Five Drawer Chest
Figure XI-8 gives a sequence of operations for casegoods assembly. I t
is f a i r l y general and f a i l s t o adequately describe some of the more specific
procedures.
In a cabinet room, stock can be handled by r o l l e r conveyor, shop truck,
p a l l e t , o r other type o f materials handling device. The important t h i n g
i s t h a t the stock be delivered t o the proper work station in the r i g h t
quantities a t the r i g h t time. The operator himself usually positions the
stock a t his work station t o make i t more easily accessible. Materials
handling along the case line i s often done by conveyor w i t h b o t h s l a t
bed and b e l t types being used. Some plants use a raised deck made out o f
wood and faced with a metal s l i d e as a s o r t of conveyor. The deck places
the furniture a t a good working level; however, skids must almost always
be used, and there i s greater possibility of damage i n assembly than
moving conveyor.
The f i r s t operation generally performed i s t h a t o f applying glue t o the
mortises i n the end panels. Here the operator uses either a glue pot
and brush, a glue bottle or a glue g u n t o p u t glue in the mortises, a f t e r
which he passes the panels on to the knock-up area. Dust frames are usually
sub-assembled and fed into the knock-up area from a dust frame clamp.
Figure XI-10 shows the mortise gluing operation on end panels. The
purpose of the knock-up operation i s t o assemble the d u s t frames, end
panels and r a i l s into such a form that the case can be moved t o the case
clamp and assembled more completely. Case knock-up consists o f positioning
and d r i v i n g the d u s t frames i n t o the mortises in one end panel, then d r i v -
i n g the other end panel into position, a f t e r which the knocked-up carcass
i s ready f o r the case clamp. Many knock-up operations require two operators
who use rubber mallets together w i t h brute strength t o position and drive
the d u s t frames into the end panels.
When the carcass i s received from the knock-up area, one operator positions
i t i n the case clamp a f t e r the other operator has removed the previous case
from the clamp. Both operators position the remaining r a i l s in the carcass,
then the case i s clamped. While the clamp i s closed, a l l r a i l s are nailed,
corner blocks are applied and drawer guides are positioned. After every-
t h i n g i s completed i n the clamp, the case i s released and placed upside
down on a moving case l i n e .
 XI-1 9

- -- -- '

Figure XI-'IO: Knock-Up Station; End panels

and case r a i l s are knocked up on the table
and clamped i n case clamp i n the background.

On the conveyor, the sub-assembled base i s fastened t o the bottom dust

frame w i t h an automatic screwdriver. Skids and glides are attached t o
the base while the case is s t i l l upside down. The case i s then l i f t e d
from the line and positioned on an inverted top. Two operators screw
the t o p t o the case and glue the drawer t i l t s i n t o position.
After the t o p i s securely fastened i n place, the case is turned r i g h t
side up and placed back on the conveyor. Next, the drawer guides are
positioned using a hand gauge or self-locating joints and stapled a t one
end. The drawers are then inserted and aligned, after which the other end
of the drawer guide i s attached. A hardboard back i s stapled t o the case
and the e n t i r e case i s cleaned and hand sanded prior t o final inspection.
After i t i s inspected, the case goes either t o repair or t o the finishing
department.
 XI-20

The above procedure o u t l i n e s one way t o assemble a case ; however, t h e r e

are many p o s s i b l e v a r i a t i o n s i n t h i s sequence o f operations. Probably
t h e most s i g n i f i c a n t v a r i a t i o n i s found i n t h e f i t t i n g o f drawers.

The assembly o f low p r i c e d f u r n i t u r e a f f o r d s o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r v a r i a t i o n s

i n t h e b a s i c sequence o f operations. Where drawer f i t t i n g i s n o t c r i t i c a l ,
t h e drawer guides can be i n s e r t e d i n t o t h e case a t t h e case clamp. I t i s
p o s s i b l e t o machine notches i n case r a i l s and d u s t frame r a i l s t o make t h e
guides s e l f - a l i g n i n g . When t h i s i s done, drawers must be assembled j u s t
r i g h t t o f i t p r o p e r l y . I f t h e drawer guides a r e attached t o t h e case i n
the case clamp, t h e r e i s no f u r t h e r need t o have the back o f t h e case open
so t h e back can a l s o be attached w h i l e t h e case i s i n t h e case clamp. This
o f f e r s t h e advantage of h e l p i n g t o r e t a i n squareness i n t h e case once i t
i s released from t h e case clamp. O r d i n a r i l y , t h e back can be attached
any time a f t e r t h e drawer guides have been fastened down.

Glue blocks a r e u s u a l l y a p p l i e d t o cases a t two l o c a t i o n s . The f i r s t i s

when t h e base i s attached. These g l u e blocks go between t h e base and t h e
bottom d u s t panel i n s i d e t h e base. The o t h e r p l a c e i s where t h e t o p i s
attached. These go between the t o p and t h e end panels i n s i d e t h e case.
However, t h e use o f g l u e blocks i s n o t l i m i t e d t o these two a p p l i c a t i o n s .
They should be i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o assembly operations wherever they make
a s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e s t r e n g t h o r r i g i d i t y o f a case.

With r e s p e c t t o drawer assembly operations, most p l a n t s use a conventional

drawer clamp. The main v a r i a t i o n i n t h e method o f drawer assembly l i e s
i n the f a c t t h a t some p l a n t s b u i l d drawers w i t h t h e f r o n t up and some w i t h
t h e f r o n t down. A few p l a n t s use a French d o v e t a i l c o n s t r u c t i o n f o r t h e i r
drawer f r o n t s i n which t h e y assemble and clamp o n l y t h e r e a r p o r t i o n o f
the drawer. Some low p r i c e d f u r n i t u r e manufacturers have succeeded i n
doing away w i t h drawer clamps as they b u i l d t h e i r drawers i n s p e c i a l l y de-
signed assembly j i g s .

Spindle Bed

Beds a r e r e l a t i v e l y easy t o assemble and r e q u i r e l i t t l e i n t h e way of

assembly equipment. A t y p i c a l s p i n d l e bed would undergo t h e f o l l o w i n q
opera t i ons :

1. Sub-assembly, s p i n d l e s and r a i l s
2. Knock-up
3. Bed clamp
4. Cleanup and minor r e p a i r
5. Inspection
 XI-21

Materials handling for f l a t items such as beds and mirror frames can be
done by f l a t bed, wheeled shop trucks w i t h individual racks. This i s
because pieces such as beds and mirror frames are essentially two dimen-
sional and more easily handled i n batches than three dimensional cases.
The spindles and r a i l s are sub-assembled t o make up the principal component
of the headboard. T h i s i s sometimes done i n a special j i g t o insure proper
spacing between the t o p and bottom r a i l s . Figure XI-11 shows a typical
spindle and r a i l sub-assembly.

Figure XI-1 1 : Headboard Sub-Assembly

Prior t o clamping, the bed posts, spindle sub-assembly and various r a i l s
are knocked up t o become the head and footboard for a bed. From the knock-
u p table, the parts are clamped into a one-way f l a t clamp and stapled t o
hold together until the glue dries.

The assembled head and footboards are then sanded and cleaned up and
minor repairs are made. Following cleanup, they are inspected and sent
t o the finishing room.
Dining Room Chair
Most chair j o i n t s are dowe! j o i n t s . I t i s possible t o assemble t w o p a r t s
w i t h dowel j o i n t s by having the parts and the dowels a t a work station
and making the assembly. B u t experience shows t h a t much time i s saved by
s p l i t t i n g the job into two operations. In the f i r s t operation, dowels
 XI-22

are glued and inserted into holes i n the end of one of the mating parts.
T h i s i s called pre-pinning. I t i s usually done w i t h a dowel driver, a
machine which applies the glue and drives the dowels a t a rate o f up t o
twenty r a i l s a minute. Dowels are dumped loose into a hopper on the machine
and there i s never a need t o handle one dowel a t a time. Dowel drivers are
normally found i n the machine room. This allows pre-pinning before sanding.
Any dents or glue spots t h a t m i g h t occur in pre-pinning can be removed with-
out problems that way.
The pre-pinned r a i l s go t o the sub-assembly or final assembly op ration.
Parts like front posts have no dowel holes i n the end. They are not pre-
pinned,but the r a i l s t h a t join t o the front posts are pre-pinned in the ends.
The assembly o f d i n i n g room chatrs involves two main sub-assembl es and a
final assembly operation. Most chair manufacturers sub-assemble the backs
and fronts of t h e i r chairs because they often require additional machining
operations a f t e r assembly. The sub-acsembled backs and fronts a r e brought
together w i t h side r a i l s , stretchers and arms in a one-way clamp for final
assembly.
The back sub-assembly consists of the two back posts, t o p and bottom r a i l s
and whatever type o f s p l a t , spindles or decorative pieces go in the back.
Backs are almost always clamped and very often with a stray-field high
frequency clamp. Mechanical fasteners are often used when high frequency
i s not available; however, chair backs are exposed and great care must be
exercised when using nails or staples. The front sub-assembly i s made up
o f the front r a i l and two legs. I t i s generally clamped and nailed. F r o n t
sub-assembl ies sometimes undergo further machining operations a f t e r clamp-
i n g . For example, router grooves i n French Provincial chair legs are
machined a f t e r assembly t o make sure they line up with the groove i n the
front r a i l . Chair arms are a l s o sub-assembled,usually i n a special j i g
t o produce the proper angle i n the j o i n t between the stump and the arm.
The various sub-assemblies are s e t aside and allowed t o cure before final
assembly .
In the final assembly, side r a i l s and stretchers are clamped t o the front
and back sub-assemblies. Arms a r e also p u t on in the clamp; however, work
loads can sometimes be balanced better by applying the arms after the clamp.

Most chair clamping equipment is of the one-way variety because i t provides

more positive clamping f o r the non-square components. During final assembly,
corner blocks are fastened into place between front, back and side r a i l s .
"Glue and screwed" corner blocks have been the standard o f quality i n the
i n d u s t r y for years although patented metal corner braces are now being used
i n certain types of institutional chairs. I t i s possible t o use grooved
corner blocks w i t h straight side and back rails,and a screw t h r o u g h the
corner block i n t o the back post adds significant strength t o an assembled
chair.
 XI-23

Upholstery Frames
There are two categories of upholstery frames: fully upholstered and
exposed wood. They use different assembly techniques and have different
qual i t y requirements.
Fully upholstered frames are commonly assembled w i t h glue and mechanical
fasteners; namely, nails, staples and corrugated fasteners. The legs are
the only exposed wood and they are prefinished by d i p p i n g or spraying prior
t o assembly. Depending upon the configuration of the chair, the front and
back components are usually sub-assembled f i r s t . I n assembly, one-way
pressure i s used t o obtain a quick s e t up and t o avoid distortion. The
back sub-assembly contains the most parts w i t h back posts, back r a i l s ,
uprights and braces. There are many variations i n the assembly of these
components. Certain frames require a complicated side construction, i n
which case, some manufacturers sub-assembl e the sides f i r s t . The number
of sub-assembly and assembly stations i s dictated by the particular frame
being assembled.
Upholstery frames having exposed wood parts have many o f the same problems
experienced w i t h dining chairs. Fronts and backs are usually sub-assembled
and undergo additional machining. Extreme care must be used i n assembling
the frame t o avoid damaging i t . High-frequency electrodes are used wherever
possible,and in general, much more attention i s given t o exposed wood frames.
Spring-up i s not normally considered a part of frame assembly; however, i t
could very well be. Many problems a r i s e when spring-up i s done a f t e r finish-
i n g , not the l e a s t o f which i s a damaged finish. A t the main clamp, i t i s
often helpful t o use wide crown staples on upholstery frames i n order to
pull and hold j o i n t s t i g h t . Bar clamps are sometimes used on complicated
frames w i t h numerous joints. Finally i t i s a good procedure t o accurately
machine and then glide a l l legs prior t o assembly as i t eliminates a great
deal o f handling.
COMMENTS
Assembly o f furniture i s the least standardized operation i n the industry.
I t varies w i t h the construction of the furniture and i t depends on traditions.
Once a layout i s made for a certain assembly method, another may no longer
be feasible.
Many assembly departments are f e r t i l e ground f o r methods improvements.
An e f f o r t along these lines will generally run into t h i s problem: An
assembly run may be f o r one to three hours only, and a methods engineer
will n o t be able t o study the line i n t h a t short time period. So he
naturally s t a r t s looking for operations that occur i n every piece
assembled on that line. This leads t o the request for standardization
of construction.
 XI-24

Standardization of construction i s the first step towards improving

efficiency i n the cabinet room. I t opens the door for mechanization,
f o r better t o o l i n g and, most importantly, i t leads t o improving l i n e
balancing. Naturally, this must be weighed against the limitations i m -
posed on the design s t a f f . The f i r s t requirement f o r productivity i n
the cabinet room i s sufficient sales t o keep busy!
 CHAPTER X I 1

F I N I S H I NG METHODS

INTRODUCTION

Probably the most important feature of the furniture which influences

the prospective buyer i s i t s appearance. The finish i s an important
part of the appearance. In the U.S. furniture industry a l o t of money
and e f f o r t go i n t o the finish. A survey conducted by Hercules Powder
Company shows that finishing cost amounts t o a b o u t one-tenth o f the
manufacturer's selling price:

Price Group Material Cost Labor Cost Total Cost

LOW 4.4% 3.9% 8.3%

MEDIUM 4.2% 5.5% 9.7%

HIGH 5.2% 6.3% 11.5%

Table XII-1 : Finishing Cost by Price Group

a s percent of manufacturer's s e l l i ng price
The purpose of a wood finish as i t applies t o household and institutional
wood furniture i s threefold:
1. Appearance - t h i s aspect includes color and grain effects and
matching of the f i n i s h between several different pieces belong-
i n g t o a suite.
2. Smoothness - a case top should feel smooth; chair seats and
drawer i n t e r i o r s must be smooth i n order t o avoid snags i n
1adi es hosi ery.
3. Protection of the wood - the e f f e c t of some finishes i s
questionable as they are more delicate than the wood, b u t i n
most finishes there i s the e f f e c t of improving the hardness
of the surface. All finishes offer some protection a g a i n s t
d i r t and rfiojstut-e. There j s 2 : s ~ t h e aspect of e ? n 3 n > h ; l i S \ r .
L I CUIIUU I I I ' J

The very best finishes o f f e r good protection against l i q u i d

spills.
 XI 1-2

The technical problems involved i n furniture finishing are the following:

1. Formulation of the f i n i s h i n g materials.
2. Application of the finishing materials t o the wood surface
and treatments of the material a f t e r i t has been applied.
3. Materials handl ing systems.
The formulation problems are dealt w i t h by the finishing materials suppliers
and are considered outside the scope of this presentation. The application
and treatments are the subject matter of t h i s chapter. Chapter XI11 i s
devoted to the most common materials handl i n g systems, finishing conveyors.
FURNITURE FINISHES
A l t h o u g h we a r e not concerned here w i t h the detailed chemistry of furniture
finishes, a few remarks as background t o the following discussion are i n
order.
I t i s a popular point of view t o consider the sanding operation t o be the
f i r s t step o f the finishing process. This i s certainly valid enough b u t
in the engineering of the manufacturing process, i t makes more sense t o
consider wood sanding as the final step in machining.
When glue sizing i s used, i t certainly would be reasonable t o consider
both glue s i z i n g and the subsequent sanding as f i n i s h i n g operations. How-
ever, i t usually works o u t better t o do these operations before the furniture
gets t o the finishing department. Therefore, glue sizing will be omitted
from the present discussion.
In some finishing processes bleaching i s the f i r s t step. The basic idea
i s n o t necessarily t o make a blond f i n i s h , b u t t o obtain a uniform pale
background on which any k i n d of finish can be applied. Bleaching will
generally require a neutralizer , which means two spray operations are
necessary .
One major problem i n bleaching i s the f i r e hazard. Many bleaches contain
strong oxidizing agents. Cellulose lacquer, especially i n porous accumu-
lations as occur on finishing conveyor p a l l e t s , i s highly flammable. The
contact of the bleach w i t h cellulose deposits on the p a l l e t must be avoided.
This often r e s u l t s i n an e n t i r e l y separate bleaching s e t up w i t h i t s own
conveyor system.
Color i s e i t h e r applied as a transparent,wood penetrating coat which i s a
stain o r i n opaque costs such as g l a i e s , s h a d i n g lacquers o r toners.
 XII-3

The degree o f penetration of the stains depends on the amount o f material

applied, the solvent used and the time i t i s allowed in "wet contact'' w i t h
the surface. The degree of penetration i s h i g h i n water based wiping stains.
The result i s t h a t they strongly accentuate the wood grain. In alcohol based
N.G.R. (non-grain-raising) s t a i n s , the penetration i s less deep and the grain
does not show as clearly as w i t h the w i p i n g s t a i n . As indicated by t h e i r
name, they do not have the undesirable characteristic of the water s t a i n s
which r a i s e the grain. (Loose f i b e r s , flattened by the sanding process
b u t not cut o f f , stand up as ''hairs.")

