Sawmill

A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill describes either a facility where logs are cut into lumber, or the machine that mills the logs in such a facility. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw powered by either electricity or an internal combustion engine to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces known as flitches, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensional lumber). The "portable" sawmill is a mobile version that is less complicated to operate, for a single sawyer. The log lies flat on a steel bed, and the motorized saw cuts the log horizontally along the length of the bed, either driven by a separate motor or by the operator manually pushing the saw. The most basic kind of sawmill consists of a chainsaw and a customized jig ("Alaskan sawmill"), with similar horizontal operation. The chainsaws used in these mills cut with a ripping chain ground to cut along the length of the log as opposed to across the diameter of the log.

Before the invention of the sawmill, boards were made in various manual ways, either rived (split) and planed, hewn, or more often hand sawn by two men with a whipsaw, one above and another in a saw pit below. The earliest known mechanical mill is the Hierapolis sawmill, a Roman water-powered stone mill at Hierapolis, Asia Minor dating back to the 3rd century AD. Other water-powered mills followed and by the 11th century they were widespread in Spain and North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, and in the next few centuries, spread across Europe. The circular motion of the wheel was converted to a reciprocating motion at the saw blade. Generally, only the saw was powered, and the logs had to be loaded and moved by hand.