Bertolet Sawmill. Water powered sawmill

Water Mills and Wheels

There are many wheel configurations, vane/blade shapes and water-flow patterns. Undershot wheels and horizontal wheels were the most common choices for tide mills. Since the height of the impoundment area was the height of high tide, the head of water was probably not high enough to power an overshot wheel.

Probably the most important of the early engines which utilized water power was the vertical waterwheel. Its two basic forms are the undershot and the overshot. The undershot vertical wheel rotated in the vertical plane and had a horizontal axis. It normally had flat radial blades attached to its periphery and derived its motion from the impact of water flowing under the wheel and against these blades. While capable of working on any convenient stream without mill races (narrow artificial water channels, it worked most effectively in a race and with a stable volume of water running at a fairly high velocity. [Stronger than a Hundred Men: A History of the Vertical Water Wheel by Terry S. Reynolds Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983.]

Undershot Wheels

The Undershot Wheel worked in a running stream and could turn in shallow water. It was often built by the first settlers since it was relatively simple to set up … They were common in the early days when a dam could be built to compensate for dry periods …. [Mill: The History and Future of Naturally Powered Buildings by David Larkin. New York, 2000.]

Horizontal Wheels

Tide mills often used horizontal wheels, at first without a housing and later inside cylinders called tubs.

The tub wheel could only work where the water flowed regularly throughout the year, and needed at least an eight-foot fall. The tub wheel was horizontal and was described as acted upon by percussion of water. The shaft is vertical, running the stone of top of it, and serves as a spindle. The water is shot on the upper side of the wheel in the direction of a tangent fitted with blades. It revolves in a sturdy tub, projecting far enough above the wheel to prevent the water from shooting over it, and whirls above it until it strikes the buckets [Mill: The History and Future of Naturally Powered Buildings by David Larkin. New York, 2000.]

The topic of horizontal water wheels is extensive. Read more about horizontal wheels.

Overshot Wheels

The overshot vertical wheel was a much more efficient device. Water was fed at the top of the overshot wheel into “buckets” or containers built into the wheel’s circumference, and the weight of the impounded water, rather than its impact, turned the wheel. Each “bucket” discharged its water into the tail race at the lower portion of its revolution and ascended empty to repeat the process. The overshot wheel was usually more expensive than the undershot, since a dam and an elevated head race were normally required to build up a large fall of water and to lead the water to the wheel’s summit. It was suitable mainly to low water volumes and moderately high falls.

It is likely that the [emergence of undershot and overshot wheels] was at least partially influenced by several more primitive devices which tap the power of falling water – the water lever, the noria, and the primitive horizontal watermill. [Stronger than a Hundred Men: A History of the Vertical Water Wheel by Terry S. Reynolds Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983.]

The overshot wheel required a dam above it so that the weight of water falling on it would make it turn. After one-third of a revolution, the water was spilled from the wheel. The water first striking the wheel gave it momentum, but the weight of the water in its buckets kept it turning. [Mill: The History and Future of Naturally Powered Buildings by David Larkin. New York, 2000.]

Pitch-Back Wheels

The difference between the pitch-back and the overshot wheels is that the trough stops shorter here and pours the water onto the wheel before the top of the wheel, or ‘on the near side’ as the millwrights used to say. The result therefore is that the wheel revolves in the opposite direction from the overshot, i.e. towards the flume or head-race. The buckets face in the opposite direction and the water therefore falls off at the same side as that on which it was received. [British Water-Mills by Leslie Syson. London, 1965]

Breast Wheels

The breast wheel, like the undershot wheel, turned in the opposite direction to the overshot wheel and received water above its center shaft at the nearest point of the water supply, and revolved easily because it was less loaded with water [Mill: The History and Future of Naturally Powered Buildings by David Larkin. New York, 2000.]

