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Potlatch Forests, Inc. Wood Products Research And Developmen Records, 1951-1984

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Potlatch Forests, Inc. Wood Products Research And Development
Title
Potlatch Forests, Inc. Wood Products Research And Developmen Records
Dates
1951-1984 (inclusive)
Quantity
38 Cubic Feet
Collection Number
MG191 (collection)
Summary
General and project correspondence, research reports, project reports, laboratory notebooks, photographs, procedures manuals, accessions lists, minutes, and other records chiefly relating to research by Potlatch in Lewiston, Idaho, and by the Washington State University College of Engineering, and to the Potlatch Forests Information Center.
Repository
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The Wood Products Division of the Potlatch Corporation was established in 1954. It was composed of several sections, Commercial Development, Wood Technology, and Research Engineering. The Information Center, which served as the library for all three sections was established in the early 1960s.

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Content Description

The papers of the Wood Products Research and Development Department span the years 1951 to 1984, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1965 to 1981.

The material includes several correspondence files, both general and project related; research files containing results of tests and experiments; several different report files including project reports and reports of research done by the WSU College of Engineering; laboratory notebooks maintained by the PFI research staff; a collection of photographs, slides, and negatives which complement the research and correspondence files; and Information Center records such as procedure manuals, accession lists, correspondence, minutes of meetings, and bound volumes of product information.

Note that many of the reports listed in the UNITERM index are no longer included in the collection. Because of the arrangement, research on any one project requires consulting several series. In addition to this collection the University of Idaho Special Collections has several other manuscript groups relating to the Potlatch Corporation and its predecessors.

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Other Descriptive Information

78-135 Ball Screw Carriages

78-150 Plystran Technical Reports

78-157 Plystran Products

78-172 #2 Plystran Plant Feasibility

78-175 Minnesota-Arkansas Panel Study

78-198 Potlatch Unit Fuel Reclaim System

78-292 St. Maries Green End

78-293 Veneer Pre-Manufacture Green-end Concept Proposal

78-301 Application of New Lumber Drying Technology

78-307 Cedar Chips and Sawdust Alternative Uses

78-309 Lewiston Crane Shed No.1

78-392 Edge Sealing

78-505 Riley Boiler Upgrade and Maintenance

79-146 Oriented Strand Panel

79-148 Pilot Plant Oriented Strand Panel Manufactured for Weyerhaeuser Company

79-149 Mitsui-Potlatch Cooperation

79-150 Plystran Technical Support

79-151 Northern Units Plan

78-157 Plystran Products

79-158 Lumber Surfacing Studies

79-159 Panelized Decking Developments

79-161 Panelized Decking Products

79-163 Phenolic Particleboard Flooring

79-165 Clearwater Sawmill

79-175 Minnesota-Arkansas Panel (Aspen Waferboard Project)

