This Was Sawmilling [Paperback]

Ralph W. Andrews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1994

The reissue of the classic history about the sawmill industry in the Pacific Northwest is rich in memories. Here is the vital and true story of the triumphant growth and its undying promise, shown with superb photography and told with exciting text. The utilitarian waterwheel, the great days of the steam sawmill, and the epic courage of the schooner masters are told in all their glory. Ralph Andrews augments his careful and thorough research with anecdotes of the men who transformed logs into the building materials of a nation. The reader takes a step back in time, as the history of the industry which has gone on continuously since 1825 is brought to life.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing; 1st ed edition (March 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887405940
• ISBN-13: 978-0887405945
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #240,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Forestry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Very Few Sources to Document When Sawmilling was King, December 9, 2001

By 

Howard L. Dixon (Hopewell, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Was Sawmilling (Paperback)

Comprehensive books on early sawmilling in the Pacific Northwest are very rare. This book is as good as it gets. Andrew's companion book (both published by Superior Publishing in the 1950s) was called, "This Was Logging" and together they describe an industry mostly lost to history. There are hundreds of outstanding photos in "Sawmilling", on the other hand I found the book to be somewhat unorganized based upon the chapter headings and sub-headings. After studying the book for some time I was never able to discern where Andrews was going with the organization. Added to that is the lack of references or index, but it's worth the price of these distractions to have these photos and stories of yesteryear still available to enjoy. In some cases he captures pieces from trade journals or company magazines that would have been lost to history if not for his efforts. But that can be said about all three of Andrews works, the third being, "Redwood Classic". The book includes an explanation of the sawmill sign language between the sawyer and setter. Having been around sawmills as a youngster and having worked in a plywood plant for Robert Dollar Co. during breaks from college, I love to learn the job titles of the different folks in a mill. But even more interesting was the language in a shingle mill. Titles as the shingle weaver, upright sawyer, short staker, hand machine sawyer, packer, double-block sawyer and knot sawyer...all jobs where men labored long hours under very tough conditions and now lost to obscurity except for in books such as this one. While this book documents many of the big operations such as Pope and Talbot and many small ones, there were literally thousands of small mills throughout the Pacific Northwest and the photos in the book could have come from any of them. If you want to learn about a livelihood that is only a shadow of it's former self get a copy of Andrew's book and see an industry as it once was.