The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1880-10-15
MUIR's CITY STEAM MILLS.

MONROE IS IUO SISt1u1 l1AA1 VI ~e~s"'S.
mills, owned by Mr.. J. r.. Muir, for
merly the property Of the late Major
Bry and Mr.. Muir in partnership.
The mills are situated on the river
bank just inside the lower city limits,
and consist of both saw and grist mills,
planning, molding and other machines.
The power is furnished by single
boiler in sufficient quantity for TO-
horse engine running at full speed and
also a smaller engine used only Tor
grinding. The furnace has both a
front and side opening, and readily
burns sawdust fresh from the log, with
slabs mixed about half and half. The
power is applied by band directly
from the large band wheel of the engine
to the saw mandrel and by running
gear to the log carriage which goes
forward or backward, whenever the
limit fixed is attained, without any
manipulation by the sawyer. Logs to
the length of so feet and in diameter
feet can be sawed by the saws, of which
there are two, a large and a small one,
the latter running above the former.
The sawed timber is carried to the
front, transferred to small cars and
then drawn by single horse to any
part of tho large yard along the 500
feet of tramway laid over the yard. 1t
is there stacked for seasoning and to
await orders, when orders are not
awaiting the lumber, which is now
the case and has been for some time
past.
Twenty-Five hands are employed, at
various wages, as milf men, te;lnlsters,
&C., and at times, when the mill runs
night and day, the force is doubled,
the capacity of the saw is $1,000 feet in
ten hours. Two teams, and often three
are kept running daily, delivering lum-
Der. The logs, of which there is now
Il large supply of both pine and cy-
press, are drawn by the engine up an
incline from the river, whence, also,
the water is pumped to supply the
| boiler. The knottiest and ugliest log,
being speedily placed on the carriage
from the incline landing by "the mig
! ger" is rapidly transformed into
square timber, then into boards and in
a few minutes is stacked on the yard or
on the way up Grand street to the
| builder, and probably i'm ten minutes
building, the whole process not occu-
plying over 80 minutes. And yet the
rapidity with which the saving is done
does not, as might be thought, cause
any warbling, Or any appreciable diff
ference in the thickness or width of
the plank, which are turned out free
of the unsightly and troublesome
marks often left by the teeth of circu-
lar saws.
On the ground with the saw is the
grist mill and engine, not at present
running for lack of grIst, and also the
gearing and drag-saw for saving logs
into blocks suitable for shingles, of
which Mr.. Muir supplies a large guam
tity for this city and to fill orders
along the railroad. There is also a
ing flooring and ceiling located on the
ground floor, and used whenever re-
quired.
Overhead is number of machines,
all driven by shafting connected with
the main engine and which may be
run ut the same time with the saw.
These machines embrace one planning,
one tcnoning, one mortising, one moul-
ding machine also, 4 scroll saw and IL
rip saw, with some other arrange
ments "thc hang' of which we failed
to get, all of which are useful and used
as occasion may require. The capacity
of the two planners is about 5000 feet
per day each. The other machines are
used mainly in manufacturing sash,
doors, blinds, moulding, &c.
In the matter of conVenienccs, be-
sides "the nigger," the mill is supplied
with derrick for unloading the cars
and elevating heavy timbers upon
wagons, two hands being sufficient to
make the transfer with greater ease
than six in the ordinary way of lifting
by hand. A large emery wheel, in a
substantial frame resting on tho