Itasca Sawmill

In this episode, we get a private tour of the historic two-story Julius Neils Reddy Sawmill that has been restored and reconstructed at Lake Itasca, Minnesota. This is believed to be one of the only working band-sawmills in the country that has a shotgun feed carriage operated with a steam cylinder.

The sawmill has a lot of history and we're going to get that story in another episode as well as learn about some of the peripheral equipment the volunteers plan to add to the mill including a multi-blade edger running off the same power line as the band saw. We'll also save for another episode our visit to the saw shop they use for maintaining and sharpening the band saw blade.

But for now, we're going to follow Bryan Mesich, president of the Lake Itasca Region Pioneer Farmers, as he shows us how the band saw, log turner and carriage feed operate.

#sawmill #LakeItasca

[survivingminnesota]

I've seen this saw in operation. It's truly amazing to see. I could watch it for hours.

[karlbischoff]

That was a good demo and explanation....it never ceases to amaze me how ingenious and elegant the machinery from that era was/is

[otiselevator]

Great job by the guide; he really knows his stuff. Great video work also. Bravo!

[TheOldManAndTheSaw]

WOW!! This was incredibly informative and entertaining.
GREAT job.

[bernardjones]

This needs to be made again and used more often in our industries! It might look antique but it really works!

[mattkorinek]

Very interesting and informative video! I am machinist and a fan of vintage machines and the history of logging in Minnesota. I love it when folks take the time to preserve these machines. Hope to visit the sawmill sometime!


es.

[jbofbutcombe]

What an interesting commentary! The guy knows his stuff.

[tonylarge]

Balls out! Now I know where the saying came from. The awesome and incredible brains of the engineers who invented this equipment.

[benrobertson]

Great description of that type of engine.thanks.

[N-T]

Very cool, I'm glad I found this video. My dad worked at a mill here in north idaho with a steam shotgun carriage. He trained to be relief sawyer in the late 70s, Probably the youngest generation to operate a steam shotgun in a commercial application. I would love to make the trip out in the future!

[johnc]

Too cool. Love that kind of tech from yesterday.

[ianloomis]

Balls out, so that's where that phrase comes from....very good video!

[slhasebroock]

Awesome! Love the old sawmills!!!! Thank you!

[thomash]

I think I will go see it, I really like this old equipment

[modoc]

I like the sound of a steam powered saw mill. This was interesting to watch and should be shared in schools. I noticed that the carriage of this mill didn’t have sweeps on the wheels.

[faceplant]

Very good video, F.H. Stoltze Lumber company just west of Columbia falls Montana used to have a shotgun carriage feed. Stoltze is from Minnesota also. They used to run 4 Dutch oven type of boilers. They are still in business today, over 100 years, but with a new boiler/plus generating power for the valley grid. They use a dc drive for the carriage now. J. Neils also had a large sawmill in Libby, Montana also. A lot of us here in the Flathead valley migrated from Minnesota to here to follow the timber industry. Plum Creek timber company also came from northern Minnesota, A lot of timber history here and in Minnesota.

[bob-the-Millwright]

Just took two log turners out of operation that look similar if not identical, they were converted to air operation some time ago, installed hydraulic powered log turners. I work on this equipment everyday!

[carlyleporter]

Best video I've watched in a while.

[fricknjeep]

hi there great show . so much good and interesting info. thanks for all john

[tinkertime]

Excellent presentation, well explained and detailed enough but not too technical. Would have been nice to hear a little more of the blade slice its way through the log. Love that sound!