Sawmill - Sawmill Process

Sawmill Process

A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end.

• Logging fells the trees, and log bucking cuts them to length.
• Branches are cut off the trunk. This is known as limbing.
• Logs are taken by truck, rail or river to the sawmill.
• Logs are scaled either on the way to the mill or upon arrival at the mill.
• Decking is the process for sorting the logs by species, size and end use (lumber, plywood, chips).
• Debarking removes bark from the logs.
• The head saw, head rig or primary saw, breaks the log into cants (unfinished logs to be further processed) and flitches (unfinished planks) with a smooth edge.
• Depending upon the species and quality of the log, the cants will either be further broken down by a resaw or a gang edger into multiple flitches and/or boards
• Edging will take the flitch and trim off all irregular edges leaving four-sided lumber.
• Trimming squares the ends at typical lumber lengths.
• Drying removes naturally occurring moisture from the lumber. This can be done with kilns or air-dried.
• Planing smooths the surface of the lumber leaving a uniform width and thickness.
• Shipping transports the finished lumber to market.