79-332 New Dry Kiln, 1979

79-334 Lewiston Riley Boiler Emissions

80-120 Sales Service

80-124 Minnesota Panel Evaluation

80-147 Kiln Control Modernization

80-152 Computerized Charger Development

80-162 No.4 Power Boiler Wood Supply

80-163 Arkansas Services

80-164 Alternate Adhesives

80-166 Energy Conservation

80-169 Crown Zellerbach-Canada

80-173 Minnesota Panel Process

80-190 Division Services

80-339 Plystran Dryer Replacement

81-158 Lumber Surfacing Developments

82-171 Saw Survey

83-177 Performance Rated Plywood

MP-2 Utilization of Standard Idaho White Pine

MP-3 Means of Reducing Raised Grain

MP-5 Influence of Seasonal Variability on Knot Splitting

MP-7 Replant Products from 1"x12" Standard Idaho White Pine

P-1 Continubond Process

P-5 Molded Pulp

P-7 Log Preservation

P-8 Fire Retardant Treated Plywood

P-10 Clear Strips from Common Lumber for Edge Gluing

P-11 Effects of High Temperature on Wood

P-13 Exploration of Paneling

P-16 Pilot Plant Laminated 2x4's

P-17 Recovery of Clear Lock Wall Panel Stock from D Select Idaho White Pine

P-18 Paper Beverage Cans

P-19 Properties of Kraft-wood

P-20 Development of "Plastic" Overlaid Lumber for Siding

P-21 Chemicals Derived from Wood Pressing

P-23 Stabilization of Lumber Paper Panel

P-24 Development of Paper Containers for Beverages

P-25 Boards from Sawmill Residues

P-27 Tall Oil and Tall Oil Skimmings from Kraft Black Liquor

P-29 Laminated Timbers

P-33 Sterols and Other Chemicals from Black Liquor Skimmings

P-34 Feasibility of Laminating Southern Yellow pine Through Use of the Preheat Technique

P-35 Tall Oil Skimmings Pilot Plant

P-38 Siding Components Development

P-40 Determination of Moisture in Chips

P-41 Market Survey of PFI Sterols

P-50 Skimming Unit for Dilute Black Liquor

P-53 Plylumber Testing

P-54 End Gluing for PFI

P-55 Testing of Laminated Timbers

P-56 Arabogalactan Production from Larch Long Butts

P-57 Lockwall Strips

P-58 Foam Reduction

P-59 Foamed Concrete

P-60 Plastic Coatings for Paperboard

P-61 Paper Roll Plugs Manufactured from Particle Board

P-63 Dimension Stabilization

P-64 Bark Fertilizer Tests

P-65 Cyclic Delamination Tests on Lock Deck After Pressing

P-66 Floor Construction for Houses

P-67 Load Deflection Test of Idaho White Pine

P-68 Lock-Deck Tests for Building Code Approval

P-71 Fireproofing

P-73 Racking Test Data Plylumber Flooring

P-74 Lumber Stiffness Tester

P-76 Germanium From Wood Ashes

P-78 Housing - Laminated Wooden Gutter

P-79 Larch Plywood Tests

P-80 Laminated Timber

P-81 Arabogalactan

P-83 Production of Plylumber Paneling

P-85 Utilization of Green Low Grade Lumber as a Resource for Manufacturing Particle Board

