Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE
OCTOBER 24, 1925
45
REVIEW
SUPPLY BRANCHES OF THE INDUSTRY
Precautions to Reduce Fire Hazards
With Nitro Cellulose Wood Finishes
Proper Care and Attention Will Reduce These to a Minimum in Factories Where Such Mate-
rials Are in Daily Use in the Finishing Departments
'T* H E extensive use of nitro cellulose lacquers
in wood finishing practice gives rise from
time to time to certain fears on the part of su-
perintendents relative to the fire hazard entailed
by these highly combustible substances. M. J.
Miskella recently prepared an interesting arti-
cle bearing on this subject for the Paint, Oil and
Chemical Review, suggesting certain ways of
safeguarding equipment and supplies, which
ought to prove valuable and instructive to piano
and phonograph case builders in the manage-
ment of their plants.
"Most persons are not familiar with the haz-
ardous conditions surrounding materials that
are made of linseed and other drying oils,"
states Mr. Miskella. "They know that there is
present at all times the danger of spontaneous
combustion due to the slow oxidizing action of
the oils when confined in the folds of rags and
the like. The tighter the rags are rolled the
quicker they take fire. This is due to the con-
finement of the oxidizable materials. It causes
the temperature to rise until the ignition point
is reached; when, of course, the material bursts
into flames. All. oils having a high iodine num-
ber are susceptible to spontaneous combustion.
Boiled linseed oil is more likely to take fire than
is raw linseed oil.
"Fundamentally, spontaneous combustion is
supposed to be due to thin layers of drying oils
being spread out and being subjected to oxidiza-
tion in a small space removed from radiation.
Here we have the single hazard of inflammabil-
ity reduced down to the very finest point. This
having been granted, we now recall the explo-
sion hazard of benzine or gasoline, since these
materials are widely used for reducing paint and
varnish materials.
"It is not the thinning material that does so
much damage as it is the fact of having it about.
At ordinary temperatures it continually gives
off inflammable vapor. In fact, a light at some
distance will often set fire to it, being conveyed
by the fumes. The vapor from one pint of gas-
oline will make 200 cubic feet of air explosive.
It depends upon the proportion of air and vapor
Write for a sample can of Behlen's
Varnish Crack Eradicator and try it.
Once you learn how much it means to
you in the saving of time on your refin-
ishing jobs by eliminating the necessity
of scraping off old varnish and shellac,
and how much more satisfactory are
the results, because of the better sur-
face it gives to work on, you, like
others, will continue to use it.
Write to-day.
H. BEHLEN & BRO.
Aniline* .
ShelLc.
Stains
FilUra
10-12 Christopher St., New York
Vear «th Ave., *ad Sth It.
York, several shorter trips have been made nec-
essary during the past few weeks. In this con-
nection John T. Gibson, vice-president of the
DeLuxe Reproducing Roll Corp., has been call-
ing on the trade in Pittsburgh, Pa., and vicinity
and has returned again to New York. Wallace
Reynolds and Wilbur A. Vossler, of the promo-
tion department of the Auto Pneumatic Action
Co., have made trips to Baltimore, Md., and
Boston, Mass., respectively.
whether it becomes a burning gas or a destruc-
tive explosive.
"Statistics of the National Fire Protection
Association indicate that for a given period un-
der the classification of japan-shop fires, for ex-
ample, thirty-seven per cent of the fires that oc-
curred were due directly to causes traceable to
the fact that inflammable material was present Well-Known Piano Factory Man Had Been
With Christman, Weser, Schubert and Weber
in the finishing room and not only present, but
available to sparks and the like so that a fire
Superintendents and manufacturers in the
could be easily started. Nearly half of these
particular fires could have been prevented had New York district were shocked recently to
care been taken to keep the japan materials in- learn of the death of Louis Breitenbach, who
had been a superintendent in a number of local
closed in a fireproof cabinet.
