Patterns Of Time - The Hardwood Story (1967)

[Music] for centuries man has made the conquest of the universe the focus of his aspirations at last he has begun to achieve his bruisers and explore what awaits and beyond the familiarity of his own planet it is a limitless dream but from what we now know the new terrains will be similar in appearance to our great deserts [Music] even today as man explores the regions of space he returns to find security comfort and beauty in the luxury of his own environment it is an environment of natural abundance which man has been able to mold to his own image and meets my name is rod serling as a writer I'm particularly sensitive to contrasts and contradictions in human behavior occasionally I wonder what it is that drives man to leave the extraordinary beauty of this earth for a journey toward some distant and desolate planet but of course the answer is obvious the desire for knowledge and adventure is insatiable but as the space explorer must leave home so too he must return and when he does his experience has taught him to appreciate what he has left behind what is left behind among other wonders of nature is something that has been an important and meaningful part of his life since childhood the forest since the beginning of history played an essential part in the development of man they have sheltered and fed him and provided him with a continual source of material for the creation of beautiful things let's examine how we have used our technological skills to make the forest of part of our own lives the evergreens or soft woods supply almost all our lumber for construction but it is the leaf bearing trees or hardwoods which provide us with the woods of great beauty used in fine furniture and interiors as well as a surprising number of other products in our world of mass-produced products and design we look to nature for materials which are immune to imitation nothing from nature brings such lasting enjoyment as the world's great treasure of hardwood trees flowers fade but the beauty of wood ages with increased mellowness and richness the eye is pleased the touch is comforted and the mind continually seeking the original and the individual is satisfied by this material so uniquely fashioned by nature hardwood trees come from forests all over the world walnut from our Midwestern Plains Myrtle from the Pacific Northwest mahogany from tropical America and Africa teak from Burma satiny would conceal on in India lace wood from Australia zebra wood from Africa and rose wood from the Amazon the list is almost endless Elm maple oak began birch cherry cattivo who won in fact there are more than 90 thousand species of hardwoods in the world there is an infinite variety of natural markings and figure patterns and fine hardwoods from the elaborate to the very simple at first the log must be opened to determine whether it is suitable for fine veneer [Music] is the method of achieving more beauty and greater utilization from hardwood trees in this way the log can produce greater surface quantities from our valuable woods but first an exciting moment of discovery will it be a high enough quality however experienced and skilled the men find the answer to their question only by opening a line and examining the color and grain of the wood logs that are rejected or later cut into long [Music] in the final analysis the beauty of the figure depends largely upon man's skill in anticipating the patterns produced by each log when cut by the various methods a log may produce only unexcited batters when cut in one way while the same log when turned a few inches and cut at a different angle may develop a delicate much prized figure this piece comes from the trunk other figures are found in the stuffed the Burrow and the crutch these variations in the physical structure of the tree are one reason that wood from the same species of tree can look so different the other reason is the ingenuity of men in revealing these variations so the cutting methods are very important the most common is flat slicing which produces a variegated cathedral pattern the half log is mounted against the knife which rapidly slices off layers that run parallel to the axis of the log [Music] in the rotor related process great sheets roll from the knife like peeling an apple and the pattern is a rippling effect a Franz slicing results and it cuts lightly across the annual growth rings of the tree to produce figure characteristics of both rotary and plane sliced veneer and rift cutting used primarily on open the courted log is cut to create a cone-like effect man first discovered the art of veneering some four thousand years ago and although modern techniques have perfected the art to a degree never imagined before the basic concept remains the same the veneer is shipped from the mill to paneling manufacturers furniture makers other users the veneer slices are kept in their natural sequence so that as they come from the log each slice is almost an exact duplicate of the one next to it various techniques are used to achieve a wide range of handsome effects made possible only by veneer construction this man is book magic consecutive pieces of veneer for cabinet doors he achieves this effect by turning alternate sheets similar to opening a page of a book a repeating powder is created by slip matching one sheet of veneer to the right of the one beneath it of course the grain and figures of the veneer depend upon the part of the truth in which they are cut as well as the type of cut to the designer of fine hardwood products there is available an infinite number of species figures colors and matching techniques each one individual and striking each one capturing the natural beauty of the forest which defies imitation this is called a diamond match for a tabletop the veneers must now be given a permanence which will enable them to endure through the years man uses his technological ability and preserving what he is so skillfully taken from nature modern adhesives are the essence of modern plywood and are actually stronger than the wood itself veneers are bonded under extreme heat and pressure and apply wood panels which are actually sandwiches consisting of an odd number of layers of veneer so that the grain direction of each ply runs at 90 degrees to the grain of the adjacent ply producing a panel with lasting strength dimensional stability and splitting resistance finally the hardwood panels are cut to dimension and sent finishing has two words to protect the wood and to enrich the natural wood colors in the last few years special coatings have been developed with protect against scratches chemicals and the heat of serving dishes and cigarettes yet still provide the matchless beauty of genuine woods for special purposes hardwood plywood can take on an infinite number of shapes to suit man's wide range of needs from a concert grand piano sturdy at capable of capturing and amplified subtlety of every tone and court [Music] to the Sportsmens golf club which can hit a ball over 100 miles an hour this flexibility of use is only one of many attributes hardwood plywood has strength stability and durability but most important it captures perfectly the naturalness of the world's most beautiful woods hard wood veneers have been used in the great furniture over the ages these pieces were made by craftsmen like Chippendale Hepplewhite Sheraton who understood the extraordinary possibilities of veneering modern production methods have made it possible for everyone to afford hardwood veneered furniture a luxury once only available to the very rich today almost all of our fine wood furniture is made by the hardwood veneering process because many slices of veneer come from the same log almost identical patterns can be matched within a whole grouping of furniture and yet there is a subtle changing in the figure the one group to another so that each is both original and individual as designs of a new group of furniture developed the ideas for matching the face veneer inlaid borders and other features are sketched and finely reproduced in veneer the field of architecture and interior design is drawing more heavily upon fine hardwood plywood the architects of the new Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center in New York City selected exotic Keva single wood paneling all of the valuable properties of wood have been used here from its beauty to its acoustical properties a range of effects which are possible through a complete understanding of the textures colors grains figures and patterns of hardwood plywood is infinite wherever we choose to use fine hardwood our motivation is usually the same to make the natural world a greater part of our own life man has never been able to successfully imitate hardwood figure patterns which are truly nature's masterpieces today more than ever before artisans and scientists have jointly succeeded in making one of man's most ancient materials one of his most modern it offers the economy of many square feet of fine face veneer from one line and therefore the ability to match grain patterns it has strength and stability far surpassing that of lumber it withstands temperature and humidity changes it can be shaped even in this age of synthetics hardwood plywood serve us in a way no other material can houses furniture yes even boats from bow to stern are made from hardwood plywood not surprising considering the virtues of this versatile material man has indeed come a long way in his appreciation of wood since the days when he first used it only for shelter and fuel he has learned not only to surround himself with the beauty of the forest but to shape it to serve his many needs whatever they may be as man ventures into the unknown regions of space he knows that he can always return to the richness and comfort of his own natural world although the demand for hardwood is great man has finally understood the need to conserve this resource which is so vital a part of his life to careful management and programs will be for a station you will always have an abundance of fine hardwoods here on earth whatever awaits us in the limitless world beyond [Music] [Music]