
Small Sawmill Operator's Manual
Official United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service workshop manual on small sawmill operation. This practical guide delivers comprehensive technical data alongside hands-on operational guidance, enriched by direct contributions from leading sawmill machinery manufacturers of the era. Originally published January 1952, with a reprint edition from July 1958. An essential reference for sawmill operators, maintenance technicians, and equipment managers seeking authentic period documentation on efficient mill setup, equipment handling, and production practices.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Purpose and scope
- Safety measures
- Types of small sawmill headings
- Bandsaw headings
- Band headsaws
- Circular headsaws
- Sizes of headings
- Husk and mandrel
- Saw guides
- Rolls and spreaders
- Feed works
- Carriages and trackways
- Setworks and reeders
- Dogs
- Edgers
- Trim and cut-off saws
- Log turners
- Metal detectors
- Conveyor systems
- Sawdust chains
- Sawdust blowers
- Dead rolls
- Live rolls
- Belt conveyors
- Chain conveyors
- Trash-disposal systems and methods
- Power and transmission equipment
- Horsepower requirements
- Classification of prime movers by types
- Basis of horsepower ratings
- Comparison of types of prime movers
- Variants of each type of prime mover
- Dutch-oven furnaces for burning sawdust
- Belts and pulleys
- Flat belts
- V-belts
- Transmission capacity of belts
- Pulleys
- Shafts and bearings
- Care and maintenance of saws
- Sawteeth
- Factors affecting selection and operation of saws
- Saw speed and chip thickness
- Tensioning the saw
- Alinement of saw and teeth
- Filing circular ripsaws
- Piling other crosscut saws
- Labor requirements for small sawmills
- Work distribution by crew size
- Mill layout
- Log yards and ponds
- Lumber yard layout
- Piling and sorting lumber for air drying
- Dipping tanks
- End coatings
- Sample plans of mill layouts
- Setting up an unsheltered ground mill according to plan 1
- Building plan and machine location for sheltered portable mill according to plan 2
- Building plan and machine location for semi-permanent fire mill according to plan 3
- Building plan and machine location for permanent heavy mill according to plan 5
- Load-out equipment
- Car and trackway
- Lumber props
- Rolls
- Loading scaffolds
- Sliding skids
- Trucks and rails
- Fork-lift trucks
- Mill operation
- Milling softwood logs
- Milling hardwood logs
- Sawing oversized logs
- Size standards
- Tallying and grading
- Some business aspects of small-mill operation
- Capital requirements
- Marketing
- Accounting
- Public regulations affecting sawmills
- Scaling and grading logs
- Log scaling
- Log grading
- Organizations issuing grading rules
- Glossary
- Index
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Document Details
- Format
- Pages
- 125
- Size
- 7.9 MB
- Category
- Machining