Stains are sprayed mostly, although w i p i n g s t a i n s can be applied also by

dipping or "sponging."
O f the opaque materials, f i l l e r and glaze are somewhat related. In many
finishes, they are combined i n a " s l u s h - f i l l " operation which i s i n between
the two, technically. A f i l l e r i s applied and l a t e r wiped w i t h the intent
t o leave solid matter i n the pores. A glaze i s applied and l a t e r wiped
and brushed with the intent t o leave solid matter i n the crevasses of the
design, i n the pores ( i f these have not been f i l l e d or only p a r t i a l l y f i l l e d )
and on the surface. This "streaky" material gives an antique kind of look.
In both f i l l e r and glaze, the application i s usually by spray gun (although
chairs are often dipped); then there should be a flash-off period. The
flash-off i s t o lose some of the solvent and thereby increase the solids
content and the viscosity. The ''heavier" material i s then wiped o f f ,
principally across the grain, leaving s u f f i c i e n t residue to accomplish the
obj e c t i ve.
Toners and the l i k e may be applied selectively by spraying w i t h a very
narrow pattern.
The other f i n i s h i n g materials a r e a l l film-building f o r one purpose o r
another. F i r s t of a l l there i s the washcoat, whose purpose i s t o allow
sanding off of any wood fibers raised by the staining process and t o
provide a w i p i n g surface for the f i l l i n g operation. I t comes between
s t a i n i n g and f i l l i n g .

The main body of the finished film thickness i s b u i l t up o f sealer and t o p -

coat. The main difference between these two i s in the sanding technique.
Sealer i s a film builder which i s sanded dry a f t e r each application prior
t o the next. Topcoats which a r e generally either cellulose lacquers o r
so-called conversion varnishes, are applied i n one t o four coats and
thoroughly dried before they are attacked w i t h sandpaper or r u b b i n g com-
pounds. All surfacing techniques on the topcoats are done together i n the
"rubbing" department. Some new topcoat materials such as polyester have
such good film-building capacity that no sealers are used a t a l l . (Sometimes
a sealer catalyst i s used for chemical rather than film-building reasons.)
 XII-4

FINISHING SCHEDULES
All finishing materials have be to applied. Some of them receive a wet
treatment such as wiping. All materials have t o dry or cure and some o f
them receive a dry treatment, namely sanding. In a l l these processes,
time plays an important role. I t i s obvious t h a t the drying takes a
minimum time and t h a t t h i s time depends on temperature. Generally there
i s no maximum. For economical reasons we generally stick close t o the
minimum. When drying i s done i n an oven a t elevated temperatures, the
wet film must be allowed t o flash off. I n essence t h i s means t h a t air
and solvent vapor bubbles must be allowed t o r i s e and break through the
surface before a "skin" i s formed. Usually two t o ten minutes are needed.
Another consequence of the elevated oven temperature may be the need for
a subsequent cooling period.
A l i s t of a l l f i n i s h i n g steps, together w i t h the>desired times and
temperatures for flash o f f , drying and cooling, i s called a f i n i s h i n g
schedule. In Chapter XI11 we shall also use this term t o describe the
same schedule with operation times added to them. To distinguish these
different finishing schedules from each other, the example given i n
Table XII-2 c a r r i e s the s u b t i t l e "Materials Schedule."
Simple schedules may show half as many coats; complex schedules, almost twice
the number of coats. (When a manufacturer is bragging a b o u t a 34-step finish.
application, drying and sanding are counted as three steps.)
METHODS OF APPLICATION
The following methods can be used:
1. brushing
2. spraying
3. dipping
4. pouring
5. r o l l e r coating
6. curtain coating
7. printing
8. tumbling
9. pressing.
In deciding between these methods, there are several considerations:
1. Shape of the object t o be finished.
2. Desi red appearance.
3. Cost of f i n i s h i n g materials.
4. Cost of f i n i s h i n g equipment.
5. Cost of f i n i s h i n g labor.
The shape of the furniture will often interfere w i t h several methods. For
instance, a chest cannot be dipped because finishing materials would end up
where they should n e t be; a chest cannot be r o l l e r coated because t h a t pro-
cess i s only suited f o r panels. Labor cost rules o u t brushing, etc.
 XII-5

In most furniture factories, a major reason for using the spray process
i s that i t allows such a variety of shapes and sizes t o be finished on
the same equipment. In the U.S. furniture industry spraying i s used i n
approximately 90% of a l l finishing systems.
SPRAYING
In a l l spraying processes the finishing material i s subdivided i n very
small droplets which travel through the a i r as a mist. The droplets
h i t the surface in a random fashion and when enough overlapping has
occurred, they form together a wet film. The method of subdividing the
1 iquid, often called atomization, i s variable.
The parts of a conventional spray gun are shown i n Figure XII-1.

A. Air Cap
B. Fluid T i p
C. Fluid Needle
D. Trigger
E. Fluid Adj. Screw
F. Air Valve
G . Spreader Adj. Value
H. Gun Body
w
Figure XII-1: Conventional Air Spray
The a i r cap i s a t the f r o n t of the gun and d i r e c t s the compressed a i r
into the material stream t o atomize i t and form i t i n t o a spray. The
cross section of t h i s spray i s called the spray pattern. There are various
caps producing different sizes and shapes o f pattern f o r a l l types
of applications.
The f l u i d t i p i s d i r e c t l y behind the a i r cap and meters and d i r e c t s the
material into the a i r streams. The f l u i d t i p forms a seat f o r the f l u i d
needle which shuts off the flow of material. Fluid t i p s are available
i n a variety o f nozzle sizes to properly handle materials of various types
and pass the required volume of material f o r different speeds o f application.
The trigger of the gun operates the a i r valve t o allow a i r t o pass through
the a i r cap. Further travel o f the trigger operates the needle and releases -
the finishing material. The two-part actlon o f the trigger makes i t possible
t o use the gun t o blow dust from the surface of the furniture by pulling the ~

trigger only halfway.

 XI 1-6

-
COAT PROCESS NEEDED TIME
(Min: )
1 SAP STAIN SP ray
a i r dry .5 m i n .
2 NGR OVERALL STAIN spray
a i r dry 4.5 m i n .
3 TONER spray
flash 5.0 min.
oven - 200F. 3.0 m i n .
cool 3.0 m i n .
sand
4 WASH COAT spray
flash 5.0 m i n .
oven - 200F. 3.0 min.
cool 3.0 m i n .
sand
5 FILLER spray
wipe
pre-heat - 130 t o 180F. 5.0 m i n .
oven - 210F. 8.0 m i n .
cool 10.0 m i n .
6 SHADE spray
a i r dry .5 m i n .
7 SEALER spray
flash 12.0 m i n .
oven - 210F. 3.0 m i n .
cool 4.0 m i n .
sand
8 GLAZE spray
wipe
oven - 210F. 5.0 m i n .
cool 5.0 m i n .
9 FIRST TOPCOAT spray
a i r dry 20.0 m i n .
10 PAD/GUN SHADE apply
11 SECOND TOPCOAT spray
clean tops
flash 15.0 m i n .
pre-heat 130 t o 180F. 6.0 m i n .
=

oven - 210F. 6.0 min.

cool 2.0 m i n .

Table XII-2: F i n i s h i n g Schedule f o r Medium Priced Furniture

C"Materia1s" Schedule)
 XI 1-7

The spreader adjustment valve controls the a i r to the horn holes which
regulate the size o f a spray pattern from maximum w i d t h down t o a narrow
or round pattern.
Spray guns are made w i t h suction cups and pressure cups, b u t f o r pro-
duction work the finishing material i s supplied through a hose from a
pressure tank near the booth or more commonly from a remote storage and
pumpi ng s t a t ion.
For the application of heavy coats o f certain materials, i t i s desirable
t o spray these a t elevated temperatures. Hot spray systems involve supply
and return lines as the material must be circulated constantly t o main-
t a i n the temperature.
I t i s also possible t o atomize a liquid by releasing i t under high pressure
through a small o r i f i c e . This principle i s used i n a i r l e s s spray. An air-
less spray system i s shown in Figure XII-2.

1. F i n i s h i n g Material Drain from Reservoir 6. Drain Cock

2. Airless Pumping U n i t 7. F.educed Pressure Readout
3. Pressure Readout a t Pump E x i t 8. Airless Spray Gun
4. Heating/Fi 1 tering U n i t 9. Pump Drainincr Valve
5. Pressure Reducer 10. Valve

Figure XII-2: Airless Spray System

 XII-8

Electrostatic spray i s an application of the principle of e l e c t r o s t a t i c

attraction o f unlike charges. The object t o be sprayed has t o be a con-
ductor, and the system works well for many metal products. I t works a1 SO
for wood of a sufficiently h i g h moisture content, about 12%. The appli-
cation of a conductive coat as a f i r s t operation i s another method. I t
has been used t o a great extent i n the European TV cabinet industry. For
the furniture industry i n the United States, applications are quite
limited a t the present time.
Although some systems use spray guns, these can be eliminated. In the
"Ransburg 11" process, a rotating d i s k i s used t o atomize the paint.
Besides the conductivity, a major problem i s the shadow effect. Certain
corners and ridges may a c t as a lightning conductor, attracting an excess
amount of paint, while another area does n o t receive enough.
Besides the spraying equipment, there has t o be a specialized work area
f o r the operation. This i s called a spray booth. Spray booths are in
essence giant hoods of a dust/fumes - collection system. In order to
avoid finishing materials accumulation on t h e m , the walls are covered w i t h :
1. removable cardboard panels
2. strippable coating
3. water.
The water-wash spray booth i s the most advanced, b u t also the most expen-
sive type. These booths not only have a water film on the walls, b u t i n
the exhaust system i n the back of the booth, the a i r i s cleaned by shower-
l i k e arrangements. This also reduces the amount of finishing material
t h a t will build up i n the pipes and so reduces the f i r e hazard.
The size of the spray booth is variable; some are f i v e f e e t wide, some
as much as 60 f e e t t o accomodate as many as f i v e or six operators. The
s i z e of a booth has a l o t t o do w i t h the finishing conveyor and t h i s
subject i s discussed again i n Chapter XIII.
DIPPING
Two kinds of d i p p i n g processes are of i n t e r e s t . The f i r s t i s t h e p l u n g i n g
of a chair i n t o a tank f u l l of f i l l e r . Since the chair must be finished
on a l l sides and an even application of f i l l e r i s n o t essential, t h i s works
fine. There i s generally a dripping trough where the excess d r i p p i n g off
i s caught and returned t o the tank. A disadvantage of the tank i s the
large capacity which must be maintained f u l l until the l a s t item i s finished.
Pouring i s a method which eliminates this disadvantage a t the cost o f a
higher time required to do the application.
 XII-9

Another k i n d of dipping i s d i p p i n g w i t h controlled withdrawal. Generally,

when an object i s submerged i n lacquer and then withdrawn, runs will develop
which give a very poor appearance. I f , however, the r a t e of withdrawal i s
controlled accurately, these runs may be avoided f o r the most part. (See
Figure XII-3. )

Figure XII-3: Controlled Withdrawal Dipping Machine

f o r Furniture Legs.

FLAT LINE FINISHING MACHINES

In several furniture factories p a r t of the finishing i s done to components
rather t h a n the assembled piece of furniture. Mechanization opportunities
are especially good f o r finishing panel stock. A group of machines have
been developed f o r this purpose. Five of these are shown i n Figure XII-5.
The most basic machine i s a roll coater. This machine i s about the same a s
a glue spreader. The thickness of the ap lied coat depends on the spacing
!
o f the (small ) doctor roll and the [large application r o l l . When the
doctor roll i s etched, the machine i s called a precision roll coater ( n o t
shown) and control over the amount applied i s i n the etching pattern. A
further variation of t h a t principle i s found i n the precision coater. The
small doctor roll delivers an excess of finishing material to the etched
(en t c p ) . A doctor vipes off t h e fiaiei*ja; except what j s i n
the etching. The application r o l l (rubber) transfers t h i s material to the
work piece. The precision coater i s in f a c t a kind of p r i n t i n g machine,
 XII-10

Figure XII-4: Flat Line Finishing System

b u t i t "prints" only one uniform ''grey" coat. In a printing machine,

some method of registering i s needed t o achieve the r i g h t e f f e c t . Most
printing machines nowadays have three print r o l l s and three colors are
printed w i t h differently engraved r o l l s . Keeping the stock in register
i s important, even though errors in register are not as disastrous as they
are in printing color photographs o f something other than wood g r a i n .
The reverse r o l l coater has an application roll much l i k e a plain roll coater.
The smooth steel reverse r o l l pushes the material into the pores and crevasses
of the panel and removes the excess. A cleaning roll w i t h a solvent keeps
the reverse r o l l clean.
Another type of machine altogether i s the curtain coater. Finishing material
i s pumped t o a head and forced t h r o u g h a narrow adjustable s l i t t o drop i n
a trough. The descending sheet of finishing material i s the "curtain".
When a panel i s passed through,a coat i s deposited on the t o p and sometimes
on the side edge as well. (Edgecoating depends on angles, surface tension
and flow characteristics.) High feed rates are necessary since the curtain
has a minimum thickness. The machine i s , therefore, equipped w i t h rather
long infeed and outfeed belts. The stock accelerates going i n and decelerates
away from the curtain.

Double head machines are especially suited t o two component finishes.

All of these machines have a place in f l a t l i n e finishing systems. W i t h a
major increase i n printed finishes, many factories have s e t u p f l a t lines.
A typical sequence i s given i n Table XII-3.
 XII-11

I' 4
. I
W
Feed Speed: 25-100 FPM Feed Speed: 25-100 FPM
App.: 1-3 lbs./M sq. ft.' (Sealers) App.: 1-5 lbs./M Sq.ft.
2-8 lbs./M sq. ft. (base c t . ) f i r s t roll is textured,
Roll Coater Precision Coater

Feed Speed: 30-150 FPM Feed Speed: 60-500 FPM

App. : 5-20 lbs./M S q . f t . App.: < 1 lbs./M sq. f t .

Reverse Roll Coater Roll P r i n t i n g Machine

I Feed Sneed: 60-500 FpH I

Figure XII- 5: Flat Line Finishing Machines

 XII-12

SAND Wide belt sander

CLEAN Panel cleaner (rotating brush & suction)
POLYESTER FILLER Reverse r o l l coater
OVEN DRY U1 travi ol e t oven
SAND Pol i sh sander
BASE COAT Precision coater
FLASH OFF
OVEN DRY Hot a i r oven
3 COLOR PRINT 3 Roll printer
SEALER Roll coater
FLASH OFF
OVEN DRY Hot a i r oven

Table XII-3: Flat Line F i n i s h i n g Schedule

Panel stock coming from this l i n e would be assembled i n t o the furniture.
Glaze and t o p coat would be applied t o the assembled case. This k i n d of
system allows f o r mixing solid wood posts w i t h printed particleboard panels.
The glaze application would follow the configuration o f the furniture.
(Note t h a t this way a single p r i n t r o l l may be used f o r a 60" t o p and for
a 22" end panel since the highlighting i s n o t a part o f the p r i n t . )
DRYING OVENS
The construction of conventional drying ovens i s essentially an insulated
box w i t h openings f o r the products to go in and out. The heating system
i s generally by convection. Air i s moved through steam heating coils and
circulated rapidly through the oven. Air circulation will achieve a uniform
drying on a l l surfaces. Air velocity should be low near the openings t o
avoid excessive heat losses. A normal arrangement i s shown i n Figure XII-6.

Blower and Heater

C-L-

-4

Figure XII-6: Conventional Convection-type Oven

 XII-13

Radiation heating, w i t h infrared and ultraviolet, i s used i n some systems.

These methods are especially suitable for f l a t lines.
WIPING AND SANDING OPERATIONS
The w i p i n g of f i l l e r i s one of the most d i f f i c u l t operations to control
properly. Most mechanical equipment t h a t has been t r i e d o u t has a ten-
dency t o remove the f i l l e r from the pores. Also, the shape of the
furniture usually requires hand wiping on a large part of the surface.
For one reason or the other, f i l l e r w i p i n g i s done by hand i n 95% of a l l
furniture plants.
A good pore-filling operation consists o f :
1. Application of the liquid f i l l e r
2. Flash o f f to allow the liquid t o become more viscous
3. Forcing the f i l l e r into the pores by circular motions with
a non-absorbent pad
4. Wiping excess f i l l e r off across the grain
5. Cleaning off the w i p i n g marks by wiping l i g h t l y i n the grain
direction.
Unfortunately, i t i s much easier t o manipulate the liquid f i l l e r and the
tendency of the w i p i n g crew i s t o s t a r t the job immediately a f t e r spraying.
Also w i p i n g across the grain is somewhat tedious and wiping tends t o be
done w i t h the grain.
Not only i s i t much more agreeable (from the workers point of view) t o do
the j o b the wrong way;the general working conditions a r e such that a
d i l i g e n t , conscientious worker will claim f o r himself (and obtain) a
better j o b than w i p i n g f i l l e r . The only solution i s keen supervision.
When the f i l l e r is primarily a coloring agent f o r the pores, i t does
not matter much whether the pores are 50% or 90% f u l l . B u t i f a h i g h
build f i n i s h , especially a h i g h gloss f i n i s h , i s applied afterwards, poor
pore f i l l i n g i s expensive. Some plants spray an extra coat of lacquer
to compensate f o r inadequate f i l l i n g . This i s f a r too expensive a
solution t o the problem.
Sealer sanding i s likewise a hand operation. The reasons are somewhat
different though. O f course, the shape of the furniture makes mechanical
sanding impossible on some parts of the surface, b u t i t would be possible
t o use a vibrator type hand sanding machine on the tops. The reason f o r
not doing so i s t o a v o i d sanding which i s t o o vigorous. The sealer coat
i s so t h i n t h a t one could cut t h r o u g h i t i n a hurry. The purpose of
sealer sanding i s merely t o knock o f f the high spots, not t o g r i n d every-
t h i n g down t o the lowest level.
 XII-14

For f i l l e r w i p i n g and for sanding sealer, small work areas per man suffice.
Good lighting i s required. Sometimes dust collection systems are used b u t
i t i s generally d i f f i c u l t t o catch the d u s t that i s generated over such a
large area. Most plants rely on the next spray operator t o blow i t off i n
the booth.
FINISHING MATERIALS STORAGE
F i n i s h i n g materials are generally stored i n 55 gallon drums or i n large
tanks. In the l a t t e r case, the system is referred t o as bulk storage.
For materials t h a t are used commonly such as sealer and lacquer, bulk storage
is preferred for a l l medium and large casegoods plants. The advantage over
drums i s :
1. Lower price per gal lon for bulk shipments
2. Lower handling cost
3. Lower quality control costs.