Flutter Wheels

The flutter wheel was used when there was a large supply of water. It was small, low and wide—about three feet in diameter and up to eight feet wide. It got its attractive name from the sound it made. As the wheel went around, the blades cut through the entering water, making a noise like the fluttering wings of a bird. It was used almost entirely to power early sawmills [Mill: The History and Future of Naturally Powered Buildings by David Larkin. New York, 2000.]

Turbines

The turbine with its curved blades, eventually replaced the waterwheel [in the mid-nineteenth century]. … Roy S. Hubbs pointed out that older undershot waterwheels presented a flat blade for the incoming water to impact, allowing half of the velocity to pass through unchecked. The Poncelet design [and the later resulting turbine] presented a curved blade with its lip angled tangentially to the incoming water … Benoit Fourneyron turned the wheel on its side and dropped the water into its center, allowing the water to flow simultaneously out of all the passages between the blades. … Since the turbine used all the openings between its blades simultaneously, it could be made much smaller. It turned much faster than the larger wheels [Mill: The History and Future of Naturally Powered Buildings by David Larkin. New York, 2000.]

Water Wheel Ancestors: Water Lever and Noria

Operating on the seesaw principle, the water lever utilized the power of falling water, but without the continuous rotary motion of water wheels. One end of a pivoted beam was equipped with a spoon-shaped bucket. On the other end was a hammerlike counterweight used for pounding or crushing. Water was directed into the bucket from a falling stream; the bucket filled, overweighed the hammer, and lifted it. The ascent of the bucket caused the water to spill; the hammer than overbalanced the bucket and fell. The cycle was then repeated to produce a steady pounding action.

The noria used for raising water, was form of undershot water wheel, but it activated no machinery (such as gears or millstones) beyond itself. It was simply a large vertically situated wheel, sometimes as much at 50-80 feet in diameter, equipped with radial blades which rotated the apparatus as they were impacted by the flowing water in which the lower portion of the wheel was immersed. Buckets of wood, bamboo, or pottery were attached to the rim of the wheel. As the device rotated, they were filed with water at the bottom of the wheel; the water was carried upwards in the buckets and emptied near the top of the wheel into a trough. The buckets were the returned empty to the bottom of the wheel to repeat the process.

From Stronger than a Hundred Men: A History of the Vertical Water Wheel by Terry S. Reynolds Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983.

Water Wheel Evolution

Based on the surviving evidence, it would appear that the vertical undershot watermill, the horizontal watermill, and the noria appeared almost simultaneously in the Mediterranean world in the first century B.C. and that at approximately the same time some form of water-powered prime mover was developed in China.

By the close of the Middle Ages watermills were in use on streams of every type. They dammed up the rivers of medieval man; they were on the banks of his brooks and creeks, in the middle of his rivers, under his bridges, and along his coastlines. They impeded navigation and created streams (in the form of mill races and power canals) and lakes (in the form of storage reservoirs behind waterpower dams) where none had existed before.

Through all of antiquity and on into the early Middle Ages almost the only work to which the force of falling water was applied was grinding wheat. This was always to be one of its more important functions. But by the tenth century, European technicians had begun to adapt the vertical water wheel to other tasks. By the sixteenth century, in addition to flour mills, there were hydropowered mills for smelting, forging, sharpening. rolling slitting, polishing, grinding. and shaping metals. Water wheels were available for hoisting materials and for crushing ores. There were mills for making beer, olive oil, poppy oil, mustard, coins, and wire. Water wheels were used in the preparation of pigment, paper, hemp, and tanning bark, and for fulling, sawing wood, boring pipes, and ventilating mines.

