Restored 1912 Sawmill Measures 52 Ft. Long
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James Queen, Metamora, Mich., recently restored a 1912 Reeves 52-ft. long sawmill equipped with a giant 52-in. dia. blade. It sets inside a long, open-front shed he built using lumber cut by the same mill. He uses it to make specialty lumber for local customers, who often want lumber dimensions not available from other mills.
“I use it to saw walnut, pine, oak and cherry logs up to 24 in. in dia. and 28 ft. long. I’ve made beams for everything from timber framing to fireplace mantles,” says Queen.
The mill came with a 52-ft. wooden track frame and a center-mounted blade. A wooden carriage rode back and forth to deliver logs to the blade. “The blade was originally driven by a giant belt and pulley system, which was probably powered by a water wheel or by steam,” says Queen.
He removed the belts and pulleys and made a pto adapter, which lets him use his IH 756 diesel tractor to drive the blade. “The blade is hammered in a saucer shape and straightens out at 540 rpm’s, which is my tractor’s peak pto rpm speed,” explains Queen.
The wooden track had rotted out, so he built a new steel track and a new steel carriage. The original carriage and husk frame came with lead babbitt bearings, which he replaced with pillow block bearings.
To feed wood to the carriage, he used big logs to construct an 8-ft. wide, 3-ft. high wooden “bunk” located outside at one end of the shed. The sawed lumber is stacked on a wagon parked at the other end of the shed.
It took Queen 8 mos. to bring the mill back to working condition.
“It was quite a project but it turned out great,” says Queen. “I use a loader tractor to set logs on the bunk and then roll them by hand onto the carriage. It carries the log to the blade using a drum/pulley and cable system. I also built a blower to remove sawdust from the shed. The bunk is held together with wooden pegs, which lets me scan the logs with a metal detector for any metal objects.”
He says the 52-in. dia. blade can be quite intimidating. “Some people who see the blade spinning around for the first time get a little nervous. However, it’s very accurate.”
According to Queen, Reeves started building sawmills in 1879 and went out of business in 1912. “I bought the mill from a farmer who had bought it at an auction and put it on a trailer. He kept it for 21 years intending to restore it, but never did. I found the mill setting on the trailer in a corn field. The trailer had disintegrated so much that at first I didn’t even know it was there.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, James Queen, 2752 E. Dryden Rd., P.O. Box 68, Metamora, Mich. 48455 (ph 248 758-8739; jimnpat2@gmail.com).
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Restored 1912 Sawmill Measures 52 Ft Long WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous James Queen Metamora Mich recently restored a 1912 Reeves 52-ft long sawmill equipped with a giant 52-in dia blade It sets inside a long open-front shed he built using lumber cut by the same mill He uses it to make specialty lumber for local customers who often want lumber dimensions not available from other mills “I use it to saw walnut pine oak and cherry logs up to 24 in in dia and 28 ft long I’ve made beams for everything from timber framing to fireplace mantles ” says Queen The mill came with a 52-ft wooden track frame and a center-mounted blade A wooden carriage rode back and forth to deliver logs to the blade “The blade was originally driven by a giant belt and pulley system which was probably powered by a water wheel or by steam ” says Queen He removed the belts and pulleys and made a pto adapter which lets him use his IH 756 diesel tractor to drive the blade “The blade is hammered in a saucer shape and straightens out at 540 rpm’s which is my tractor’s peak pto rpm speed ” explains Queen The wooden track had rotted out so he built a new steel track and a new steel carriage The original carriage and husk frame came with lead babbitt bearings which he replaced with pillow block bearings To feed wood to the carriage he used big logs to construct an 8-ft wide 3-ft high wooden “bunk” located outside at one end of the shed The sawed lumber is stacked on a wagon parked at the other end of the shed It took Queen 8 mos to bring the mill back to working condition “It was quite a project but it turned out great ” says Queen “I use a loader tractor to set logs on the bunk and then roll them by hand onto the carriage It carries the log to the blade using a drum/pulley and cable system I also built a blower to remove sawdust from the shed The bunk is held together with wooden pegs which lets me scan the logs with a metal detector for any metal objects ” He says the 52-in dia blade can be quite intimidating “Some people who see the blade spinning around for the first time get a little nervous However it’s very accurate ” According to Queen Reeves started building sawmills in 1879 and went out of business in 1912 “I bought the mill from a farmer who had bought it at an auction and put it on a trailer He kept it for 21 years intending to restore it but never did I found the mill setting on the trailer in a corn field The trailer had disintegrated so much that at first I didn’t even know it was there ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup James Queen 2752 E Dryden Rd P O Box 68 Metamora Mich 48455 ph 248 758-8739; jimnpat2@gmail com
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