Figure XII-7: Modern Pump Room

 XI 1-1 5

When some of the f i r s t b u l k storage systems were installed, the tanks were
paid for o u t o f the lower unit cost the f i r s t time they were f i l l e d u p .
(However, the one-time savings d i d not cover p i p i n g and i n s t a l l a t i o n . )
The lower handling cost i s rather obvious and i s n o t restricted t o the
delivery of the finishing material. During use, the switch over from drum
t o drum involves labor too.
I t is desirable t o t e s t finishing materials before use , and the larger the
batch, the lower the cost per g a l l o n . I t i s true t h a t one can obtain large
shipments o f the same manufacturing batch in drums, b u t when drums are used,
purchased batches tend t o be more modest.
Materials such as stains are switched from suite t o suite and are more con-
veniently handled in modest q u a n t i t i e s , so drums are the rule. Figure XII-7
shows a modern pump room where various color materials are pumped directly
from the drum w i t h pneumatic pumps. Note t h a t some mixing goes on as well.
Not a l l purchased materials are used "as i s . "
FINISHING MATERIALS USAGE
The exact amount of finishing materials used i s best obtained by experiment.
When the finishing materials usage must be estimated from a drawing, one can
use tables such as Table XII-3 and Table XII-4. Such a table s h o u l d be adjusted

SPREADING RATES OF FINISHES

Ap roximate Number of Square Feet Covered
&e Coat with One Gallori Ready to Use
Kind of Finishing Material Roller CT..tab NOTES :
*S ray Dip Coat \?oat
% Efficiency for the Operation 68% W??, 95% 95%
1. The figures in the above table are approximate only.
WOOD SURF'ACES So much depends upon the solids of the finishing
Nan-Grain-Raising Stains 275 ... ... ... macerial, the porosity of the surface, the thickness
Pigment Wiping Stains. 400 500
Filler -8 Lbs. to Gal.. . 250 350
...
...
...
...
of application and other variables that i t is impos-
sible to give accurate figures.
Lacquer Sealers ....... 250 ... 600 600
Glazing Stains .. ... .. 500 .
Synthetic Sealers . . . . . . 300 400
... ... ...
600 600
2. FORMULA
FROX
FOR CALCULATING
WET F I L n r THICKNESS
THEORETICAL COVERAGE

Synthetic Top Coats . . . 400 600 600-800 400-600 I liquid gallon, applied at 1 mil wet, covers 1,600
Clear Lacquers . ... . ... 250 ...600-800 400-600
... ...
square feet.
Lacquer Toners . . . . . . . ,250 Examples: A t 4 mils, 1 gallon covers 400 square feet.
Lacquer Base-Coats . . . . 200 ... 300 350-450 A t 8 mils, 1 gallon covers 200 square feet.
Enamel Undercoats . . . . 350 400 450 450-500 3. Modern Airless Spray will give approximately 12 t o
Oil Enamels ... ..... .. 400 450 500 500 15% greater coverage than conventional spray. %hove
Lacquer Enamels . . . . . . 200 ... . .. 500-600 figures for spray are based on conventional spray.
METAL SURFACES
Lac uer Primers . .. . .. 250 . .. ... ... TO FINDTHE NUMBEROF GALLONS REQUIRED: Divide
O i l l r i m e r s . .......... 400 400
Lacquer Enamels * . . . . . 250 ...
......
... the number of square f e e t in a g i v e n number of
articles t o be coated b v the f i g u r e s in the above table
Oil Enamels .......... 350 450 450 ... f o r the t y p e of goods and method o f application to
Synthetic Enamels . . . . . 300 400 400 . .. be used. T h e resultixy f i g u r e will be the number of
Wrinkle Finishes . . . . . . 200 . . . ... ... gallons of material, reduced r e a d y f o r use, that will
Hammer Finishes . . . .. 350 ... ... ... be required f o r that number of pieces o f work.

Table XII-3: Spreading Rates of Finishes]

 XII-16

How To ESTIMATE NUMBEROF

PIECES PER GALLON
1. Carefully measure all the surfaces to be coated,
making no allowance f o r cut-out sections. Do not
overlook backs, projections, recessions, etc., especially
if the dipping method is used. For example, when
finish is applied by spraying, a Jenny Lind bed end
would be figured as a solid panel and a chair would
be figured solid from seat to floor and from seat to
top of back.
2. Add together the square footage of the several
p a r t s or sides and top of the piece to be coated. If
the parts a r e small, take the combined surface of 100
or 1000 pieces, to help eliminate fractions of square
feet. Always figure the combined area in square feet.
3. Divide the approximate coverage figures in the
accompanying table, according to the type of finish-
ing material, and the method of application, by the
total area in square feet of the articIe being coated.
This will give the approximate number of pieces t h a t
can be coated with one gallon of the material ready
to use.
To get Square Feet divide by 144 ==27.1 Sq. Ft.
144
(Call it 27 Sq. Ft.)
Then material spreading rates f o r this dresser are:
1. Spray Pigment Stain 4oO = 14.8 (call it 15)
27 Dressers per gal.
2. Spray N.G.R. Stain 275 = 10.2 (call i t 10) '

27 Dressers per gal.

3. Spray Filler 250 = 9.2 (call it 9)
27 Dressers per gal.
4. Spray Lacquer Sealer 250 = 9.2 (call it 9)
27 Dressers per gal.
5. Spray Synthetic 400 = 14.8 (call it 15)
Topcoat 27 Dressers per gal.
4. If the material is reduced to a considerable extent
before application, the number of pieces t h a t can be
coated with a pallon of the material a s received from
the manufacttrer can be approximated by multiply-
ing the number of pieces calculated in step 3 by the
fraction of a gallon of reducer added to a gallon of
the full bodied m a t e r i a i h n d adding this figure to
EXAMPLE : the number of pieces determined in step 3. Example:
On this dresser the figures are: 16 pieces can be coated with a gallon of ready t o
spray material which was made by adding a quart
Square of reducer to a gallon of full bodied goods. 16 X %=4
Inches 16+4=20 pieces per gallon of full bodied goods.
1. Front 44"x 36" .......................... .1584 Example: 12 pieces can be coated with a gallon of
2. Left End 36"x20"
3. Right End 3 V x 2 0 "
........................ 720
...................... 720 material which has been reduced at the rate of a
half gallon of reducer to a gallon of full bodied goods.
4. Top 20"x44" ............................. - 880 12 X '/=6 12+6=18 pieces per gallon of full bodied
3904 goods.

Table XII-4: How to Estimate Number of Pieces Per Gallon2

for an experimentally measured efficiency (often lower than 60%) and the
desired wet film thickness.

"Useful Facts & Figures," 2nd Edition, Reliance Universal Inc.,

Louisville, Kentucky.
Ibid.
 CHAPTER X I 1 1

THE F I N I S H I N G CONVEYOR

I NTRODUCTI ON
In a l l departments of a furniture factory the materials h a n d l i n g system i s
an important auxiliary t o the production machinery. In the f i n i s h i n g room
materials handling becomes the dominant partner i n a manner of speaking.
The f i n i s h i n g conveyor dictates w h a t can be and w h a t cannot be done. I t
represents an investment many times larger than the finishing equipment
itself .
In non-conveyorized f i n i s h i n g systems, about an equal amount of labor i s
spent on finishing and materials handling. Thus the conveyor saves a great
deal of money. An important feature of the conveyor i s t h a t i t paces the
work. This has a beneficial e f f e c t on the production r a t e quite apart from
the materials handling aspect. I t i s also helpful i n making the job much
more uniform from one load t o the next. In a non-conveyorized drying oven
there i s always the danger of f i r s t - i n , last-out resulting i n nonuniformity.
With a l l these advantages i t i s l i t t l e wonder t h a t v i r t u a l l y a l l f i n i s h i n g
rooms are conveyorized.
The disadvantage mentioned sometimes i s the d i f f i c u l t y i n 1 ine balancing.
If spraying stain takes 1.2 minutes and spraying washcoat only 1 .O minutes,
the conveyor is forced t o travel a t the pace of the slower operation. In
practice though, spraying operations take very similar amounts of time.
Sanding and w iping operations generally take a multiple of that. The
balancing i s obtained by having one operator (or two) i n every booth and
selecting the crew size f o r wiping and sanding t o get the balance.
TYPES OF CONVEYORS
The Overhead Conveyor
The overhead conveyor (see Figure XIII-1) has a chain which travels on some
k i n d of track. The chain i s equipped w i t h skate wheels which travel i n or
on a track. To the chain a number of c a r r i e r s are connected a t even spacings.
In a chair plant these c a r r i e r s are just hooks holding the chairs; i n a
casegoods factory they are suspended platforms. The c a r r i e r i s connected
by means of a swivel j o i n t which locks i n four positions. This means the
conveyor can travel the narrowest path possible. One major advantage o f
L I I I ~type o f eoiiveyor is t h a t i t can be adapted easily t~ a t w w f l ~ o ropera-
AL.2
.#

tion. In chair plants quite often the drying ovens are overhead.
 XIII-2

track
wheels
chain
swivel j o i n t locking
in 4 positions

Side View
(smal 1e r scal e )
Cross Section

Figure XIII-1: Overhead Conveyor

The Pallet Conveyor

The pallet conveyor consists of a number of pallets usually about 30" x 72"
which have a pin a t the center. The pallet rides on two tracks w h i c h have
skate wheels spaced close together. The pin travels t h r o u g h a s l o t in which

track with
/ pal 1e t /, wheels pin

-'
chain
Side View
guide t o prevent
track with wheels
I
.c=c<x=3=-- - I

chain

Top View

Figure XIII-E: Pallet Conveyor

 XIII-3
we find the chain. The chain pulls the p i n , b u t i t i s not permanently
connected with the p i n . A t the location of a spray booth the tracks have
swivel wheels so the pallet can be turned around the p i n . An alternate
construction method i s t o equip the pallets w i t h wheels and provide a
track f o r them t o ride i n . The swivel locations have large steel plates
on which the "carts" can swivel. The operator turns the p a l l e t , sometimes
by kicking i t w i t h his foot, more often by pushing the furniture with his
l e f t hand. A skilled operator can often turn the furniture while he con-
tinues t o spray i t . The time l o s t i n h a n d l i n g i s almost negligible.
One advantage of the p a l l e t conveyor i s the floor-space economy made possi-
ble by the so called "closepac" arrangement.

- motion

Figure XIII-3: Pal l e t Conveyor "Closepac" System

Pallets o f 2 a/, x 6 feet are often spaced about nine f e e t center t o center.
This allows work t o be done on a l l sides. However, t h i s i s rather wasteful
f o r drying periods. In the closepac arrangement the pallets are f i r s t turned
so t h a t they are traveling i n the 2 l / 2 f o o t dimension direction. Then the chain
i s lowered so t h a t i t s connection w i t h the pallet becomes disengaged. The
r e s u l t i s t h a t the p a l l e t i s no longer pushed forward. I t remains stationary
until the next p a l l e t wns into i t and pushes i t forward. As a result a
s e r i e s of p a l l e t s i s moved together, one s p o t each time another pallet has
r u n into i t . A t the end of the closepac l i n e the chain i s raised and i t
picks off the p a l l e t s and they resume normal progression.
 XI 11-4

Figure XIII-4: DeBurgh Pallet Finishing Conveyor

Figure Xiii-5: in-fioor Type Finishing Conveyor

 XIII- 5

There i s a limit t o the number of pallets in one closepac sequence. If the

number exceeds 15 there i s a danger t h a t the l i n e o f pallets will "buckle"
and one pallet lands on t o p of another.
Some other types o f pallet conveyors use a system of rams t o move the pallet
away from i t s regular path into a slow moving "closepac" channel which i s
a t r i g h t angles t o the conveyor i t s e l f .

Other Types o f Conveyors

Other types of conveyors include s l a t bed conveyors (which generally provide
handling through the drying process only, with manual handling a t the work
stations) and ''power and free" types. The l a t t e r i s a system where every
operator "can work a t his own pace." That i s , of course, only true t o a
point, as eventually a l l stations must have equal through-put.

CALCULATION OF CONVEYOR REQUIREMENTS

The starting p o i n t f o r conveyor calculations i s e i t h e r the required pro-
duction r a t e or the set of standard operation times f o r the production
processes.
1. Production requirements
I f , for example, a desk factory wishes t o produce
275 desks per day, one may approach the problem
this way:
Working day = 480 min.
Less breaks 30 m i n .
Clean u p time a t end of day = 10 min.
"Net" working day equals = 440 min.
Assume efficiency i s 0.95.
Actual r u n n i n g time of conveyor 0.95 x 440 = 418 min.
Finishing conveyor time per p a l l e t = 418/275 = 1.52 m i n .
2. Standard operation time
If the Industrial Engineering Department has
determined t h a t standard times f o r spray ng a
desk vary from 2.11 m i n . f o r f i l l e r t o 2 48 m i n .
f o r topcoat, gne can s t a r t as follows:
"Controlling" operation: topcoat = 2.5 man-min.
Allow 2 operators per booth
F i n i s h i n g- conveyor time per p a l l e t = 2.5 2 = 1.25 m i n . -
418 min. per da = 334 pallet loads
capacity = 1.25 m i n . per g l l e t
~

per day
-
T h i s example s h w s th,t the tPK! approaches d o n ' t always yield the same
answer. Clearly we cannot violate e i t h e r principle. However, we can make ~

certain adjustments. The ways we can change production capacity are:

 XIII-6
1. Have two spray operators per booth. T h i s will double pro-
duction per day a t the expense of having a t o t a l crew of
almost twice the size. (Some sanding operation m i g h t
go from 4 t o 7 people, g i v i n g a s l i g h t economy.)
2. Have a "two cycle" system. This will halve production
per day, by combining ( f o r example) step 1 and step 5,
steps 2 and 6 and so on. I t works really well i f 7 people
wiping a f t e r step 2 can do the sanding a f t e r step 6 . I t
usually forces the finishing schedule i n t o a poor f i t t i n g
s t r a i t jacket.
3. Work 9 hours instead of 8. T h i s should give a 13% gain.
4. Slow the pace down, f o r example 20%. The spray operator
has more time and can perhaps work w i t h a smaller spray
pattern and reduce waste. There are no savings on spray
labor t o offset the lower production, b u t sanding and
wiping crews can be reduced by approximately the percent-
age s l owdown.
5. Re-engineer the bottleneck jobs t o increase the pace.
What t h i s means i s often as simple a strategy as using
the f a s t e s t spray operators for the two most time-consuming
steps. They can "beat" the standard by 5% o r 10%o r some-
times even more. In some cases the selection of alternate
nozzles and a i r caps may increase the delivery of the spray
gun.
In some rare cases pre-finishing may help out. For example,
i f a hutch has a finished back, purchasing a pre-finished
back panel can materially affect the required time i n several
operations.
Naturally, i f the industrial engineers have done a good j o b
on setting the standards, we cannot expect t o shave them
.
s i g n i f i cant 1y

I1 8 hrs., slow pace

1 man/booth
800
2 men/booth
1600
8 hrs., f a s t pace 900 1800
9 hrs., slow pace 920 1850
9 hrs., f a s t pace 1030 2050
 XIII-7

If a production rate of 1150 is required we will have t o sacrifice some

efficiency or perhaps quality t o get i t .
To show how one goes about the design of a finishing conveyor system, l e t
us take the schedule given i n Table XII-2 and l e t the IE Department
furnish us w i t h standard times. These standard times are for a piece of
furniture representing an average production rate. For example, the NGR
overall s t a i n application takes 0.9 min. for a 5 drawer chest and 1.3 m i n .
for a large dresser. However, we load the conveyor chest-chest-chest or
dresser-mirror-dresser-mi rror-dresser , etc. The mirror on every other
pallet will bring the dresser production time down t o 0.9 min. per pallet
1oad.
Table XIII-1 shows the very same schedule as Table XII-2 w i t h the time
standards added i n . Also the steps LOAD and UNLOAD have been added on
a t both ends.
e will plan t o run a t
W = 0.9 min/per
pallet load
Pallet size is selected t o be = 84" x 30"
With a center-to-center spacing of = 116" o r 9.67 f t .

Conveyor 'peed 9.67

0.9 min .
f t . per pallet
per pal 1e t = 10.73 FPM
For a spray booth, we select a length of = 15 f t .
15 fft.min.
In conveyor time that works o u t t o be 10.73 t. - 1.40 min.

