Midwinter calling, day 34

Sawmill

We leave Laxlanda before sunrise, and I'm so looking forward to the days getting longer again, but it's another until the shortest day. Jane laments that such a pathetically short distance is such a problem to travel when you depend on daylight and have horses and a carriage, and living on an island doesn't help. I really really would like to have some ferry connection to the islands, so I might have to design a proper ferry that can take two carriages next summer. With a steam engine and warm cabin. So we talk to my sambos about bridges, ferries and cars, and that with good roads and high beams that make you see 100-200m away, it's no problem to drive through the night at high speed. Midgård even has street lighting along many major roads. It would have taken something like 20-30 minutes to drive the same distance in Midgård, and that journey would have been in a warm, comfortable car. With head lights on the car, we could have driven to Laxlanda before sunrise, checked out everything during the day, and driven home in the evening. Borgarsandr had been less than 2 hours away. Just a car going 50km/h and bridges would have been enough.

Our conversation is interrupted by Hillevi shouting, "Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! Enemy ahead!"

The sawmill has finally been completed enough for the first real test. Sure, they've done simpler tests before and learned how to use the mechanics, but this is the first complete test, and we have a final inspection before starting.

One thing that bothers me is how bothersome the transportation of logs are, but it is as it is, because this is where the water power is, and rafting and floating makes transportation easier. Anyway, three logs have been transported to the sawmill feed ramp, and the water wheel is turning. The pulling hook is placed around the log, and the power to the winch is engaged. The rope is tensioned and the force pulling on the hook force the jaws against the log, and slowly the log is pulled into the sawmill and to the end saw's carriage. Logs are almost always felled with an axe, so the ends are not flat, which is more difficult to fasten and align in the longitudinal saw, and the end saw means that the sawmill can also cut fixed lengths of planks with flat ends. The workers fasten the log with iron hooks, and after a final check that everything is ready, in front of all those present, I pull the lever that engages the saw blade, which starts working up and down. The next lever engages the feed, so when the saw blade returns up, the log is fed one notch forward. The top edge of the saw blade is slightly inclined towards the log, so the lower part of the saw blade starts sawing and the angle causes the blade to work forward as the saw blade moves down. By setting the length of the feed and the angle, different tempos and fineness can be set. It might be unnecessary, but I don't know what is appropriate and different wood might require different settings, so adjustability was a good idea and not that hard to do. The saw blade has teeth directed downwards to keep the force on the log downwards, and an advantage is that most of the sawdust is pushed down in the same place and is easily collected. Sawdust is useful.

The saw blade works its way up and down while the log slowly moves, and it doesn't take long until the end falls off. The carriage with the log is released and rolled backwards and the log is rolled over to the other side. There is an automatic mode where the saw after a certain adjustable distance hits a latch that causes the feed to automatically return, but the system needs to be set against the width of the log in order not to spend unnecessary time where the saw cuts through air, or cuts too short. A large C-like gauge made of wood is used to measure the width of the log and move the automatic latch. We try the automatic system on the second sawing, and it's a small relief to see it work. Simple, but practical. The sawing does not take long, but there will probably be a small special bell that signals that the end saw is complete.

The log is then rolled on wooden rollers over to the carriage of the length saw, where the log is rolled into position on the carriage, and another log can be rolled to the end saw. The length of the length saw carriage is adjusted to the length of the log, and the rulers on the ends are used to align the log for the first sawing. This log is straight, so two iron hooks are hammered into each end to hold the log in place, and two hooks to hold the sawn of piece.

The mechanism of this length saw is basically the same as the end saw, but here the automatic return is more important because several sawings must be made to get several planks from the log. It takes a few minutes until the saw reaches the end and the arm for the automatic return is pushed in. Return is disengaged so the feed and sawing stops and the crowd cheers. This is almost magic to everyone present, but it is magic that is quite simple to see and understand. The return is activated, and the saw carriage returns to its original position at several times higher speed. They release the hooks holding the sawed off piece and remove it, the log is rotated and aligned, and the saw is activated again. This time we let the automatic return be active, and when the saw has finished sawing and returned, the bell chime informing everyone that the length saw is finished. More cheers.

We continue to watch as the workers realign the log and when three sides are sawn, they start making plank after plank. Pedr and the craftsmen are almost teary-eyed when they see how well the planks turn out, and it goes so quickly while we just watch. I'm almost in tears myself, because it's a hell of a relief to have this work. In addition to the speed that speeds up building work and make other designs possible, it gives confidence in my ability to build machines here, and for others to realise the possibility of making machines and why it can be worthy to invest in. It doesn't take long before the log have been converted into some nice planks, as well as four still usable outer planks with bark, and a pile of sawdust in the collection barrel below. It's nice that the quieter mechanism and downward sawing motion make the saw fairly quiet, and there is no swirling sawdust like from a more modern circular saw. Nowhere near as fast either, but this is good enough and fantastically better and with more precision than having two people sawing planks by hand.