[In North America] the resort to water power usually came quickly after settlement [in colonial America]. The first permanent English settlement in North America was at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Early in that settlement’s history the Virginia Company instructed its governor to build watermills on every plantation. By 1694 Virginia had five watermills. Maryland had a watermill in 1634, the very year it was first settled, and Swedish authorities responsible for settlements on the Delaware in the1640s made the erection of watermills one of their first concerns. The colony of Massachusetts, first settled in 1620, had a watermill at Dorchester by 1633, and mills at Roxbury, Lynn, and Watertown by 1635. These were all flour mills. But according to one authority, the Piscataqua River above Portsmouth, N.H., was dammed for a sawmill as early as 1623. In 1646, on the Saugus River, Massachusetts built an iron mill, complete with water-activated trip-hammers, blast furnace, bellows, rollers, and slitters. By 1700 there were few New England villages without a watermill.

From Stronger than a Hundred Men: A History of the Vertical Water Wheel by Terry S. Reynolds Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983.

Bertolet Sawmill

In the late eighteen century, Daniel Bertolet built a saw mill which is located at the 400 Daniel Boone Road near Birdsboro, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Then the mill was transferred to to the Homestead from the Oley Valley in 1970. This is one of a few water powered, vertical-blade sawmills in the United States and it is the oldest sawmill in North America. The mill has been in operation for over 170 year and have been passed down from generation to generation. Israel Bertolet is the fifth in succession.

In addition, the Daniel Boone Homestead is a museum, the birthplace of the famed frontiersman, born in 1734. It is owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and it is run by the Friends of the Daniel Boone Homestead. Fundraising event are held to help keep it running such as beer festival and golf game. The Daniel Boone Homestead opened for the 2022 season, Saturdays and Sundays 10 AM to 4 PM with guided tours. For the sawmill operation, there is no admission fee, but ordinary admission is charged for the historic area and Boone house tours.

Backstory and Context

Before the twentieth century, logging and lumbering operations were hand-operated which makes the job harder for the sawyers man. However, things significantly improved as time went on. Two techniques were employed to cut the woods. First, they dug a pit and placing one man inside, with another man watching from above on a surface attached to the log. Another technique was to place two men across each other at the end of a long saw. Both techniques were hard and dangerous because the man in the pit can get sawdust in his eyes, nose, mouth and clothes. Structures with water-powered machinery were used as logging and lumbering industry grew.

The water-powered machinery were used to produced lumber for the neighborhoods and were operated by the farmers who had rivers on their properties. “Water power was the first common form, usually used to turn a mechanical wheel of one variety or another.” Sawmills played a major role in the lumber and logging industry. On average hand sawyers used to produce a dozen board per day, in contrast, with the invention of the sawmill they were able to produce 1,000 feet of pine per day. Water was a major source of power during the late eighteen century. Due to the high demand of lumber and logging, the size of sawmills had increased. “Water powered mills ultimately paved the way for demonstrating the benefits of machinery and mechanical power”(Orth and Shaner).”

Due to a rise in the need of logging and sawmills, farmers left farming to work in the woods business. America was a big consumer of woods, and woods were used to support daily living. They used about 30 to 40 cord of woods, to cook their meals and they used it as source of heat. They also used woods to build houses and to make furniture. Lumbermen were always looking for improvement, therefore they used railroads to facilitate the transport of logs to sawmills.

In addition, steam power and railroads were used to transport and speed the selling of lumber to regional centers and urban market. Also, the first commercial steam operating in the United States was imported from England to Pennsylvania. At that time, Pennsylvania had many resources that could sustain the d such as coal, iron, oil and timber. Railroads had changed how lumber was produced. Railroads provided an opportunity for the lumbermen to do more business abroad without being worried about their logs being lost.

Sources

2- Orth, Richard L.T. Shaner, Richard H. Oley Valey Heritage The Federal Years. Edition 1776-1862. Volume 49. 2. Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania German Society, 2015.

3- Ostman, Ronald E. Littell, Harry. Wood Hicks and Bark Peelers. Reading, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1763.

4- Herman, Holly. “Daniel Boone Homestead gets a little help from its friends.” TCA Regional News, Oct 16, 2015. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/wire-feeds/daniel-boone-homestead-gets-little-help-friends/docview/1722365586/se-2.

