My love affair with saw mills has been documented here. As a kid I would travel with my grandfather to pick up lumber for the family business and as I got older and would lend a hand at the shop, I’d occasionally run down to a local mill to do the same thing. That being said, none of them were even 1/100th as cool as the place you are going to see in the video below. This is a steam powered, old school, death at every turn, belt driven, sawmill. From dragging the massive log up a couple of felled trees to rotating the monster on the carriage, there’s cool stuff and danger happening here all over the place.
Don’t be too sad about the log. According to the video it was chunked out of a tree that had been extensively storm damaged. The tree was harvested and these boards are being made for the creators of high end furniture and wood working projects in luxury homes. That part of it is kind of annoying, but the artisans need the material and they can employ their own skills to make a great living, so that’s the cycle we guess.
This is hard work. This is dangerous work and this can be miserable work when all those logs are hot and the humidity is up there. Hot steam means that it is always a sweatbox in the mill, despite its “airy” look.
From sharpening the saws to making sure things are going to work properly and cutting the boards to the right thickness, this rules!
