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122:', with 'saddleblocks' or 'dogs' to hold the log in position horizontally. Sawing was a slow and exhausting process, requiring strong men with great stamina. The topsawyer had to be especially strong because the saw was pulled in turn by each man, and the lower had the advantage of gravity. The topsawyer also had the important task of guiding the saw so that the board was of even thickness. This was often done by following a chalkline. In some cases the box handle on one end of the saw could be removed so the saw could be pulled free when the sawyers needed to move the timber to a new position.
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or whip saw. The logs were held firmly in place by G-shaped clamps called 'dogs' that were hammered into the log being cut. The pits were usually lined with elm wood, which withstood damp. Access to the saw pit was via steps or a ladder at one end. The sawyers were paid by the 100 foot runs, with pay related to the difficulty of sawing the wood, oak being the highest paid. Usually the sawyer was responsible for sharpening the saws, however on occasion a whet man was employed to do that work.
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had to go into the pit, which was often partially filled with water, with sawdust constantly 'raining down,' so he stood in a layer of sawdust as a result. One theory of the origin of the terms 'top dog' and 'underdog' is that they come from saw pit work practices (however, others cite documentary evidence that these terms more likely arose from dog fighting). Cutting from underneath a suspended log is sometimes called "underbucking".
40:
400:. They behaved less than gloriously - "Before there were any near excuse three or four of our regiments fairly ran away - Sir William Fairfax's, Sir Henry Cholmley's, my Lord Kimbolton's and to say the plain truth my own." Wharton himself ran away and is said to have hidden in a saw pit, thus earning for himself the parliamentary nickname of Philip 'Sawpit' Wharton.
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in the mid 18th century. Before their introduction, trestles were used to support the log, and a frame saw employed for the cutting. In the Royal
Dockyards saw pits, the upper sawyer was called the 'Topman;' he followed the marked line to make a straight plank, and the 'Underman' pushed the rib, pit
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The top-sawyer's work had to be very accurate; it was he who kept a careful balance on the log and guided the long saw, who kept the cuts straight or curved as required, and who estimated the width of the planks. He was the man in charge of the operation, and it wasn't uncommon for nicknames such as
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began closing, it could cause the saw to bind and increase friction; wedges, most often made of convenient bits of wood, could be inserted in order to keep the kerf open and reduce the friction. Two-man saws were designed to cut in both directions and very careful tooth design was necessary to clear
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Saw pits were a crucial component of shipbuilding, for which planks of wood were necessary for the construction of all classes of vessels. The logs of wood to be sawn were placed over a pit on planks of wood called "dogs" in naval jargon. The senior sawyer stood on top of the plank. The junior one
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Up to 200 boards a day could be produced with water-driven power sawing, compared to the 12 or so a day by two men in a saw pit. A saw pit could, if circumstances demanded, be worked by a single person, with the end of the saw being weighted with a stone or some other weight, and then raised and
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Several early sawmills in
England were burned by sawyers who were fearful of losing their livelihoods. However, the increased efficiency of the sawmill, and the back-breaking nature of the saw pit work, resulted in saw pits generally going out of use in the United Kingdom at the time of the
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Saw pits were prominent in the early
European logging of New Zealand. Even with the introduction of water-powered sawmills in the 1840s, and steam-powered sawmills in 1865, saw pits were still being used in the early 1900s in difficult locations.
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onto a wind mill, which converted a turning motion into an up-an-down sawing motion. Cornelis took out a patent on his sawmill on
December 15, 1593, and on the pitman arm device on December 6, 1597. Early sawmills adapted the
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is unusually housed in a single-story open-fronted building. The rear wall is of rubble (stone) construction and there is a rubble pier at each of the front corners, with the whole structure under a pitched slate roof.
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Woolforddyke, map reference: NT 0075 5590; Parish of
Carnwath in South Lanarkshire Council area. The visible remains are of an oval pit, measuring 2 m by 1.6 m across and 0.4 m in depth, situated within a shelter
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Ten foot logs were sometimes sawn into boards except for about the last two inches. In this way the boards could be more easily handled; then the boards were separated by cutting off the end of the log.
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industry. After falling, without bark, in smaller and more standardized sizes, and not intended as primary members in shipbuilding, the term 'timber' is often replaced by the term 'lumber'.
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tells the tall tale, or tongue-in-cheek story, that, after the development of steam-powered sawing machines, saw pits were unnecessary, and therefore were cut up and sold as post-holes.