Complete Guide to Sawmills

Wood is one of the central elements of our lives. Wood supports our homes and the roofs over our heads. We eat on wooden tables, cook with wooden spoons and enjoy the architectural detail of wooden cabinets. We even place our paintings in wood frames. Yet many people take wood for granted, never stopping to think how we get the wood that is a foundation for many things in our lives.

If you want to know how sawmills process wood, this complete guide to sawmills will provide all the information you need. Learn about the sawmill throughput process and how raw logs turn into finished wooden products. We’ll answer questions like:

Things have changed since the old days when sawmills required manual labor and brute strength. The original sawmills were dangerous places. Today, sawmills rely on highly technical systems and computerization to maintain high production. At York Saw Knife, we’re proud to supply high-quality blades to enhance modern sawmills’ power and efficiency through Oleson Saw Technology. If you would like to learn more about sawmill blades now or find that you have more questions along the way, reach out to us at 1-800-233-1969, and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Chapter 1: What Is a Sawmill?

The term sawmill could refer to two different concepts within the industry. The first is a location where people mill lumber. The sawmill is all the land on which the sawmill sits — the log sort yard, milling machinery and the area where wooden planks are sorted and stored. A sawmill also has areas on-site for the mill’s administration and maintenance.

A sawmill also refers to the specific cutting or sawing mechanism. These machines turn round logs into rectangular timbers for use in manufacturing. Technically, the sawmill industry calls the core sawing machine a head rig, but the head rig needs an extensive support structure to function correctly. Perhaps the most accurate definition of a sawmill is that it’s the entire system that turns logs into lumber.

Whether you use the word to refer to the individual sawing machine or the entire lumber milling operation, sawmills are inherently bustling places. Most modern sawmills are enormous commercial enterprises with high productivity. Some of these locations employ hundreds of workers and schedule rotating shifts around the clock to keep lumber production efficient.

When Was the Sawmill Invented?

Prior to the invention of the sawmill, people cut, split and planed wooden boards by hand using hand tools. Later, people used a whipsaw, a long blade that cut logs as men pulled the saw. This process was tedious and tiring and needed improvements.

The history of sawmills dates back to the Roman empire. The first known sawmill is called the Hierapolis sawmill and dates to around the third century A.D. The sawmill was discovered when archaeologists examined the sarcophagus of a miller in modern-day Turkey, what used to be Asia Minor. On the sarcophagus was a raised relief of a waterwheel with a crank slider mechanism and two saws cutting through blocks.

The Roman waterwheel-powered saw represented a significant advancement in engineering and production. Around the sixth century, water-powered stone sawmills were popping up throughout the Byzantine Empire. By the 11th century, these sawmills spread from Spain and North Africa to Central Asia.

Who Invented the Sawmill?

The design of the sawmill remained essentially the same until the Industrial Revolution, when someone invented the circular saw blade. Historians typically credit Samuel Miller, who was awarded a British patent for the blade in 1777. Others claim the Dutch developed it in the 17th century or that it was the American Shaker Sister Tabitha Babbitt. Whoever invented it, the bandsaw’s high price and inferior blades meant it wasn’t used widely until the middle of the 19th century. Today, most sawmills use industrial-sized Band saws.

What Can I Get at a Sawmill?

A sawmill can produce high quantities of all kinds of lumber, although most sawmills specialize in a specific type of lumber. Sawmills in North America process one of two kinds of trees, softwood or hardwood.

Softwood trees are evergreens or conifers with permanently attached needles. These species include cedar, pine, spruce, hemlock, fir and redwood. Hardwood trees are deciduous species that shed their leaves in autumn and produce new ones in spring. Species like walnut, maple, beech, cherry, elm and oak are all hardwood trees.

These species require different machines and tools to process. Some sawmills buy the equipment to process both types of trees, although this is uncommon. You can generally find softwood materials in rough carpentry and building framing, which light commercial construction industries use. Residential construction uses hardwood lumber for finished products like furniture, flooring, staircases and plywood panels.

