Sawmills have been around for centuries, ranging from small hand-operated machines to large manufacturing facilities. They were introduced in the US after colonization and accelerated the development of cities and towns. Early sawmills were water-powered, later powered by wind and steam, and today are largely computerized.
A sawmill is simply a place where trees can be processed into lumber or planks of wood used for construction and other purposes. Also called a sawmill, a sawmill can range from a large manufacturing facility to a small, simple, hand-operated machine with a blade capable of cutting long sections of wood and planing them into flat pieces. The sawmill has been around for centuries, even though the technology and efficiency of the mills has changed dramatically.
In the United States, the sawmill was introduced not long after colonization. Skilled European workers set up sawmills in forests. Oxen and horses were used to haul trees at the sawmill, and the lumber was worked right there and there. These types of sawmills were small and portable and could be taken into the woods for ease of production. The introduction of the sawmill to the colonies accelerated the development of cities and towns, making settlements easier and faster to build.
More permanent structures that were built in a fixed place began to arise as the demand for lumber increased. In many cases, such as along the Hudson River in upstate New York, the logs were floated down the river to the mill for processing. The process of sending logs downriver was called river driving, and it was particularly dangerous work. Injuries and deaths were not uncommon. With the introduction of circular blade mills, production increased significantly; the blades, however, were prone to damage, and saws were required to keep the blades in shape.
Some of the earliest sawmill structures were water-powered. Long, flat blades moved back and forth powered by the moving watermill, cutting through logs. These types of mills were often used to cut stone, such as marble. Later, sawmills were powered by wind and incorporated into windmills to drive a crankshaft. With both types of power, only the blades moved; logs had to be fed manually through the blade, until a mobile feed system was developed.
As technology has advanced, the methods of sawing have also increased. When steam power became readily available, sawmills switched to this type of power. Fuel was readily available for such an operation, but the cost of running the machines also increased. This led to larger sawmills and fewer small, portable, independently owned mills. Today the mills are powered by many different sources, including electricity. They are largely computerised, making the process more efficient. While small petrol-powered mills still exist, they are rare and not very cost-effective.
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