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is a person who cuts ("saws") wood for a living. At one time, sawyers were important members of the rural community, because many implements, as well as buildings, were made of wood. In
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Nineteenth century pit sawyers in New
Zealand were well paid; during the 1840s in Nelson, a sawyer could earn 80 pounds in five months, more than double the average wage at the time.
597:
Strathallan Wood, map reference: NN 9420 1797, Parish of
Trinity Gask in Perth And Kinross. Two parallel grass-grown hollows mark the site of a disused saw pit on the edge of a
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the sawdust during the cut. The sawdust accumulated to the extent that it had to be 'dug out' and removed in a bucket. Oak dust could be burned and used in the curing of bacon.
71:, by two people, one standing above the timber and the other below. It was used for producing sawn planks from tree trunks, which could then be cut down into boards,
389:. Daniel Defoe's character, the 17th century castaway Robinson Crusoe, complains about how difficult it is to saw timber into planks without the use of a saw pit.
149:
981:
Peterson, Charles E (1973). Sawdust Trail: Annals of
Sawmilling and the Lumber Trade. Bulletin of the Association for Preservation Technology, Vol. 5, No. 2.
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526:, Cornwall. There is a trench there - now stone-clad - which is thought to have once been the site of a saw pit, but this has not been confirmed.
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75:, posts, etc. Many towns, villages and country estates had their own saw pits. The greatest user of sawn timber in past centuries was the
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circa 1860 often show the location of saw pits, but by the start of the 20th century very few remained and most are no longer in use.
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Saw pits provided much of the sawn timber for
Australia during the 1800s. Convicts were put to work in saw pits as a punishment in
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103:, the terms used were 'bottom sawyer', for the man standing in the pit, and 'top sawyer', for the man who balanced on the log.
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arm or rod. A pitman is similar to a conrod, but in reverse (a conrod converts back-and-forth motion to circular motion).
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Saw pits also featured in some of the most significant events of early european
Australian settlement. In August 1788,
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and ordered his crew to dig a saw pit in order to repair their boat. Eight months later the crew would go on to
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Charlie's Sike, map reference: NY 4805 8770; Parish of Castleton in Scottish Borders Council area.
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The settlement of Saw Pit in the United States of America eventually outgrew this name and became
396:. In 1642 Lord Wharton raised a regiment of foot soldiers and a troop of horsemen to fight in the
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Kennox estate, map reference: NS 386 448; Parish of Dreghorn in the North Ayrshire Council area.
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253:. The circular motion of the wheel was changed to back-and-forth motion of the saw blade by the
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Pennyseorach, map reference: NR 7127 0778; Parish of Southend in Argyll And Bute Council area.
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Kirkton Muir, map reference: NH 602 435, Parish of Kirkhill in the Highland Council area.
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Cadham, map reference: NO 3298 7240; Parish of Cortachy and Clova in Angus Council area.
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Broomhill, map reference: NH 611 516; Parish of Knockbain in the Highland Council area.
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The main surviving retaining wall of the pit with the collapsed wall in the foreground.
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following its discovery in c. 1420 and spread widely in Europe in the 16th century.
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Philip Wharton was born in 1613, and at the age of 12 (1625) he became the fourth
344:. Saw pits were promptly dug in both places so building timber could be produced.
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Haltwhistle, Northumberland. A saw pit is located beside the Haltwhistle burn.
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Brede High Farm, East Sussex. Over 30 saw pits have been found in the woods.
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near Barrmill in North Ayrshire had a saw pit close to the house in 1856.
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950 m ESE of Raith farmstead (NN91 NW61). They are set about 1 m apart.
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457: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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533:, West Sussex. A covered saw pit at the Weald and Downland Museum.
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817:. The Australian & New Zealand Environmental History Network
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The 'modern' sawmill was invented or perfected by the Dutchman
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837:"'Logging native forests - Logging and sawmilling, 1840–1920"
497:, Cornwall. Preserved by the National Trust in working order.
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126:'William Top-sawyer' to be common currency in country areas.
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Quarrington, County Durham. A saw pit near Quarrington Hall.
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in c. 1250. There are claims that they were introduced to
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Large logs would usually be hauled to the site by horses.
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Detail of the stonework on the surviving retaining wall.
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The two man team would use a two handled saw, called a '
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A very early water driven Roman sawmill was in use in
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Broadleaf. Woodland Trust. No 74, Spring 2010. p. 10.
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In January 1788, the first British fleet sailed into
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Saw pits were introduced into the Royal Dockyards of
407:by incorporating as a village in 1868. The Town of
106:Together, the sawyers would alternate pulling the
63:is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled
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167:Looking along the pit towards the Glazert Water.
