The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1916-01-27
MILL NEARLY READY
FOR OPERATION
Mill Rebuilt With Modern Ma
chiney-WiIl Employ 25
Men at Start

The McNish sawmill, which was
leased by the Michigan-Ida Lumber
company and has been in process of
reconstruction for several months, is
nearing completion and a test of the
machinery will be made soon. 1t is
expected that the plant will be in
full operation within the next two
weeks
In the reconstruction of the old
mill very little change has been made
in its outward appearance, but the
inside works has undergone a COM
plete transformation. Modern ma
.chinery and labor-saving devices have
been installed. From the time the
endless chain carries the rough log
from the mill pond until it is sawed
up into boards or timbers, edged and
trimmed to standard widths and
lengths, there. is very little of the
old-fashioned handling with peavies
and poles. A touch of a lever here
and another there puts the log on the
saw carriage and as the boards are
cut off they are carried automatically
on endless chains to the sorting
tables in the lumber yard. Even the
old circular saw has disappeared and
in its place is band saw almost as
thin as carpenters hand saw. The
big sawdust piles which were familiar
sights under the old system will be
no more, for carriers will take the
.sawdust and automatically feed the
fires beneath the boilers that furnish
steam to drive the machinery. Be
sides, the band saws do not make
anywhere near 50 much sawdust as
the old circular saw, wasting only
one-eighth of an inch at each cutting
just about enough to satisfy the
hunger of the big furnaces. In brief.
the new mill is very complete and is
the largest in southern Idaho, with
the exception of the Barber mill at
Boise.
The capacity of the mill is $4,000 to |
10000 feet day. twenty-five men
will be employed regularly, beside the
office force.
Very little of the machinery of the
old mill remains. The company, it
will be remembered, purchased the
Prestel mill at Payette about three
years ago. Not long after the plant
was burned. AS most of the ma
chinery as was not damaged was /
brought here and installed, and to
this was added band saw outfit pur-
chased at Baker City. The remodel
ing of the mill has been done under
the superintendency of R. E. Shaw
(Reub the employees call him, and
when the ''hands" call the boss by
his first name it is pretty sure sign
that he is all right. To the two boil
ers of the McNish plant have been
added boiler, cased in brick, from
the Payette mill. With the exception
of the machinery in the saw filing
room, which is turned by electric
power, steam furnishes the motor
power for the entire plant. The ex-
1aust steam is carried through pipes
to the log pond in order to keep the
water from freezing, thus enabling
,he plant to operate the year round.
Fire protection is provided by pow
erful direct action steam pump located !
n the engine room and plentiful
supply of hose. {
A visit to the mill will be interest .
ng to anyone when it gets under full
Roadway. AS stated before, the logs /;
ire carried from the pond up an IN
line by an endless chain. When in
ront of the carriage a device rolls
hem off into a trough, from whence 8
hey are lifted one at a time by a +
nigger head" onto the saw carriage, l
from the saw the boards are carried t
" endless chains to the edger, thence u
o the trimmer and from there to
he sorting tables.
Off to one side of the big saw is the
ling room, where the saws are
happened. This is done by power
rlven emery wheel.
c. H. Dewing of Kalamazoo, Mich,
resident of the company, is expected
ere in few weeks to inspect the
ew mill, and to consider adding man.
featuring departments to the plant
order to use some of the by pro-
uctS.