The schedule i n Table XIII-2 shows 1.4 m i n . for each spraying operation,
and t h a t means the conveyor travels through the booth i n 1.4 m i n . The
average time available for work is s t i l l 0.9 min./pallet.
The crew size for the spray operation = 1 operator
If the required drying time i s 5.0 minutes, we use the same 5.0 minutes i n
the conveyor schedule for the time through the oven.
Sanding toner takes 3.2 man-minutes. That means a crew size of
3.2 man-minutes/pal l e t = 4 operators
0.9 minutes/pal l e t
These 4 people can be accommodated i n a work area of 22 f e e t , which means
22 f t . = 2.0 min.
T0.73 FPM

The best way t e gain i n s i g h t i n t o these t i m e manipulations I s t o draw a

work station layout. Figure XIII-6 shows the "time-stretch" for a spray
booth and the "time-contraction" for a w i p i n g area, when converting opera-
tion time (man-minutes) t o conveyor time (minutes).
 XIII-8

DRYING TIME
COAT PROCESS OPERATION TIME
(min.)
0 LOAD 1oad 0.7
1 SAP STAIN spray 0.8
a i r dry 0.5
2 NGR OVERALL STAIN spray 0.9
a i r dry 4.5
3 TONER s Pray 0.9
f 1ash 5.0
oven -200" F 3.0
cool 3 .O
sand 3.2
4 WASH COAT spray 0.8
flash 5 .O
oven-200F 3 .O
cool 3 .O
sand 3.2
5 FILLER spray 0.9
wipe 7.7
preheat-l30/1 80F 5 .O
oven-210F 8 .O
cool 10.0
6 SHADE spray 0.9
a i r dry 0.5
7 SEALER spray 0.9
flash 12.0
oven-210F 3 .O
cool 4.0
sand 6.0
8 GLAZE spray 0.8
wipe 8.5
oven-21 OF 5 .O
cool 5.0
9 FIRST TOPCOAT spray 0.9
a i r dry 20.0
10 PAD/GUN SHADE apply 0.9
11 SECOND TOPCOAT spray 0.9
c l e a n tops 0.7
flash 15.0
preheat-1 30/180F 6.0
oven-210F 6.0
cool 2.0
12 UNLGAD nmtn7n.A
UII I uau A
u.1
1

Table X I I I - 1 : F i n i s h i n g Schedule f o r Medium P r i c e d F u r n i t u r e

(Operation Schedule)
 XIII-9
DRYING TIME CONVEYOR
OPERATION TIME TIME
COAT PROCESS (min.) (min.) OPERATORS
0 LOAD 1oad 0.7 5 .O 1
1 SAP STAIN spray 0.8 1.4 1
a i r dry 0.5 0.5
2 NGR OVERALL STAIN spray 0.9 1.4 1
a i r dry 4.5 4.5
3 TONER spray 0.9 1.4 1
flash 5.0 5.0
oven -200F 3.0 3.0
cool 3.0 3.0
sand 3.2 2.0 4
4 WASH COAT spray 0.8 1.4 1
flash 5.0 5.0
oven-200F 3.0 3.0
cool 3.0 3 .O
sand 3.2 2.0 4
5 FILLER spray 0.9 1.4 1
wipe 7.7 4.0 9
preheat-1 30/180"F 5 o: 5 .O
oven-210F 8.0 8.0
cool 10.0 10.0
6 SHADE spray 0.9 1.4 1
a i r dry 0.5 0.5
7 SEALER spray 0.9 1.4 1
flash 12.0 12.0
oven-21 0F 3.0 3 .O
coo 1 4.0 4.0
sand 6.0 4.0 7
8 GLAZE spray 0.8 1.4 1
wipelbrush 8.5 5.0 9
oven-210F 5.0 5.0
cool 5.0 5.0
9 FIRST TOPCOAT spray 0.9 1.4 1
a i r dry 20.0 20.0
10 PAD/GUN SHADE apply 0.9 1.4 1
11 SECOND TOPCOAT spray 0.9 1.4 1
clean tops 0.7 1.5 1
flash 15.0 15.0
preheat -1 30/ 180F 6.0 6.0
oven-210F 6.0 6.0
cool 2.0 2.0
12 UNLOAD unload 0.7 5.0 1
13 RETURN 10.0

TABLE XIII-2: F i n i s h i n g Schedule f o r Medium Priced Furniture

(Conveyor Schedule)
 XIII-10
k---
Area s e t aside for wiping=5.0 m i n y d
Spray Booth

I I I I , jl , e , ,
1 1 1 1 ~

1
k--0.9
e 8 8 8 0 8 8 -
I " I
k-- 1.4 m i d
Figure XIII-6: Space/Conveyor Time Relationship
All these conversions say i s t h a t the spray operator gets a l i t t l e more
than "his share" and the wipers get a l i t t l e less t h a n " t h e i r share" (by
doubling up).
The loading and unloading operations have received a l o t more than their
"share . I ' Loading a t a point i s not really practical. An area of 50 feet
is not a luxury. The RETURN entry i s new. While return cannot be measured
until the layout i s made, i t i s good practice t o add i n an "estimate."
T h a t way we include a t l e a s t something f o r i t i n the project budget.
Once a l l the operations have been accounted f o r i n the conveyor schedule,
we can add the conveyor times (and the crew). In the example the total
conveyor time i s 182.4 minutes.
Conveyor l e n g t h = 182.4 min. x 10.73 FPM = 1957 f t .

Number of p a l l e t s = o,9 182.4 min.

min./pallet = 203

Obviously, the length i s also given by

Conveyor length = 203 p a l l e t s x 9.67 f t . / p a l l e t = 1963 f t .

T h i s l a s t calculation serves as a useful check on the previous one. The

difference i n the two calculations i s i n the rounding up t o a whole number
of p a l l e t s i n the second calculation plus the rounding e r r o r i n the spac-
i n g and the speed.
The conveyor example given d i d not use CLOSEPAC. For a p a l l e t conveyor
we would normally include that feature since i t saves a l o t of space and
reduces the cost of the drying ovens.
Table XIII-3 shows the same schedule once more, this time w i t h the
addition of CLOSEPAC. All drying times of any significance have been
s p l i t 20% "NORMAL" and 80% "CLOSEPAC". Note t h a t f o r 4.5 minutes air
dry on t h e NGR OVERALL STAIN no closepac is included. The time i s too
short t o swivel go", go into closepac, come out of closepac and swivel
90". On the other hand, some time elements such as cool 3.0 minutes f o r
the TONER have been converted. The explanation i s t h a t the TONER drying
schedule i s (flash - 5.0 m i n . ) + (oven - 3 = 0 m5rsi) + (coo! - 3.0 min.) =
11 .O min. The pal l e t s will proceed i n CLOSEPAC from flash t o oven t o cool.
 XIII-11
DRYING TIME CONVEYOR TIME
OPERATION TIME NORMAL-CLOSEPAC
-
COAT PROCESS (min.) (min.) OPERATORS
0 LOAD 1oad 0.7 5 .O 1
1 SAP STAIN spray 0.8 1.4 1
a i r dry 0.5 0.5
2 NGR OVERALL STAIN spray 0.9 1.4 1
a i r dry 4.5 4.5
3 TONER spray 0.9 1.4 1
flash 5.0 1 .o 4.0
oven-200F 3.0 0.6 2.4
cool 3.0 0.6 2.4
sand 3.2 2 .o 4
4 WASH COAT spray 0.8 1.4 1
flash 5.0 1 .o 4.0
oven-200F 3.0 0.6 2.4
cool 3.0 0.6 2.4
sand 3.2 2.0 4
5 FILLER spray 0.9 1.4 1
wipe 7.7 4.0 9
preheat-l30/1 80F 5.0 1 .o 4.0
oven-210F 8.0 1.6 6.4
cool 10.0 2.0 8.0
6 SHADE s P ray 0.9 1.4 1
a i r dry 0.5 0.5
7 SEALER spray 0.9 1.4 1
flash 12.0 2.4 9.6
oven-210F 3.0 0.6 2.4
cool 4.0 0.8 3.2
sand 6.0 4.0 7
8 GLAZE spray 0.8 1.4 1
wipe/brush 8.5 5 .O 9
oven-21 0F 5.0 1 .o 4.0
cool 5.0 1 .o 4.0
9 FIRST TOPCOAT spray 0.9 1.4 1
a i r dry 20.0 4.0 16.0
10 PAD/GUN SHADE apply 0.9 1.4 1
11 SECOND TOPCOAT spray 0.9 1.4 1
clean tops 0.7 1.5 1
flash 15.0 3 .O 12.0
preheat -1 3O/18O0F 6.0 1.2 4.8
oven-210F 6.0 1.2 4.8
cool 2.0 0.4 1.6
12 UNLOAD unload 0-7 5 .Q 1
13 RETURN 10.0

Table XIII-3: F i n i s h i n g Schedule f o r Medium Priced Furniture

(Conveyor Schedule Using Closepac)
 XI 11-1 2

The conveyor length has changed from the calculation on page XIII-10.
Conveyor length NORMAL = 84.0 m i n . x 10.73 FPM = 901 f t .
Conveyor length CLOSEPAC = 98.4 m i n . x 2.78 FPM = 274 f t .
Total conveyor length = 1175 f t .

As a check on this calculation:

= 93.5 p a l l e t s

# pallets CLOSEPAC = o.9

98.4 m i n . = 109.5 p a l l e t s
(Both figures have been rounded t o make the sum an integer number.)
Conveyor length NORMAL = 93.5 pallets x 9.67 f t . / p a l l e t = 904 f t .
Conveyor length CLOSEPAC = 109.5 pallets x 2.5 f t . / p a l l e t = 274 f t .
Total conveyor 1ength =1178 f t .
As before, the f i r s t calculation i s based on 202.67 pallets and the seconc i s
based on 203.
When the conveyor i s l a i d out, there will be perhaps 200 t o 220 pallets,
depending on luck w i t h the laying o u t of curves and the UNLOAD-LOAD distance.
When production requirements are very modest , a regular finishing conveyor
w i t h a minimum crew s i z e can finish a day's work i n a few hours. Since we
cannot have a fraction of a man i n a booth, we must e i t h e r work part time,
o r we have t o use a two o r three cycle conveyor. Table XIII-4 shows a
three cycle f i n i s h i n g system.
I t can be seen t h a t most work stations have three functions. For example,
Booth I i s used f o r s t a i n spray on the f i r s t cycle, f o r sealer on the second
cycle, and f o r spatter on the third. The operator stays i n a fixed location
for these operations and simply changes tools.
For some other operations, things don't work o u t as cleanly. Note, for
example, one of the f i l l e r wipers f o r the f i r s t cycle moves t o sealer sand
on the second cycle and has t o arrive about f i v e minutes BEFORE the f i l l e r
w i p i n g j o b is finished. The s o l u t i o n i s t o p u t in a l i t t l e extra e f f o r t or
perhaps stop the conveyor a minute t o catch u p . I t i s virtually impossible
to balance perfectly a two o r three cycle finishing schedule unless i t turns
out t o be something l i k e six coats of paint.
 XIII-13

TIME EQUIPMENT PROC

1st CYCLE 2nd CYCLE 3rd CYCLE
. - - - _ I - - ----- \
4.4 unload/load (1; Return t o Return t o
0.2 wait booth (1) booth ( 1 ) I
I
1.8" Booth I stain (1 )-- - - * s e a l e r (1 )- - --s p a t t e r (1 )
I
4.4 Oven** dry d rY
I
1.8* Booth I 1 washcoat (1 )-, d rY d i s t r e s s (1) I
I c----- 4
12.3 d rY I-.s
I d rY I
1.7 sand (2)- - - -
1.3 wait
r--
I
wait*** ***
I I I
1.8* Booth I11 f i l l e r (I )- - - . t g l a z e \I)--+, d ry 'I I
flash
I flash
0.2 I I I
I
1.8" Booth IV wipe ( 4 ) ( 1 ) ( 3 ) -
20.4 Oven** d rY
2.9 cool
I

Table XIII-4: Three Cycle Finishing Schedule

 XIII-14

The calculations for this three cycle system are:

Cycle time f o r the conveyor = 55.0 min.
Cycle time f o r the f u r n i t u r e = 3 x 55.0 = 165.0 min.
I of men = 10 on 1st. cycle
= 10 on 2nd. cycle
= 6 on 3rd. cycle
Pallet s i z e = 84" x 32"
Center t o center spacing = 11 f t .
Operation cycle = 1.0 min./pallet
Conveyor speed 111
.0 = 11.0 FPM
Conveyor length = 55.0 x 11 .O = 605 f t .

# of p a l l e t s 55
l-3 = 55 pallets

No CLOSEPAC has been introduced because drying times were quite short.
In laying o u t a new f i n i s h i n g conveyor, one should be f a i r l y conservative
i n the choice o f drying times. In the future other finishing materials may
be used requiring longer times. Or, more commonly, production requirements
a r e increased and the only answer i s t o increase the conveyor speed. Are
the booths large enough t o allow two operators t o work side by side? Can
we increase the temperature and/or change the formulation of the finishing
materials t o "get by" w i t h half as much drying time? Some of these questions
should be anticipated a t the time of planning the project.
Once the f i n i s h i n g conveyor is installed, i t becomes the constraint by which
the selection of finishing schedules must be made. The more generous time
estimates used by engineering t o set up the conveyor, the less restricting
these constraints will be.
 CHAPTER X I V

RUBBING AND PACKING

.

IN T RO DUCT I ON
I t used t o be t h a t most casegoods firms had a " r u b room." Tops of medium
and h i g h priced furniture were given several topcoats. The h i g h build finish
had t o be rubbed because of the orange peel appearance and because i t was the
"standard" treatment.
The fashion i n finishes has changed. Now most wood tops receive a "close t o
the wood" k i n d of f i n i s h , w i t h open or semi-open pores. Perhaps this i s done
t o show that the top i s "not a p r i n t . " For a l o t of the medium priced furni-
ture, the high pressure laminate tops have become standard construction.
Rubbing i s therefore limited t o certain classes of furniture such a s , f o r
example, mahogany. In the r u b b i n g and packing department many a c t i v i t i e s take
place. A complete l i s t comprises:
1. Rubbing and polishing
2. Attaching hardware o r
3. Inserting hardware f o r mounting by r e t a i l e r
4. Securing drawers f o r shipment
5. Placing the glass i n mirror frames
6. General cleanup
7. Final inspection
8. Touchup i f needed
9. Packing and labeling.
RUBBING AND POLISHING
Rubbing i s the c u t t i n g down w i t h sandpaper of the t o p coat t o make i t complete-
l y level. Grit s i z e s used are 320, 360, or 400 f o r the f i r s t r u b b i n g operation
and up t o 600 for the second and final step. Most [ b u t not a l l ) finishing
materials have a tendency t o coagulate and form hard l i t t l e ''warts'' on the
sandpaper. These warts gouge the surface, leaving i t i n very bad condition.
Thus the sanding i s normally done i n a lubricant which can be a soapy aqueous
solution or i t can be a mineral o i l . These lubricants keep the removed
material i n suspension and prevent the coagulation. The use of aqueous
soiutions requires soiiie care. I f the w a t e r gets t o t h e wrong p?7ace, !t c a m s
swelling and poor appearance. The people involved i n rubbing will generally
wipe the surface clean and dry imnediately following the r u b b i n g operation.
 XIV-2

The equipment used f o r sanding i s g e n e r a l l y a double shoe r e c i p r o c a t i n g

sander o p e r a t i n g on a i r pressure. The surface speed i s very low compared
t o wood sanding. The weight i s considerable. The equipment i s o n l y s u i t -
able f o r h o r i z o n t a l surfaces. Ifdoors o r drawer f r o n t s are rubbed, t h i s
i s done o u t s i d e t h e case. When t h e f i l m thickness i s g r e a t e r and when t h e
p r o p e r t i e s o f the f i n i s h d i f f e r , some very d i f f e r e n t techniques may be used.
P o l y e s t e r can be rubbed w i t h a p o l i s h i n g sander u s i n g a 6" o r 8" b e l t w i t h o u t
a lubricant.

When p o l i s h i n g f o l l o w s t h e rubbing, i t i s most o f t e n done w i t h r o t a r y t o o l s

having a c o t t o n surface t h a t resembles a sheepskin. P o l i s h i n g compounds are
used t o achieve t h e appropriate sheen.

When no proper rubbing i s done, sometimes t h e t o p o r t h e e n t i r e piece o f

f u r n i t u r e may be l i g h t l y wiped w i t h a f i n e grade o f s t e e l wool.

HARDWARE OPERATIONS

Whether t h e drawer p u l l s a r e attached o r placed i n s i d e t h e drawers depends

on d e a l e r a t t i t u d e s , c o s t of packaging m a t e r i a l and l a b o r cost. Whenever
the hardware i s placed i n t h e drawers, some shortages show up. I t i s p o s s i b l e
t o make an e r r o r i n counting, b u t i t i s a l s o something t h a t i s very e a s i l y
removed. Most manufacturers who do n o t mount t h e hardware have a steady f l o w
o f parcel p o s t going t o t h e r e t a i l e r s c o n t a i n i n g -drawer p u l l s , door knobs and
So on. Some companies have s t a r t e d mounting t h e hardware i n o r d e r t o save
themselves t h i s headache. Packing c o s t may increase, e s p e c i a l l y i f t h e hard-
ware i s a l a r g e and f r a g i l e c a s t i n g .

Drawers and doors must be secured f o r shipment. A w i d e l y used system i s t h a t

o f f e l t - c o v e r e d s o f t metal s t r i p s . These s t r i p s have one o r more t r i a n g u l a r
prongs w i t h which t h e y can be fastened on t h e i n s i d e o f t h e case. A f t e r a
drawer i s i n s e r t e d , t h e p r o t r u d i n g end i s b e n t t o secure t h e drawer i n place.
F e l t p r o t e c t s t h e f i n i s h . This o p e r a t i o n w i l l most g e n e r a l l y f o l l o w f i n a l
i n s p e c t i o n and touchup.