Most sawmills make three main products on their production line:

Timbers

Timbers are large-cut posts used in construction. These products measure over 5 inches thick and provide essential structural support. Construction companies use timbers as beams or posts when building projects like houses or barns.

Dimensional Lumber

The most common product coming off the sawmill production line is dimensional lumber. These wooden planks are smaller than timbers and measure according to standardized sizes. For instance, dimensional lumber can be between 2-5 inches thick and 2-12 inches wide. Standard sizes for dimensional lumber include two-by-fours (2x4s) and four-by-fours (4x4s). Many construction and manufacturing applications use dimensional lumber for joists, studs, headers, plates and rafters.

Sawmills also plane dimensional lumber to a specific size and smoothness. Dimensional lumber sizing can be somewhat tricky, as planing the wood reduces its size slightly. A rough-cut plank coming from the head rig is precisely 2 inches thick and 4 inches wide. However, the actual dimensions of a 2×4 exiting the sawmill’s planer are 1 ½ inches thick by 3 ½ inches wide.

Boards

The third type of lumber product made at a sawmill is the board. Boards are thin planks that usually measure between ¾ of an inch and 1 inch thick. Boards can range from 2-12 inches in width. Companies use boards to form plank floors, sheathing structures and frames for furniture. Rough-cut boards work well in pallets and crates.

Other products you can find at a sawmill include wooden planks with specialized shapes and contours. Sawmills can produce interlocking tongue and groove shapes, shiplap edges and rounded profiles. All of these planks are used in decoration and architecture. Some sawmills will also custom-make orders according to the customer’s specifications. Select locations will also source wood from foreign or local markets.

What Are the Types of Sawmills?

Depending on the production needs, sawmills can either be stationary or portable. Stationary sawmills are large-scale constructions in fixed locations and mounted on a foundation. Portable or mobile sawmills are smaller productions and might be mounted on a truck or trailer. These sawmills range in size and are designed with certain specifications to fit their intended purpose and production level. Each type of sawmill can also accommodate different numbers of operators or workers.

Stationary sawmills are often built near water sources. Historically, this placement made production easier. Most sawmills during the industrial revolution were powered by steam, which required a stable and renewable source of water for production. It was also practical to have the mill near a waterway so employees could use the water to transport logs to and from the mill. Storing logs in the river or lake prevented them from drying out prematurely.

Modern sawmills don’t use steam. However, many sawmills remain in the same location as their predecessors. These sawmills have evolved, but they are still built near water. In contrast, portable sawmills don’t require source of water or a specific amount of land. The operators can move these machines between sites whenever they need to.

Sawmill types are also categorized by the type of blade they use. Most modern sawmills use a combination of blade types, including circular blades and Band saws. Consider the differences between the two blades:

• Circular blades: Circular sawmill blades can efficiently perform cross-cuts or buckle logs into the desired length. These blades also tend to be thicker than Band saws, giving them additional strength. Their design leads the saw kerf to create more waste.
• Band saws: Band saws are excellent for cutting logs laterally. Band saw blades are thinner with thinner kerfs. These blades increase sawmill efficiency by creating less waste during the wood finishing process.

The changing technology of saw blade construction benefits every sawmill. For example, companies have developed superior products like Stellite tipped blades and tungsten carbide to replace old-fashioned materials. These new saw blades last longer than hot- and cold-rolled steel and provide greater efficiency.

How Are Sawmills Powered?

As with most forms of technology, a sawmill’s power source has evolved significantly over the decades. The initial mills had waterwheels, which gave way to windmills. Both of these systems were subject to changes in the weather. Workers couldn’t operate the sawmills if a water source dried up or the wind stopped blowing. These types of sawmills also used inefficient cranks and rods that didn’t saw continually.

