An overview of Bud's Sawmill, logs, and shed

The Shanty

Years ago, my dad built what we called then, his "shanty". If my dad wasn't at his store (he owned a TV and appliance sales and service store) or in the house, or maybe at a bridge game, we always knew we could find him up at the shanty (about 100 yds from the house). He had his wood-burning stove, electricity, a radio, and lots of tools and wood to keep him busy or maybe he would go up there just for some peace of mind. Besides making things he needed, he also made us toys, little magic tricks (I still have one of the magic tricks he made me on my desk), picnic tables (Mom and Dad needed a few with 8 children), benches, and so many other things. He also spent lots of time chopping wood (and still does) in the summer months to be ready for the winter months...and boy did we ever go through the wood in the winter!

The Shed

Planning to retire someday from his business, wanting his own sawmill, and not being one to just sit around, he decided to expand his infamous shanty to his now bigger and better shed. Although we call it his shed, it is quite the workshop with lots of great equipment and tools, and of course his wood burning stove for those cold Pennsylvania days.

The Mill

My Dad was always good at future planning. He wanted to have a hobby of having his own sawmill. To anyone else, this would be a major business, but to him, it would be a hobby. So, years ahead of retirement, he set out to make a sawmill.

He built the most spectacular sawmill! Keep in mind, he built it himself, using his own ingenuity and skill. He used spare parts from old appliances he had, made his own pulley systems, and he even manufactured his own ball bearings and other parts. Pretty ingeneous wouldn't you say?

Over the years, the mill grew bigger and bigger. The mill is now equipped with a diesel engine that has a conveyor belt system hooked to it that operates the rotation of the approximate 60 " diameter saw blade with lots of teeth which he sharpens individually. (I know that because he taught me how to sharpen the teeth).

Dad's pulley system lifts and turns the tree trunks or logs onto the cutting area. The logs run through the saw blade using a tension bar device. At the saw blade cutting area, logs are on a hook-like table system with a ratchet gearing device that adjusts the fit to the size of the log to be cut. He even made a track system to take away all the sawdust which he uses for the flower and vegetable gardens and to give to friends and neighbors for their use.

Over the years, although a hobby, my Dad has had quite a variety of requests from businesses and friends, making lumber for building construction to wedges for mechanical engineering facilities for their machines.

Although my Dad is retired, his sawmill clients drive from miles around asking him to make specialty hard-wood products that they say only he can make!