The men who led the sawing work and sawed all the planks for the mansion's facade and floors by hand, just shake their heads. They truly understand why they shouldn't start making planks for the Academy and the residential building etc, and they rightly assume that I didn't consider that all the planks would be hand sawed when I designed the buildings. Two of them have done a really good job and have Pedr's trust, so they are offered to be the first sawmill men whose responsibility is to manage this sawmill and saw planks. Both immediately accept, and Sawman Awdgotr's wife Saeunn is already here on the island. They are a young couple and Awdgotr just turned 20 years old, so I let them know that if Awdgotr does a good job, they will be offered permanent residence and a life here on the island, which is a really good future for the couple. The other man, Jofreydr, is a few years older and unmarried, and if he does a good job, he might be offered the job of manager of Laxlanda sawmill. It will definitely make Jofreydr more attractive to the women there, and there are also quite a few people who will pass by. Working at the sawmill will probably be seen as a very good job, and the sawmill manager will gain more prestige.

But this sawmill absolutely works well enough, and since there is more than enough space left and preparations have been made, the multi-blade saw will also be completed. It has the same function as the length saw, but with several saw blades beside each other, so several planks are sawed at the same time and it will make sawing planks even faster. The plan is to try how many parallel saw blades work well, and it will also depend on the desired width of the planks and the width of the log, but I hope that 4-9 blades can be used. Basically the work flow will be the end saw first, then the length saw to give two nice surfaces, followed by the multi-blade saw to make the planks. With the transportation rollers between working as a small buffer, it should be a nice production flow. Most likely, the length saw will get another blade to speed up the sawing, but it depends on the saw time between the saws and where the production bottlenecks are.

Besides completing the multi-blade saw, their job is to saw planks for everything that is built here. Hydro powered transportation bands to get the logs up the hill to the sawmill will be installed, and to make the log transportation easier, the stream to be widened and straightened. The sawmill have made the carpenters dream of the carpentry and those machines. We discuss tools and other things to facilitate the handling of logs, improving the machines, and make the work safer. Jofreydr and Awdgotr gets the help of more men to use the sawmill as efficiently as possible. Many, many planks are needed, especially for the facade and floors of the Academy. The finest oak planks will be put aside for its floor and furniture. Saeunn will sew leather work gloves and leather aprons for them, and they just have to accept that I want them to wear work gloves most of the time. The discussion about the pros and cons compared to splitting logs and making planks that way is rather long, as what is best also depends on how the planks will be used and log deformations and defects. But everyone agrees that this sawmill is fast, efficient and precise. They are thrilled with how precise the planks are, and it will just take a little planing to get them perfect. Pedr smiles, because he knows about my planned wood planer for which there already is a designated place here in the sawmill, and there will be another in the carpentry along with the saws, router and so on.

The mill below the dam has been assembled and they are running in the mill stones, which will go quite quickly. Many are looking forward to the mills completion too, and use of the mill will at least initially be free for residents of my islands. I don't expect outsiders to use the mill, even though there is a ferry. But outsiders will be able to pay a small fee to have something milled. However, there is still a lot of work to do to make the buildings finished, pretty and to get all the details right and in order.

My newly built foot-pumped and belt-driven grindstone is finished, so we walk over to the forge and machine shop. It will feel good to get it installed, and each machine makes my workshop feel more and more finished. This is clearly the simplest of the machines, but it will save time. In addition to the boxes for stone along the feet to make the machine more stable, there is a trough under the grindstone for water, so that the grindstone is kept wet without me having to wet it by hand. I hope it doesn't splatter everywhere, but the leather scraper should keep the surface from being dripping wet and reduce splashing, but I assume I'll be using a leather apron with this just like with the scroll saw and the lathe, and the aprons have pockets.

Lighter metalwork is already done in the forge, and the power hammer and so on is not something an ordinary blacksmith needs. There are many machines I want to build for the machine shop, but some are more prioritized, partly because they are easier to make, and can make parts for other machines. Besides proper bearings, I really need iron bolts with nuts and shims. Making them one by one on a lathe doesn't feel sustainable. In the beginning, the requirements are not that high, and neither is the need for different sizes. M12 bolts will be enough for a while, but I really want to mass produce M20, M8 and M6 in the future. Hopefully there will eventually be other both larger and smaller bolts and screws, and in a few different lengths and with different heads. But smaller and special ones can be made on a lathe.