In the early and mid-19th century, steam was the primary source of power for sawmills. Sawmills could reuse their wood waste by using the scraps to fuel the steam boilers. The boilers powered turbine shafts, which turned the circular and Band saw blades. These boilers were used primarily because of the abundance of wood waste, so oil-fired burners never became widely popular.

By the middle of the 20th century, most stationary sawmills phased steam power out and replaced it with electricity. This power source continues to be the primary source in effect today. Portable sawmills typically don’t use electric power since the mill sites that use them are usually off the electric grid. Instead, mobile sawmills use diesel and gasoline power sources. There is currently no serious shift toward solar power sources for sawmills since the production process requires vast amounts of energy.

Besides turning blades and conveyors, sawmills also need power for other systems. Modern sawmills use computers to scan logs and determine the optimal cutting efficiency. The computer systems then send the digitized information to the sawmill components to meet daily demands. All of these advanced processes require electric energy.

How Does a Sawmill Work?

Modern sawmills operate in essentially the same ways they have for hundreds of years, just more efficiently. The mill takes raw lumber and sends it through mechanized steps that refine and smooth it until the finished product emerges. Modern sawmills increase throughput through automation. This process is an on-demand system that takes wood from front-end loggers and makes it ready for the tail-end marketplace.

The sawmill lumbering operation involves several stages. Despite technological advancements and increased use of sophisticated computerization, modern sawmills still rely on experienced sawyers. These workers use their sharp eyes and quick movements to direct lumber efficiently. Here are all the steps a sawmill takes to get the job done:

• Felling: The first step in sawmill production is to cut the trees. Loggers on the front end of the process fell standing trees from second- or third-growth woodlots because there are few original, old-growth forests in America today. Loggers primarily use gasoline-powered chainsaws to cut trees before loading and transporting them to the sawmill. Other tools for felling trees include feller bunchers.
• Debarking: Once the logs are on-site at the sawmill, they must be debarked. Most sawmills use machines like mechanical ring cutters to strip each log of its bark. Others use water-jet blasters. Whatever method they employ, sawmills keep the bark waste to use as landscaping mulch or to fuel the kilns. In the debarking stage, a circular saw will buck or cross-cut logs into the correct lengths.
• Metal detecting: Sometimes, standing trees have pieces of metal from nails or fencing wire embedded and covered by years of growth. It’s vital for sawmills to examine logs for metal contamination before sawing them. Undetected scraps of metal can ruin blades or send shrapnel flying. If a log contains metal, it goes for a second examination. Depending on whether the metal can be removed, a log returns to the production line or is cut into smaller pieces for salvaging.
• Merchandising: Modern sawmills use computer processes to merchandise logs before sawing them, a critical step for peak efficiency. Computers use camera viewing or laser scanning to estimate each raw log’s maximum cut value by measuring the length and girth. The system then determines which sizes of boards, dimensional lumber and timber the log can provide. The merchandising step also assesses logs according to standing orders and market conditions.
• Head rig sawing: Logs are clamped to the conveyor and move to the head rig for sawing. Some sawmills have conveyors in a stationary carriage, which the head rig moves over with its blades while it saws the log lengthwise. Other locations use a fixed head rig that cuts the log as it moves along a mobile conveyor. With either method, head rigs are typically fitted with Band saw blades. Technologically advanced head rigs follow the log’s natural curve.
• Canting: As the head rig cuts the log, it creates sections called cants. The first breakdown creates a flat surface the head rig can use to square the workpiece for secondary cants. This breakdown is called the best opening face. After this, secondary cants turn the log into rough sizes for the lumber products. Any waste slabs are recycled into mulch, pellets or chips.
• Resawing: The large cants that the head rig creates go to the resawing process. In this step, several Band saw blades cut the cants into smaller pieces according to the merchandising instructions. Resawing can create many profiles, including twin or quad bands, horizontal and vertical bands, Band center splitters, circle gangs, double arbor gangs, Band line bars and more. The resaw step also uses curve sawing to get an accurate profile.
• Edging and trimming: The newly-cut timbers, dimensional lumber and boards have their edges cut to the correct grade size. The products continue to a trimmer, which cuts the specific lengths. Most sawmills cut wood products in 2-foot increments starting at 8 feet and going to 24 or more.
• Grading, drying and planing: Finally, the products go through the quality control process. Grading is essential for ensuring lumber pieces emerge in batches of similar products. Then the sawmill dries the lumber to reduce its naturally high moisture content. Lumber products are either air-dried or force-dried in kilns. After that, planers create the products’ ultimate appearance and size. Then the products are marked with finished grade stamps and bundled for shipping to market.