P-86 Idaho White Pine

P-87 Plyflooring

P-88 Plylumber Flooring

P-89 Bark Fertilizer Sales and Production

P-91 Prefinishing Lumber in Panels

P-92 Laminating Lock-Deck with Borden W-138 Resin

P-97 Laminated Beams from Low Grade Lumber

P-98 Veneer Overlaid Paneling and Decking

P-99 Electronic Studies by Battelle Memorial Institute

P-100 Administrative and General Project Allocation

Research Engineering Section

P-101 Non-Research Department Work

P-102 Sales-Technical Service

P-103 Quality Service

P-104 Factory Finishes Evaluation

P-105 Railroad Car Materials

P-106 Plylumber Flooring, Bending Tests

P-108 Clearwater Investigations

P-109 Plylumber Diaphragm Tests

P-110 Prefinishing Pilot Plant

P-111 Dip Treatment Investigations

P-112 Truck Flooring

P-113 Laminated Beams from Boards

P-114 Plylumber Flooring - Diagonal Joint Study

P-115 Construction Systems

P-116 Plywood Siding

P-118 Pressure Treating by PFI

P-119 Glue Tests

P-120 Automatic Plywood Layup

P-121 Utilization of Lignin in Stabilization of Wood

P-122 Elmendorf Products Investigation

P-123 Trend-Tex Panel Siding Pilot Plant

P-124 Concrete Form Plywood Pilot Plant

P-125 Veneer Scarf

P-126 Wood Products Used in Housing

P-127 Lock Deck Quality Control

P-129 Southern Pine Veneers and Plywood

P-130 Lumber Manufacturing Concept

P-131 Potlatch Factory Finishing

P-132 Research Backup on Century Board

P-133 Lock-Deck, Eastern White Pine

P-134 Overlays

P-135 Application for General Approval of Potlatch Lock-Deck

P-136 Veneer Core Handling

P-137 Effects of End Joints on Simple Span Lock-Deck Roof Decks

P-139 Fiberglass

P-140 Aspen Lumber

P-141 Particle Overlay Development

P-142 Bradley-Southern Feasibility Study

P-143 New Uses Utility Idaho White Pine

P-144 Factory Flooring

P-145 Oriented Strand Research

P-146 Oriented Strand Pilot Plant

P-147 Stranwood Marketing

P-149 Mitsui Petrochemical Co-op

P-150 Plystran Technical Report

P-151 Potlatch Clear Span Building

P-153 Housing Products Evaluation

P-154 Plywood-Southern Pine-Texas-Louisiana

P-155 Fire Retardant Treated Lumber for Lock-Deck Decking

P-156 Williams-Schliz Concrete form System

P-157 Plystran Products

P-158 Cellon

P-159 Veneer Block Heating

P-161 Plywood - Idaho White Pine

P-162 Continuous Veneer Drying Method

P-163 Par-Dek Evaluation

P-164 Plylumber Flooring Dimensional Stabilization

P-166 Plywood Floor systems

P-167 Oriented Core for Louisiana Pacific Corporation

P-168 Fabrication Centers

P-169 Oriented Core for Crown Zellerbach

P-170 Railway Car Materials Product Coordination

P-171 Thin Oriented Core for Georgia Pacific

P-173 Beams, Continuous Press Design

P-174 Structured End Joint Pilot Plant

P-175 Charcoal Study

P-177 Fertilizer Building Program

P-178 Grading Machines Measure the Effect of Grain Slope

P-179 Vertically Laminated Idaho White Pine Beams

P-181 Pierce Experimental Houses

P-182 Radio Control of Industrial Machines

P-183 Crossarm Studies

P-184 Samoan Wood

P-188 Lock-Deck Tests

P-193 Samoan Wood

P-194 Testing EMSR Lumber

P-195 Resiliently Suspended Ceiling Systems

P-196 Fire Retardant Treated Lock-Deck Decking

P-198 Resawn Face Process (Lock-Deck)

P-199 Three Ply Plywood

P-200 Veneer Cutting with Reciprocating Knife

P-201 Sources of Material for Specialty Products

P-202 Fabricated Wood joist

P-203 Hot Press Drying

P-205 Laminated Sheet Piling

P-207 Country Home Feasibility Study

P-208 Design Consultant

P-209 Laminated Products from Low Grade Boards

P-210 Continuous Making of Plywood

P-212 Project Home

P-213 Elmendorf Siding

P-214 Concrete Form Plywood

P-215 Plywood Tests

P-216 Research Building - Lewiston

P-218 Markets for Flooring Products

P-220 Trend-Tex Panel Siding (Elmendorf)

P-221 Refurbish Old Lab Building

P-222 Williams-Schliz Concrete Form System

P-224 Duro-loc glues as Knot Sealers

P-225 Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic Plywood

P-226 Lock-Deck Diaphragm

P-229 Continuous Plywood Layup Project

P-230 Core Width Distribution

P-233 Strength Characteristics of Southern Pine Glued to Red Oak

P-234 "Fire Pak" Testing and Development

P-235 Wood Residue Resource Study

P-236 Moragne Wood

P-237 Marketing Trial Run of Kimberly-Clark Incense Cedar Lock-Deck Decking

P-238 Terrapin Building

P-292 Cost Estimate for Green-end Expansion St. Maries Plywood

Wood Technology Section

P-301 Non Research Department Work

P-302 Sales-Technical Service

P-303 Quality Service

P-304 Factory Finishes Evaluation

P-305 General Research - Non-allocation

P-306 Inventions Evaluation

P-308 Clearwater Investigations

P-310 Research and Development Planning

P-320 Terrapin Building Structural Design

P-321 Veneer Bolt Recovery

P-322 Machine Grading of Lumber

P-323 EMSR Lumber Pilot Plant

P-324 Lock-Deck Diaphragms (Roof Systems Development)

P-325 Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic Plywood (Containers & Pallets)

