Cutting Edge

Cutting Edge. . For John Sutter and James Marshall, the sawmill was an invaluable laborsaving machine – using water power to replace human power., Hand-Powered Payoff , It was hard work to construct a sawmill. It would take many months for the trees to be felled, dragged to the site, and skillfully hoisted into the fitted joints in order for the structure to take shape. Why did the crew work so hard to build a sawmill knowing it would be temporary? Once the mill was complete and water was harnessed to operate the mill, it promised a huge payoff with cut lumber milled from the surrounding trees., Water-Powered Industry , To run the mill, the crew opened the gates, letting water flow under the sawmill through a channel called the millrace. This water pushed against the waterwheel, rotating the pitman arm. The pitman arm then moved the sash up and down, which operated the mill’s sawblade. The water continued to flow out the other side of the mill, exiting through the tailrace to return to the river., Sawing Logs , The crew of three men used a winch system to pull logs up a ramp on the right side of the sawmill. Logs on the mill’s carriage then moved through the sawblade – it took about 20 minutes to cut each log. Finished boards slid down the left side of the sawmill, where the crew loaded them into wagons., These sketches by John Strub illustrate the workings of a Swiss sawmill in about 1914. They closely resemble the construction and operation of Sutter’s Mill.