Since writing the article on the pumps I have been told that the pumps we sent to Fremantle date from 1898 and 1902. I know that our locomotive (railway engine) dates from 1898 and some of our other objects and machines are even older.
The Saw Shed
This building, and its contents, was one of the best preserved sections of the Workshops. Evidence shows it in existence when the second mill operated at the northern end of the complex. The Saw Shed was originally powered by its own boiler and steam engine. These were located at the south-west corner of the building. The footings for these were still in evidence before the fire. It appeared that a drive shaft went under the building and a belt from it went into the roof cavity to turn another drive shaft. From the latter all the machines in the shed were driven. Later an electric motor in the roof cavity was the source of power.
The machines in the shed consisted of a couple of stations for sharpening the circular saws, four teeth setting machines and a station for sharpening and setting large band saw blades.
For circular saws there was a spindle on which the saw blade was attached. This allowed the blade to turn. Above this was an angle grinder on an arm that allowed it to come down on the saw, sharpening each tooth at the exact same angle. Worn circular saw blades could be cut back and new teeth formed. For the band saw a large track carried the full blade so it could be moved around and a similar method of sharpening took place. The band saw on display was from the Hoffman Mill. Band saw blades were cut from a ribbon of steel and joined to make the loop before having the teeth formed and sharpened.
The setting machines made a slight outward bend on each alternative tooth that prevented the blade from jamming in its cut.
In the early days all the sharpening would have been done by file so the workers were called saw filers.
As well as the saw filers there was a saw doctor who was able to repair damaged saw blades by heating and hammering them in just the right places.
In the Saw Shed workers also sharpened the large crosscut saws, and later chainsaws. They carried out all these tasks for many of the south-west Millars’ mills such as Hoffman, Nanga Brook and Waterous. They also provided a service for other mills. These workers were vital for the profitable operation of sawmills. [1]
The Saw Shop is possibly the building behind. This photo is from the Samuel Baker photos
in Geoff Fortunes book, ‘The Milling Industry’. Used with permission from Geoff Fortune.
The band saw sharpened and set
A circular saw sharpened.
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[1] The ‘Phoenix Rises Very Slowly’, Part 13 by Allan Ward.