The Sawmill (A Kermit Moment)

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So, everyday on my way to school I pass a sawmill with huge logs laying about out front along with stacks and stacks of cut wood.
I love the smell of the wood for some reason as it’s freshly cut. It has a sweet smell to it as you pass by. I can hear the machinery cutting away in the background, and one day it got the best of me. I wondered up near the entrance of the mill and had to check it out.
I could see in at the 3 guys working and kept my distance just admiring the machinery. I was completely happy here and definitely didn’t want to overstep my bounds. As you can see in the picture above there’s a group of logs sitting close to the entrance of the shop. I was about there when the owner and I made eye contact. I just waved politely to let him know I was just admiring the work. I lost track of time. It was so cool to just watch the process and all the heavy machinery used to get the timber to the saw. I just started to learn the process and it took a while to do it. I would say after about 30 min or so the owner just smiled at me and motioned for me to come closer.

I definitely wasn’t expecting it, like I said I was happy to just be there. But in my head I knew I wanted a closer look and by respecting and appreciating things that people do, while also being legitimately interested in it shows. People can see this in a person and are usually more than willing to share what it is they do with you. I wanted to keep my distance because I wasn’t sure how the owner might have reacted. But he brought me into his shop and things just took off from there. I got to stand closer to the machinery after I asked if it was okay if I just watched. Making sure to stay out of their way and he was more than happy to let me do so.

I got to the mill at around 1pm and didn’t leave until they closed at 5pm. I talked with owner and his son (who speaks English). The owner speaks very little English but with hand gestures and body language we were able to understand. I could tell that he was more than happy to show his trade. I got to see the saw up close as well as the behind the scenes. There is a trap door that opens up and allows you to go downstairs. I would say more than half of the machine that cuts the wood into slabs is down stairs. I didn’t have my camera out at the time but I’ll get pictures.  Beyond a grand tour I had been offered 20 Euro, a drink, and an open invitation to always come back.

 
Here’s how the offer for payment came about. Naturally, in a sawmill there is going to be plenty of sawdust. Sawdust is my expertise lol. Alright so how are you an expert on sawdust…like really…what is that? It all came about when I was younger. My father worked with wood a great deal. This was his biggest hobby by far. While I was too young to really operate any of the machinery I could help make the workplace better. This is something that I started doing on my own, I’m just like my mom and she and I are problem solvers.


Alright you've made it this far...breathe and you can do the rest, I promise.


My father was all about creating sawdust…cleaning it up was an after thought. But this is something that I could do! A vacuum is not inherently dangerous and is easy to operate. So I set about collecting sawdust. I got the right connectors and fittings so we could connect our Shop-Vac up to the various pieces of equipment. Whether it be the bandsaw, lathe, radial arm saw, drill press, planer, or regular circular saw. I was there lol armed and ready to help keep the sawdust out of the air and help my dad out. It was a father son thing really, a way to play with the big boys, a part to play and stuff to play with (machines etc). And I loved it! Dad even made me a sign using one of the plunge routers that says “Tyler Boy the Sawdust Man”

Here’s some Before I swept / made myself useful:
Notice the sawdust where they’re working

Below is sawdust that’s accumulated over time. Down at the pedals (blue) in the first picture. And around the roller (yellow) in the second picture.

After a bit of sweeping:

So maybe, you can see where I’m going with this. If our workshop in our townhouse was something I loved…then a sawmill is like that but on crack. There is sawdust and stuff to clean all over the place! Huge central vacuuming systems and conveyer belts beneath machines to transport massive amounts of sawdust…again I’m heaven.

So, after a while of getting a feel for the shop and process I realized I could be of use here. I found one of the brooms lying around as the machines were turned off at the end of the day, I just started sweeping. I could tell the other guys had plenty of tasks to complete so the next day of operating could get underway. It just felt good to be accepted and allowed to be there again. It was just like being with my father to a certain extent. I can’t quite explain it but I think you might be able to make the connection.

The only  problem was I couldn’t really express my appreciation to the owner. So the next day I decided to have one of my friends at school help me translate a message that I was going to print out and give to Jacob (the owner).
Here it is:

My father used to work with wood. When I was young I help him collect all the sawdust because it was bad for his lungs. He died when I was 13 and before I really got to learn more of the trade. So for me, being here is a real pleasure. I have always loved machinery ever since I was young. So for me this is really cool. I appreciate you allowing me to hang out here. Thank you!

 

Mein Vater hat früher mit Holz gearbeitet. Als ich klein war half ich ihm immer das Sägemehl zu sammeln, weil es schlecht für seine Lungen war. Er starb als ich dreizehn war, bevor ich die Möglichkeit hatte mehr über das Handwerk zu lernen. Also für mich ist es eine schöne Möglichkeit hier zu sein. Ich habe mich schon immer für Maschinen interessiert. Also es bereitet mir wirklich viel spass, dass sie erlauben etwas Zeit hier zu verbringen. Ich weiss es zu schätzen. Vielen Dank.
Eine Freundin hat dies für mich übersetzt, weil ich Ihnen danke sagen will.
English lesson for the day:
Englisschstunde für heute:
Sägemehl = Sawdust
Schleifmaschine =    Planer
Bandsäge = bandsaw

[The English lesson is there because Jacob told me that he wanted to learn more English]
I really wanted to (and did) give this to Jacob. I mean I could see how weird it might have seemed although I knew he could see in me that love for machines and what they do. But a guy just hanging out at the shop, not saying much (because I don’t speak German yet), sweeping the entire shop and thanking the owner to do it, and then not accepting any payment. In my mind I might be thinking okay cool..but what is this kid on lol. He really appreciated the letter and his son did as well. From then on I’ve stopped by several times (even early in the morning because then I got to see the bandsaw in action). I just met these guys on Monday I believe.
[Side note:  It’s a family run sawmill; father (Jacob), son (Mattis), and a third guy. I also met Mattis’s brother Bernie)
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Sawmill in Dornbirn