Overview of the Collection
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
MG388
Potlatch
Corporation. Pres-To-Log Division
Potlatch Corporation. Pres-To-Log Division
1933-1989
3.0 cubic feet
Correspondence, leases, photographs, and engineering drawings
pertaining to the manufacture and marketing of Pres-to-logs by Potlatch Corporation and Wood
Briquettes, Inc.
English
Wood Briquettes, Inc. which manufactured and leased the Pres-to-log machinery and marketed
the logs, was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Potlatch Corporation. It was incorporated in
the state of Delaware in 1933 by M.S. Cook, A.L. Raughley, and J.M. Townsend, all of Dover,
Delaware. Officers were C.L. Billings, Otto Leuschel, H.L. Torsen, of Lewiston, ID, and G.F.
Jewett of Coeur d'Alene. Other directors were J.P. Weyerhaeuser, Jr., and Laird Bell.
Pres-to-logs were made from compressed wood shavings, sawdust and chips, and required
one-quarter the space of the original wood. The first machine started production in April
1936. The patent for the Pres-to-log machine expired in 1960 and none were built after that
time. The company eventually lost control over the machines and producers and in 1984 the
directors consented to dissolve the company. All assets were transferred to the parent
company, Potlatch Corporation by the end of 1985,and that company sold the remaining
machinery.
The Pres-to-log records of the Potlatch Corporation span the years 1933 to 1989, with the
bulk of the material covering the decades of 1940, 1950 and 1960.
Included in the records are Wood Briquettes, Inc., correspondence with companies leasing
Pres-to-log machines, general information on the product, photographs, and engineering
drawings.
Additional information on Pres-to-logs may be found in other Potlatch Corporation records
including MG135, MG139, and MG192.
The records were in no apparent order when received. Some material was in labeled folders
while other material was not foldered at all. Material within folders was not always
consistent with the label. Records were therefore separated by company. Original folder
heading were kept if appropriate.
The material in this record group is arranged in two series, Wood Briquettes, Inc. and
Potlatch Corporation.
The papers generated by Wood Briquettes, Inc., which manufactured and leased Pres-to-log
machinery, are in series one. These papers are subdivided into three sections. The first
contains corporate records, general information on the product, general correspondence, and
financial records. The second section consists of correspondence with companies leasing
machinery. The third section contains an incomplete set of engineering drawings for
Pres-to-log machinery.
The second series contains papers generated by Potlatch Corporation, the parent company of
Wood Briquettes. Included are research reports, correspondence pertaining to the sale of the
equipment after the dissolution of Wood Briquettes, material relating to patents, and costs
of operating the plants.
The records of the Potlatch Corporation Pres-to-log Division were donated to the University
of Idaho Library by James C. McAdoo of the Potlatch Corporation in January 1995.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers
desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using
these headings.
Idaho
Forestry and Forest Products
Potlatch
Corporation. Pres-to-log Division
Wood
Briquettes
Wood products -- Idaho
Fuelwood -- Idaho
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series I. Wood Briquettes, Inc.
1933-1989
A. General
1933-1989
1/1
Action plan
1984-1985
22 items
1/2
Bitco Drive, general information
1985-1989
5 items
1/3
Board of directors minutes
1963-1965
3 items
1/4
Bowling, R.T. The mechanical development of a
wood-briquetting machine
1940
5 items
1/5
Canadian trademark
1964
6 items
1/6
Competitive makes
1970
4 items
1/7-8
Corporate documents
1933-1955
95 items
1/9
Corporate documents: California filings
1945
14 items
1/10
Corporate documents: Sample lease agreements
undated
2 items
1/11-12
Correspondence
1947-1984
71 items
1/13
Correspondence: Pres-to-log machines
1966-1989
9 items
1/14
Correspondence: Purchase of Pres-to-log machines
1984-1985
35 items
1/15
Correspondence: Use of name Pres-to-log
1964-1980
11 items
1/16-17
Dissolution
1983-1985
21 items
1/18
Dissolution: Sale of microfilms of drawings
1985
9 items
1/19
Dow, Frank P. Co., Freight forwarders
1964-1972
23 items
1/20
Federal Communications Commission
1967-1969
2 items
1/21
General Electric motor data
1963
1 item
1/22
Instruction manuals
undated
3 items
1/23
Insurance claim
1968
3 items
1/24
Inventory
1966-1967
3 items
1/25
Miscellaneous
1963-1977
35 items
1/26
Pres-to-log information packet
1986
2 items
1/27
Recap - all licenses
1970-1987
19 items
1/28
Report on inspection trip: Coeur d'Alene
1972
1 item
1/29
Report on inspection trip: Sacramento and San
Francisco
1959
1 item
1/30
Report on inspection trip: Southern Idaho
1964
1 item
1/31
Royalty payments
1967-1968
5 items
1/32
Sales territory and licenses
1963
43 items
1/33-34
Statements of income
1966-1984
56 items
1/35
Stoker machine parts list
undated
1 item
1/36
Use of non-wood material in manufacture of
Pres-to-logs
1951-1968
27 items
1/37
Wood Briquettes, Inc., G. Miller v.
