LUMBEEIlSrG IN PUSTE EEGION OF CALIFORNIA. 79 



averages for a month or more at a time a daily output of 180,000 in a 

 lO-hour shift. The dimensions of the material manufactured have 

 considerable effect on the output; the more thick stock the greater 

 the output 



One method of increasing the output of a double-band mill is to add 

 a resaw to the equipment. The mill is built somewhat wider, and the 

 resaw is installed between the rear edger tables just aft of the edgers. 

 The usual type of resaw is a 6-foot horizontal or vertical band. Mate- 

 rial to be resawn is sent down the hve rolls to an automatic transfer, 

 which carries it to the feeding table of the resaw. Each plank is 

 fed thi'ouofh the resaw in the direction of the front end of the mill. 

 A third edger is placed beside the resaw for handUng the resawed 

 material. The usual null crew is increased by 2 men feeding the 

 resaw, 1 sawyer, 1 man at rear of resaw, 1 edgerman, and 1 man at 

 trimmer conveyor. The average daily output is 160,000, an increase 

 of about 35,000 because of the resaw. 



A less desirable means of making a similar increase in output is the 

 the installation of a gang saw. The gang is set i^pon a sohd founda- 

 tion midway between the band saws and the edgers. A small deck 

 slopes from the hve roUs on either side to a set of feed rolls in the cen- 

 ter. Cants are cut from time to time by the band saws and dehvered 

 from the hve rolls to the feed rolls of the gang by automatic kickers. 

 The cants are then slowly fed thi'ough the gang by the feed rolls, thus 

 producing a number of boards at one time. A separate series of rolls 

 extends from the gang to the trimmer conveyor. 



A gang-saw crew consists of 1 man at the feed rolls, 1 sawyer, 2 men 

 at rear table, and 1 man on trimmer conveyor. The daily output of a 

 double-band mill with a gang is about 160,000 feet board measure. 

 The common type of gang saw is capable of cutting a cant 28 inches 

 wide and 12 inches thick. The cost f . o. b. the factory is about $5,000. 

 It produces perfectly sawed lumber, but it is impossible to saw to pro- 

 duce higher grades, as is done with a band saw. Thus gang saws are 

 generally nxjt regarded with favor in the sugar and yellow pine region 

 where the profit is made from the upper grades. A gang saw can, 

 however, be used to advantage upon an operation producing enough 

 low-grade logs, suita}>ly only for common or box lumber, to supply it 

 all the time. Otherwise there is a tendency to run better-grade logs 

 through it at times, which results in a loss of uppers. 



A mill of an unusual type in this region, there b(ing but two in 

 operation, consists of a single band and a gang. The operation is in 

 general the same as in a dou})le-band and gang mill. The av(^rage 

 daily output for a single shift is from 100,000 to 120,000. 



Electric drive for sawmills has not been introduced as yet on an 

 flxtensivo scale, there being but one sugar and y(^ll()wpine mill so 

 (■c|uipj)c'l. The power is general, (mI in the engine room of the |)lant 



