Saw pit

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A saw pit in use near Kalomo, Zambia, in 2007 Sawmill Kalomo.jpg
A saw pit in use near Kalomo, Zambia, in 2007

A saw pit or sawpit is a pit over which timber is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled saw, usually a whipsaw, by two people, one standing above the timber and the other below. [1] It was used for producing sawn planks from tree trunks, which could then be cut down into boards, pales, posts, etc. Many towns, villages and country estates had their own saw pits. The greatest user of sawn timber in past centuries was the shipbuilding industry. After falling, without bark, in smaller and more standardized sizes, and not intended as primary members in shipbuilding, the term 'timber' is often replaced by the term 'lumber'.

Contents

Sawing

Large logs would usually be hauled to the site by horses. Zrywka drewna w Masywie Snieznika PL.jpg
Large logs would usually be hauled to the site by horses.

A sawyer is a person who cuts ("saws") wood for a living. At one time, sawyers were important members of the rural community, because many implements, as well as buildings, were made of wood. In England, the terms used were 'bottom sawyer', for the man standing in the pit, and 'top sawyer', for the man who balanced on the log.

Together, the sawyers would alternate pulling the two-man saw through the log. If the saw kerf began closing, it could cause the saw to bind and increase friction; wedges, most often made of convenient bits of wood, could be inserted in order to keep the kerf open and reduce the friction. Two-man saws were designed to cut in both directions and very careful tooth design was necessary to clear the sawdust during the cut. The sawdust accumulated to the extent that it had to be 'dug out' and removed in a bucket. Oak dust could be burned and used in the curing of bacon. [2]

The two man team would use a two handled saw, called a 'whipsaw', with 'saddleblocks' or 'dogs' to hold the log in position horizontally. Sawing was a slow and exhausting process, requiring strong men with great stamina. The topsawyer had to be especially strong because the saw was pulled in turn by each man, and the lower had the advantage of gravity. The topsawyer also had the important task of guiding the saw so that the board was of even thickness. This was often done by following a chalkline. In some cases the box handle on one end of the saw could be removed so the saw could be pulled free when the sawyers needed to move the timber to a new position. [3]

The top-sawyer's work had to be very accurate; it was he who kept a careful balance on the log and guided the long saw, who kept the cuts straight or curved as required, and who estimated the width of the planks. He was the man in charge of the operation, and it wasn't uncommon for nicknames such as 'William Top-sawyer' to be common currency in country areas. [4]

Saw pits were a crucial component of shipbuilding, for which planks of wood were necessary for the construction of all classes of vessels. The logs of wood to be sawn were placed over a pit on planks of wood called "dogs" in naval jargon. The senior sawyer stood on top of the plank. The junior one had to go into the pit, which was often partially filled with water, with sawdust constantly 'raining down,' so he stood in a layer of sawdust as a result. [5] One theory of the origin of the terms 'top dog' and 'underdog' is that they come from saw pit work practices (however, others cite documentary evidence that these terms more likely arose from dog fighting). [6] Cutting from underneath a suspended log is sometimes called "underbucking".

Ten foot logs were sometimes sawn into boards except for about the last two inches. In this way the boards could be more easily handled; then the boards were separated by cutting off the end of the log.

Up to 200 boards a day could be produced with water-driven power sawing, compared to the 12 or so a day by two men in a saw pit. A saw pit could, if circumstances demanded, be worked by a single person, with the end of the saw being weighted with a stone or some other weight, and then raised and lowered by the sawyer. [7]

Views of the Kennox estate saw pit

History of the saw pit

Tree trunks ready for sawing. Timber DonnellyMills2005 SeanMcClean.jpg
Tree trunks ready for sawing.

A very early water driven Roman sawmill was in use in Hierapolis, the Hierapolis sawmill. Sawmills may well have been developed in the medieval period, as one was sketched by Villard de Honnecourt in c. 1250. [8] There are claims that they were introduced to Madeira following its discovery in c. 1420 and spread widely in Europe in the 16th century. [9]

The 'modern' sawmill was invented or perfected by the Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon (1550–1607) who applied a pitman arm onto a wind mill, which converted a turning motion into an up-an-down sawing motion. Cornelis took out a patent on his sawmill on December 15, 1593, and on the pitman arm device on December 6, 1597. Early sawmills adapted the whipsaw to mechanical power, generally driven by a water wheel. The circular motion of the wheel was changed to back-and-forth motion of the saw blade by the pitman arm or rod. A pitman is similar to a conrod, but in reverse (a conrod converts back-and-forth motion to circular motion).