"Now, some of the precautions that can be piano factories during the past fifteen or twenty
used will be enumerated. First of all, certain years. One of his longest connections in this
insurance regulations have already been com- capacity was at the factory of the Christman
piled and include the recommendation of a spe- Piano Co., in the Bronx. Later he was identi-
cial cabinet for storing lacquer materials that fied for a period with Weser Bros., the Schubert
are not in actual use. At least one of these cab- Piano Co., and during the past year he was
inets is already on the market and contains one employed in an advisory capacity in the factory
section for two five-gallon cans and another for of the Weber Piano Co., Inc., in the Bronx.
one-gallon cans. It also contains a table top For the past few months he has been confined
upon which mixing may be done and also com- to his home, at 2627 Webster avenue, where he
partments for locking up the tools and spray died October 6 as a result of acute indigestion.
He was about fifty-five years of age.
guns when not in use. All the walls have a
double air space and on the doors are lettered
short precautions for the workman to read. One
of these storage cabinets should be furnished
to each man who has anything whatever to do
MADISON, WIS., October 16.—Many interesting
with applying pyroxylin lacquers. It will be the experiments in kiln drying of hard lumber were
best investment that the customer can make. It
performed at the recent instructional course
is made entirely of metal and is as near fireproof
held at the Forest Products Laboratory, in this
as it is possible to make an inexpensive article. city. Hard maple, green from the saw, was
"Next, the ventilating system used in the room dried in the laboratory's internal fan kiln while
in which the work is done must be adequate the course was in progress. The run was com-
and proper. Obviously, it would be highly
pleted in sixteen days, the moisture content be-
dangerous to have an exhaust fan motor unpro- ing brought down to 6 per cent. Representatives
tected from the volatile fumes that permeate from a variety of wood-working industries at-
the surrounding atmosphere. A type of exhaust tended the course, among them being W. J.
containing baffles or some device for collecting Hubbard, of the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co.
the waste material is essential. Many old style It has been announced by the Laboratory that
spray booths would be satisfactory for paints a course in boxing and crating will be given
and varnishes, but would be entirely out of line early next Spring.
for safely exhausting lacquer materials. One
of the greatest dangers lies in the use of a
common discharge pipe for several spray booths.
In fact, any pipe the inside of which cannot be
An amendment to the Labor Law was made
reached by the hand of a workman to be cleaned
daily is a real hazard. The powdered waste ma- in New York State during October, reducing
terials lie in waste within for something to come the hours of labor of minors employed in fac-
along that will start internal decomposition and tories and mercantile establishments from forty-
eight to forty-four hours a week.
away goes the entire system in the twinkling of
an eye. These are all vital facts that must be
dealt with sooner or later—the sooner the better.
When in the
The author might be criticized by some for being
Market for Roll
too open about the subject in hand, but he real-
izes that he is talking to a number of good sound
Cabinets—Buy
business men, who would like to know the real
The "ART LINE"
truth so that they may be able to handle it in an
Quality Merchandise
intelligent way, and who will not get alarmed
and excited and want to wash their hands of
Write for Catalog.
having anything to do with lacquers. They
cannot do that, because lacquers have earned a
The Art Novelty C*.
place for themselves and nothing can stop the
progress that they are bound to make in the
Goshen, Ind.
STYLE NO. 181
future in spite of the hazards mentioned above."
Louis Breitenbach Dies
at Age of Fifty-Five
Kiln-Drying Experiments
New Minor Labor Hours
Auto Pneumatic Trips
In addition to the extensive Western trip
being made at present by William C. Heaton,
president of the Auto Pneumatic Action Co.,
and the DeLuxe Reproducing Roll Corp., New
PHILIP W. OETTING & SON, Inc.
213 East 19th Street. New York
Sole Agent* for
WEICKERT HAMMER AND DAMPER FELTS
GRAND AND UPRIGHT HAMMERS
Made of Welckert Felt