page_title: Saw pit
section_title: Sawing
hierarchical_section_title: Saw pit / Sawing
caption_attribution_description: A two-man saw.
context_page_description: A saw pit or sawpit is a pit over which lumber is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled saw 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, pales, posts, etc. Many towns, villages and country estates had their own saw pits. The greatest user of sawn timber in past centuries was the shipbuilding industry.
context_section_description: A sawyer is a person who cuts ("saws") wood for a living.  Sawyers were at one time important members of the rural community, because many implements, as well as buildings, were made of wood. In England, the terms used were 'bottom sawyer', for the man standing in the pit, and 'top sawyer', for the man who balanced on the log.
  Together, the sawyers would alternate pulling the two-man saw through the log. If the saw kerf 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. "Kerf" is an Anglo-Saxon word related to our modern day word 'carve'. Two-man saws were designed to cut in both directions and very careful tooth design was necessary to clear 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.
  The two man team would use a two handled saw, called a 'whipsaw', 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.
  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 'William Top-sawyer' to be common currency in country areas.
  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 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".
  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.
  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, the end of the saw being weighted with a stone or some other weight, and then raised and lowered by the sawyer. 
  Views of the Kennox estate saw pit
caption: A small two-handled crosscut saw, not a pit saw which is a rip saw.
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