Several early sawmills in England were burned by sawyers who were fearful of losing their livelihoods. However, the increased efficiency of the sawmill, and the back-breaking nature of the saw pit work, resulted in saw pits generally going out of use in the United Kingdom at the time of the industrial revolution. Old OS maps circa 1860 often show the location of saw pits, but by the start of the 20th century very few remained and most are no longer in use. Roy Underhill tells the tall tale, or tongue-in-cheek story, that, after the development of steam-powered sawing machines, saw pits were unnecessary, and therefore were cut up and sold as post-holes.

The Royal Dockyards

Saw pits were introduced into the Royal Dockyards of Britain in the mid 18th century. Before their introduction, trestles were used to support the log, and a frame saw employed for the cutting. In the Royal Dockyards saw pits, the upper sawyer was called the 'Topman;' he followed the marked line to make a straight plank, and the 'Underman' pushed the rib, pit or whip saw. The logs were held firmly in place by G-shaped clamps called 'dogs' that were hammered into the log being cut. The pits were usually lined with elm wood, which withstood damp. Access to the saw pit was via steps or a ladder at one end. The sawyers were paid by the 100 foot runs, with pay related to the difficulty of sawing the wood, oak being the highest paid. Usually the sawyer was responsible for sharpening the saws, however on occasion a whet man was employed to do that work. [10]

Around the world

Australia

Saw pits provided much of the sawn timber for Australia during the 1800s. Convicts were put to work in saw pits as a punishment in penal colonies in Tasmania. [11]

Saw pits also featured in some of the most significant events of early european Australian settlement. In August 1788, William Bligh captain of HMS Bounty, anchored in Adventure Bay, Tasmania and ordered his crew to dig a saw pit in order to repair their boat. Eight months later the crew would go on to mutiny in the famous Mutiny on the Bounty. [12]

In January 1788, the first British fleet sailed into Botany Bay, then Sydney Cove to settle Sydney. Saw pits were promptly dug in both places so building timber could be produced. [13]

New Zealand

Saw pits were prominent in the early European logging of New Zealand. Even with the introduction of water-powered sawmills in the 1840s, and steam-powered sawmills in 1865, saw pits were still being used in the early 1900s in difficult locations. [14]

Nineteenth century pit sawyers in New Zealand were well paid; during the 1840s in Nelson, a sawyer could earn 80 pounds in five months, more than double the average wage at the time. [15]

Micro history

The saw pit at Llanaeron Home Farm is unusually housed in a single-story open-fronted building. The rear wall is of rubble (stone) construction and there is a rubble pier at each of the front corners, with the whole structure under a pitched slate roof.

Q-pits, used to make White coal, are often found nearby saw pits. [16]

William Shakespeare refers to saw pits in the Merry Wives of Windsor. [6] Daniel Defoe's character, the 17th century castaway Robinson Crusoe, complains about how difficult it is to saw timber into planks without the use of a saw pit.

Philip Wharton was born in 1613, and at the age of 12 (1625) he became the fourth Lord Wharton. In 1642 Lord Wharton raised a regiment of foot soldiers and a troop of horsemen to fight in the Battle of Edgehill. They behaved less than gloriously - "Before there were any near excuse three or four of our regiments fairly ran away - Sir William Fairfax's, Sir Henry Cholmley's, my Lord Kimbolton's and to say the plain truth my own." Wharton himself ran away and is said to have hidden in a saw pit, thus earning for himself the parliamentary nickname of Philip 'Sawpit' Wharton. [17]

The settlement of Saw Pit in the United States of America eventually outgrew this name and became Port Chester by incorporating as a village in 1868. The Town of Sawpit, Colorado is a statutory town located in San Miguel County, Colorado, United States of America.

Sites of old saw pits

England
Scotland

Related Research Articles

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Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes, including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing. Lumber has many uses beyond home building. Lumber is sometimes referred to as timber in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, while in other parts of the world the term timber refers specifically to unprocessed wood fiber, such as cut logs or standing trees that have yet to be cut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circular saw</span> Power tool

A circular saw or a buzz saw, is a power-saw using a toothed or abrasive disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use a rotary motion but are different from a circular saw. Circular saws may also be loosely used for the blade itself. Circular saws were invented in the late 18th century and were in common use in sawmills in the United States by the middle of the 19th century.

A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rip cut</span>

In woodworking, a rip-cut is a type of cut that severs or divides a piece of wood parallel to the grain. The other typical type of cut is a cross-cut, a cut perpendicular to the grain. Unlike cross-cutting, which shears the wood fibers, a rip saw works more like a series of chisels, lifting off small splinters of wood. The nature of the wood grain requires the shape of the saw teeth to be different thus the need for both rip saws and crosscut saws; however some circular saw blades are combination blades and can make both types of cuts. A rip cut is the fundamental type of cut made at a sawmill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawmill</span> Facility where logs are cut into lumber

A sawmill or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes. The "portable" sawmill is simple to operate. The log lies flat on a steel bed, and the motorized saw cuts the log horizontally along the length of the bed, by the operator manually pushing the saw. The most basic kind of sawmill consists of a chainsaw and a customized jig, with similar horizontal operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Log house</span> House built from wooden logs

