Sawyer or Sawmiller: What’s the Difference?
Although the two terms are very similar, they have a slightly different meaning. Whilst a sawyer uses hand-held tools, a sawmiller uses machinery. Let’s examine both occupations more closely.
What Was a Sawyer?
As the name implies, a sawyer would saw timber into shapes, typically using a hand-held saw. At times, the term “sawyer” also referred to those who cut stone. See below an artwork depicting a 19th century sawyer at work:
As one can imagine, sawing was hard work and required great patience. Sawdust was a real hazard. And accidents could lead to serious injuries. Interestingly though, at times a sawyer might find strange objects hidden inside logs. For example, if a farmer many years prior had left a horseshoe on a young tree branch, over the years the branch’s growth could cover the horseshoe, hiding it inside the wood. Nowadays sawmills use metal detectors!
What Was a Sawmiller?
A sawmill is a factory where wood is cut into shapes using machines. The circular saw began to be used for this purpose circa 1790. Workers at a sawmill are known as sawmillers.
As machines are typically more efficient than hand-held tools, sawmills were a major threat to the jobs of sawyers. Riots resulted in more than one sawmill being destroyed. But nonetheless, sawmills are still being used today.
Sawyer or Sawmiller?
A sawyer cuts wood (or other materials) using hand-held tools.
A sawmiller works at a sawmill, a factory where machines do much of the work.
Bibliography:
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2013). Sawmill | machine or plant. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/technology/sawmill
Nanny Jan (n.d.). what is a sawyer. [online] Available at: https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=206028.0 [Accessed 16 Feb. 2023].
WoodchuckCanuck.com. (2018). History of Saw Milling. [online] Available at: https://woodchuckcanuck.com/history-of-saw-milling/
woodweb.com. (2000). Strange stories from the sawmill. [online] Available at: https://woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Strange_stories_from_the_sawmill.html [Accessed 16 Feb. 2023].
