76 BULLETIN 440, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



the machinery for transmission of power to the sawing equipment 

 on the mill floor. There are also various conveyors for transporting 

 bark, pieces of slabs, and trimmings to the main refuse conveyor. A 

 special conveyor dehvers the sawdust to the boiler room for fuel. 



The standard equipment for a double-band mill is six 60 inch by 

 16 foot boilers, capable of operation at 150 pounds steam pres- 

 sure. One of these furnishes steam for the various steam appliances 

 and the other five supply the engines. One or two engines capable 

 of producing an aggregate of from 500 to 650 horsepower are neces- 

 sary. The usual plant consists of two engines, one with about 200 

 horsepower and the other about 400 horsepower, or there may be 

 one large engine of from 450 to 500 horsepower and a small one of 

 from 100 to 150 horsepower. The engine room also contains a 

 generator for electric light and one or more steam pumps. 



A very important part of the work in a band mill is the filing of the 

 saws. Expert labor and special equipment are required. The fifing 

 room is usuaUy located in the garret above the miU floor. Unless acci- 

 dents occur, four saws are used daily on each band mill. Usually 

 a stock of four or five saws is kept on hand for each band. The usual 

 filing room equipment consists of one band saw gumming and filing 

 machine, a similar machine for circular saws, one roller for band saws, 

 an anvil, forge, and various hand swages. 



The standard crew of a double-band mill contains, m addition to 

 the men mentioned above, an engineer and two firemen, a millwright, 

 an oiler, one laborer tending refuse conveyor and burner, and one 

 laborer clearing refuse on miU. floor. When the mill is operating two 

 shifts the entire crew given above is dupficated at night. The miU 

 superintendent, two filers, and a laborer clearing refuse on the 

 machinery floor are on duty only during the day shift. A watchman 

 is required at night. The common practice is to work two 10-hour 

 shifts, one during the day and one at night. When some mills oper- 

 ating onl}^ in the day shift wish to increase sHghtly the output, an 

 extra shift of 2| hours is worked in the evening by the day crew. 

 This procedure is termed working a time and a quarter. If this is 

 continued long the crew is hable to become overw'orked and the pro- 

 duction suffer. This is particularly true with regard to the band 

 sawyers, upon whose skill and watchfulness the correct manufacture 

 of each log largely depends. 



The usual crew of a double-band miU consists of 36 men for a single 

 shift and 68 men for two shifts. The amount sawed is usually slightly 

 greater during the day shift. The daily labor cost at a double-band 

 mill operating two shifts is approximately $265, which, prorated over 

 a daily output of 240,000, is about $1.10 per 1,000 for sawing. Infor- 

 mation available mdicates that the direct cost of sawing at double- 

 band mills^ in this region normally varies from $1.10 to $1.20 per 



