Best of the Historic Steam Sawmill

Work at the Phillips Brothers Mill always starts early, often before dawn. Gary Hendrix, the mill forest manager, is firing up this morning for a run of pine logs to be made into tongue into groove flooring. This is a routine Gary or his son Greg have done countless times as had their grandfather Ed Phillips and their uncles before them. An early start is necessary because this mill unlike others in operation today can't be started with the flip of a switch. The Phillips mill uses ancient but proven technology to power the equipment. STEAM Saw mill operations are carried out much the same today as they were a hundred years ago. Steam powers everything, electric utilities have never been brought to the property. Four steam engines power the various machines of the sawmill. The large main Atlas engine runs the line shaft that drives the log carriage, head rig circular saws and the adjustable edger saws. The lower main saw is a 52 inch diameter blade and the 48 inch top saw is engaged for large-diameter logs. A twin cylinder steam powered Skagit winch brings logs from the millpond to the log deck. A third vertical Peerless engine powers a conveyor belt that empties sawdust from below the head rig, and the forth vertical engine drives a cutoff saw. The spring fed mill pond serves a dual purpose. The water cleans dirt and debris from the logs and allows the logs to be sorted and selected for sawing. Steam is up and sawing operations are ready to begin. Greg calls for everyone to stand clear before putting the mill in motion. CLEAR! clear clear The sawyer and carriage setter load a log on the carriage. It's then secured and positioned for the first cut. The sawyer directs the cutting pattern to maximize the lumber obtainable from the log. After each pass, the sawyer signals the depth of cut to the carriage setter who positions the log for the next cut. Slabs with irregular edges are trimmed using the adjustable edger saws. The green chain operator loads the trimmed lumber on the tram cart where it will finally go to the yard to be stacked and stickered for drying. The cutting and turning continues until the log is squared on three sides, then clean cut lumber production begins.

Channel: MrShoptaw

Views: 2,844,739

Rating: 4.8748727 out of 5

Keywords: Phillips Brothers, Saw Mill, Lumber Mill, Steam Powered, Steam Saw Mill

Id: zAvurSjBVW8

Length: 12min 38sec (758 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 27 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/falseaccount92]

The smell must be incredible.

[u/Oreganoian]

Here's an Oregon mill that's 100% self powered via wood to steam. Last I heard it wasnt even connected to the power grid. One thing that makes this mill special is they can process very very large lumber and old growth. In fact they make single piece table tops that can be 100+ feet long.

Hull Oakes is the mill. Opened in 1938 iirc. I grew up a few miles from it. Pretty cool place. I still fish the log pond from time to time.

Here is a tour from 2005 https://youtu.be/VhOSE8jUw68

And a popular mechanics article from 2013 http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/g1093/this-is-americas-last-steam-powered-sawmill/?

[u/mtntrail]

I visited this mill last year and it was amazing. The machine shop is loaded with lathes and machinery from the 1800's. It is like a working museum. These guys still produce custom lumber the way it was done during the last century. If you are in the north state and interested in steam power, it is worth checking out.

[u/[deleted]]

Does a mill like this produce enough chips from the sawing to power the boilers or do they need to bring in additional fuel? Its very interesting to think that the logs contain the energy used in their own processing in a self sustaining way.

[u/Riresurmort]

Does not look safe