Figure 27. — This sawmill ;i 

 typical of many small sawmilh 

 operating)! in- Indiana. They 

 usually set in or beside the 

 woods and are generally oper- 

 ated by small gasoline or diesel 

 engines. 



-LEGENO- 



r2\ LARGE SawMILLS 

 HI HANDLE PLANTS 

 ®^ VENEER PLANTS 

 <3 COOPERAGE PLANTS 

 O SPECIALTY PLANTS 



Figure 28. — The primary wood-using industries of Indiana are 

 concentrated in the southern half oj the State. [Number in the 

 symbol indicates the number oJ such plants in county.) 



Indiana. Red and white oaks made up about 45 

 percent of the production, followed by beech, maple, 

 ehn, and yellow-poplar. 



Sawlogs delivered to Indiana sawmills in 1952 were 

 estimated to be worth more than 6 million dollars. 

 This total amounted to about 26 cents per cubic foot 

 or about 35 dollars per thousand board-feet. The 

 products cut from these logs varied in value depending 

 on how they were marketed. Railroad crossties and 

 rough, green lumber sold on a mill run basis brought 

 50 to 60 dollars per thousand board-feet. Lumber 

 that was dried and sold by grade brought much more. 

 For example. No. 1 Common and better oak lumber 

 brought much more than 100 dollars per thousand 

 board-feet at the mill. 



Grading studies of logs at mills indicated that about 

 58 percent of the sawlog volume used was in grade 1 

 and 2 logs, although less than 15 percent of the stand 

 \olume is in logs of these grades. The other 42 per- 

 cent of the sawlog volume is in grade 3 logs. Many 

 of these are upper logs harvested in the course of 

 obtaining a high-quality butt log. Grade 1 logs will 

 normally yield about 65 percent No. 1 Common and 

 better lumber; grade 2 will yield about 40 percent of 

 the same quality. When sawmills sell graded lumber, 

 they find a ready market for the better grades but 

 often find it difficult to sell the low-grade lumber. 

 Most small sawmills, however, do not saw to obtain 

 the greatest return in graded lumber. Some sawyers 

 do not know how to get the highest average grade of 

 lumber; others believe it is more profitable to cut for 



Indiana's Forest Resources and Industries 



21 



