Saw and Shingle Mills – St. Lawrence Power and Equipment Museum

The Log Splitter

SLPEM — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 10:21:17 +0000

Mary Jane Watson, brother Ronnie Watson and Bernard Buckley donated a wood splitter with engine last fall (2017) in memory of Gordon Watson. The wood splitter was used many years to split logs to make firewood at camps around Colton and South Colton. The machine out-produced other means available in the area. It was also responsible for more than one missing finger.

The Shingle Mill

SLPEM — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 05:32:26 +0000

A nice shingle mill donated by Dave Forsythe in late 2010.

The Lane Sawmill

SLPEM — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 05:20:38 +0000

LANE SAWMILL — 1920

Mill information from the 1997 newsletters as reported by Paul Shirley. February 1997 I called Ross Goodyear after the meeting. His mill is not available to us this year. I feel that a sawmill is a great attraction to our show, so with permission from various club members, I started looking for a mill. After looking at 2 or 3 mills, I got to talk to Bob Bishman. He has a Lane Mill similar to Ross’s mill for $1,000.00. I got approval from 14 members to purchase the mill. I feel that with a $2,000.00 cap on this project, it should be worth it to us. If we can build it portable, we can use it at both shows. Bob will deliver it to me by the end of March or early April. Ross indicated that he may be able to help set it up and operate it. I would be willing to build a shed to keep it in. Bob, Bill, Tom and I went to Parish to see it. It’s all complete with a 50-inch blade. We hope to have it ready for the June show. June 1997 We sawed our first board tonight. The Lane Mill will be ready for the show. All that is left is the tires, hitch and some of the walkways on it. We were lucky to get some professional help with it. Bill Pharoah did the machine work that had to be done. Ross Goodyear helped set it up and did the welding. Bob Shirley and I did most of the rest of it. The rig will need the carriage rebuilt later on, but that can be done later. We will be under our $2,000 estimate. July 1997 The Lane Sawmill worked exceptionally well for putting it together from a pile of parts. Many thanks go to Ross Goodyear for all his help and to Bill Pharoah for his help with the machine work. Bob Shirley and I did a lot of weekend and night work to get it running. We had a lot of fun trying different tractor and even a Ford flathead power plant on it. Our total cost was around $1800.00 to complete the project.

Sawmill Building Plans

As reported by Roger Austin from the July – Aug 2009 newsletter Plans for the sawmill building moved forward when Roger Austin, Reg Chester, AI Garrand, and Paul Moore met during July to discuss its design and location. The building will be 25-30 feet wide and about 50-55 feet long. It will have a shed roof which slopes to the rear as on most old mill buildings. The open, high front will face spectators. The front will be left open. Rolldown barn curtains will cover the building when not in use. Construction will be of rough-sawn timbers. Construction will begin in September, soon after the Exhibition. The length of the mill itself will be increased by 8-10 feet to facilitate handling of longer logs and lumber. It will have two drive options: an engine located behind the building connected to the mill by a shaft extending under it and an engine or tractor at one end of the building belted to a pulley on the drive shaft. The engine behind the building will have its own separate, smaller building though connected to the main mill building for noise reduction. The sawmill building will be the first of several that will constitute an area called Industry Row. Other timber industry structures will be constructed for the Museum’s vertical sawmill, shingle mill, siding mill, band saw, and other machines such as a wood splitter, buzz saw, and planer. Products from these mills will be used in future construction. Photos From Exhibitions and Shows

The Vertical Sawmill

SLPEM — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 04:53:02 +0000

Vertical Sawmill Building Plans

Vertical Sawmill Building Construction, Nov 12, 2012 to present Vertical Sawmill: Paul Moore, Ken Tupper and Reg Chester have begun work on a new building to house the vertical sawmill. It will be located next to the Lane Sawmill building on the Hwy 345 side. To figure out how much room would be required, they dragged out the sawmill frame and reassembled it just for measurements. The building will be 20 x 46, post and beam construction, with a shingle roof. Paul reported pouring 10 cubic yards of concrete to form a foundation to hold the saw in place. The site has been filled with soil and sand, graded and graveled. DECEMBER 2012 … Before snow and bitter cold sealed the Museum for winter, Paul Moore broke ground on a second sawmill building that will house a ca. 1940 lateral frame saw manufactured in Switzerland. It had been donated to the St. Lawrence Gas & Steam Engine Association and became part of the Museum’s collection, after its founding in 2004. The saw was donated by Hans and Ida Loretz of Brasher Falls who winter at their home in Liechtenstein. Ida was at the Exhibition last fall and was excited to hear of the pending construction. Hans bought the saw in 1974. He had it shipped to Montreal and trucked to his farm at Brasher Falls. He used it to saw lumber to construct his barn and other buildings. The saw was originally restored by the Museum’s first President, Ross Goodyear, and used during shows at the Hutchinson farm. It was determined that the saw needed a permanent foundation and has been idle since. Reg Chester, Wayne Hill, and Ken Tupper helped Paul with excavation and pouring concrete for the foundations. LATERAL FRAME SAW Ca. 1940, Built by Gebr. Muller (Holmag AG) in Sumiswald, Switzerland The saw was donated to the St. Lawrence Gas and Steam Engine Association by Hans and Ida Loretz of Brasher Falls, NY and Triesen, Liechtenstein. It became part of the collection of the St. Lawrence Power and Equipment Museum, the successor organization to the Association, in 2004. The saw had been purchased by Hans Loretz in 1982 from a mill that had shut down in 1973 in Liechtenstein. It was shipped by ocean freight to Montreal, Quebec and then trucked to Brasher Falls in 1983. Restored by Ross Goodyear.