Another major hardware o p e r a t i o n i s t h e mounting o f glass. I n bedroom f u r n i -

t u r e t h i s means m i r r o r s . I n d i n i n g room and occasional f u r n i t u r e , t h e r e a r e
chinas and etageres which have a considerable amount o f glass i n the doors
and end panels. Most o f t h e glass i s i n s e r t e d from t h e i n s i d e and secured
w i t h metal c l i p s .

FINAL INSPECTION AND REPAIRS

The f u r n i t u r e must be i n s p e c t e d b e f o r e packing. There are v i r t u a l l y no

companies t h a t do n o t i n s p e c t 100% a t t h i s stage. S l i g h t blemishes i n t h e
f i n f s h a.re marked w i t h c h a l k and some touchup i s performed, Unfortunately,
t h e r e e x i s t s a tendency t o f i l l up the r e p a i r o r touchup s e c t i o n t o capacity.
I t w i l l n o t be p r a c t i c a l t o take t h e f u r n i t u r e back t o the work s t a t i o n r e s -
p o n s i b l e f o r t h e defect (when t h i s can be ascertained). However, some e f f o r t
has t o be made t o feed back information t o the o r i g i n of the troubles= In our
opinion, r e p a i r and touchup should have a crew no l a r g e r than 5 percent o f
 XIY-3

the total number of employees in finishing and r u b b i n g . The situations

where this number has swollen t o 10 o r 15 percent represent an "invitation
to make mistakes."
PACKING
The packing of furniture has t o be engineered. Corner pads should absorb
sufficient energy t o prevent damage i n normal hand1 ing. Generally, the
packing material f o r a case consists of a paper or foam blanket f o r the
protection of front, ends and top, corner pads t o protect the corners and
edges ; and a carton. The carton i s pre-formed and p u t over the case much
l i k e a garment. The bottom flaps are then stapled t o the skid.
I t i s helpful t o have a piece o f equipment for inverting the case. This
makes the job less strenuous and i t helps reduce damage.
CONVEYORS
Some r u b b i n g departments have been conveyorized. The problem i s t h a t the
work content varies enormously. For example, a bed may require nothing other
t h a n inspection and packing. A dresser requires the manipulation o f 18
pieces o f hardware or more, not counting screws.
To continue the finishing conveyor i n t o the r u b b i n g and packing department
i s generally undesirable. When possible, the mixed merchandise on the
finfshfng conveyor should be separated and each category should proceed a t
i t s own pace.
A quite practical solution i s t o use s l i c k platforms a t various elevations
and push the cases along them. A s l a t bed conveyor f o r the cases only has
been used successfully too. For mirrors sometimes a s e t of work tables is as
easy as anything.
LABOR

Calculation o f labor requirements from standards should not be very d i f f i c u l t .

In general, the t o t a l crew will be between one-tenth and one-quarter o f the
finishing department.
 CHAPTER XV
WAREHOUS ING AND SH I P P I NG

INTRODUCTION
In casegoods furniture companies there i s , generally, a finished goods
inventory of some size. In the majority of the upholstered furniture
industry (and i n very few casegoods companies as well) finished goods a r e
produced t o order and shipped very soon a f t e r manufacturing. Therefore,
finished goods warehouses are comon only i n the casegoods industry. Multi-
plant companies very often have one or a few very large warehouses receiving
goods from several plants.
Of course, every company needs a s h i p p i n g department. When a finished goods
warehouse is present, s h i p p i n g is p a r t o f the warehouse setup. This chapter
i s about such warehouses.
A typical casegoods producer may "cut around the line'' i n three months and
have a finished goods inventory equivalent t o one month's production. In t h a t
inventory we will find some 80% of the company's l i n e i n varying quantities
and the other 20% o f the items will be out of stock. If there were such a
thing as perfect forecasting, 80%of the suites would have a l l items in stock
and 20% o f the suites would have no inventory a t a l l . Since the forecast i s
necessarily imperfect, there w i 11 be some suites w i t h significant inventory
levels of some items and no inventory on others. Trade practices vary, b u t
i n general, the r e t a i l e r s will n o t accept incomplete shipments w i t h some
items backordered. First of a l l , the r e t a i l customer will not accept a
bedroom s u i t e without the dresser*, and second,the r e t a i l e r does not l i k e the
higher t o t a l freight b i l l f o r the broken order.
The situation i s even less tolerant of deviations when carload orders are
received. The f r e i g h t differential on a backorder i s more substantial. When
a carload order f o r one s u i t e i s received and some items are out of stock,
the solution i s straightforward. When the s u i t e is cut next, the carload
shipment i s made up and sent together. A medium size West Coast r e t a i l e r
m i g h t not be able t o order a carload of one s u i t e , b u t t o have a competitive
cost he s t i l l wants t o get the carload freight advantage. So he orders a
mixed car, consisting of three s u i t e s . Now, i f we w a i t until a l l items are
i n stock a t the same time, we m i g h t never ship. Consequently some of the
current inventory i s s e t aside f o r this shipment. This may be a "paper"
transaction only, o r i t may involve placing the items i n a "reserved" area.
When a carload is assembled f o r s h i p p i n g i t will take several hours to get
the merchandise together, depending on warehouse layout and the way the work
i s organized. Most carloads and almost a l l truck loads are accumulated before

"Backorders may be acceptable on n i g h t tables and mirrors, b u t there will

always be resistance against the practice.
 xv-2

they are loaded. Trucks typically will drop shipments i n a dozen places
and the loading must be i n reverse order of the delivery schedule.
1.n the warehouse/shipping department then, we will f i n d :
1. Finished goods inventory waiting f o r future retailers'
orders.
2. Partial carloads accumulated for shipment w i t h i n six
weeks or so.
3. Partial and f u l l carloads and truckloads accumulated
f o r shipment w i t h i n a day or so.
4. Truck loading docks.
5. Rail loading docks.
6. A materials handling system.

7. An office.

MATERIALS HANDLING
The design o f a warehouse i s dominated by the materials handling method.
The choice i s between:
1. Overhead conveyor.
2. Forklifts, squeeze l i f t s and "hook l i f t s . "
3. In-fl oor chain conve.yor.
4. Mi xed methods.
The f o r k l i f t systems are most appropriate i n single story warehouses of
moderate size. In large warehouses the f o r k l i f t spends too much time i n
travel. Some warehouses employ a "train" concept for carrying 20 or 30
pieces over a considerable distance w i t h f o r k l i f t s s t a n d i n g by a t each end
of the trip.
Overhead conveyor systems are tailor-made for multi-story warehouses.
In a l l material handling considerations i t should be understood that there
are two k i n d s of t r a f f i c , one into the warehouse and one out of i t . The
rhythm of these moves i s very different. Furniture comes i n cuttings and
goes i n mixed shipments. For example, 200 dressers may be produced i n a
six hour time span along w i t h 200 mirrors and 80 beds. The dressers w i l l
be stored i n warehouse bays t h a t are adjacent i f these are available,
In gerierdi they are not. As soon as a bay i s empty, something i s moved
i n . This means t h a t most often 32 dressers go i n t o one bay, 32 dressers
-AX
 xv-4

go into another somewhere e l s e and so on. The dressers arrive a t 100 second
intervals. When the dressers leave, an order-picker may collect just two
and no others will be needed for several days. The t r a f f i c into the warehouse
i s f a i r l y homogeneous and the t r a f f i c out of the warehouse i s not.
One concept i s t o make u n i t loads o f , say, 8 dressers on a large pal l e t . The
cartons are held together w i t h string or tape. These u n i t loads are b u i l t up
i n a staging area and they are then dispatched t o storage. In a separate
area, immediately adjacent t o s h i p p i n g , we keep one u n i t load of each furni-
ture item on hand a t a l l times. This means that the long distance moves are
always f o r a u n i t load and the frequent order picking moves are short distance
always.

SIZE OF THE WAREHOUSE

Earlier i n the chapter, one month's production was given as an example of a
typic,al finished goods inventory. The warehouse must be designed for the
maximum inventory level, not the average. Sales fluctuate w i t h the seasons
and i t is common f o r a furniture company to have i t s peak inventory on hand
i n June.
Examination of past sales records will give an indication of the s i z e of the
"valley" i n the sales s t a t i s t i c s . Naturally, a constant level of production
i s very desirable, b u t most managements would be reluctant t o commit them-
selves t o i t . Uncertainty about future sales of a fashion item andscarcity
of capital are two strong deterrents. In practice the problem i s solved by
four partial solutions:
1. Let the workforce shrink by natural a t t r i t i o n (stop h i r i n g ) .
2. C u t back production capacity by reducing the workweek,
typically from 45 hours t o 40 hours.
3. Boost sales by offering special deals.
4. Increase finished goods inventory.
The l a s t item i s always a part of the solution, mainly because o f the strong
u p t u r n i n sales expected by l a t e summer/early f a l l . When those orders come
i n , we want t o take advantage of them.
In most companies there does not e x i s t a formal "policy for a l l time."
Each year the decisions are made based on market and financial conditions.
However, when such deci'sions have to be made, the s i z e of the warehouse
i s a limiting factor. Therefore the warehouse size decision s h o u l d r e f l e c t
some general policy. In practice the decision will t u r n o u t to be something
like an extra capacity of two to six weeks production.

AREA PER U N I T OF FURNITURE

Once the average and the peak levels of inventory have been s e t , the numbers
must be translated t o square f e e t . I t i s highly likely that management will
 xv- 5

set the target inventory levels in dollars. The dollars figure must be
translated into beds, mirrors, dressers and so on. A weighted average
must be used f o r the price level. For example, i f sales r e f l e c t
60% of $ sales i n $250.00 - $350.00 suites,
20% o f $ sales i n $350.00 - $450.00 suites,
20% of $ sales in $450.00 - $550.00 suites,
then an inventory of $1,000,000.00 works o u t t o be
$600,000.00 f $300.00 or 2000 suites @ $300.00
$200,000.00 I $400.00 o r 500 suites @ $400.00
$200,000.00 I $500.00 o r 400 suites @ $500.00
o r a t o t a l of 2900 suites
f o r an average cost of $1,000,000.00 I 2900 or $345.00. If the company has
a $349.00 suite, t h a t might be used t o convert dollars t o surface area.
The next item t o consider i s stacking h e i g h t . If cases are manually stacked,
two i s the usual l i m i t f o r chests and three f o r dressers. When a squeeze
l i f t i s used, one can go as h i g h as four on chests and f i v e on dressers, b u t
the conservative practice i s t o go three and four.
Pre-palletized cases are generally stacked two h i g h per pallet and two pallets
h i g h f o r a t o t a l of four.
Beds and mirrors are most often stored standing on edge and only one h i g h .

ALLOWANCES FOR UNUSED SPACE

When the furniture inventory i s converted to net square feet, this number
needs t o be transformed i n t o gross square feet. First, there i s the question
of bays. In order t o be able t o "get to'' the furniture, the warehouse must
be subdivided i n bays. These bays a r e loaded w i t h only one kind of furniture.
In consequence i f the inventory of the #308 dressers occupies four bays there
will be three f u l l bays and a fourth from which we a r e drawing. Cutting size
and bay s i z e determine what fraction of bays i s p a r t i a l l y f i l l e d . The simplest
method i s t o d i v i d e half a cutting by the number held i n one bay. If the
answer is 3 plus a fraction, we may conclude t h a t approximately one bay i n
four i s p a r t i a l l y f i l l e d . Naturally this calculation should be done f o r several
classes of furniture. I f on average each fourth bay i s p a r t i a l l y f i l l e d , we
can multiply by 4/3+ i n order t o compensate f o r the p a r t i a l l y f i l l e d bays.

Normally there will be several s i z e s of bays. Nevertheless there will be a

problem of misfit. Typically, some 10%of the space may never be utilized.
The larger the bays,the better they can be f i l l e d . (On the other hand, the
larger the bays,the greater the fraction only partially f u l l . )
 XV-6

Finally there i s the question of a i s l e s . A survey conducted by NCSU students

i n 1971 revealed that of 35 warehouses, 72.0% of the surface area was used
f o r storing furniture. The gross area then becomes (for example),
4 100 100
Gross area = -
3.5 x 90x f 2 x Net area
I t may be argued that the peak capacity will be s l i g h t l y higher, because
under peak inventory conditions
1. The fraction of p a r t i a l l y f i l l e d bays i s lower than one
in four.
2. In marginal situations one m i g h t stack one case higher.
3. Unused fractions of bays m i g h t be used for storing beds
o r mirrors .
This i s a l l very true,and i n consequence, i f the peak inventory + average
inventory r a t i o i s s e t by management as a relatively h i g h number, the multipliers
may be chosen somewhat more conservatively.

THE WORK CONTENT OF WAREHOUSING AND SHIPPING

The labor involved i n warehousing and s h i p p i n g varies obviously w i t h s i z e
of the warehouse and the materials handling system. In view of the great
variety i n the methods employed, i t i s surprising t h a t the NCSU survey showed
such consistency i n the category averages.
The units referred t o i n Table XV-7 are pieces of furniture, regardless o f
s i z e or weight. Some o f the best figures came from a company making l i g h t
weight, smallish size bedroom furniture. I t should be pointed out t h a t the
34 warehouses were surveyed i n June/July 1971 when the a c t i v i t y i n the ware-
houses was f a i r l y low. Thus the figures f o r man-hours per u n i t are somewhat
on the h i g h side.
 xv - 7

Cafego ry Volume Man- hours Man-hours

o f Warehouse Day uay Piece
A l l Warehouses I 32,658 I 4,698.5 I 0.144

Small 3,329.5 712 0.214

Medium 6,302.5 1,106 0.175

Large 23 ,026 2,880.5 0.125

Upholstery 1 3,203 I 586 I 0.183

Casegoods I
I
29,455 I 4,112.5 I 0.140

Conveyor 13,906 2,171.5 0.156

Hand t r u c k 3,358 430 0.128

Comb inat ion 11,402 1,325 0.116

Fork l i f t 772 I 0.193

Pieces in/Day + Pieces out/Day

Volume/Day =

Man-hours/Piece e 2
- Man-hours/Da

Table XV-1: Man-hours per Piece o f F u r n i t u r e

in Warehous i ng/S h i p p i ng
 CHAPTER X V I

THE COST OF MANUFACTURING FURNITURE

INTRODUCTION

When t h e f i n a n c i a l performance o f a furniture manufacturing company i s

r e p o r t e d t o the s t o c k h o l d e r s , the most important f i g u r e s a r e : s a l e s ,
c o s t of goods s o l d , sales and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c o s t s , p r o f i t before t a x e s
and p r o f i t a f t e r t a x e s . These f i g u r e s a r e always reported on an annual
basis but many firms have q u a r t e r l y r e p o r t s a s well. The purpose o f any
business i s t o make money, and from t h a t s t a n d p o i n t , the p r o f i t figures
are t h e most revealing. In this d i s c u s s i o n , however, the main interest
l i e s i n t h e manufacturing process and the c o s t o f manufacturing. The
r e l a t i o n s h i p o f net s a l e s , c o s t of goods s o l d , e t c . , can be seen i n Table
XVI-1.
X Y Z FURNITURE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, RALEIGH, N.C.
P r o f i t and Loss Statement f o r Year Ending
December 31, 1968
% of Net S a l e s
Gross S a l e s $1 3,712,861 101.9
Less Discounts, Reservation f o r
Bad Debts 255,685 1.9
Net S a l e s $1 3,457,176 100.0
Cost of Goods Sold 10,254,374 76.2
$ 3,202,802 23.8
S e l l i n g & Administrative Expense 2,005,113 14.9
Earnings before Taxes $ 1,197,689 8.9
Provision f o r Taxes on Income 632,487 4.7
Net Earnings $ 565,202 4.2
Earnings Retained, Dec. 31, 1967 5,450,411
$ 6,015,613
Dividends paid, Dec. 31, 1968 264,000
Earnings Retained, Dec. 31, 1968 $ 5,751,613

