A new Coe lathe was installed at the Puget Sound Plywood Company plant on Tacoma's tideflats in 1950. Four unidentified employees at the plant monitored the giant lathe which was used to peel a continuous sheet of thin veneer off a prepared log. The veneer sheets were then glued together to make plywood. When the Puget Sound Plywood plant at 230 East F Street was built in 1942, Tacoma was a major plywood manufacturing center with over half a dozen plywood factories. Puget Sound Plywood was the first cooperative plywood plant in Tacoma.

Puget Sound Plywood, Inc. (Tacoma); Lathes; Plywood; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cooperatives--Tacoma;

Workers at the Puget Sound Plywood company gaze at the new plywood lathe in a photograph taken on September 13, 1950. Puget Sound Plywood was located near Foss Launch & Tug Company at 230 East "F" Street. The new plant was completed in mid-1942.

Puget Sound Plywood, Inc. (Tacoma); Plywood; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lathes; Machinery; Cooperatives--Tacoma;

Workers at the Puget Sound Plywood company carefully maneuver a gigantic log into position by use of a hoist on September 13, 1950. These logs would eventually be turned into plywood panels and other plywood products. Puget Sound Plywood's plant was located at 230 East F Street; built in 1942, it was the first cooperative plywood plant in Tacoma.

Puget Sound Plywood, Inc. (Tacoma); Logs; Trees--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Machinery; Plywood; Cooperatives--Tacoma;

Logs are being prepared to be turned into plywood at the Puget Sound Plywood company's plant on East F Street. A new lathe was purchased in 1950 to apparently speed and modernize production. Puget Sound Plywood was Tacoma's first cooperative plywood plant, formed in 1942.

Puget Sound Plywood, Inc. (Tacoma); Logs; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lathes; Machinery; Cooperatives--Tacoma;

St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company Office Building and Retail Store. Large 2-1/2 story log chalet-type building originally designed for the John Dower Lumber Company by George W. Bullard of Bullard and Mason, Architects, 1921. The lumber industry in Tacoma was established in 1888 by timber magnate Col. Chauncey W. Griggs who began one of Tacoma's first major sawmills on Commencement Bay.Tacoma rapidly became "The Lumber Capital of the World." The St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. also supplied the logs for the St. Regis pulp mill and established America's first tree farm in 1940, setting the standard for reforestation. One of Tacoma's pioneer industries, it also had a plant on the Tideflats and an annual payroll in the million dollar bracket.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Retail stores--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

A worker at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. retail yard walks on top of a large piece of timber, preparing to hook up the hoisting machinery to it, and move it from the truck to a stack of lumber. St Paul's three mile long lumber yard was believed to be the largest in the world by the 1940's. St. Paul was a pioneer in the plywood industry, and also in reforestation.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Hoisting machinery;

Several Rucker Bros. trucks loaded with lumber at the St. Paul & Tacoma retail yard. The retail yard was the largest in the Northwest. Rucker Brothers Trucking was located at the retail yard, facilitating the delivery of the wood throughout the Northwest.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Rucker Brothers (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Rucker Brothers lumber truck at St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. sawmill. Photographer, possibly from Richards, is standing on top of the truck cab probably photographing the other pictures in this series. Work seems to have stopped as lumber employees stand and watch the show.The hoisting machinery used to move the timber off of the truck can be see at the right rear of the picture.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Photographers--Tacoma;

St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. lumber yard where hoisting machinery moves a long piece of lumber from one location to another. St. Paul & Tacoma, established in 1888, was one of the first sawmills on Commencement Bay.The company prospered until its MIll "C," located on the Thea Foss Waterway, became the largest in the world, cutting a million board feet of timber a day.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Hoisting machinery;

Interior of Oregon Washington plywood plant at Garibaldi, Oregon. Stacks of odds and ends of wood dot the floor of this mostly empty warehouse. The warehouse seems to echo emptily with its exposed beams and hanging fluorescent lighting. Some strips of veneer are less than four feet wide. These are also dried and then edge-glued together into a continuous sheet and cut to panel size. ("The Challenge of Wood" BCFP's 1979 Annual Report)

Lumber industry--Oregon; Plywood; Oregon-Washington Plywood Co. (Garibaldi);

Aerial view of the plywood plant at Garibaldi, Oregon. The log boom can be seen in the foreground. The best of the Douglas Fir from the Northwest's forests in brought into the mills to be barked, peeled, dried and coated with waterproof glue to produce plywood, America's #1 building material.

