Miniature Sawmill

CaseyD

B & R Sawmill Crew
WMSTR Lifetime Member
Here are just a few pictures of the mini-sawmill, if someone has not had the chance to see it. These are just pictures I took at the 2006 show. Perhaps someone who owns/runs this could give more details(?) :)

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Walking sticks get milled from the red pine bolts that are used. When the saw operator bogs down that scale model case, it starts bucking just like a full size!

CaseyD
 
Great pictures Casey! Langs own the engine and maybe they will be on when the newsletter goes out to add some info on the small sawmill operations. It really does work the engine when they lay into a log. A couple of years ago they threw sparks high enough to start the light pole near the mill on fire. It was a small excitement for a short time.
 
40avery;374 said:
A couple of years ago they threw sparks high enough to start the light pole near the mill on fire. It was a small excitement for a short time.

I remember that!:biglaugh:

Those are some great pictures Casey! If you have any more of other areas of the show, be sure to post them! Like Rick said... the newsletter goes out in a couple of weeks, and will announce this forum. After that, we should have a ton of traffic on the site. :bannana:

BTW Casey... How did you hear about it? It has all been word of mouth to this point. Just curious...
 
Mark, I had just noticed the link to this forum site from the Rollag homepage. I check it often for nre updates, since it has become such a fascination of mine.

CaseyD
 
Brief History of the Miniature Sawmill

Brief history of the Miniature Sawmill..
Theodore Paulson from Pelican Rapids built this mill 55+ years ago. Theodore ran this mill with his own steam engine up until 50 years ago. Rollag purchased the mill from Paulson. Lang’s engine has been on this engine for the past 50 years.
Dean Iverson (past Board Member) is the “forman” of the mill now days.. Back in 1985 Dean lead a crew of people and restored the mill. My Father Nels C., brother Sherwood (Dean’s son-in-law) and Earl Herbranson (Earl’s Mill fame) restored the unit. I was working on a farm in Sweden that summer so I missed out on the restoration. It was up and running for the show in 1985.
Dean has a great crew helping out during the show, I’m sorry but I don’t know everyones name.. I’m sure that there is room for additional help.
I believe that there is a write up about the mill in the year book that featured the Sawmills.
I wonder how many board feet of walking sticks have been handed out to spectators over the years.
I would like to Congratulate and Thank the Lang family for their dedication of 50 years to the Miniature Sawmill display at Rollag.
Brian
:D
 
Wow! Thanks, Brian! That's exactly what I had hoped would surface on here...some history to give things that added depth. It's good to know that -someone- knows these things, and now hundreds of people will have that same background information when they see that display, or lean against one of the walkingsticks they hand out.
 
Miniature Sawmill

That's me running the engine in the first picture and Kyle Jaster standing next to me. We have been running the engine full time since 1990, Dad has gone on to being a camera man and does not have the time or the energy to run the little engine any more. As for the engine it was built in 1958 and has been running the sawmill ever since. My grandfather built it so it could do more than just boil water. The only thing he did not scale down was the flues, there is nine 2 inch flues in the engine and the valve ports are a little bigger than they are suppose to be thats what gives it it bark.:)
 
40avery;374 said:
Great pictures Casey! Langs own the engine and maybe they will be on when the newsletter goes out to add some info on the small sawmill operations. It really does work the engine when they lay into a log. A couple of years ago they threw sparks high enough to start the light pole near the mill on fire. It was a small excitement for a short time.
Good reason to work on a working Fire Station display.
 
50 Years and still sawing

This year will be 50 years that the saw and our engine have been running together at Rollog. The engine was new when it first belted into the saw. My grandfather first ran it, then dad and now me. I hope to have some more info later and some pictures at the sawmill this year to look back over the years. :)
 
That would be a great subject for it's own thread Jason... 50 years of the miniature sawmill! Old pictures would be great! Do you have a way to scan them in? Let us know if we can be of any help.
 
sawmill

That would be great tell me how to set it up. We are just finding some photos and are looking for some more.
 
1/2 scale is 50 years old

We will have pictures at the sawmill of the engine with my Grandfather and the history of the engine and sawmill. One important part is the amount of wood we have sawed, we have in 50 years cut 85,000 walking sticks!!!!:smilie_flagge13: That is alot of sawdust. We hope to get out of the sawmill and go in one parade this year and we might have a surprize to go along with that so we will wait and see.

Can't wait to see everyone at the show!:thumb: Jason
 
I would like to thanks the sawmill crew for thier time. They got the new STEEL roof on the sawmill shed " no more worries about fires on the roof. Since we put a new stack on a few years ago there has been alot of sparks coming out the top and landing on the roof. I think we could have a spark show with that big stack.HaHa. Again thanks guys you did a great job and it looks great.
 
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