Table XVI -1: P r o f i t and Loss Statement f o r the Year

 XVI - 2

The Profit and Loss Statement gives only one aspect of cost. Basically
there are three "viewpoints" of cost:
1. Historical Record.
This i s cost a f t e r the fact. The record may be for the company
as a whole,as for instance, the P and L Statement. I t also may
be the record showing the cost of manufacturing i n one o f the
company's plants or the record showing the cost of manufacturing
f o r a certain cutting. Materials Cost summaries or Direct Labor
Cost summaries are other forms of the historical record.
2. Predicted Cost.
Before decisions relative t o pricing new designs and modifying
construction details can be made, one has t o know a reasonably
accurate estimate of the manufacturing cost. If predicted cost
were accurate and nothing unforeseen would happen d u r i n g manu-
facturing, the historical record ( a f t e r the f a c t ) should agree
w i t h the predicted cost (before the f a c t ) . In r e a l i t y , an
approximate agreement i s quite common b u t a close one occurs
less often.
I t i s obvious t h a t accuracy o f predicted cost i s essential to
good business. I f , for example, half the 1 ine were underpriced
and h a l f the l i n e were overpriced, i t stands t o reason t h a t
the underpriced items will s e l l b e t t e r t h a n the overpriced ones.
A loss will occur i f the discrepancies i n prediction have caused
the pricing t o be too f a r out of line.
3. Standard Cost.
Predicted cost i s usually based on standards. These standards
cover such diverse items as f i n i s h i n g materials prices, lumber
y i e l d , standard machine hours, assembly conveyor pace and crew
s i z e , etc. I t i s often good t o convert these standards t o a
common dimension so that one can judge the relative importance.
I f this common dimension i s d o l l a r s , then one can speak of cost
standards.
As said before, these standards are used t o predict the cost of
new designs. B u t also, a f t e r the new design i s i n production,
these standards can be very useful. One may compare, on a day-
to-day or on a week-to-week or on a cutting-to-cutting basis,
the standard on the one hand w i t h the historical record (the
actual cost) on the other. This gives us a performance yardstick.
Standard cost used i n t h i s manner is a most important management
tool.
The difference between predicted cost and standard cost may seem to be non-
existent. An example may c l a r i f y t h i s . Say, a dresser i s designed and the
manufacturing cost i s estimated. The resulting predicted cost may be a
t a b l e shnwing var!'nus cnst e!ementsa birt t h e s P l n t ?:mpnrtant e n t r y i s t h e
 XVI -3

total cost per dresser. This total will include a certain margin of safety
t o absorb the delays and the waste that may occur. Whether this marqin i s
3% o r 10%will depend on the degree of control t h a t management has over the
operation (and sometimes on the amount of wishful t h i n k i n g that went into
the standards ) .
The standard cost will be figured on a department basis per time u n i t or,
more commonly, per cutting. Often a l l pieces of furniture (dressers, chests,
n i g h t tables) o f a cutting order are added together. For instance, the
rough end may be allowed a given standard number o f dollars worth of ma-
hogany, gum, e t c . , f o r a cutting order as well a s a given standard number of
dollars worth of labor. I f the record shows an excess amount used, one can
see where t h i s excess occurred and i t i s possible t o take steps to improve
future performance. I t i s quite common that the standards are a b i t t i g h t
and t h a t management i s well pleased w i t h a performance where actual costs
exceed standards by 2 or 3%. If a 10 or 12% discrepancy i s accepted without
complaint, the standards are n o t r e a l i s t i c for the factory as i t operates.
One should s e t a target performance a t a level that makes attaining i t
possible under favorable conditions. Once the standard i s reached frequently
one should consider tightening up so as t o provide an incentive f o r the
plant management and s t a f f t o further improve efficiency.
THE ELEMENTS
Everything t h a t i s being paid by a furniture company (with the obvious
exception of dividends and taxes on earnings) i s part of the product cost.
T h i s includes a great diversity o f elements such as the cost o f lumber,
postage stamps, sandpaper, the wages o f machine room labor, the s a l a r i e s
of the plant engineers, supervisors, the cost of maintenance, the deprecia-
tion o f buildings and equipment, and a host of other items. There i s an
obvious need t o arrange these cost elements in an orderly fashion;and the
standard method f o r doing t h i s i s a breakdown i n t o d i r e c t materials, d i r e c t
labor and factory overhead. Table XVI-2 shows the cost of products sold
broken down for the P and L Statement.
In the P and L Statement, we a r e concerned primarily w i t h the cost o f goods
sold and n o t w i t h the cost of those products which have been manufactured
and which are s t i l l i n the company's own warehouse. On the other hand, when
making cost calculations based on materials used, wages paid, e t c . , the only
practical figure i s the cost of goods produced. From plant figures we deter-
mine the cost of goods produced and convert this figure t o the cost o f goods
sold by adding the cost of the starting inventory and subtracting the cost
of the ending inventory. Table XVI-2 shows t h i s conversion.
I n the following presentation we shall consider each of the major cost
elements, d i r e c t materials, direct labor and factory overhead separately.
First the annual total will be considered and then the ways and means to
d i s t r i b u t e the total over the products which have been manufactured.
 XVI-4
XYZ FURNITURE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, RALEIGH, N.C.
P r o f i t and Loss Statement f o r Year Ending
December 31, 1968
(Cost o f Goods Sold)

* % o f Net Sales
Lumber $ 2,879,834 21.4
Plywood, Veneer 1,641,276 12.2
Glue, F i n i s h i n g M a t e r i a l s 686,312 5.1
Other M a t e r i a l s 592.117 -
4.4
DIRECT MATERIALS $ 5,799,539 43.1
D i r e c t Labor Wages $ 2,058,951 15.3
Social Security, Benefits (Direct
Labor ) 148,027 -
1.1
DIRECT LABOR $ 2,206,978 16.4

I n d i r e c t Labor $ 538,281 4.0

Soci a1 Securi ty , B e n e f i t s
( I n d i r e c t Labor ) 40,374 .3
Supervision, Engineering S a l a r i e s 565,207 4.2
Soci a1 S e c u r i t y , B e n e f i t s , Sal a r i e s 67,298 .5
Fuel, Power 94,148 .7
Sandpaper, J o i n t G1 ue 53,890 .4
Factory Supplies 147,456 1.1
Dep r e c i a t ion 376,912 2.8
Taxes , P r o p e r t y 67,273 .5
Maintenance 164,715 1.2
Insurance 78,574 .6
M i s c e l 1aneous Factory Expense 93,619 - .7
FACTORY OVERHEAD $ 2,287,747 17.0
COST OF GOODS PRODUCED $10,294,264 76.5
I n v e n t o r y F i n i s h e d Goods 1/1/68 1,399,543 -
10.4
$1 1,693,807 86.9
I n v e n t o r y F i n i s h e d Goods 12/31/68 1,439,433 -
10.7
COST OF GOODS SOLD $1 0,254,374 76.2

Table XVI-2: P r o f i t and Loss Statement;

Cost o f Goods Sold
 XVI- 5

DIRECT MATERIALS COST

In the P and L Statement the cost i s a summary of a l l items pertaining
t o the period of the report. B u t even t h a t i s not a simple s e t of figures
t o obtain. Some items may be found directly. Electric power and telephone
are b i l l e d on a periodic basis and t o obtain the total f o r a year, one
merely adds up the figures of twelve monthly bills.
Materials costs f o r a given period cannot be obtained by simply taking
the invoices over t h a t period. For instance one may s t a r t off the year
1964 w i t h an inventory of lumber valued a t $220,000 and close the year
w i t h a lumber inventory valued a t $280,000. If lumber invoices f o r ship-
ments during 1964 total $1,500,000, then the cost of lumber used d u r i n g
1964 is $1,440,000. A standard way of calculating this figure is:
Starting inventory $ 220,000
Lumber received + 1,500,000
$1,720,000
Ending inventory - 280,000
Lumber consumption $1,440,000
To obtain the figures f o r this simple calculation, one may s t i l l have t o
make some tricky decisions. For instance, among the s t a r t i n g inventory,
there may have been 10 M of 6/4 cherry which was valued a t $3,000 on
January 1. I t i s possible t h a t d u r i n g the year the demand for cherry
increased and t h a t the same amount of cherry would now cost $4,000. I f
this particular l o t of cherry lumber has not been used, the question a r i s e s
a t the end o f the year whether we should carry i t i n our inventory for $3,000
or f o r $4,000. Also the opposite may have occurred o r the quality of a
certain l o t o f lumber may have been reduced due t o checking o r staining. A
general conservative practice i s t o never re-evaluate materials inventory
upwards, b u t t o make the downward adjustments whenever they exceed a pre-
determined amount such as $50 per M.
In principle the procedure f o r a l l materials i s the same; one takes shipments
and adjusts f o r s t a r t i n g and ending inventory t o arrive a t the amount t h a t
is actually consumed. Sometimes other adjustments are necessary, such as
, when materials have been sold.
While the t o t a l cost of materials is o f interest, there is an obvious need
f o r cost figures pertaining t o one s t y l e of furniture and sometimes t o one
cutting o f t h a t style. I t i s , therefore, necessary t o distribute the total
cost of lumber, lacquer and so on among the various products made. For
some materials, i t i s v i r t u a l l y impossible t o accurately d i s t r i b u t e the
t o t a l cost over the products. An example is sandpaper. I t is f o r t h a t
reason t h a t a distinction i s made between two categories:
 XVI-6

1. Direct Materials. These are the materials t h a t actually go

into the product i n significant amounts. Examples are lumber,
.
plywood, f i n i s h i ng mater i a1 s
2. Indirect Materials. These a r e either materials t h a t are not a
part of the product such as sandpaper and polishing paste, o r
materials t h a t are used i n insignificant amounts such a s nails.
There are some borderline materials such as staples f o r upholstered furni-
ture or g ue used i n assembly. (Glue used i n making plywood i s figured as
a d i r e c t material and calculated per 1000 sq. f t . of single glue l i n e . )
The indirect materials are part of the factory overhead and will be discussed
l a t e r i n this chapter.
The theoretical distribution of the cost of d i r e c t materials over a l l products
may be calculated from the product specifications. For hardware such cal-
culations are obvious enough, b u t t h i s category may serve t o i l l u s t r a t e
the principle of materials allowance. For example, by counting the production
units and multiplying each by an appropriate number, one may calculate the
total number of hinges of a certain type t h a t has been applied t o the product
d u r i n g the year. This number will ordinarily d i f f e r from the amount used.
Some hinges may have been defective, some others may have been damaged during
the application and i t i s necessary t o account f o r the hinges t h a t have been
l o s t a s well as for the ones that will go w i t h the furniture t o the customer.
A practical way of accounting f o r these i s t o allow a percentage over and
above the number specified on the drawing.
A similar procedure can be followed for lumber. One can calculate the total
board footage o f lumber in the products manufactured. A t the same time,
one can determine the total board footage of lumber cut in the rough end.
I f the appropriate corrections for inventory in process have been made, the
r a t i o of the two can be established. This r a t i o i s the lumber utilization
o r lumber yield. Many plants work i n this manner and allow an overall
percentage f o r waste. There are considerable arguments against so simple
a procedure. I f the board i s cut a t the cut-off saw to make dresser tops
65" long, as well a s n i g h t stand t o p s 21" long, i t i s incorrect to add the
same allowance (or calculate on the same utilization basis) for b o t h . There
i s no doubt t h a t i f only short lengths were required, the yield would be
much higher or a lower grade material could be used. Therefore, i t i s
n o t right t o charge the small product with some of the expense t h a t i s
directly resulting from the large products.
Some firms have worked out a system of variable allowances depending on the
length of the product. Table X V I - 3 gives an example of variable allowance.
If a system o f variable allowances i s used in predicting the cost of various
products, there may s t i l l be a difference between the predicted lumber con-
sumption and the actual lumber consumed. I t would be practical t o include
an additional a1 lowance f o r fluctuation of plant performance and/or lumber
quality. Obviously the second allowance could be positive as well a s
negative I
 XV 1-7

! Length
of
Product
J
Allowance f o r waste when using

FAS
I

#1 c
I

#2C
< 20 30% 50% 8041
20-30 40% 60% 100%
30-40 50% 80% 130%
40- 50 60% 100% 170%
50-60 70% 120% 220%

Table XVI-3: Lumber Waste Allowance as % of Net Requirements

For example, the t o p of a chest contains 4.50 Bft. of lumber, based on
the rough dimensions (36" long, 18" wide). Using Table XVI-3, the amount
of #1C charged t o the top i s 1.80 x 4.50 = 8.10 Bft. The total figure f o r
lumber used during the m o n t h was $123,000. Using allowances from Table XVI-3,
the total amount should have been $124,500. The actual total consumption,
therefore, was 1.2% less than predicted. The actual amount of lumber used
i n the chest may now be taken t o be 1 . 2 % l e s s than predicted o r .988 x 8.1 =
8.0 Bft.
Face veneer i s very similar t o lumber i n t h a t allowances must increase w i t h
length. For special veneer e f f e c t s (cathedral grain) additional allowances
must be given.
When plywood i s purchased, the cost calculation may o r may not be similar,
depending on the sizes i n which the plywood i s obtained. If plywood is
purchased i n specifically selected s i z e s , a1 1 o f them mu1 t i p l e s of products,
the situation i s simple. Ifyon the other hand,plywood i s purchased i n
4 x 8 sheets, we run into the same kind of problem t h a t existed w i t h the
lumber. The small products will f i t well into the large size w i t h r e l a t i v e l y
l i t t l e waste. On the other hand the large sizes, i f cut by themselves, will
often give low yield figures. In cutting combinations of different s i z e s ,
the yield may be f a i r . The question i s : How should the waste be distributed
over the products? A reasonable practice would be to calculate the allowance
necessary when cutting small panels only. This allowance can be added t o
the net materials cost f o r the small panels. The large panels can be charged
with the remaining waste.
In desigrning the furniture with standard sizes i n mind; substantial savings -
are possible. One company, producing a line of promotional tables, makes
only table tops t h a t can be cut without trim loss from 4 x 8 sheets of h i g h
~

pressure laminates. Thus the allowance i s reduced to a very small amount

needed for squaring up the tops a f t e r the cold press. ~
 XVI-8

When glue i s used i n the manufacture of plywood, i t i s an obvious standard

practice t o d i s t r i b u t e the cost of the glue on the basis o f square f e e t
of single glue line. When glue i s used i n the assembly of furniture, i t
i s much more d i f f i c u l t t o find a reasonable means of d i s t r i b u t i n g the
total cost. A possible method would be t o count the number of tenon j o i n t s
and distribute cost on that basis. Another reasonable method i s t o distri-
b u t e the cost of assembly glue as a percentage of the t o t a l cost i n other
materials. However, t h i s i s hardly a "direct" procedure. In most plants
assembly glue i s considered an indirect material.
As explained i n Chapter XI1, finishing material cost should be distributed
on the basis of adjusted surface area.

In addition t o the standard allowances for overspray and general spraying

efficiency, i t may be necessary t o add on another overall allowance t o
take care of f i n i s h i n g materials consumption over and above the standard
amount calculated. In other words, i f on the basis of standards (such as
the ones given on page X11-15), the total finishing materials cost for a
year would be $200,000, then an additional allowance of 5% can be added
t o the standard amounts calculated w i t h each piece of furniture. This
5% allowance may cover f i n i s h i n g materials that have been used for repair
purposes o r t h a t have been spilled o r have been wasted by inexpert spray
operators. This allowance should n o t include finishing materials used
on samples.
DIRECT LABOR
The distinction between d i r e c t labor and indirect labor i s by no means
uniform throughout the industry. In principle anyone who performs any
operation i n the production process which can be measured (in terms of
time and money) and which can be assigned t o a given product, i s perform-
i n g d i r e c t labor. Some obvious examples are the molder operator or a
drawer f i t t e r i n the cabinet'room, a sealer sander i n the finishing room,
etc. A less obvious example i s the labor of the rough end. In the rough
end, a mixture of products i s made and i t i s impossible t o measure the
amount o f time spent by the cut-off sawyer on 24" drawer fronts. However,
i t i s very reasonable t o d i s t r i b u t e the cut-off sawyer's time over a l l
products t h a t he i s cutting on a board footage basis. Using this method,
the labor of the rough end i s considered d i r e c t labor.
Some jobs are obviously indirect labor. For instance the time of a watch-
man, a sweeper or a boilerman can obviously not be attributed t o the pro-
d u c t specifically.
Some functions can go i n t o e i t h e r category. For instance a roving inspector
in the machine room i s considered indirect labor because one cannot measure
and assign his time t o specific products. However, an inspector on the
f i n i s h i n g conveyor l i n e would spend a standard amount of time on each p a l l e t
!nad cofii15g off t h e conveyor. Therefore, t h i s i n s p e c t a r i s d i r e c t l a b o r .
 XVI-9

Sometimes the question i s asked whether set-up time i s d i r e c t abor or

indirect labor. Since each set up can be timed and attributed t o a
specific manufacturing r u n of certain products, i t should be c a s s i f i e d
as d i r e c t labor. Some plants employ special set-up men who do nothing
b u t setting up machines. Instead of skilled machine operators, they have
unskilled or semi-skilled machine loaders. In these plants i t i s conceiv-
able t h a t set-up time i s considered indirect labor. This i s a question-
able practice. Even though the s e t up i s done by another man, the time
can s t i l l be measured and attributed t o the product.
One category o f indirect labor i s often neglected. Most employees whose
function i s clearly d i r e c t labor will sometimes perform other duties. For
example a router operator may finish the available router work and then
be employed t o sweep the floor. The sweeping time should be counted a s
indirect labor. This category of indirect labor may include a variety
of unnecessary (make work) jobs. All of this can be grouped together as
"direct labor, not so employed," T h i s category generally depends on the
number of machines available, the s k i l l s of the workers and the efficiency
of the production control function.
In order t o obtain t o t a l figures f o r d i r e c t labor, wage records a r e often
not sufficient. In a d d i t i o n t o the t o t a l time f o r which a man was paid, we
need the time he spent on the job. I t i s , therefore, necessary to have a
system o f time keeping which records the starting and finishing time for
individual j o b s or groups of jobs. I t i s a f a i r l y common practice t o group
together a l l furniture items i n one cutting. This means t h a t there a r e no
accurate figures available f o r each piece of furniture, b u t i t i s generally
sufficient .
An accurate time record f o r the e n t i r e plant i s a revealing document which
can be very helpful f o r improving plant efficiency.
The cost of d i r e c t labor i s somewhat higher t h a n the net wages paid. Employers
are required by law t o pay certain amounts f o r Social Security, Workman's
.
Compensation, e t c A1 so an employer may vol untari ly contri bute t o pension
funds, l i f e insurance, hospitalization insurance and so on. I t may be
company policy t o give the employees a Christmas bonus or a turkey a t Thanks-
g i v i n g o r a picnic on the fourth of July.
All of these legally required and voluntarily undertaken benefits have one
t h i n g i n common. With some exceptions, the cost of the benefits i s propor-
tional t o the wages paid.
If factory overhead i s figured on the basis of d i r e c t labor, one could i n -
clude the benefits i n the overhead. However, while i t makes no difference
i n the f i n a l result , i t is recommended t o include the benefits i n the cost
of d i r e c t labor. In this chapter, the cost of d i r e c t labor i s taken t o
include benefits as well a s wages.
 XVI-10