1972
1 item
B. Correspondence
1933-1987
1/38
Ashley Colter Ltd., Fredericton, N.B.
1963-1972
23 items
1/39
Atlantic Forest Products, Minto, N.B.
1970-1971
6 items
1/40-41
B.C. Forest Products, Ltd., Victoria, B.C.
1952-1965
51 items
1/42
Biles-Coleman Lumber Co., Omak, WA
1970-1972
7 items
1/43
Bitco, Inc.
1966-1970
7 items
1/44
Capitol Lumber So., Salem, Oregon
1965
2 items
1/45
Co-op Vegetable Oils, Altona, Manitoba
1964-1965
4 items
1/46
Deer Park Pine Industry, Deer Park, WA
1964-1971
5 items
1/47
DeSoto Hardwood Flooring Co., Memphis, TN
1966-1971
11 items
1/48
Eaton Lumber Co., Jay, NY.
1965-1968
50 items
1/49
Glenco forest products, Inc., Sacramento
ca.
1953-1972
5 items
1/50
Haileyburg Lumber Co., Swastika, Ont.
1963-1964
5 items
1/51
Haney Supply, Colville, WA
1966-1973
5 items
2/52
Harris Manufacturing Co., Johnson City, TN
1961-1973
53 items
2/53
Hyster Co., Portland OR
1963-1968
42 items
2/54
Quotations
1962-1964
10 items
2/55
Inland Analytical Laboratories, Spokane, WA
1964-1968
13 items
2/56
Intermountain Lumber Co., Missoula, MT
1963-1977
17 items
2/57
Iowa-Missouri Walnut Co., St. Joseph, MO
1963-1964
5 items
2/58
Irving, J.D., Co., St. John, NB
1972
5 items
2/59
Jellico Resources Associates, Ltd., Rexdale, Ont.
1970-1972
11 items
2/60-61
MacMillan Bloedel, Vancouver BC
1946-1979
135 items
2/62
New Mexico Timber, Inc., Albuquerque
1952-1973
50 items
2/63
Newfoundland and Labrador, Government of
1986
1 item
2/64
Niels, J., Lumber Co., Libby, MT
1942-1961
7 items
2/65-66
Pacific Lumber Co., San Francisco, CA
1934-1971
80 items
2/67
Scotia
ca.
1964-1979
30 items
2/68
Port Huron Truss, Inc., Port Huron MI
1979-1981
3 items
2/69
Reno Millwork, Inc., Reno, Nev.
1940-1975
26 items
2/70
Rocky Mountain Fiber Fuels, Flagstaff, AZ
1977-1978
14 items
2/71
Rubberset Co., Gravenhurst, ONT.
1972
5 items
2/72-74
Setzer Forest Products, Sacramento, CA
1934-1987
249 items
2/75-76
Spokane Pres-to-log Co.
1946-1986
88 items
2/77
St. Regis Paper Co., Libby, MT
1963-1972
37 items
2/78
State Box Co., Sacramento, CA
1963-1967
43 items
2/79-80
Weyerhaeuser Co.
1933-1972
102 items
2/81
Yoder Manufacturing, Montgomery, PA
1974-1978
13 items
C. Engineering Drawings
1936-1969
3/82
List of plans and general drawings
1954-1968
3 items (2 drawings and a list)
- Illustrative top view: 43w x 36t
- Pressing screw drive assembly: 44w x 30t
- ????