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782:. New York: Dover Publications Inc. p. 51.
179:Looking up the pit towards the 'closed off' end.
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752:"Iron, steel and timber: a transient heritage"
989:Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape.
703:Dog fighting and the origin of Topdog, etc.
249:to mechanical power, generally driven by a
839:. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
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473:Learn how and when to remove this message
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941:Dodds, James & Moore, James (1984).
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858:Isaacs, Nigel (October–November 2009).
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1045:Buildings and structures in Scotland
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455:adding citations to reliable sources
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221:may well have been developed in the
1018:Turning And Mechanical Manipulation
379:, are often found nearby saw pits.
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24:
943:Building the Wooden Fighting Ship.
142:Views of the Kennox estate saw pit
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978:. Edinburgh : T G Stevenson.
976:The Ballads and Songs of Ayrshire
958:Woods, Hedgerows and Leafy Lanes.
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1040:Archaeological sites in Scotland
991:Pub. J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
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649:. Cambridge University Press.
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27:Pit over which timber is sawed
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812:"Milling Australia's forests"
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512:Little Lumley, County Durham.
205:Tree trunks ready for sawing.
30:For the U.S. small town, see
915:Retrieved : 2014-043-31
667:A detachable end to the saw.
509:Kibblesworth, County Durham.
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110:through the log. If the saw
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261:industrial revolution. Old
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385:refers to saw pits in the
240:(1550–1607) who applied a
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1025:Photographs of a saw pit
865:. Build Magazine (BRANZ)
740:Dodds and Moore, Page 46
678:Memoirs of Country life.
945:London : Chatham.
776:Bligh, William (2012).
647:The Wheelwright's Shop.
506:Haswell, County Durham.
319:Adventure Bay, Tasmania
138:lowered by the sawyer.
960:Striud : Tempus.
956:Muir, Richard (2008).
722:Singer, Pages 643 - 4.
645:Sturt, George (1963).
387:Merry Wives of Windsor
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197:History of the saw pit
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43:A saw pit in use near
1020:- Charles Holtzapffel
1004:History of Technology
731:Peterson, Pages 84-5.
635:TheFreeDictionary.com
500:Elvet, County Durham.
423:Sites of old saw pits
238:Cornelis Corneliszoon
227:Villard de Honnecourt
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883:Muir, Pages 91 - 92.
779:Mutiny on the Bounty
689:Brixham Museum model
451:improve this article
327:Mutiny on the Bounty
59:is a pit over which
1002:Singer, C et al.,
928:RCAHMS Canmore site
599:forestry plantation
567: /
383:William Shakespeare
366:Llanaeron Home Farm
273:The Royal Dockyards
1060:Timber preparation
713:Paterson, Page 105
571:55.6698°N 4.5666°W
398:Battle of Edgehill
215:Hierapolis sawmill
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1006:II (Oxford 1956).
974:(editor) (1847).
789:978-0-486-47257-7
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757:. p. 2
589:Nettlehirst
574: /
529:Singleton,
415:located in
348:New Zealand
338:Sydney Cove
310:captain of
251:water wheel
108:two-man saw
1034:Categories
610:References
559:55°40′11″N
531:Chichester
377:White coal
340:to settle
334:Botany Bay
242:pitman arm
211:Hierapolis
631:"saw pit"
562:4°34′00″W
312:HMS
291:Australia
987:(1976).
627:"sawpit"
538:Scotland
524:Falmouth
495:Cotehele
463:May 2009
301:Tasmania
223:medieval
219:Sawmills
1050:Logging
936:Sources
522:, near
486:England
336:, then
279:Britain
263:OS maps
247:whipsaw
231:Madeira
120:whipsaw
101:England
69:whipsaw
53:saw pit
995:
964:
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869:20 May
843:20 May
821:21 May
795:21 May
786:
761:20 May
653:
373:Q-pits
342:Sydney
323:mutiny
314:Bounty
255:pitman
213:, the
97:sawyer
83:Sawing
61:timber
57:sawpit
45:Kalomo
18:Sawpit
863:(PDF)
815:(PDF)
755:(PDF)
615:Notes
605:belt.
411:is a
73:pales
1055:Saws
993:ISBN
962:ISBN
947:ISBN
871:2018
845:2018
823:2018
797:2018
784:ISBN
763:2018
651:ISBN
629:and
112:kerf
633:at
453:by
299:in
65:saw
55:or
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