Plywood; Lumber industry--Oregon--1950-1960; Oregon-Washington Plywood Co. (Garibaldi);

Plywood plant at Garibaldi, Oregon. This April 1, 1951, photograph shows sheets of veneer in the fine sanding process. Large pipes are for ventilation.

Plywood; Lumber industry--Oregon--1950-1960; Oregon-Washington Plywood Co. (Garibaldi, Or.);

Plywood plant at Garibaldi, Oregon. Exterior type fir plywood panels for boats and other outdoor uses are fed into a giant hot press. Heat and pressure "cure" the phenolic resin adhesive producing a irreversible bond between the plys stronger than the wood itself. One of the most important steps in plywood technology was the discovery in the 30's of a waterproof glue that made plywood resistant to extremes of temperature and moisture and a stronger product than the original wood. Exterior fir plywood with waterproof bond is tested by boiling for hours, drying and boiling again. Under the industry's quality control program, 500,000 random production line samples were tested annually in the manufacturers two labs. ("The Plywood Age" by Robert M. Cour")

Plywood; Lumber industry--Oregon--1950-1960; Oregon-Washington Plywood Co. (Garibaldi, Or.);

Peeler log at the plywood plant at Garibaldi, Oregon. Logs used to make plywood are called "peelers," reflecting the production process where a thin layer of wood called a veneer is peeled from the log on a massive lathe. Peeler logs are the best quality logs in the forrest. After the outside bark is removed, the peeler log is rotated in a lathe. The log rotates against a razor sharp knife, peeling a continuous sheet of thin veneer. The veneer is held temporarily in multi-decked storage trays 150 feet long or more. ("The Plywood Age" by Robert M. Cour)

Plywood; Lumber industry--Oregon--1950-1960; Oregon-Washington Plywood Co. (Garibaldi);

Temporary multi-deck storage racks at plywood plant at Garibaldi, Oregon. Note conveyor belt on racks; each rack had a conveyor belt on which the thin veneer from the peelers was laid. Workers would feed veneer onto each shelf. As each rack was filled, it would be shifted so that there was always an empty rack to fill.

Plywood; Lumber industry--Oregon--1950-1960; Oregon-Washington Plywood Co. (Garibaldi, Or.);

Finished plywood goes out for shipment by truck from the plywood plant at Garibaldi, Oregon. All plywood is carefully inspected and graded to national standards, marked as to quality and carefully packaged for shipment. In the fifties, the fir plywood industry ranked among the most important in the Pacific Northwest. In Oregon, Washington and the northern part of California, the Douglas fir grew and provided a livelihood for many thousands. The best of this fir was taken to more than 100 mills in these states and peeled into veneer from which plywood is made. Fir plywood panels were called "America's busiest building material" and business boomed after World War II.

Plywood; Lumber industry--Oregon--1950-1960; Oregon-Washington Plywood Co. (Garibaldi);

The inside of a wooden demonstration case contains wooden moldings strapped in place and ready for display. Case was photographed on January 9, 1951. Ordered by St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber, Corydon Wagner, Jr.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Showcases;

The outside of a wooden demonstration case with a leather handle and metal clasps is shown. The lower corners have been protected with metal corners. A logo for St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. has been painted on the side. Ordered by St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber, Corydon Wagner, Jr.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Showcases;

