Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Why Portable Sawmills Have Replaced Whipsaws

If you want to be a professional sawyer, you need to know a bit about the history of sawing.  Portable sawmills are everywhere now, but it wasn't always that way.  For example, many people used to use whipsaws to saw lumber.

You have probably seen whipsaws before, but maybe you didn't know what they were.  The definition of a whipsaw is is a two-handled, two-man saw.  Years ago whipsawing was a common practice in most communities.  One man would stand above a log that was positioned over a pit.  Another man would stand in the pit and hold the other end of the saw.  The two men would work together to saw the log.

That was assuming that the tree was already cut down.  In order to cut the tree, each man would stand on one side.  They would then use alternating pushing and pulling motions to slowly saw through the tree.  At the time, it was a great way to get things done.  However, as with many old fashioned techniques, the whipsaw is certainly no longer in fashion.

These days you might find the occasional whipsaw in someone's barn, or even in a museum.  If you want to be a serious sawyer, though, a whipsaw won't do at all.  There's no way that you could cut enough lumber with a whipsaw to stay competitive in the lumber business.  That's why you need to keep up with not just the history of saws, but also the latest technology.