Haskelite

Haskelite and PlyMetl plywood panels advertised in a 1922 company catalog

Haskelite is the brand name of a plywood, once made by the Michigan based Haskelite Manufacturing Corporation. It was made from waterproof glue developed by Henry L. Haskell. The moldable plywood was originally called Ser-O-Ply. It was used in the construction of various vehicles including military tanks, boats, airplanes, buses, trucks, and automobiles.

Background

Haskelite plywood with metal sides were called Plymetl (plywood + metal)

Haskell invented a process for making glue from blood-albumin. The process used slaughterhouse blood from the Chicago stock yards.[1] The inexpensive waterproof adhesive cement was referred to as "black albumin glue."[2] It was used to cement together wood pieces.[3] One product Haskell made from this was a lightweight waterproof plywood, first known as Ser-O-Ply.[4] He applied this glue to wood veneers and manufactured plywood for various applications. Some of these applications were in boats, airplanes, tanks, trucks, automobiles and railway cars.[4] They were from 1/8th inch thick to just over an inch thick and had various layers of ply veneers. Typical moldable plywood panels were about five feet wide by twenty feet long and 3/16th of an inch thick.[5] The plywood sheets made this way were eventually given the brand trade name of "haskelite."[6] It is named after Henry L. Haskell, the inventor of the glue that held the plywood together.[7]

Haskell formed a company for making his plywood that ultimately became the Haskell Manufacturing Company in Ludington, Michigan and the Haskelite Manufacturing Corporation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The glue was applied cold and spread onto veneers of wood with mechanical rollers. A stack of three sheets of veneer was then put through a machine press. There each board panel was subjected to hydraulic pressure of 150 lbs per square inch between hot metal plates of 210 degrees F.[6] This pressure and heat made the contact between the veneers permanent and the glue became insoluble.[3] The plywood was given brand names depending on certain specific characteristics of the material.[8] Plymetl was a plywood with metal faces; Plymold was a plastic based plywood that could be molded, and Phemaloid was a fire-resistant paneling.[9]

Boats

Main article: Haskell canoe
1917 Haskell canoe

Thinner moldable plywood was used to make various boats.[10] One model was the Haskell canoe. It was made from a type of plywood Haskell produced, consisting of veneers of birch on the outside and a redwood core. The unseamed canoe was made from a single piece of plywood and sold by the thousands throughout the United States. There was no framed ribs used for a skeleton in the building of the canoe.[3]

Airplanes

Main article: Fairchild F-46
Fairchild F-46 aircraft of 1938

Another item made from Haskel plywood was airplane parts, mainly the fuselage and wings.[3] The Haskelite company was considered Ludington's most important industry during World War I since over 3000 military aircraft were constructed for the United States and its allies using its plywood.[11][12]

Haskell plywood was used for aircraft construction of experimental and commercial planes.[13] A Johnson Twin 60 experimental airplane was built in 1927 that had 85% Haskelite plywood which made its wings, seats, instrument board, and fuselage parts.[14] The first successful commercial airplane it was used on was the 1937 Fairchild Aircraft model F-46.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Smith 1930, p. 18.
  2. ↑ "Manufacturers:Haskell Boat Company". Wooden Canoe Heritage Association. 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dunbar 1955, p. 439.
  4. 1 2 Smith 1930, p. 19.
  5. ↑ Williams, Leonard P. (December 22, 1952). "Carrom Industries / Into Plywood Business (page 7)". Daily News. Ludington, Michigan – via Newspapers.com .
  6. 1 2 Motor_Body 1919, p. 54.
  7. ↑ Motor_Boat 1920, p. 38.
  8. ↑ Hardwood_Record 1920, p. 30.
  9. ↑ Marine_Engineering 1933, p. 208-213.
  10. ↑ "New Material Used in Boats". The News-Palladium. Benton Harbor, Michigan. June 24, 1939 – via Newspapers.com .
  11. ↑ "Local Company Contributed to war effort". Daily News. Ludington, Michigan. June 26, 1993 – via Newspapers.com .
  12. ↑ "Carrom Company Is Diversified". Daily News. Ludington, Michigan. September 3, 1965 – via Newspapers.com .
  13. ↑ "Haskelite, Hughs to Build Planes". Daily News. Ludington, Michigan. August 1, 1939 – via Newspapers.com .
  14. ↑ "New Johnson Twin 60 adopts HASKELITE". Aero-Digest. 10: 2. 1927. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Ludington is Birthplace of Plywood Airplanes". Daily News. Ludington, Michigan. July 15, 1943 – via Newspapers.com .

Sources

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