The Historic Amador Sawmill
The Historic Amador Sawmill is located at the Amador County
Fairgrounds, in Plymouth, CA. The sawmill is operated by the
volunteer members of the ASMA
during the County Fair, for special shows and events, and also to cut
authentic old-time sawn lumber for renovation, preservation and
restoration purposes at many historic sites. The antique look of the
resulting lumber is also popular with home and furniture builders. Here is a video of the
sawmill in action:
If you are interested in purchasing old-time milled lumber for your next project, contact the ASMA office for more information.
1904 Nordberg Steam Engine
The video above shows the large and intricate Nordberg Steam Engine in action, carefully watched by the Engineer and his assistant. The engine is powered by an upright Steam Boiler, and drives a large belt which powers the sawmill blade and the carriage that holds the log or lumber to be further cut. The Sawyer has control of the blade and carriage and makes the important decisions about where to start the cut. More about...
Steam Boiler
In the video shown above, you'll see the great upright Steam Boiler. This boiler is fired by cut stove wood and usually has two to three firemen that watch the steam guages carefully to stay within safety limits, while cutting and hauling wood to add to the firebox when the steam pressure drops. More about...
Smith & Sayer Steam Engine
The smaller Smith & Sayer bottle type steam engine shown in the video powers another belt which runs a sawdust conveyor belt from beneath the saw pit to a bin on the outside. As the saw cuts, the sawdust drops to the belt and is taken out of the pit. This is an important function that prevents sawdust from building up and clogging the sawblade. More about...
Saw & Carriage
As the sawmill is being driven by the Nordberg Steam Engine, the Sawyer has control of the blade and carriage and makes the important decisions about where to start the cut. He also must listen carefully to the sound of the engine to make sure he is not slowing down the engine too much as the saw cuts. More about...