Where Can I Get Sawmill Supplies?

York Saw Knife has supplied top-quality saw blades to American sawmills for over 100 years. We are your best source of sawmill supplies to keep your sawmill sharp and working efficiently. You can find our industrial machine knives and precision saw blades in some of the most productive stationary sawmills in the world.

Our Oleson Saw Technology division designs and manufactures a complete custom sawmill blade line. Whether you need variable pitch (VPD) circular or wide Band saw blades made from carbide or Stellite you can find them at York Saw. You can also find a wide selection of tooth patterns and sets, along with other sawmill supplies for every application.

Check out our sawmill products today or contact us online for more information. You can also call us at 1-800-233-1969.

Water powered sawmill

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

Volume six of the Foxfire series covers shoemaking, crafting toys and games, carving gourd banjos, song bows and wooden locks, creating a water-powered sawmill, and other fascinating topics.

Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches

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Water powered sawmill

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Water mills

Watermills were an essential source of power during the colonial period. It was the first standard form of tool which was used to switch a mechanical wheel of a single variety or another.

These water-powered mills also paved the way for displaying the advantages of mechanical power and machinery.

Water was not only a significant source of power during the colonial period, but it was also an essential means of transportation.

than a hundred years ago, roads in America were used for but never for commercial shipping.

The number of water-powered mills saw an increase before the Civil War, and a significant amount of these mills were still in use until the early 1900s.

The development of mills was also the initial step in freeing agricultural individuals from the drudgery of rural life.

Every small village had to rely on the mills for all their needs. The two most common and essential mills during this period were gristmills and sawmills.

There would also be mills for making mustard, bone meal, axes, barrel saves, tobacco, linseed oil, plaster, flax, salt, and cider.

At present, there is still a water-powered sawmill in the hamlet of New Preston, Connecticut, which operates underwater. This water-powered sawmill features a myriad of saws that were actuated using an innovative turbine.

The small stretch of the waterway, which connects its turbine, is no longer than one mile, but there were once about 30 mills installed on it.

The power needed to run most of these mills came from a massive waterwheel that needed an adequate supply of water to make its revolutions.

often than not, early settlers built ponds and mill dams to supply water to the wheel at a sufficient velocity.

The water typically enters the mill through a wooden box known as a penstock or flume. This way, the miller can choose to open a water gate from inside the mill to release water into the wheel to run the machinery.

Mills were so important back then that communities often provided inducements like exemptions from military duty, limited monopoly rights, tax exemptions, outright money gifts, adjoining land, and free mill sites to its owners.

It also assisted in attracting wealthy settlers to a town and increasing the value of its area.

Fun and Interesting Facts about Water Mills in the Colonial Period

Q A

When did George Washington build his merchant mill?George Washington built his merchant mill in 1771.

Who was the biggest importer of French millstones in the colonial period?America was the biggest importer of French millstones in the colonial period.

Who developed the automatic flour mill?Oliver Evans invented the automatic flour mill.

What are the two most common mills during this period?The two most common mills of the colonial period were sawmills and gristmills.

Where are water mills built?Watermills were hidden inside a building or under the roof to avoid damage caused by snow or ice during the winter.