Plywood veneer production for Bellingham Plywood Company. Exterior type fir plywood panels for boats and other outdoor uses are fed into a giant hot press. Heat and pressure "cure" the phenolic resin adhesive, producing an irreversible bond between the plys stronger than the wood itself. By 1950, there were 67 plywood mills in operation producing 2,553,652,000 feet of plywood. ("The Plywood Age" by Robert M. Cour)

Plywood; Lumber industry--Bellingham--1950-1960;

Peeler log being rotated in a lathe and cut into veneer at Bellingham Plywood Company. In an effort to get the most from a stand of timber, select peeler logs are used in the production of plywood; less perfect logs are used for lumber. After barking, the peeler log is rotated in a lathe. The log "unwinds" against a knife in a continuous strip of veneer. The strips are then held temporarily in multi-decked storage trays 150 feet long or more. After the veneer has been sorted, a 150 foot steam heated oven brings its moisture content down to a uniformly low level. ("The Plywood Age" by Robert M. Cour)

Plywood; Lumber industry--Bellingham--1950-1960;

Plywood veneer production at the Bellingham Plywood Company. After the veneer is cut from the peeler log and the moisture content is regulated, the veneer is again graded. At the glue spreader, the cross-banding veneer is covered with an even coat of glue and sheets are assembled with alternate dry veneer in three, five and seven ply panels. Workers pictured above are building up the layers of plywood. Man to the far right is the glue machine operator, a highly skilled position. ("The Plywood Age" by Robert M. Cour)

Plywood; Lumber industry--Bellingham--1950-1960;

Plywood display at Lakewood Country Store. Man examining "Handy Panels of Douglas Fir Plywood." Cans of paint, ladder in background. This photograph is nearly identical to D62562, image 5.

Plywood; Lakewood Country Store (Lakewood); Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

Mill at Summit. Truck loaded with milled lumber parked in cut-out area of logging site. Automobiles and pick-up truck in forested background. Part of a series of daily lumber operations taken on November 23, 1951 for Export Pacific.

Lumber industry--1950-1960; Trucks--1950-1960;

Mill at Summit. Two men working with portable log sawing machinery on wooded site in this photograph dated November 23, 1951. For Export Pacific.

Lumber industry--1950-1960;

Mill at Summit. Two men working with portable log sawing machinery on wooded site. Pile of sawdust in foreground. For Export Pacific. Photograph taken on November 23, 1951.

Lumber industry--1950-1960;

Logging mill at Summit. Men working on-site with portable log sawing machinery. Cut logs and lumber, automobiles and truck in background. For Export Pacific, taken on November 23, 1951.

Lumber industry--1950-1960;

Mill at Summit. Part of a series taken on November 23, 1951 of lumber operations with portable log sawing machinery, lumber and logs on wooded site. For Export Pacific.

Lumber industry--1950-1960;

For Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation, 20th and Illinois Street, San Francisco, CA. Dramatic image of completed steelwork at new Weyerhauser pulp mill, Longview, WA, taken in September of 1951. L- shaped building with large crane in yard near small wood buildings.

Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. (Longview); Mills--Longview; Building construction--Longview; Hoisting machinery;

View of Weyerhaeuser pulp mill. A Weyerhaeuser employee stands by the fifth steel beam in the new portion of the Longview pulp mill in September, 1951. Interior view of completed steelwork, looking down the length of the building. Photograph ordered by Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation, San Francisco.

Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. (Longview); Mills--Longview; Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp. (San Francisco);

Log dump at Wheeler-Osgood Company. The log dump at the Wheeler-Osgood Sash & Door Company on East D Street measured 150 feet by 150 feet. Company buildings are located around the opposite side of the logs with a planked walkway in foreground. Wheeler-Osgood was a door and plywood manufacturer located on the tideflats at 1216 Saint Paul Ave. next to St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. and Wilkeson Fuel Co. It was established in 1889 and closed its doors in 1952. It was destroyed by fire during demolition in 1959. Photograph ordered by Charlie Rembert, 3410 S. Washington Street. TPL-5732

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Logs; Wheeler, Osgood Co. (Tacoma);