Sawmill
A sawmill is an industrial facility that converts logs into lumber and other wood products by sawing, sorting, and processing timber.
Head saw: The primary saw in a sawmill, making the first major cuts that divide a log into slabs or boards. It makes the initial breakdown cuts that determine how the log is opened.
Log: A section of a felled tree, with or without its branches removed, suitable for processing or use as timber. Logs are the incoming raw material processed by a sawmill.
Portable sawmill: A transportable sawmill designed to process logs at or near their source. Portable mills bring sawing capacity to forests, farms, and remote sites.
Forest management: The planning and practice of tending, using, and conserving forests for ecological and human objectives. Timber supply to mills depends on decisions about harvesting and forest renewal.
Water frame sawmill: A sawmill powered by a waterwheel, using a reciprocating blade to cut logs into boards. Waterpower enabled early mills to mechanize sawing beyond hand labor.
Band saw: A saw whose continuous toothed blade runs around two or more wheels to cut wood. Band saws commonly perform the main breakdown or resawing cuts.
Lumber: Wood sawn into boards, planks, or other standard shapes for construction and manufacturing. Lumber is the principal product made from logs at most sawmills.
Lumber industry: The economic sector that harvests, processes, distributes, and sells wood products. Sawmills form the processing link between timber harvesting and lumber markets.
Deforestation: The lasting removal of forest cover, commonly through conversion to nonforest land use. Demand for mill feedstock can contribute to forest loss where harvesting is poorly controlled.
Sawmill in colonial America: A water- or wind-powered facility that processed logs in the British American colonies. Colonial mills supplied construction lumber and supported settlement and trade.