P-326 Acoustical Systems Development

P-327 Sources of Materials for Specialties

P-328 Fabricated Wood Joists

P-331 Lock-Deck Decking

P-333 NAHB Research House

P-335 Large Plywood Specialties

P-336 Panel Semi-trailer Flooring

P-337 Structural End Joint Quality Control

P-338 Softwood Board Utilization

P-339 Seasoning Process Study

P-340 Speedspace Wall Panels

P-341 Fire Retardant Treating System

P-342 Special Lumber Sizes for Builders

P-343 Veneer Fencing

P-344 Tropical Woods Evaluation

P-345 Speedspace Studies

P-346 Veneer Drying/Gluing Improvement

P-347 Laminated Beams

P-348 Drying of Tropical Woods

P-349 Customer Services on Tropical Woods

P-350 New Colombian Hardwoods

P-352 Mobile Home Veneer Skirting

P-353 Colombian Veneer Utilization

P-354 Scotch Weave Fence Study

P-355 Decorative Beams from Low-Grade Hardwood

P-356 Samoan Hardwood Evaluation

P-358 Posts for Scotch Weave Fence

P-359 Testing Wide Car Flooring

P-360 Aspen Stud Acceptance

P-361 Plyboard Development

P-363 Steel vs. Wood Railroad Car Decking

P-364 Manufactured Joists

P-365 Apitong Deck

P-366 Idaho Board Plant Study

P-367 Stranwood from Cedar Bark and Cedar Wood

P-368 Super-Deck Plywood

P-369 Forest Residue Utilization

P-370 Logging Residues Utilization

P-371 Anti-flame Spread Decking Backup

P-372 Light Standard Backup

P-373 Weatherworn Plywood and Lumber Panelling Backup

P-374 Sawlog Utilization

P-375 Laminated Decking Expansion

P-377 Cedar Siding products

P-379 Veneer from Lathe Cores

P-380 Scotch Weave Slat Supply

P-381 Lumber Drying Investigation

P-382 Portable Chipper pilot Plant

P-383 Chip Cleaning

P-384 Factory Finishing

P-387 Abrasive Surfacing

P-388 Long Length Logging

P-389 New Cut Stock Products

P-390 Intermediate Span Decking

Commercial Development

P-500 Treating Plant Feasibility Study

P-501 CLT Standards and Investigation

P-502 Sales-Technical Services

P-503 Factory Finishing

P-505 General Development - Non Allocation

P-509 Particleboard Plant Feasibility Study

P-510 Recovery of Laminated Beam Stock from EMSR White Fir Lumber

P-512 Century Board

P-521 Structural End Joints

P-524 Hot Melt Coated Plywood

P-526 Veneer Fencing; Scotch Weave Fence

P-527 Butt-Joints for Lock-Deck Centers

P-528 Weathered Paneling and Siding

P-529 New Finish for Lock-Deck Decking

P-530 Trend-Tex Panel Siding

P-531 Full Cross Sectional Structural End Jointing of Lock-Deck Decking

P-532 Laminated Light Standards

P-533 Plywood Subfloor-Underlayment

P-535 Particleboard Markets and Prospects for Potlatch

P-537 Stranwood and Plystran Marketing

P-540 Anti-flame Spread Lock-Deck Decking

P-543 Treating Plant Feasibility

P-544 Edge Glued Dimension Feasibility Study

Research Market Analysis

P-003 Feasibility and Profitability for PFI to Enter the Rehabilitation Market

P-004 Solid P.V.C. Siding - a Comparative Siding Analysis of Market Opportunities

P-008 Fire Retardant Treated Lumber and Plywood

P-108A Lumber Yield

P-110A Proposed Program for Research and Development Prepared for New Products Committee Meeting

P-120A Big Otto Glue-spreader Tests and Results

P-121A Continuous Plywood Pressing, a Preliminary Economic Analysis of the ANRA Press

P-122A Elmendorf Products Investigation

P-123A Economic Analysis of Trend-Tex Siding

P-124A Durability of Hot Melt Coated Plywood Concrete Form at Elevated Temperatures