So as the sawmen enjoy themselves in the sawmill, I talk with Pedr and the craftsmen about building a small production line with an eccentric press and putting it next to the fireplace in the machine shop. To mass produce something, some kind of press with replaceable tools is a very good idea, which is the reason for the ordered parts from Digraldi. I can even save work and costs by making special inserts to fit in a large multi use tool. A clear advantage with an eccentric press is that it is possible to set both the stroke length and the depth very precisely, so making something that punches in an engraving is not a huge problem beside making that engraving stamp, and it can both shape metal or cut metal off. The smaller the stroke, the greater the force, although the size of the press and the energy of the flywheel limit the size of work that can be done. But making a tool that punches out a simpler belt buckle or similar can be done in several steps with inserts, or in one dedicated tool. Holes are punched out, edges are bent and the finished buckle is cut off, possibly with a simpler decorative pattern pressed in. Feeding material forwards spits out the finished buckle.

It will be a lot of work to finish the parts, create good sliding surfaces and get everything ready for use. I know they can since they make sword blades have a mirror surface. The biggest design problem has been the flywheel engagement and disengagement, but the machine operator still has to have his hands away from the press tool so a large foot pedal will be used so the operator's body weight is used for that. Of course it will be like taking a step up a low step and hardly optimal, but it should work if I got my force calculations and lever lengths right. For safety reasons, there will be splinter protection and the dangerous parts will be on the back against the machine shops reinforced outer wall. Due to the force of the belt drive and slippage, there are two speed modes. One to start in and one to get higher revs after starting. But the flywheel won't have particularly high rev or huge power, which limits the press capacity. I want it done, but this work will not be started today because the sawmill is a priority.

The mercury thermometer project still haven't been finished, but the tubes are still intact with no cracks or issues, so we make protective housings for them in brass shaped with a V-shaped back and folded edges at the front so that a protective front glass can be slid down. Attachment holes are made at the top and bottom, plus small protective ends, so after that the only thing missing is the scale to complete the thermometer.

We use the cold outside temperature and hot water to calibrate and match the scale to my small hiking thermometer, and I calculate the colder and warmer measurements outside that scale, adapted to each tubes data sheet. These thermometers will cover about -30C to +70C, which is quite overkill for an outdoor thermometer in this region, but the thermometers have the range they have after they've been sealed, and overkill is a better safety margin. After we mark the points on the brass and take the thermometers apart, we carefully engrave the scale as accurately as we can. It's hard to engrave round shapes so the zeros is six lines, and make every fifth degree line longer to make the scale easier to read. Finally we use black paint to make the engravings and scale easier to see.

Since the guards and maids will be reading the thermometers, the staff is gathered in the staff room and with fetched hot water, cold water and just before boiling water, I use the indoor thermometer to explain how a thermometer works and how to read it. So this is yet another reason why reading scales and numbers are useful. The best thermometer is hung as an indoor thermometer in the wings corridor outside my workshop. No heat source or cold close by, easy to see, and easy to show guests etc.

Hrappr fetch the ladder as the bracket for the second thermometer is mounted outside the second floor window on the northeast side above the entrance room, so that the thermometer will be in the shade year round, and it is readable from the inside after opening the inner window. Moving the inner window closer to the outer window have not been made on all windows yet, and these are not prioritised windows. It is a bit awkward, but it is possible to reach out an arm and unhook the thermometer. I show how I hang the thermometer out by hooking it at the top and locking it with a 90 degree twist of the bottom knob. There is a safety cord attached so it might survive an accident instead of falling 4.5m down onto the stone patio, and the safety cord will also prevent the thermometer from falling if something happens to the mount.

It feels almost ridiculously good to have made a technically advanced measuring instrument that is not electrical. I will make more accurate thermometers that is better placed to start collecting weather data, but this is good enough for practical use, and collecting accurate weather data is not important right now. These thermometers are prototypes and didn't use the finest glass tubes. I would like to make a max-min thermometer but it will be difficult to make small and accurate iron markers that will fit in the tube with just the right amount of resistance, not to mention actually bending that tube in a U shape.

The days are getting shorter and it has already been frustrating when we get home when it's dark, so we install an oil lantern in one of the kitchen windows since they face the courtyard. The main purpose is to give some light on the courtyard and porch, so the lantern have a small reflector and is attached to an arm so it can be moved out of the way or redirected to give more light in the kitchen. It works well enough, and looks quite good. This oil lantern is the only one that the guards will keep lit throughout the night, as it both illuminates a bit of the courtyard and makes it easier for the maids to light other oil lanterns and the kitchen fires in the morning. The guards can see there is reflected light from their day room window, and a nice bonus is that as long as the kitchen door is open at night, there will be more light in the corridor during the night. Sure we have some electric light there, but it's not much, and we can't have the electric light on if there are guests here. Although then we will have more lanterns illuminated through the night as well.