Chapter 374: I Bring the Furniture Revolution to Europe
Joseph finished giving instructions for the trial production of the Bulletproof Inserts, and a wave of exhaustion immediately washed over him.
The relentless work at the armory these past few days made him feel like he was back in his previous life, working on projects with his mentor. Thankfully, his father was helping out, so he didn't end up utterly exhausted.
He watched Louis XVI depart for the Petit Trianon—the King had indulged his craftsman's hobby to the fullest these past few days and was starting to miss his wife—then, without delay, Joseph drove straight to the Royal Parisian Powder Works to discuss casein glue production with Lavoisier.
Without solving the problem of mass-producing the adhesive, the immense strategic value of the Bulletproof Inserts couldn't be realized.
When Joseph's carriage pulled up to the Royal Powder Works office building, the entire facility immediately stirred. The management and artisans there were all somewhat connected to the military and deeply concerned with victories on the front lines. People dropped their work one by one, eager for a glimpse of the legendary hero who had orchestrated the "Southern Netherlands Grand Victory"—His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.
In the end, Joseph, overwhelmed by the intense scrutiny, had no choice but to drag Lavoisier away from the Powder Works and retreat to his office at the Tuileries Palace to discuss matters.
Back at the Powder Works, people watched the Crown Prince's carriage disappear into the distance, and it was quite some time before they reluctantly returned to work under the furious shouts of the foremen.
In Joseph's carriage, Lavoisier listened to the Crown Prince's request, then frowned slightly. "Your Highness," he began, "producing casein glue isn't difficult. However, the demand for your Bulletproof Inserts would likely be insufficient to support large-scale production."
Joseph paused, taken aback. He'd been so swamped that he'd forgotten himself. 'That's right,' he thought, 'in the pre-Industrialization era, if one was willing to invest and there were no technical hurdles, almost anything could be mass-produced.'
While he was willing to lose money on the production of critical military equipment, continuing indefinitely like this wasn't sustainable.
He turned to the "Father of Chemistry" and asked, "Monsieur Lavoisier, to your knowledge, who typically uses this type of adhesive?"
"Oh, previously, only carpenters used it in small quantities. Shoemakers occasionally used a little to glue soles. They usually ordered a small bottle custom-made from the apothecary at the start of each year."
"Carpenters?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Lavoisier replied. "Casein glue was initially invented to meet the needs of carpenters. However, as you know, that invention didn't earn its creator much money."
Joseph mused, "Could you elaborate on the circumstances in which carpenters would use this?"
"Any situation where nails cannot be used, Your Highness. Casein glue forms an incredibly strong bond with wood; once dry, the joint can even be harder than the wood itself..."
As Lavoisier described the properties of casein glue in detail, Joseph's eyes gradually lit up.
'If casein glue's dry strength is so high, and its affinity for wood is excellent, couldn't it be used to manufacture engineered wood panels?'
He knew that in later generations, ordinary households rarely used furniture made of pure solid wood; ninety percent of the furniture market consisted of composite panels like MDF and particleboard.
These engineered panels were made by pressing together "waste materials" such as wood scraps and sawdust, mixed with an adhesive.
'Never underestimate something that seems like "waste utilization"—engineered composite panels sparked a furniture revolution at the end of the 19th century!'
First, the price of composite panels was far lower than solid wood.
This was mainly because solid wood suitable for furniture was generally limited to the straight main trunks of trees; branches or crooked trees couldn't be used.
Composite panels, however, allowed an entire tree to be used for furniture, as anything crooked or fragmented could be pulverized and glued into standard square panels. Although this added adhesive and processing costs, the overall price remained very low.
For major wood consumers like the 18th-century shipbuilding industry, the amount of unusable wood discarded annually would be enough to replace all the furniture in France.
If an engineered wood panel manufacturing plant could be built near the Brittany shipyards, it would form a wood-shipbuilding-composite panel-furniture Industrial Chain, potentially even reducing shipbuilding costs significantly.
Moreover, and more importantly, the greatest advantage of composite panels over solid wood wasn't cost.
This might differ from common perceptions, but composite panels sparked the furniture revolution primarily because they possessed several unparalleled advantages:
First, they were easy to process. Composite panels came from the factory already mostly square and flat on both sides. Carpenters could simply saw them and quickly assemble furniture. Meanwhile, carpenters working with solid wood would still be laboriously processing planks.
This meant furniture production would increase severalfold, even tenfold, and the variety of styles would also expand. With more choices and lower prices, consumers would naturally ignite a sales boom.
'Remember, the most profitable industrial products are never the most exquisite, but rather those that meet the basic needs of the largest population. Just like how in later generations, luxury brands like Mercedes and BMW ultimately couldn't outsell brands catering to ordinary consumers like Toyota and Volkswagen.'
Second, composite panels had far superior nail-holding capabilities compared to solid wood. Solid wood, being dense, exerted a force that tended to push nails out, a problem that didn't exist with composite panels made from glued wood chips.
This, in turn, meant that furniture made from composite panels was more durable than that made from solid wood.
Of course, this could be resolved with Eastern mortise and tenon joinery, but currently, furniture on the European continent primarily relied on nails. Expecting hundreds of thousands of carpenters to completely change their accustomed techniques would be nothing short of a divine miracle.
Finally, composite panels were decades ahead of solid wood in terms of pest resistance. 'Hmm... to wood-boring insects, the adhesive would be even more repulsive than dog droppings, not to mention it's also toxic.'
Durable, pest-resistant, and affordable furniture would undoubtedly easily overthrow solid wood furniture and dominate the market.
With this thought, Joseph suppressed his excitement and asked Lavoisier, "If I can find a market, say, for over 500,000 kilograms per month, could you help me establish a casein glue factory of that production scale?"
"500,000 kilograms?!"
Lavoisier was stunned. Currently, all of Europe might consume only tens of thousands of kilograms of casein glue in an entire year, yet the Crown Prince wanted to sell 500,000 kilograms a month—that was truly Unimaginable!
However, seeing Joseph's serious expression, he lowered his head and began to ponder earnestly.
After a moment, he shook his head slightly. "Your Highness, a monthly production of 500,000 kilograms is absolutely impossible in the short term. If you are willing to invest 1,000,000 livres, I could attempt to bring the output to 50,000 kilograms per month."
"1,000,000 livres!" Joseph nearly swore aloud. His initial investment in the United Steam Engine Company had only been 1,000,000 livres. 'How could a mere "glue factory" producing 50,000 kilograms a month even compare to a steam engine enterprise?'
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