Evolution of a Sawmill (Part 1)

TIMBER TUESDAYS!

April-9-2024

Although no one really knows for sure exactly when someone took and split a tree trunk into a flat plank for the first time was, we do know the basic evolution of how today’s Modern Sawmills came to be.

The first plank was hand hewed with a broad axe to make one or more sides of the log flat. Then a Tiller man would stand on top of the log and guide a straight saw along a chalk line on the upward stroke.

On the underside of the log was the Pitman, he would pull the straight saw, cutting the downward stroke. The Pitman would typically be found wearing a large, brimmed hat. This was to prevent having sawdust fall down his neck.

By the 14th Century water powered mills were most common. Some evidence also suggests that Romans may have been using water wheel power type Sawmills to cut stone as early as the 3rd Century A.D.

Then the transition into the early stages of “Up and Down Sawmills” began.