FACTORY OVERHEAD
All cost items that are n o t covered by the previous categories, materials
and d i r e c t labor, are part of the overhead. I f we exclude selling and
administrative cost elements , we speak of factory overhead, commonly
abbreviated F.O.H. There are many diverse elements t h a t a r e p a r t of the
F.O.H.
1. The Cost of Owning the Plant.
Building Depreciation. The cost o f factory buildings i s spread
out over many years. In principle the period represents the
expected useful l i f e o f the building. I t i s possible t h a t the
l i f e expectancy i s different for the building structure, for the
mechanical installation (plumbing heating) and f o r the electrical
installation ( w i r i n g , lighting). In t h a t case i t i s possible t o
use a different period for the depreciation of the building, i t s
mechanical installation and i t s e l e c t r i c a l installation. However ,
most plants will group a l l these items together and depreciate
buildings plus installation i n 30 or 40 years. Often depreciation
i s as f a s t as the tax laws allow.
Equipment Depreciation. Machines are p a i d f o r i n a manner similar
t o t h a t for the building. The expected useful l i f e of a machine
i s based on expected wear and tear, b u t most important, i t i s a l s o
based on obsolescence. When more e f f i c i e n t equipment i s available,
one can simply not afford t o keep working w i t h the old models. Ob-
viously,obsolescence will d i f f e r between various categories o f
machines. For example, i t may be reasonable to depreciate a rip
saw i n f i f t e e n years and an automatic shaper i n six years. Equip-
ment depreciation i s f i r s t of a l l a means o f charging the money
paid f o r the machines to the production made w i t h them. B u t i t
i s , i n a sense, also a means to generate the funds f o r equipment
replacement. In an existing plant, i t may well be t h a t the annual
replacement of equipment i s roughly the same a s the depreciation
figure f o r machinery.
Land. Land does not lessen i n value and, therefore, there i s no
depreciation.
Interest: If money i s borrowed t o pay f o r buildings, land o r
equipment, the i n t e r e s t charges on the loan are a cost item. The
i n t e r e s t may be based on the remaining balance. I t i s possible
to design a depreciation schedule i n such a way that depreciation
p l u s i n t e r e s t i s a constant amount each year. Such schedules can
be found i n any textbook on engineering economy. On the other hand,
i f the money i s not borrowed from a lender, b u t stock i s sold t o
stockholders, there i s no i n t e r e s t . Obviously the stockholders
expect a dividend,but they are only e n t i t l e d t o one i f and when
a p r o f i t i s made. Therefore, the dividends are not p a r t of the
cost picture.
 XVI-11

2. The Cost of Maintaining the Plant.

Maintenance Wages and Salaries (including Benefits). For medium
o r large size plants, i t i s common t o employ a maintenance crew
f o r the upkeep of the b u i l d i n g s , pavement, and plant equipment.
In case maintenance work i s done by outside contractors, the
invoice amounts are substituted.
Repair Parts, Replacement Cutter Heads, Tools. There will be
a certain amount of wear and t e a r i n the equipment t h a t requires
periodic purchase of repair parts , e t c .
Oil , Grease, Paint, Soap and Water.
Watchman's Wages (Including Benefits).
3. The Cost of Operating the Plant (Other than Direct Labor and
Direct Materials).
Fuel , Power.
Indirect Materials. This category includes sandpaper, assembly
glue, etc.
Salaries, Wages of Supervisory Personnel (Including Benefits).
This will include s a l a r i e s of the superintendents and the
departmental foremen. I t may also include some fraction of the
officers of the company. For example, the company president
may devote one-third of his time t o the plant operation and
two-thirds t o sales. In t h a t case, one would charge one-third
of his salary (and benefits) t o F.O.H.
Salaries of Engineering S t a f f . This will include product engineers,
process engineers, quality control, etc.
Plant Administration and Production Control. This will include
s a l a r i e s of the administrative s t a f f and the cost of the paper
work involved i n production control , wage administration, etc.
(Sales Administration i s not included here.)
Indirect Labor. T h i s includes t h a t not previously covered.
4. Miscellaneous Other Costs.
Property Taxes. Land, b u i l d i n g and equipment as well a s inventories
are normally assessed and taxed.
Insurance Premiums .
Fees and Dues. The company may have t o pay membership dues f o r
various organizations and fees to lawyers or consultants. Sub-
scriptions would come under t h l s category.
Anything Not Previously Covered.
 XVI-12

I t takes quite an e f f o r t to accurately determine factory overhead f o r a

year's operation of a given plant. I t i s even more d i f f i c u l t t o accurately
distribute F.O.H. over the products manufactured d u r i n g the year. In
principle one could select any number of distribution methods. For instance,
one could d i s t r i b u t e the factory overhead on the basis of materials costs,
o r d i r e c t labor cost, o r product weight, or estimated sales price.
One of these methods i s quite common. A t l e a s t 95% of a l l furniture manu-
facturing companies d i s t r i b u t e F.O.H. on the basis of d i r e c t labor costs.
The simplicity of this procedure makes i t very a t t r a c t i v e b u t there a r e
some deficiencies i n this method which need t o be pointed out.
For example an automatic shaper i s an expensive machine w i t h a rapid de-
preciation. Therefore, the operating cost per hour may be quite h i g h ;
i n the order of $6.00 per hour including O.H. charges for floor space
power, supervision, etc. If the operator earns $2.00 per hour, the F.O.H.
associated w i t h this operation i s 300% of d i r e c t labor cost. A r i p saw
is a machine of lower cost which i s depreciated over a longer period of
time, p u t t i n g i t s cost per hour a t perhaps $4.00. I f the wages of operator
and tailboys t o t a l $4.00 per hour, the F.O.H. f o r this operation i s only
100%. The operations w i t h low overhead and w i t h h i g h overhead a r e not
evenly distributed over a l l products. The standard practice of taking
F.O.H. as a uniform percentage of d i r e c t labor cost causes discrepancies
i n the cost figures obtained. A piece of furniture w i t h a l o t o f expensive
automatic shaper work will have an apparent cost t h a t i s lower than i t s
real cost.
Another discrepancy comes from the f a c t that some machines are operated
on a continuous basis while others are worked only part time.
When cutting sizes vary a l o t , very serious errors may come up i n the
calculated cost figures because much more administrative and supervisory
e f f o r t s go into the s t a r t i n g of a new cutting than go into the continuation
of a large cutting. This i s discussed i n more detail i n Chapter XVII.
 CHAPTER X V I I

PREDICTED COST - STANDARD COST

I NT RODU CT I ON
The historical cost record i s of great interest. I t t e l l s how well a
company d i d o r how poorly. I f i t i s accurately determined and calculated
i n some d e t a i l , i t shows which products were the money makers and which
were merely dead weight. Historical cost i s a management tool. One can
learn from the past and apply this knowledge t o the future. B u t f o r the
day-to-day o r week-to-week management of a manufacturing company, there
should be more t h a n the historical record. There is a need f o r a standard
w i t h which t o compare the historical record. Only by such comparisons is
i t possible t o decide where improvements and corrections should be made.
Also, there i s the need of a cost prediction f o r the purpose of pricing new
merchandise or, better perhaps, f o r deciding whether a possible addition t o
the product l i n e will show a p r o f i t when sold a t a given price.
Is there any difference between the standard and the prediction? For pre-
dicted cost one overall figure would be sufficient. For standard cost a
breakdown i s essential. B u t i t should be realized t h a t there i s no way of
making a good prediction of the whole w i t h o u t making a l o t of estimates of
the component parts. Therefore b o t h the predicted cost and the standard
cost are b u i l t u p from the same elements. The only difference i s i n the use
t o which they are p u t .
The question may be raised whether the historical cost could n o t serve as
a standard. T h i s is possible f o r certain cost elements and sometimes f o r
a l l elements of certain styles. If a s t y l e has been manufactured f o r many
years, the records constitute a standard of some sort. B u t for most styles
this is not practical as the mortality r a t e of the design i s too h i g h . The
f i r s t two cuttings are more expensive than those following. There are s t i l l
some bugs t h a t must be removed. Modifications are made during the f i r s t and
second cuttings. On the whole this record i s n o t a good yardstick. The
t h i r d and fourth cutting would be some standard with which t o compare the
following ones, b u t even then i t would be f a r from ideal. The same ineffi-
ciency occurring i n a l l of these cuttings would tend t o indicate good
performance.
--
In order for a standard cost t o be a good one i t must be synthetic, a t l e a s t
i n part. I t must be based on good attainable performance rather than on
the performance t h a t was attained i n the past.
 XVII-2
THE BASIC PRINCIPLE
I t i s necessary t o have formulas or tables for the use of materials. For
instance ,
Net lumber + allowance dependent on dimensions,
Net hardware + allowance for spoilage,
Net finishing materials + allowance f o r overspray
and so on.

There also should be tables or formulas for d i r e c t labor g o i n g i n t o the

product. This requires a knowledge of a l l operations and a l l operation
times.
Then there should be some formula for F.O.H. Here i t i s possible t o use
the historical F.O.H., for example, as a percentage o f d i r e c t labor cost.
However, i t can be improved upon by a departmental budget technique.
HOW TO DEVELOP A STANDARD
Standards of a l l k i n d s have been used throughout this t e x t , so i t would
seem a rather belated question how t o develop them. Nevertheless, i t shall
be considered once more.
In the case of a plant which has no standard whatsoever, w h a t i s the pro-
cedure i n developing them? First of a l l , they should be developed piecemeal,
department by department. For example, consider f i n i s h i n g materials s t a n -
dards i n a chair plant. An engineer undertaking to develop such standards
should go through the following steps:
1. Establish what i s standard quality i n terms of thickness
of coating and allowed variations.
2. F i n d some means t o measure the amount of finishing
materialtsprayed. This could be done w i t h metered
pumps o r by placing a pressure tank on scales.
Another method i s to measure the flow per minute
and measure the time the gun i s triggered w i t h motion
pictures (poor method f o r clear materials).
3. Conduct numerous spraying experiments t o determine
the optimum combination of spray gun nozzle, air cap,
f l u i d pressure , a i r pressure, spray pattern.
4. Develop a re1 a t i onshi p between product dimensi ons and
amount sprayed.
5. Set tentative standards based on the above-mentioned
findings.
 XVI 1-3
6. Compare past consumption w i t h the theoretical amount
calculated w i t h the tentative standard. This comparison
will show a substantial consumption over and above the
calculation. T h i s i s due t o losses i n mixing and clean-
i n g , due t o repairs and (mostly) due t o improper spray
methods. There would now be a discussion between the
superintendent, the quality control man , the finishing
room foreman and the standards engineer. Together they
should decide how much is a reasonable allowance f o r
"tolerated deviations from ideal performance."
7. Include reasonable a1 lowance i n the standard.
In such matters as finishing materials consumption i t is c l e a r t h a t a t i g h t
standard is going t o be attacked by the finishing foreman. I f quality con-
trol i s poor, a t i g h t standard will lead to poor finishing quality. I t i s
also obvious t h a t many finishing foremen would ask f o r a standard w h i c h is
loose, i f i t were up t o them. The ideal situation involves:
1. A standard which i s t i g h t , b u t f a i r .
2. A finishing foreman who will concentrate on meeting the
standard, not fighting i t .
3. Firm quality control t o make sure t h a t the product quality
level is maintained.
I t is clear t h a t i t will take a considerable length of time t o determine
just a few standards. From the outset there should be a statement of
company policy which t e l l s whether the emphasis i s on obtaining a method
of cost prediction or on methods improvement and cost reduction.
The t h i n g t o avoid i s a standard which i s based on a very poor manufacturing
procedure. I f methods are poor and there i s no time t o work on improvement
of d e t a i l s , i t i s probably s t i l l better t o take a guess and use this as a
tentative standard, than t o accept the poor method as the yardstick of good
performance.
Once standards are s e t , they must be kept up t o date. Whenever new machines
are i n s t a l l e d , new methods introduced o r a new category of products manu-
factured, standards must be revised and amended.
THE USE OF STANDARDS IN MEASURING PLANT PERFORMANCE
The comparison of actual performance against the standard can be done i n
any number of ways. In the f i r s t place one can use different kinds of units.
Labor can be measured i n :
1. man-hours

3. dollars.
 XVI 1-4
Materials can be measured by:
1. weight o r volume
2. quantity
3. dol 1 ars.
I t is generally b e t t e r t o work i n terms of money. I t happens frequently
t h a t 75 cents worth of labor i s spent t o clean out a 15 cent glue container.
If the f l o o r level supervisors are t a u g h t t o measure i n terms of money, t h i s
type of t h i n g i s much less likely t o happen.
Assuming t h a t i t i s decided t o make the comparison of actual versus standard
i n terms of money, i t s t i l l remains t o be decided on what level and w i t h
what frequency the comparison i s t o be made. The level may be:
1. f o r the whole plant
2. by department
3. by sections o r groups within the department.
The frequency may be:
1. by any predetermined production period, monthly, weekly,
daily, e t c .
2. by any predetermined production run, by cutting, by
piece, e t c .
The level of the comparison i s best chosen t o correspond t o the supervisors.
The whole plant i s obviously too wide a f i e l d . To measure the "efficiency
of the superintendent" i s n o t so useful ( a t l e a s t n o t i n a furniture plant).
I t i s the purpose o f the comparison t o p i n p o i n t the weak spots. For that
reason the comparison should be made on a small enough basis so t h a t the
supervisor will know the cause. If a cabinet room w i t h 200 employees i s
exceeding the standard by 7%, t h i s i s s t i l l a b i t vague. The foreman in
charge of these 200 people may or may not know where t o look. A cabinet
room as large as t h i s will be subdivided i n t o several "lines" w i t h an assis-
tant foreman in charge of each line. A more detailed comparison might show,
for example:
Case l i n e I Labor 101.2% of standard
Case line I1 Labor 98.4% of standard
Bed l i n e Labor 129.4% of standard
Table l i n e Labor 106.2% of standard
Now i t i s obvious t h a t there was something wrong i n the bed line and the
a s s i s t a n t foreman snouid be sufficiently informed t o know just w h a t i t was
t h a t went wrong. I f he knows i t , does one need the standard? Yes, because
 XVII-5
rarely will a floor-level supervisor be able t o evaluate the errors i n a
quantitative sense. I f he can, he is practicing some form of s t a n d a r d cost
on his own.
The choice of the frequency i s not so obvious. The d i f f i c u l t y of taking
the volume of production as a basis f o r the frequency i s t h a t this i s not
synchronized between the departments. In the machine room there i s so much
overlap that i t i s hard t o distinguish. A time period i s better. The
length of time should be such t h a t one s t i l l remembers the d e t a i l s . A
week i s very good, b u t some plants may consider t h a t too costly and work
on a biweekly or monthly basis. A computerized cost system can be run
economically on a very short basis.
I t i s quite possible t o work w i t h different periods f o r different cost
elements. A good system m i g h t be made up of:
1. Materials
a . Weekly lumber yield report w i t h dollar figures added.
b. Monthly report on a l l other materials.

2. Direct Labor
a. Weekly report by department section.
b. Quarterly summaries by department.

3. F.O.H.
a. Quarterly reports, broken down by categories (indirect
labor, s a l a r i e s , maintenance, e t c . )
4. Overall
a. Quarterly reports showing cost of production against
standards'.
THE USE OF STANDARDS IN ESTIMATING COST
If a standard is relatively t i g h t and/or the plant performance i s relatively
poor, then the plant will not meet the standard. As a r u l e , i t will exceed
i t . T h i s means t h a t actual ( h i s t o r i c a l ) cost is higher than the standard.
This is not bad, as long as plant personnel continue t o believe that the
standard can be met and they continue t o s t r i v e t o do so.
For pricing merchandise i t i s of course rather foolish t o use the standard
as a basis, i f we have reason t o believe t h a t i t i s not going t o be met in
the near future. Obviously we should use a percentage allowance t o compen- -
s a t e f o r the expected substandard performance. I t may be a good idea t o have
different percentages for different cost elements. For instance, the expec- ~

t a t i o n might run:
~
 XVII-6
105%of lumber standard
100%of hardware standard
110%of machine room labor standard
105%of f i n i s h i n g room labor, etc.
CUTTING SIZE AND COST OF MANUFACTURING
A very important result t h a t may be obtained w i t h the use of cost standards
i s the relationship between cutting s i z e and cost. In general, the proce-
dure is t o f i n d :
1. The cost of s t a r t i n g a cutting.
2. The cost of production per piece, once the s t a r t has
been made.
W i t h these two basic figures one can calculate the manufacturing cost for
any given cutting size. A practical, although n o t perfect, method i s t o
express the manufacturing cost as follows:

where GM(C) = Cost of manufacturing for an e n t i r e cutting.

