Lumber mill operation

A lumber mill is the place where the raw lumber from trees is sawed into boards of different dimensions to be used in the construction industry. In a lumber mill, there is specialized machinery used for sawing the lumber. Before the lumber leaves a lumber mill it has to be graded according to its quality.

Texas Lumber Mills

Texas is associated with oil, so it comes as surprise to hear of Texas lumber mills. However, Texas lumber mills have been in operation since the early nineteenth century. The lumber industry in Texas continues to be important to the economy of the state, although the status of Texas lumber mills is far below what it once was. In contrast Ohio lumber mills continue to rank in importance in the economy of that state. For example, the Ohio Valley Lumber company is one of the largest mills in the US. It produces a huge lumber volume with accuracy seen in very few sawmills. Many Ohio lumber mills have a very high reputation of the production of lumber with an excellent quality.

What happens in a lumber mill

When the logs first enter a lumber mill they are sprayed with water to remove any material that could dull the sharp blades of the saws. Some lumber mills actually remove the bark before sawing. The logs are rolled to a large saw, a band saw in larger lumber mills, through which they are carried back and forth until they have been sawed into boards. Different saws are used for the different sizes of the boards. The lumber is then graded according to its quality and classified as either hardwood or softwood. All the boards are dried in a special oven, called a kiln. Then they are stacked and sorted according to size in preparation for sale.

The lumber is sold to various lumber companies and through the lumber mill’s own network of stores. Customers can bring their own logs to lumber mills to be sawed and can often purchase their lumber directly from the lumber mill.