3/83
Series C
1944-1969
7 items
- Detail of Grinder Conveyor Fuel Level Control: 34w x 22t
- Briquette Machine Wiring Diagram A-C: 32w x 32t
- Wiring Diagram, Pres-to-Logs Machine with Mechanical Index & Elec.
Clutch A-C: 32w x 32t
3/84
Series E
1948-1969
7 items
- No. 35-S Heavy Duty Fan: 36w x 24t
- Chain Driven Fuel Tank Assembly: 36w x 24t
- Chain Driven Fuel Tank Details – Sheet 1: 34w x 22t
- Chain Driven Fuel Tank Details – Sheet 2: 34w x 22t
- Unloading Conveyor for 30’ Concrete Floor Fuel Bin: 34w x 22t
- Grinder Conveyor for 30-ft. Concrete Floor Fuel Bin: 34w x 22t
- Shaft & Scroll Details for 30-ft. Fuel Bin Unloading Conveyors: 34w x 22t
3/85
Series F
1940-1969
8 items
- Steel Quonset Hut for Pres-to-log Storage: 22w x 17t
- Detail of Inclined Trough for Stoker Fuel Grinder Conveyor: 34w x 22t
- Two Pres-To-Log Machine Plant Floor Plan with Separate Grinder Room: 34w x 22t
- Two Machine Pres-To-Logs Plant Elevator & Machine Room Section: 48w x 22t
- Foundation Plan for 1 or 2-Machine Pres-to-logs Plant Floor Plan, Sheet 1 of 2: 34w x 22t (appear to be several duplicates)
- Foundation Plan for 1 or 2-Machine Pres-to-logs Plant Floor Plan, Sheet 2 of 2: 34w x 22t
- Fuel Vault Building White Pine Lbr. Dist. Corp. Reno. Nev: 64w x 33t
- Two Machine Stoker Fuel Plant Fuel Bin Sections: 48w x 36t
3/86
Series G
1936-1969
7 items
- Hog Fuel Dryer – No. 14 & 18 Collector: 17w x 11t
- No. 35 Fan Foundation: 24w x 11t
- No. 35X Heavy Duty Fan – Assembly Dwg.: 22w x 17t
- No. 35 Fan Assembly: 22w x 17t
- Feeder Assembly: 36w x 18t
- Sawdust Fired Dryer Furnace: 46w x 28t
- Flash Dryer for 2-Mach. Plant Sawdust Burner Heat: 36w x 29t
3/87
Series K
1943-1961
1 item
- “Pres-To-Logs” 1-Ton Skid Box: 22w x 17t
Series II. Potlatch Corporation
1964-1987
3/88
B.C. research: Fuel log process
1966-1968
5 items
3/89
Blake, Givens, Feeney
1964-1969
12 items
3/90
Comparison Pres-to-log operating statements
1966-1969
4 items
3/91
Potlatch Clearwater Unit: Pres-to-log memos
1968-1971
17 items
3/92
Potlatch Clearwater Unit: Trucking rates
1965-1967
9 items
3/93
Correspondence: Sale of Pres-to-log machines
1987
5 items
3/94
Correspondence: Miscellaneous
1967-1984
4 items
3/95
Fireplace Pak, results
1965-1972
14 items
3/96
General information
1936-1968
9 items
3/97
Hall, John, Executive counsel
1968-1972
2 items
3/98
History
1936-1962
5 items
3/99
Mutual Marketing
1966-1970
12 items
3/100
Patent possibilities
1964-1967
6 items
3/101-102
Patents: Greek Wells
1956-1969
38 items
3/103-105
Photographs
ca. 1940-1965
45 items
3/106
Photographs: Kits, paks, Color-glo pallets, Market
displays
ca. 1966-1967
21 items
3/107
Plant engineering report, Peoria, Illinois
1966
1 item
3/108
Pres-to-log cost estimate
1965-1966
27 items
3/109
Pres-to-log data
1943-1985
21 items
3/110
Pres-to-log plant costs
1964
1 item
3/111
Wax-dip equipment, agreement form
1968
3 items
3/112
Possibilities for the production of wood briquette
stoker fuel in northern Michigan
1950
1 item
3/113
A study of wood briquetting fuels and possibilities in
application in Georgia
1959
1 item
3/114
Wood fuel for protecting crops from frost
1961
1 item