P-125A Continuous Plywood Layup Pilot Plant

P-126A Field Study and Evaluation of Wood Products Used in Multi-family Housing

P-128A Utilization of Samoan Wood Fiber

P-130A Recovery of Products from Veneer Dryers

P-131A Use of Clarifier Residue

P-132A Century Board Tests

P-133A Stranwood Studies

P-140A Cloquet Mill Studies

P-143A Clearwater Investigations

P-144A Decorative Bark Ground Cover

P-145A Investigation of Lower Press Temperatures for Thin Stranwood Production

P-151A Post Falls Mill Projects

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The majority of the material in this record group was in labeled folders or notebooks when received, and these headings were retained during processing; however, a new and artificial series order was imposed.

The Correspondence series is divided into several subseries. The first is arranged by project number and contains many inter-company memoranda as well as correspondence with outside firms. Some reports are also included in the folders. The second or "Approvals" file contains correspondence related to the efforts of Potlatch to obtain municipal or professional association recognition of its products. The correspondence of Jack Markley, Head of the Wood Technology Section, originally in two sections, foldered and unfoldered, was combined to facilitate its use; it is arranged alphabetically by subject. The final subseries contains the correspondence of the Research and Technology Office which is also arranged alphabetically by subject.

The second series contains different types of reports. The first are reports written by Wood Technology staff giving the results of projects on which they were working. Some of these were contained in three-ring notebooks, others were bound in paper covers. These two groups were arranged by project number (see Numerical Listing of Projects), then combined and duplicate reports were discarded. No attempt was made to locate reports duplicated in Series I. Washington State University performed many experiments for Potlatch and their reports form another subseries which is arranged by WSU report number. The miscellaneous reports were separated into two segments, those with UNITERM numbers and those without. UNITERM is the method of accessioning and indexing reports used by the Information Center; an index to all UNITERM reports is filed with the Information Center Material. It must be noted however, that some reports in other subseries have UNITERM numbers, and also many of the reports listed in the index are no longer extant. The remaining reports are arranged alphabetically by title, or in a few cases where several reports were fastened together, by subject.

The third series is comprised of research files. These consist of manuscript notes, charts and graphs, some correspondence, and printed articles and reports. These are arranged alphabetically by subject; where a project number was designated on the original folder, that number is in parentheses following the folder heading on the inventory.

The laboratory notebooks which contain daily summaries of the work done on each project have been arranged first by size (for ease of storage) then by project number. Therefore, it is possible to find laboratory notebooks for the same project in two or three different boxes. In addition to the project notebooks, there are notebooks kept by H.B. McKean, Vice President for Research and Development, and also several identified only by date. Some of these notebooks contain photographs of the tests and experiments.

The next series contains photographs, slides, and photographic negatives relating to various research projects. There was an official photograph file in the Information Center which was contained in labeled folders. The remaining photographs and slides were in envelopes or boxes, some labeled, some not. These two groups were kept separate during processing. In some instances photographs and corresponding negatives are available, in others only photographs or only negatives.

The final series contains a collection of material maintained in the Information Center which includes procedure manuals, acquisition lists, a list of project reports, correspondence, minutes of meetings of the New Products Committee and the Research and Development Committee, sales brochures, technical data sheets and sales aids, and bound, volumes of product information on such topics as car decking, laminated beams, and Lock Deck.

All material originally contained in 3-ring notebooks was removed and placed in folders. Duplicate reports were discarded. Reports not directly relating to Potlatch or its projects were removed from the collection. In all this record group was reduced by 21 cubic feet.

Acquisition Information

The records of the Wood Products Research and Development Section of Potlatch Forests, Inc. (PFI) in Lewiston, Idaho, were donated to the University of Idaho Library between December 1985 and May 1986.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Forest products -- Research -- Idaho -- History -- Sources
  • Forest products -- Research -- Washington (State) -- History -- Sources

Corporate Names

  • Washington State University. College of Engineering

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Potlatch Forests, inc. Wood Products Research and Development

Finding aid prepared by Judith Nielsen
1990

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