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David dives into construction of a scratchbuilt sawmill for his Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout expansion. He shares insights gathered from researching the Phillips Bros. steam-powered mill built 1933 in Oak Run, California (https://youtu.be/zAvurSjBVW8). David then shows how he used this knowledge to cobble together a strip wood structure featuring authentic details!
Great job David…I am truly amazed with your dedication to detail and your knowledge of just about everything you talk about. You have inspired me into building another sawmill project w/ steam power and circa 1930’s If I am half as succesful as you have been my fellow club members will be thrilled.Bob Bamford
OOOOOOOOO!
Another source for corrugated metal roofing is Wild West Scale Models Builders who have corrugated paper roofing in N, HO, S and O scale. It is a heavy paper product that looks just like corrugated metal roofing. It is easy to use, you can just cut it to what ever length you need with scissors and glue it down with wood glue. No smelly plastic glue. You can weather it to look rusty. There web site is at, wildwestmodels.com It comes in two widths. I have used it on several building on my layout.
good work with the saw mill David
another mill that uses a steam generator to power the saws is Hall Oaks Lumber in Oregon featured on Taking Care of Business.
Great series, what is the footprint of the sawmill ? I am building a modular logging layout based on the Log Blog in my spare bedroom that is 10 feet by 14 feet by 2 feet deep in an L shape.
Wow !!!!!!! What a model.
The Log Blog is currently my favorite series. Well done! Are you planning to add a ‘wigwam’ saw dust burner to the scene? Many are still in use in sawmill country. Keep up the great work from another On30 guy!
Hello all,
More on the sawmill to come in the July. While I hadn’t planned on it, it’s taken over another whole episode! Since there’s been so much interest, I thought I’d take a moment to answer a few quick questions:
Todd – I’m planning on updating the operating plan in an episode later this fall – probably November.
Donald – From start to finish, the mill has taken about a month – keep in mind that I got to spend nearly a full week working on it here in the shop as part of my regular job while we filmed the two episodes. If I were doing this in my spare time, with just 3-4 hours a week of available modeling time, it could be 4 months or more to complete.
Erik – The Dream Player I installed in an early episode has a sawmill track on it. The green button on the facia activates that track, so anyone switching cars by the mill can push it and get sawmill sounds.
Richard – Shovel guy will have a cart full of sawdust to feed the fire. The Phillips Brothers Mill that I based this one on uses the same thing. They have several carts that they use to haul sawdust from the collection system at the saw to the boiler to shovel into the firebox.
Robert – Yes, piping has now been installed to all steam engines in the mill. I needed to get the belts finished before adding the pipes.
Michael – I tested that idea of pre-bending all the belts. Unfortunately, the vellum was difficult to bend and hold its shape without putting kinks in it, so that’s why I didn’t do it that way. Incidentally, the vellum and the white glue have worked out very well. Although I had to hold things for a bit while it glued, I’ve snagged the belts multiple times working on other parts of the model, and everything has held together well.
Thank you again for all the comments and interest. I’ve had a blast on the project, and I’m actually kind of sorry it’s pretty much complete. Well, maybe not that sorry! 🙂
The next Log Blog will be posted the week of 7/16!
David
David as always great video. I am thinking about building something similar in HOn3. Do you plan to update the operating cards since the layout has expanded and changed?
https://www.facebook.com/genesioarcanjo.arcanjo/videos/1962706037139591/
Short video of two shays at a switch siding
Wow, Really great model. You an expert builder. How long did it take to make the complete sawmill? This would give us average guys what to expect for all MR projects. I would take your time times two or more.
Great Video about what I feel this hobby is all about: building Models! thanks for showing the slow methodical way that modelers go about the task of making a detailed model. I see that you’ve also shown that going about building models is fun! Thanks David!
Great model! I can hear the saw running and smell the saw dust! Are you going to add a sound clip of a sawmill to the layout?
Great modeling work David, looks very realistic, espaecially with the belts running though the building. Just one question, what is that guy with the shovel shoveling? And where is his pile of what he is shoveling? Need some coal in a bin or pile. Thanks
Nice! That sawmill is a gem. You are right – it will be a centerpiece when people see the layout. The mill, the belts, the figures, will all draw people in to stare at it for a while.
David,
I want to compliment you on the extremely well done duplication of the interior of your scratch built saw mill based on the older photographs of the Phillips Brother saw mill.The Phillips Brothers mill is located between Redding and Fall River Mills in Northern California and is still producing lumber to this day. In 2013 I had the opportunity to tour this small mill with a group of small woodland owners from Southern Oregon. Although at the time of our tour the mill wasn’t running due to high fire danger, we were able to see and photograph all of the intricate mill apparatus from the boilers, steam engines, pulleys and belts, head rig, planner mill, machine shop, and the final milling products building which consists of and constructs decorative boxes for wine bottles, specialty beers, books, bird boxes, and other assorted decorative boxes. The machine shop and the milling products building were separate from the breakdown and planner mill and were run by a separate boiler and steam engine complete with pulleys and belts as well, that was amazing in and of itself! Imagine a drill press and lath run by steam power. Also on the property are numerous old caterpillar cats, and a huge steam powered iron three wheeled log skidder that they bring out and run at various times of the year. The company also manages a large number of forested acres within the surround area from which they harvest a certain amount of trees/volume each year to operate the mill and fulfill customer needs.
I know you are trying and doing and an excellent job of depicting that era and that particular type of saw mill which I’m sure you have completed by now, but I have a ton of pictures of the entire Phillips Brothers mill complex, albeit they are in color, should you need them.
Blair Moody
Fellow, Society of American Foresters
You are my favorite “Teacher” David. I am 63 years old and have subscribed to MR since 1973 and, although I am Norwegian and modelling Norwegian Railroads in H0 scale, I always find inspiration in the magazine (now only digital) and on MRV Plus. This Olympia sawmill project has given me the push to finish a scratchbuilt sawmill, based on Norwegian prototypes, using Northeastern scale lumber and a Woodlands mill interior, plus styrene parts. The challenge for a Norwegian Railroadmodeller in Norway is to obtain all the products you are using. Although Woodlands, Evergreen and Norteastern can be obtained from national hobby stores by mail (local hobby stores are scares), products for instance staining and weathering recommended by MRV, has to be ordered on line from USA (with large freight/mailing charges). Keep the good ideas coming.
David, you are quite the craftsman. I marvel at your skills, workmanship and attention to detail… especially the ‘V’ bracing along each vertical to horizontal beams.
Excellent workmanship David, looks fantastic on the layout. Looking forward to seeing more progress updates
Makes me wish I had started in O scale instead of HO. So much easier to make the small parts in O.
Probably the reason mine is taking so long.
I think the blade should have been shiny as it is in use not standing around getting rusty
Thanks again David for a first class video. One of these days …
I presume that you are going to include some form of piping leading from the boiler to the winch machine engine. Other wise, how would it work? Not with a pulley as that would be wasting effort. By the way, make sure the steam pipe is insulated.
Wow!! It looks fantastic! Well done!