A log house, or log building, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The term "log cabin" generally refers to a smaller, more rustic log house, such as a hunting cabin in the woods, that may or may not have electricity or plumbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-man saw</span> Saw designed for use by two sawyers

A two-man saw is a saw designed for use by two sawyers. While some modern chainsaws are so large that they require two persons to control, two-man crosscut saws were primarily important when human power was used. Such a saw would typically be 1 to 4 m long, and sometimes up to 5 m, with a handle at each end. In some cases, such as when felling Giant Sequoias, sawblades could be brazed together end-to-end in order to create longer saws.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quarter sawing</span> Woodworking process

Quarter sawing or quartersawing is a woodworking process that produces quarter-sawn or quarter-cut boards in the rip cutting of logs into lumber. The resulting lumber can also be called radially-sawn or simply quartered. There is widespread confusion between the terms rift sawn and quarter sawn with the terms defined both with opposite meanings and as synonyms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wood flooring</span> Product manufactured from timber that is designed for use as flooring

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Head saw</span> Log saw

A head saw, framesaw, gang saw or head rig is the saw that makes the initial cuts in a log at a sawmill, turning a log into cants, or planks of wood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frame saw</span> Type of saw

A frame saw or sash saw is a type of saw which consists of a relatively narrow and flexible blade held under tension within a rectangular frame. They are used for cutting wood or stone. The blade is held perpendicular to the plane of the frame, so that the material being cut passes through the center of the frame. Frame saws for use with wood are rip saws operated as a hand saw or powered in a sawmill. Frame saws used for cutting stone were powered saws in stone mills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whipsaw</span> Type of saw used in a saw pit

A whipsaw or pitsaw was originally a type of saw used in a saw pit, and consisted of a narrow blade held rigid by a frame and called a frame saw or sash saw. This evolved into a straight, stiff blade without a frame, up to 14 feet long and with a handle at each end. The upper handle was called the tiller and the lower one the box, so called from its appearance and because it could be removed when the saw was taken out of one cut to be positioned in another. The whipsaw was used close to the felling site to reduce large logs to beams and planks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chainsaw mill</span> Type of sawmill incorporating a chainsaw

A chainsaw mill or PortaMill or Logosol sawmill is a type of sawmill incorporating a chainsaw, that is used by one or two operators to mill logs into lumber for use in furniture, construction and other uses. Although often used as a generic term, Alaskan Mill is a registered trademark of Granberg International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kin Kin Sawmill</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Kin Kin Sawmill is a heritage-listed sawmill at 1 Sister Tree Creek Road, Kin Kin, Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1940s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 27 November 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elgin Vale Sawmill</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Elgin Vale Sawmill is a heritage-listed sawmill at Manumbar Road, Elgin Vale, Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1944 for T H Spencer by Wilson Hart Limited. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 17 September 2010.

A swingblade sawmill utilizes a single circular sawblade which pivots about a 90 degree point, to saw in both vertical and horizontal planes. The single blade travels horizontally in one direction down the log, and returns in vertical position, thus removing a sawn piece of timber. The swingblade head unit is normally mounted on a moving frame that travels along a track or tracks, up and down a stationary log.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flat sawing</span> Woodworking process

Flat sawing, flitch sawing or plain sawing is a woodworking process that produces flat-cut or plain-cut boards of lumber.

References

Notes
  1. "sawpit" and "saw pit" at TheFreeDictionary.com
  2. Sturt, George (1963). The Wheelwright's Shop.. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   0-521-09195-0.
  3. A detachable end to the saw.
  4. Memoirs of Country life.
  5. Brixham Museum model
  6. 1 2 Dog fighting and the origin of Topdog, etc.
  7. Paterson, Page 105
  8. Singer, Pages 643 - 4.
  9. Peterson, Pages 84-5.
  10. Dodds and Moore, Page 46
  11. Dargavel, John. "Iron, steel and timber: a transient heritage" (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  12. Bligh, William (2012). Mutiny on the Bounty. New York: Dover Publications Inc. p. 51. ISBN   978-0-486-47257-7 . Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  13. Evans, Peter. "Milling Australia's forests" (PDF). The Australian & New Zealand Environmental History Network. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  14. "'Logging native forests - Logging and sawmilling, 1840–1920". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  15. Isaacs, Nigel (October–November 2009). "Tree to timber" (PDF). Build Magazine (BRANZ). Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  16. Muir, Pages 91 - 92.
  17. Sawpit Wharton.
  18. Broadleaf. Woodland Trust. No 74, Spring 2010. p. 10.
  19. 1856 OS Map Retrieved : 2014-043-31
  20. 1 2 RCAHMS Canmore site
Sources