Spencer Heath Archive

Item 2221

Dictation at Spencer MacCallum’s request concerning the use of two pieces of wood found in a drawer at Roadsend Gardens, Elkridge, MD.

July 1956

     These two pieces of wood represent the staves of a wooden tank. One edge of each stave has been treated so that it will automatically seal itself when wet. This is accomplished by running the stave through a machine under a roller which presses a rather deep groove in the soft wood. The sides of the groove are then dressed down flush with the bottom of the groove. When the staves are put together, and the joints become wet, the wood that was pressed down in the groove swells up to form something like a gasket as it presses against the plain side of the adjacent stave. This eliminates the necessity of using any kind of caulking material between the staves.

     This device for rendering wooden tanks water­tight was invented by me early in 1914, the sample pieces being made April 10th at the small woodworking shop then operated by Mr. Henry R. Hall, 516 N. Monroe Street, Baltimore, Maryland. It was never patented. (I was busy with my propellers and this was something that I worked on in between time when I wasn’t so busy.)

SH/shm

July, 1956

Elkridge, Maryland