A = Start-up cost.
N = C u t t i n g size ( i n units).
B = Incremental cost (per u n i t ) .
To find A and B i s easier said than done. I n many companies there i s no
way of extracting e i t h e r of these figures from the record with good accuracy.
Sometimes i t i s quite impossible t o get a good enough estimate. However,
i t should be recognized t h a t i t is s t i l l preferred to get some s l i g h t l y
erroneous result f o r the cutting s i z e vs. cost relationship over the frequent
alternative,which i s t o use one and only one cost figure regardless of
cutting size.
By way of an example, l e t ' s take a look a t a low medium-priced double
dresser. This dresser i s a typical product f o r the company that makes
i t . I t s e l l s about 100 per month, and as i t i s company pol icy t o "cut
around the line" every 60 days, i t appears on the production schedules
usually w i t h a cutting size 200. The d i r e c t cost of manufacturing has
been calculated as $47.52.
Table 1 gives the breakdown into the major cost elements. This k i n d of
breakdown i s usually trustworthy when the case is n o t one of the best nor
one of the worst s e l l e r s . So we will proceed here on the assumption that
Table 1 represents the situation correctly.
 XVII-7

T o t a l Cost f o r a
Cat ego ry Total Cost p e r Piece
C u t t i n g o f 200

M a t e r i a1 s $ 25.71 I $ 5142.00

D i r e c t Labor 9.57 1914.00

F.O.H. 12.24 2276.00

Total $ 47.52 $ 9332.00

Table XVII -1: The Cost Elements ( i n d o l l a r s )

I n order t o separate manufacturing expenses i n t o t h e A and NB p o r t i o n , we

need t o separate the c o s t by major areas. It i s b e s t t o begin w i t h d i r e c t
l a b o r . Table 2 gives a breakdown i n t o f o u r departmental areas. These areas
need n o t correspond e x a c t l y t o the usual supervisory d i v i s i o n . The f i r s t
breaking p o i n t i s l o g i c a l l y taken a t t h e end o f t h e rough end. Up t o here
p r o d u c t i o n i s on a board f o o t basis,and i t i s from t h i s p o i n t on t h a t one
s t a r t s making f u r n i t u r e p a r t s and spending a l o t o f setup time.

Labor Cost Labor Cost f o r a

Department per P i ece

Yard, Kiln/R.End $ 0.81 $ 162.00

Machine/Sanding 3.96 792.00

Pts. St./Assembly 2.09 41 8.00

Finishing/Pack. 2,71 542.00

Total $ 9.57 $ 1914.00

The breakdown by department should be e a s i l y obtained. There are always

accurate records on employment and t h e r e i s o f t e n a standard p e r board f o o t
i n t h e y a r d , k i l n and rough m i l l . F i n i s h i n g and assembly records should
g i v e us t h e d i r e c t l a b o r content o f t h e f u r n i t u r e , For the machine room
i t may o r may n o t be p o s s i b l e t o f i n d t h e d i r e c t l a b o r e x a c t l y , b u t as i t
i s t h e sum o f a l o t o f d i f f e r e n t o p e r a t i o n times, t h e r e i s a t l e a s t t h e
l i k e l i h o o d t h a t some o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l j o b time e r r o r s w i l l cancel o u t .

Once t h e d i r e c t l a b o r i s d i v i d e d as p e r Table 2, we can go ahead and

i d e n t i f y the A and 143 pai.tsfor .LL, L,lr ,..ALPU- F o r +,.,A Ann5m+mnn+r
L W U UGtJUI this
LlllGll~a
 X V I 1-8
i s v e r y simple. B o t h - i n the yard, k i l n / r o u g h end area and i n f i n i s h i n g
t h e r e i s v i r t u a l l y no setup l a b o r involved. I n t h e rough m i l l one may
lose several minutes each time a new bunk o f lumber i s cut, b u t a d e l e t e d
o r an added dimension takes up b u t a few seconds. I n t h e f i n i s h i n g depart-
ment t h e conveyor w i l l n o t s t o p when the s w i t c h i s from chests t o dressers.
Commonly these various s i z e cases a r e r u n i n a mixed p a t t e r n anyway. The
o n l y time consuming s w i t c h may be from one c o l o r t o another. These switches
a r e g e n e r a l l y made f o r a whole group o f f u r n i t u r e pieces. Consequently each
p i e c e c a r r i e s o n l y a small p a r t of t h e burden. I n Table 3 t h e s t a r t - u p
l a b o r i s taken t o be $2.00 f o r both o f these departments. One should under-
stand t h a t perhaps f i v e f u r n i t u r e pieces t o g e t h e r c a r r y a s e t q p l a b o r c o s t
o f $10.00 t o s w i t c h from c h e r r y t o pecan ( i n f o u r thicknesses) and another
$10.00 t o s w i t c h c o l o r s i n t h e f i n i s h i n g room.

t
Department S t a r t Up Run Total

Yard, Kiln/R.End $ 2.00 $ 160.00 $ 162.00

Machine/Sanding 176.00 61 6.00 792.00

Pts. S t ./Assembly 10.00 408.00 41 8.00

Finishing/Pack 2 .oo 540.00 542.00

Total $ 190.00 $ 1724.00 $ 1914.00

- b

Table X V I I -3: D i r e c t Labor b y Department Broken Down

( f o r a c u t t i n g o f 200; i n d o l l a r s )

For t h e machine room one should c a r e f u l l y study a l l operations and come up

w i t h a d i v i s i o n i n set-up and running time. Some machines such as double
end tenoners have set-up times t h a t o f t e n exceed t h e runninq time. For others
set-up t i m e may be q u i t e small. I t i s never zero. The operator has t o read
a t i c k e t , a s c e r t a i n t h a t he has t h e r i g h t m a t e r i a l and so on, even i f he
operates a bandsaw which r e q u i r e s no mechanical setup.

I n assembly t h e r e i s l i t t l e set-up work, b u t nevertheless a s i g n i f i c a n t

amount .
One should n o t e t h a t i t i s a l o t e a s i e r as w e l l as more accurate t o make
t h e s e p a r a t i o n i n t o s t a r t - u p and running costs by department r a t h e r than
f o r t h e p l a n t as a whole.

The n e x t problem t o consider i s F.O.H. The very f a c t t h a t a c o s t ends up

i n F.O.H. means t h a t you cannot a l l o c a t e i t t o t h e products e a s i l y . Thus
t h e r e i s a tendency t o t r e a t i t as a u n i f o r m fudge f a c t o r . Table 1 gave
F.O.H. = $2276.00 f o r the c u t t i n g of 200 pieces. T h i s amounts t o 1 1 9 % o f
t h e d i r e c t l a b o r . To simply add 119%t o every d i r e c t labor figure would
 XVII-9

be wrong. There are o n l y a few elements o f F.O.H. t h a t should be apportioned

on an equal basis. I f s o c i a l s e c u r i t y t a x i s p a r t o f F.O.H., i t i s applied
e q u a l l y t o t h e s t a r t u p l a b o r and t h e running l a b o r . But consider t h e f o l l o w -
i n g items o f F.O.H. associated w i t h t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f these dressers.

F.O.H. EXPENSE, PRIMARILY APPLICABLE TO STARTUP.

Shop t i c k e t s made o u t f o r 200 s e t s o f p a r t s .
I n s p e c t i o n o f t h e f i r s t 3 pieces as they come
o f f t h e machine.
Supervision c o n c e n t r a t i n g on checking t h e setups.
Supervision concentrating on scheduling.
Setups o f expensive machines are g e n e r a l l y more
time consuming.

F.O.H. EXPENSE, EQUALLY APPLICABLE TO STARTUP AND RUN.

D e p r e c i a t i o n of equipment.
Housing o f equipment ( b u i l d i n g d e p r e c i a t i o n , t a x ) .
Heating, guarding, i n s u r i n g t h e p l a n t .

F.O.H. EXPENSE, PRIMARILY APPLICABLE TO RUN.

Tool g r i n d i n g and o t h e r maintenance.
Power consumption.
Sandpaper and o t h e r in d i r e c t m a t e r i a1s .
The r e l a t i v e s i z e o f each o f these c a t e g o r i e s determines t h e end r e s u l t .
Table 4 g i v e s t h e same breakdown f o r d i r e c t l a b o r as Table 3 and has t h e
F.O.H. added o n t o i t .

Table XVII-4: D i r e c t Labor and F.O.H. by Department Broken Down

( f o r a c u t t i n g of 200; i n d o l l a r s )

The f i r s t t h i n g t h a t may be noted i s t h e h i g h F.O.H. i n yard, k i l n , rough

end and i n t h e machine room. Obviousiy,nere i s t h e greater p a r t o f the
 xv I1-10
investment and o f t h e headaches. The machine area c a r r i e s 150% F.O.H. on
t h e running l a b o r and 168% on t h e s e t - u p l a b o r . This r e f l e c t s t h e r e l a t i v e
weight given t o t h e F.O.H. items i n t h e t h r e e categories given on page 9.

The F.O.H. a p p l i e d t o t h e f i n i s h i n g department i s much lower, a t 69% of

d i r e c t l a b o r f o r the "RUN" component. The f i n i s h i n g conveyor i s b u t a
small investment when one considers t h e s i z e of t h e crew. A l a r g e p a r t
of t h e f i r e insurance should be entered here.

The h i g h e s t and lowest F.O.H. percentages occur i n the cabinet room. This
i s s u r e l y the cheapest department from investment, power and maintenance
viewpoints. On t h e o t h e r hand a l o t o f t h e scheduling expense i s more o r
l e s s t i e d up w i t h p a r t s storage. Thus t h e r e i s an e n t r y o f $64.00 i n the
s t a r t u p category which i s t h e expense o f c o n t r o l l i n g and managing t h e p a r t s
i n v e n t o r y , t h e i n d i r e c t l a b o r i n v o l v e d i n dispensing t h e stock.

Another i t e m should be noted. The warehouse expense i s broken o u t o f t h e

c o s t and i s l i s t e d as a separate overhead category.

The r e s u l t o f t h e c a l c u l a t i o n s so f a r i s contained i n s i x f i g u r e s on t h e
" t o t a l manufacturing" 1 ine, namely, $190.00 f o r d i r e c t l a b o r s t a r t u p ,
$1,724.00 f o r d i r e c t l a b o r r u n w i t h t h e corresponding $380.00 f o r F.O.H.
s t a r t u p and $1,896.00 f o r F.O.H. r u n and t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e s u b t o t a l s . The
second and f i f t h a r e d i v i d e d by t h e c u t t i n g s i z e (200) t o o b t a i n t h e r e s u l t
given i n Table X V I I - 5 .

Cost o f G e t t i n g Running Cost

Category Started Per Piece
. A B
I Materials I$ 26.00
I D i r e c t Labor I 190.00 9.57 I
F. 0. H. 380.00
I 12.24

T o t a l Mfg. Cost
.
Excl Warehouse 1 596.00 1 47.52 1
\

Table X V I I - 5 : Cost of Manufacturing. S t a r t u p

and Running Cost. ( e x c l . warehousing; i n d o l l a r s )

The o n l y p a r t o f Table 5 t h a t has n o t been j u s t i f i e d i n the previous d i s -

cussion i s t h e m a t e r i a l s category. The c o r r e c t v i e w p o i n t i s t h a t m a t e r i a l s
c o s t should i n c l u d e t h e losses t h a t occur i n t h e rough end and t h e losses
t h a t occur l a t e r i n machining and assembly and t h a t t h e t o t a l i s t h e running
c o s t f o r m a t e r i a l s . However, t h e r e i s always a c e r t a i n amcrirni of materia;
s p o i l e d i n s e t t i n g up machines, i n assembly o f t h e f i r s t item, etc., t h a t
makes i t necessary t o p u t some m a t e r i a l s c o s t i n t h e s t a r t u p column. Here
i t has been estimated t h a t about one complete s e t o f p a r t s i n c l u d i n g t h e
necessary g l u e and f i n i s h i n g m a t e r i a l s i s l o s t as p a r t o f t h e s t a r t u p .
 XVII-11
Table 5 gives the t o t a l s f o r A and B as $596.00 and $45.72. This means
t h a t simply t o get g o i n g one spends as much money as t o produce the next
14 cases. (For many operations t h i s i s bound t o be a higher number.)
I t now becomes a simple matter t o substitute A and B i n t o the equation.
$,(c) = A + NB

On a per piece basis

CM = %(C)/N = ; +

This is done f o r various levels of N i n Table 6.

Cutting Startup N x Incre- Total Manu- Mfg. Cost

Size cost mental Cost f a c t . Cost Per U n i t
N A N x B m
20 596.00 I 873.60 1,469.60 73.48
I

50 596.00 2,184 .OO 2,780.00 55.60

7 00 596.00 4,368.00 4,964.00 49.64
200 596.00 8,736.00 9,332 .OO 46.66
500 596.00 21,840.00 22,436 .OO 44.87
1,000 596.00 43,680.00 44,276.00 44.28
2,000 596.00 87,360.00 87,956.00 43.98
5,000 596.00 21 8,400.00 21 8,996.00 43.80

Table XVII-6: Cost of Manufacturing ( i n dollars)

If one looks a t Table 6 alone, one would perhaps draw the conclusion t h a t
one should always make the maximum number. This i s obviously only part of
the story. We should consider the cost o f warehousing.
I t i s a convenient and acceptable approximation t o take 22.5% of the manu-
facturing cost as the annual cost of keeping stock. For high-priced furni-
t u r e the physical storage will be a lesser percentage, b u t the risk will be
somewhat h i g h e r , making this figure quite Val id for diverse situations.

Interest 10.0%
Storage 7.5%
Risk 5.0%
Total 22.5%
For a $46.00 case t h i s is $10.35
per year o r 86.256 p e r iiioiith.

Table XVII-7: Warehousing Cost

 XVII-12
Now obviously the storage cost and the risk are not dependent on how many
there were i n the cutting. Thus i t becomes a reasonable procedure t o take
an average cost, here $46,00,and use i t t o calculate the annual or monthly
cost of warehousing.
The warehousing cost depends on the cutting size and the r a t e o f s a l e s . I t
i s necessary t h a t one know the pattern of the inventory fluctuations. Some-
times a company will deliberately run out of stock f o r a few weeks. When
the cutting i s produced, a part of i t is already sold. For the purpose of
this example, we will use the assumption t h a t the c u t t i n g will be produced
t o arrive just when the l a s t case of the previous cutting i s s h i p p e d . While
i t i s certainly impossible t o achieve this k i n d o f scheduling f o r each i n d i -
vidual piece, i t is possible t o operate this way on the average.
The c u t t i n g will l a s t N/S months,where N i s the cutting size and S i s the
r a t e of sales i n units per month. The l a s t case will be warehoused f o r N/S
months. The f i r s t case will be s h i p p e d almost immediately. Thus the average
case will be i n the warehouse f o r N/2S months.
The warehousing cost i s given by

where 5 = warehousing cost per u n i t

N = cutting s i z e
w= warehousing cost per u n i t per month
s= r a t e of sales i n units per month
The warehousing cost has been calculated f o r various cutting s i z e s and rates
o f s a l e s in Table 8.

Cutting cost o f Cost of Warehousing Cost of Mfg. and Whs.

Size Yfg./Unit WI W ht Selling
N m' 20/Mo. 20/Mo. 100/Mo. 1 500/Mo.
20 73.48 0.43 0.09 0.02 73.91 73.57 73.50
50 55.60 1.08 0.22 0.04 56.68 55.82 55.64
100 49.64 2.16 0.43 0.08 51.80 50.07 49.72
200 46.66 4.31 0.86 0.17 50.97* 47.52 46.83
500 44.87 10.78 2.16 0.43 55.65 47.03* 45.30
I ,000 44.28 21.56 4.31 0.86 65.84 48.59 45.14"
? ,000 43.98 43.13 8.63 1.73 87.11 52.61 45.71
5,000 43.80 107.81 21.56 4.31 151.61 65.36 48.11
~~

"inese vaiues represent approximately the economic cut1 ng size.

-I-- I

Table XVII-8: Cost of Manufacturing and Warehousing ( i n dollars)

 X V I 1-1 3

The t o t a l u n i t c o s t i s made up o f t h e manufacturing c o s t and t h e warehousing

cost
NW
2s
By t a k i n g t h e f i r s t d e r i v a t i v e o f t h e above f u n c t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e
c u t t i n g s i z e (N), we can determine t h e value o f N t h a t r e s u l t s i n t h e
minimum c o s t o f manufacturing and warehousing.

- -A+ - sWo
N2 2s

I n t h e example given, t h i s works o u t t o be

= $.x8625596
= 37.2 x f l

has been c a l c u l a t e d f o r v a r i o u s r a t e s o f sales.

Necon

Sales Rate
Economic T E j T n K - Cal . Days
Cutting Cost a t Needed t o
Per
Size Necon
Month
S Necon D
mi n
10 118 $ 53.82 354
20 166 50.85 249
50 263 48.21 158
100 372 46.89 115
200 526 45.94 79
500 832 45.12 50
1,000 1,177 44.70 35
2,000 i,665 44.40 25

Table XVII-9: Economic C u t t i n g Size

 XVII-14
I t i s interesting t o note that f o r a case selling 100 per month the economic
cutting s i z e i s near 400. In other words, the practice of " c u t t i n g around
the line" every two months i s only the best policy when rate of sales i s 350
t o 400.
I t must be understood, however, that there are many advantages and savings
associated w i t h cutting several cases of the same s u i t e together. There are
common materials, common parts, and common finishes. Therefore, i n practice,
one should perhaps cut every s u i t e , say w i t h 6 weeks intervals, b u t plan t o
cut some of the slower selling items only every second or t h i r d time around.
Another note of caution i s needed. If a company were to switch from, say, a
s t a n d a r d cutting s i z e to an economic cutting s i z e , then the validity of the
preceding argument would depend on the condition that the total number of
cuttings per year remains unchanged. If the total number o f cuttings were
reduced by 40%, i t may or may not be possible t o reduce the F.O.H. costs
associated w i t h the startup (see page XVII-11) by the same 40%. One cannot
f i r e 40% of the production control man, b u t one can f i n d productive work for
40% of his time. If t h i s is done, the economic l o t sizes are just as valid
as before.