Lumber Stamp

[Bill Gaiche]

 <brHave a question about a stamp on a 2 1/2" thick x 13"wide x 12' long board. It was in an old depot close to me back in the Powder Plant days of the war, 1944 and 1945. Building was torn down about 1 1/2 years ago and I am using the lumber to build a work table for OOWA... Can anyone identify this stamp on one of the boards... Schafer is a name at the top of stamp, which could be the logging and sawmill company out of Washington State that may have provided the federal government with this lumber. Thanks,bg 
 

[donbj]

I don't have the answer but if I were you I'd put a big priority on preserving that stamp and into the project.

[beenthere]

It's a PLIB stamp which is for "Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau".
Home | Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau

Grading lumber since 1903.

Send a pic of the stamp to PLIB (now merged with other organizations) and ask them to provide some information. May be a lot, may be nothing.

Entirely possible that there were additions and changes to the Powder Plant post war that required additional lumber so the "age" of the piece with this stamp can't be known to be during the war years.

[Don P]

I think I saw them, maybe in the archives at AWC, during the war years they modified the allowable design strengths, closer to the ultimate strength. That little bit does look like nice wood.

[Bill Gaiche]

It's a PLIB stamp which is for "Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau".
Home | Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau

Grading lumber since 1903.

Send a pic of the stamp to PLIB (now merged with other organizations) and ask them to provide some information. May be a lot, may be nothing.

Entirely possible that there were additions and changes to the Powder Plant post war that required additional lumber so the "age" of the piece with this stamp can't be known to be during the war years.

Thanks for that info. That exact stamp emblem is on their web site.

[Bill Gaiche]

After doing some research about the stamp with the name Schafer beside it. I have determined that the Schafer Logging Co. in Washington state used this stamp. Today I found this on their web site. It has several old films from 1926 which I have never see. Very interesting to me how logging was done back in the day. bg.................https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzzzY5Q6ytk

[Old Greenhorn]

WOW, cool film. That could not have been cheap to make back in the day. But those companies were huge and very prosperous in that era. Thanks for sharing that!

[Bill Gaiche]

Did you watch all 7 I believe? There was some tough men and women back in that era. Very hard work.bg

[SwampDonkey]

You can get rich with a lot of surplus labour around and not paying too much and subsidized railroad to haul wood. Subsidy was usually large tracts of forests per mile of track. Railroad was a great way to bring in new blood to work and start up settlements. Where I live was settled when it was because of the railroad. I mean we had a city 400 years old on the coast, but if you lived up my way you were disconnected and on your own until there was a RR. So the oldest grave here 1860's, not 1660. Testament to the importance of the RR. Not bad scheme after all. :D

[Hilltop366]

 I mean we had a city 400 years old on the coast.

Looking at my family history on my mothers side a few months ago, it turns out my great x10 (or 11 lost count) grand father Charles de la Tour built a fort there in 1631. 

[SwampDonkey]

Pretty cool. The fort was named Fort Sainte Marie (AKA Fort La Tour) and was located on the east side of the river. To the west of the Saint John River, Fort Saint-Jean was later built.