Brent and Paulette's Excellent RV Adventure's: What's it all about? Sunday morning thoughts. Forestry was good to me.

I asked Polly what she would like & Voila

As I watch another YouTube video of saw milling I realize just how lucky I was to have the decent machinery & good safety procedures as I went through the forest industry from my early years to my retirement. Looking at the videos from otherer countries I see so much hard labour, and very primitive machinery as well as ways they operate, all standards surprise me.

Looking at the TV is much different now, we can choose so much to watch vs past of looking at what's programed. I dreamed of owning and operating a small band mill one day, but as I get older the reality sets in and I think not. But I do like to see how people cut logs, and what choices they make.

Not everyone's entertainment, but I like to watch and learn, even if I likely won't be cutting lumber. Today I was watching a video of 8-10 men cut a piece of wood about 6" thick, by 40" wide and 20 feet long, was the center of a big log. Most videos I have seen so far were of sawmills that are somewhat automated. This mill was not at all automated. Was just a big "C" shaped band saw with a small gas engine that had a wide belt to drive it from the engine to the saw. Had a plastic gas can piped to it with tape, very hokey.

The men got the huge piece of wood from a pile of wood on the ground stored along a dirt road, all men had bare feet, and some just a towel type dress on, others pants & tee-shirt as they worked as a unit lifting and moving the piece onto a huge axel wagon with wooden wheels.

Leverage and many men lifted the piece centered on to this bicycle wheeled wagon, then they pushed it from the busy road edge around traffic to the bandsaw.

Now at the saw I realized there were only 4 men with the dress like outfits, and others had light shirts and pants. No gloves, no shoes, no glasses, no ear protection.

I'll never forget how huge this piece of wood was and how they handled it. The one person directed the others, not formally but as a group, they all understood how this was going to go.

The mill was crank started, pup pup pup, smoke and poping, and away it goes, then the operator puts a board on the belt to create some tension, and away the bandsaw goes.

Now the sawyer directs it through, no guide, no automation, just all the men pushing this huge chunk through this band mill.

Surprised I was as they got this chunk of wood whittled down, with customer overlooking the process, and sawer direction all the way through.

Village Boy Pro is the youtube channel that has many of these videos.

The name of this one is below,

Tough! Very Dangerous and Tough Wood Cutting and Lifting by 10 Powerful Men in Saw Mill of Aisa

I haven't watched many of these videos, but this one I'll never forget. I'm still shaking my head. Even if you don't understand a sawmill, you'll be shaking your head if you watch this video.

I have also been watching wood working videos, so I can make some interesting to me wood projects. A friend has given me some of the wood he has been given, left overs from a sawmill. Making a few things lately, some for Christmas, some just to learn how to, and see if I can. I aquired a few new to me tools, so now putting them to use.

Fun, is what you are interested in, and after a life working getting logs and lumber to market, I think creating something out if the wood locally available is my goal. Just love working with wood, and how beautiful the things I can make with just a little imagination.

I always loved this, and this year Covid has helped me stay put and create some of what I always wanted to.

A coffee table called "Waterfall table" is my next project.

Polly's thinking of what we might need, & I'm dreaming of how to create something beautiful for our trailer. Always planing light weight, ease of storage, usefulness, and of course beauty.