Grow Your Business While Preserving Cash Carl Villella What are companies doing these days with the uncertain rise of COVID variants? They’re hoarding cash! According to an updated Wall Street Journal article published on August 16, 2021 by Anna Hirtenstein, companies are sitting on record levels of cash, and ramping up their requests for... Read More September 2021 Issue #13266 Page 93
Lumber Briefs: Most Valuable Lumber Lesson...EVER! Matt Layman That is a pretty bold statement coming from a guy who makes his living giving advice. After a lifetime of making mistakes, overlooking the obvious, and stumbling over attempts to be right, one might think all the big hurdles had been cleared. Not even close. In August, I learned perhaps the... Read More September 2021 Issue #13266 Page 106
RTUD and ATUD Now UL Listed As a Through-Penetration Firestop System Scott Fischer Whether you’re designing and building a one- or two-story single-family residence, or doing the same for a multifamily, mid-rise wood-frame structure, fire and smoke protection features must be considered, and in most cases are required. When a fire starts, time is of the essence and the... Read More September 2021 Issue #13266 Page 118
The Last Word: The Last Word on Making the Cut Joe Kannapell, PE Why did most of today’s saw technology come from small shops and not from large machinery companies? And how could just a handful of not well-known people, working in remote locations, make such a difference? Until recent years, they didn’t make much money. Most sold their businesses... Read More September 2021 Issue #13266 Page 142
Advertiser Forum: Bring On the Ideas Anna Stamm Some have complained that our magazine articles include advertorial content—but that simply means that they have misunderstood the purpose of our forum. Unlike an association that is supposed to speak with a united voice, our forum encourages everyone to speak with their own voice. We are... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 6
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XXI: Rebirth of the Linear Saw Joe Kannapell, PE Entering the new Millennium, the linear fed saw needed to be reborn. Though CMs had boosted productivity with bolted-on improvements to their Metra-Cut type saws, they still couldn’t keep up with automated component saws. Yet they remained an essential part of the saw shop, even though... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 10
Building a Reputation for Reliability with Full Support Cullen Ellis Working in our industry in several different roles and being around equipment for a long time now, I have seen what gets a piece of machinery a good reputation – it’s reliability. I have lost count of the number of times I have been talking to someone about the old Klaisler... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 19
Reliable and Profitable Incentive Programs, Scheduling, and Pricing Todd Drummond Suppose you want an effective incentive program that improves productivity, saves your company labor cost, and rewards your most valued production crews with additional wages. Perhaps you also want to improve the accuracy of your production scheduling that allows for a proper understanding of... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 32
What are Mill Cuts and How Do They Impact Structure? Glenn Traylor Mill cuts are common in our lumber today, especially with machine evaluated lumber, so it is important to know how they should be addressed and used in your product. Mill cuts are random saw cuts or planer cuts not intended to have been made. Sometimes they do not present a problem. Other... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 43
The 3D Model Everyone Can Access Tracy Roe Information is the key to almost everything. In our lives and in our jobs, we rely on obtaining pertinent and accurate details so that we can make informed decisions. In our industry, we are heavily reliant on information and details from each customer, whether they are a homeowner, a building... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 52