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The Evolution of the Band Saw 



The remarkable ilevelopment iu industrial operations in this 

 country is due to various factors. While we have always had an 

 excellent local demand, and an unsurpassed supply of raw material, 

 probably the chief factor bearing on th« ultimate result has been 

 the ingenuity of the manufacturers of various 

 kinds of machinery used in industrial enter- 

 prises. This is true in ail lines, including 

 the manufacture of lumber. When one con- 

 siders the tremendous amount of timber which 

 has been turned into lumber of various sorts 

 in the last fifty years in this country, it is 

 .^lard to conjecture as to how much could have 

 been done had not the modern band mill been 

 developed. The original band sa%™iill was in- 

 deed a crude aflEair, and while it offered a 

 marked improvement over the type of mill 

 used prior to its invention, it was iu itself, 

 as compared to the modern machine, a mere 

 plaything. 



The evolution of the sawmill in lumber 

 manufacture has been talked about quite con- 

 siderably, and Hardwood Secokd takes this 

 occasion to offer three illustrations showing 

 the types of sawmills as manufactured by one 

 standard sawmill concern, showing the de- 

 velopment from one period to another. 



Between 1875 and 18S0 several attempts 

 were made by different concerns in the United 

 States to build a mill on which logs could 

 be sawed with a band or ribbon saw in place 

 of the circular saw in use up to that date. One ™- ''^^^"^S" .^^^^^^^ "'"" 



of the first successful band mills made is sho^Yn iu the second picture 

 in this connection, and it can be seen that this mill was very crude, 

 it being constructed almost entirely of wood, including the wheels! 

 which ivere all wood, except the cast iron centerflange hub. In spite 

 of its crudity this mill clearly demonstrated 

 the practicability of band-sawing timber. 



The Sinker-Davis Company of Indianapolis 

 is responsible fo^' the design and construction 

 of this mill, and immediately upon completing 

 the first one orders were received for quite 

 a number more, which were used in different 

 jiarts of the country, but particularly in 

 ludiana and Tennessee. 



Realizing the impossibility of keeping the 

 .'jaws in good alignment because of the ex- 

 ])ansion and contraction of the wooden frame, 

 and the inability to make it absolutely rigid 

 with wood, this company then designed a more 

 suitable mill with cast iron base plate and 

 cast iron columns, and also made the wheels 

 of cast iron with wooden rims. The popu- 

 larity of this style of mill was immediately 

 apparent, but it had not been in operation 

 \ery long when it was proven that because 

 of its lightness it offered the same faults as 

 did the old wooden mill. 



The third t.ype of mill shown is what used 

 to be known years ago as the Gold Dust band 

 mill made by the same company. This is the 

 type of mill which was patented in the fall of 

 1'884, and while it was of iron construction 



THE ORIGINAL, TYPE OF BAND MILL, SHOWING CRUDK L'HAK- 

 ACTER OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION 



nJ.L' l.' 



A iUUMlSE\r KIKM THlKTi; YEAKS AGO. 



SEVERAL OF THIS TYPE ARE STILL IN USE 



—35— 



