The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26
II c. Lumber Company Establishment
Il offs Growth and Description 0 Equipment
r, as we'll a. to men whose business

err, as we'll an to men whose business
Is lumber.
The buildings and yards of tho c.
A. Smith Lumber company cover
tract of eighty acres, reaching prin-
cipally north and west Of the saw
mill proper. which is next to the river.
and takes the logs from the pool, at
the end of their long journey down
the Mississippi. shaking" them up by
machinery, and starting them on their
career of usefulness. rs ~ --s.- Sly
Thirty miles of narrow gage tram
ways, quite railway system in them
selves, intersect the yards in every
direction. Lumber is never dumped,
and small crew OF men and horses
keep 1t moving from one stage to an
otner, loaded on great trucks which
bowl smoothly along the level track.
The rough lumber Is piled at safe
distance from the buildings, and only
loaded cars as 1t is called for but
finish lumber and the other products
are carefully housed alongside the
railway tracks. which are a spur from
the main line of the Minneapolis, ST.
Paul & Sault Ste. Marie. over a
thousand trucks of various styles are
in use on the narrow gage system OF
communication between the different
buildings and yards .',.'.r ----
The Snwmill Described. i.
LILO UlS Sd " lillli WhlSli 10 III Y
nucleus Of the whole plant. has a
capacity of 10000 feet Of lumber for
every working hour, and is operated
all season long by two crews. each
working eleven hours, so that the ma
lchinery is only idle two hours OF the
twenty-four. On a gallery above the
is always busy. Hing the saws and
keeping a supply ready for the next
change. The sawmill is a frame build
ing, SO feet by EOS, with 2 stone and
brick engine-house adjoining. 1t Is
equipped with two gang saws, winch
take a huge squared log and run 1t
thru into dozen boards, In less time
than it takes to tell it. The logs are
stabbed" and the extra sizes cut by
three upright band saws and one twin
band saw, which last is the only saw
of the kind in use, so far as known.
The two bands, which can be regu-
! lated so as to run at any desired dlS-
lance from each other, square log
in just two motions. The log Is run
between them on the carriage, and the
two bands slice off slabs on opposite
sides. A half turn is taken in the
log, two more edges are shaved off, and
the log is squared and ready for the
gang saw. There are also two horl-
zontal band saws, which are a decided
novelty in the lumber industry. With
InelF uSlp IIlc llllli ullllHCS oicIOo, "iiiSii
other mills sell for fuel, ripping them
up into small boards, which are much
in demand for boxes and other pur-
poses. '-.. -. g.! .H -. -...
Pumps the City Water.
The steam plant for all the build
ings is adjacent to the. sawmill, and
the mills own refuse, ground up by
three hogs furnishes the fuel for
this plant, together with the saWdust.
This refuse, which is. stacked up out
q side the mill when surplus accumu-
dates, also plays an important part
In the economy of the city of Min
neapolis, = All the water pumped t
the North Side pumping station is
lifted with steam produced by this
refuse from the C. "A. Smith mill. Not
a chip goes to waste, and with this
| remarkably cheap fuel the city saves
a. big coal hill: 1t is not. paid for by
the load but is furnished under a
yearly contract. by which the city
pays the company $6.4O for every mil
lion gallons, of water pumped. The
! company's tramway line runs right
into the pumping stations shed, where
! the sawdust and refuse is, fed into
the long battery Of boilers by an au-
tomato device. AS a substitute for
| steam coal, this fuel saves the city