Feature
Great Tip For Lasting Blades
Founded in 1943, Lancashire Saw Company is one of the oldest-established and largest manufacturers of band saw blades in Europe as well as one of the leading saw service companies in the UK.
Operating from Imperial Mill in Blackburn, Lancashire—a vast former cotton spinning mill built around 1900 and now a listed building whose twin towers are a local landmark—the company also supplies circular saw blades and tooling of all types as well as selling sawmilling and woodworking machinery.
New Name New Line by Rich Donnell
A lot has changed recently at North Florida Lumber here. To begin with, it’s not called North Florida Lumber anymore. Say hello to Rex Lumber-Bristol.
If that sounds familiar, it should. The company’s sawmill in Graceville, Fla. has always been called Rex Lumber. Now it’s officially called Rex Lumber-Graceville.
Machinery Row
Equipment & Supplier News
Williams and White Machine Inc., a third generation family saw filing business established over 53 years ago in British Columbia and now known for its quality saw filing equipment around the world, has expanded its manufacturing lines with new CNC milling machinery and software systems at its 15,000 sq. ft. factory.
Additions include a 5 axis CNC controlled horizontal boring mill; a Hass CNC lathe with 10.8 in. through bore; and installation of state-of-the-art ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software, facilitating trackability, faster ordering of parts and better after sales support and service.
News Feed
Hard News In The Making
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski announced a $4.89 million federally funded economic recovery grant from Business Oregon to Ochoco Lumber Co. of John Day, Ore. for the construction of a wood pellet fuel facility.
The grant was made possible by the U.S. Forest Service and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act).
Opening Faces
JOSEY LUMBER PASSES 25-YEAR MARK by Rich Donnell
When Josey Lumber Company owner, C.K. (Joey) Josey, purchased several containers that housed a mothballed sawmill back in the early 1980s, he had no idea that he would be sitting in his current position, the owner of one of North Carolina’s top oak lumber producing sawmills.
“Walt Disney doesn’t have that much imagination,” states Josey as he shakes his head back and forth. “I had no idea we would be this successful.”
Product Scanner 10
New Generation Solar Kilns
Solar Dryers Australia is a designer/ manufacturer of a range of Solar Hybrid timber kilns. Since 1997 it has built kilns around Australia and the Pacific, ranging in sizes from 4,000 m3 to 40,000 BF. Many of these have been supplied as repeat orders to several major producers in eastern Australia. A recently appointed distributor in Africa saw the first kiln installed in Pretoria, and two kilns are operating in Hawaii.
Apart from the large savings in heating costs, these kilns have proven to be extremely reliable and simple to operate. With absolute climate control, the drying quality is excellent, even in the notoriously difficult Australian Eucalypts. Because of the auxiliary heating system, the rate of drying is the same as conventional kilns.
The Issues
ONE-TWO-THREE: KISS OFF, 2009! by Rich Donnell
It was going downhill fast coming into 2009, and as I write this toward the end of 2009, about all I can say is that the rocky snowball seems to have settled at the bottom.
The year began with bad news as long-time friend and engineer Dan Rowley passed away in January in Portland, Ore. Then another long-time friend and sawmill maintenance consultant Stewart Kincaid died in February in Camden, SC while working on the road.