Saw Mill Process

A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of 100 years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end.

Logging fells (falls) the trees, and log bucking cuts them to length.

Logs are taken by truck, rail or river to the sawmill.

Logs are scaled either on the way to the mill or upon arrival at the mill.

Decking is the process for sorting the logs by species, size and end use (lumber, plywood, chips).

Debarking removes bark from the logs.

The head saw, head rig or primary saw, breaks the log into cants (unfinished logs to be further processed) and flitches (unfinished planks) with a smooth edge.

Depending upon the species and Quality of the log, the Cant will either be further broken down by a resaw or a gang edger into multiple flitches and / or Boards

Edging will take the flitch and trim off all irregular edges leaving four-sided lumber.

Trimming squares the ends at typical lumber lengths.

Drying removes naturally occurring moisture from the lumber. This can be done with kilns or air-dried.

Planing smooth the surface of the lumber leaving a uniform width and thickness.

Shipping transports the finished lumber to market.

History 

Prior to the invention of the sawmill, boards were rived and planed, or more often sawn by two men with a whipsaw, using saddleblocks to hold the log, and a saw pit for the pitman who worked below. Sawing was slow, and required strong and enduring men. The topsawer had to be the stronger of the two because the saw was pulled in turn by each man, and the lower had the advantage of gravity. The topsawyer also had to guide the saw so that the board was of even thickness. This was often done by following a chalkline

Early sawmills simply adapted the whipsaw to mechanical power, generally driven by a water wheel to speed up the process. The circular motion of the wheel was changed to back-and-forth motion of the saw blade by a Connecting rod known as a pitman (thus introducing a term used in many mechanical applications). A pitman is similar to a crankshaft, but in reverse; a crankshaft converts back-and-forth motion to circular motion.

Generally, only the saw was powered, and the logs had to be loaded and moved by hand. An early improvement was the development of a movable carriage, also water powered, to move the log steadily through the saw blade.

A small mill such as this would be the center of many rural communities. The output of such mills would be quite low, perhaps only 500 boards per day. They would also generally only operate during the winter, the peak logging season.

Early mills were taken to the forest, where a temporary shelter was built, and the logs were skidded to the nearby mill by horse or ox teams, often when there was some snow to provide lubrication. As mills grew larger, they were usually established in more permanent facilities on a river, and the logs were floated down to them by log drivers. 

The introduction of steam power in the 19th century created many new possibilities for mills. They could be built away from water and could be far more mechanized. Scrap lumber from the mill provided a ready fuel source for firing the boiler. Efficiency was increased, but the capital cost of a new mill increased dramatically as well.

Saw Mills In Connecticut:

Chaplin

Bennett Saw Mill

Griggs Mills (formerly the Moseley Mills)