Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-05-19
THE SAWS BUSY.
The Lawrence, NewhaII & Co. Sash
Factory Rushed With Orders.
A Briet Mention Of the Work Going On In TIE
Busy Place.

Lawrence, Newhall & Co. plant on the
east side of the river. but he sees the
efforts of the company and its en-
ployees TO furnish something to let
light upon the people. by the way of
the windows. The merry buzz of the
saw and the planer is a song that is
sweet to the people in that section of
the city, for it means bread and butter
10 them. 1t means that about $4,000
year is to be distributed among the
90 hands that are employed about tn,
mill This is a business like others
where the experienced hands are worth
far more than the beginners and are
this account some of the experienced
ones make very good pay.
This door. sash and blind factory
manufactures all but the doors and the
blinds. 1t once made these. but times
have changed so that they can buy the
two articles in the West cheaper than
they can manufacture them, 50 they
purchase them for their customers
The sash business is a good one in it
self, though. and it manages to keer
the people about the mill busy TO the
extent Of about 200 window frames and
800 sashes day. The reason why the
sashes in which the windows are set
are 50 much greater in numbers than
the windows themselves, is that the
sashes are sent to Massachusetts in
large quantities, while the windows are
sold more to the Maine trade.
This mill though operated by the
Fairfield concern. is under the superin-
tendence of George II. Bangs of this
city. who has as the manager of the
stock department and as a general
overseer of the plant. his father. Josiah
Bangs, who has been in the sash bust
ness for 80 years, and who. with his
brother Colonel \. S. Bangs of Ban
gor. is the pioneer in the business in
the State. For 81 years they were in
partnership. This mill is the one they
formerly operated prior to the de-
preston of the market in 1898. when
they closed.
The situation Of the mill is all that
could be desired. Ii could not have a
more convenient location from ship
ping point Of view. as a branch track
divides the main mill from the store
house. On this track there is at all
times Il carload or more Of lumber set
ting, for this mill uses in the average
days work 10000 feet of pine lumber
making about two-thirds of carload.
Then they deal largely in flooring and
sheathing with all sorts Of lumber, 50
it makes many carloads a week that
are shipped to this place. In return all
the products Of the factory have TO be
shipped away.
The material comes largely from the
West. and il has to be well-seasoned
BtitS, IIlcuSH llitlt -. VI COui 81. Il lduS
of the products made from spruce
This comes largely from the saw mill OF
the Lawrence, Newhall Company in
Shawmut.
Great planks three and four inches
thick SO into the building and then
they go through the many moulding
machines. These machines have been
improved greatly in the past few
years. One of the old-fashioned ma
chimes is to be seen that moulds one
side at time, and now the 'four-sided
machine" fixes all cour sides of a sash
at once. Different shaped knives are
used ard a piece Of plank that is run
through comes out in the shape for a
sash. for the moulding machine is
really Il plancr that planes four sides
at once, and planes the differ
cnt sides all alike or differently as the
manipula tor wishes. he using any sort
Of q knife desired. There seems 10 be
an innumerable number of these ma
chimes in the factory. and between the
tall piles Of stock one is constantly
running upon a planer, saw or a
moulding machine with some of the
modern Improvements Each man has
his certain part Of the work to do.
One prepares the sides of the frame,
another takes the side and prepares the
place where the weights are to be put
in by the carpenter setting the win
dow. another prepares the places for
the pulleys over which the cords sup
nortinC the weights are TO be. and still
another puts in the grooves where the
different parts fiji. All is done by ma
rhlncgy. 50 there is eXpediency about
everything.
The cheaper Of the frames are put to-
,retber in the way of shook. that is, one
niece Is paced together by mailing them
lightly. this taking UP little space. The
u,irchaser takes the different pieces tia
ava III fired and nails them together.
q, ,bc bcitcT class Of sashes they are
n,ilad together. All sorts have to be
made 70 satisfy the demands from the
circ,,,ar to the rounding tops. IN this de-
,artment is found the turning lathes
.,..a ,ho ,,a 1,Is,crs are made that are