Trip to NC

[getoverit]

I had a distant cousin that died on Christmas Day and I made the trip to Sanford, NC to the funeral. While I was there, I met one of my cousins that I hadnt seen for some years and found out that he raises goats (one of my new favorite pass-times) and spent the day with him talking goat talk.

The surprising thing about the visit was finding out that his neighbor has a big circle mill. We went over for a "short" visit (turned into several hours) to see the guy and get to know him. He was out sawing that morning with the temp around 35 degrees, wearing a coat that looked like it was worn completely out about 20 years ago, gloves with most of the fingertips worn completely out and with a hardhat and ear muffs. I watched him sawing some pine for a few minutes before he finished the log and shut the mill down so we could talk.

The mill was made out of an old Frick rail system, and the husk was mostly home made but he thought some of it was made by corley. The setworks were all hydraulic and was made by some company out of North Carolina.  He had an edger along beside the mill that he could kick boards off onto that needed edging. Very little was wasted in his operation and the pieces that were unusable as boards went into his wood furnace to heat his home. He lived alone in an old wood shack he had cut every board for, but it suited him fine. We talked about my Peterson Swing Mill and also about the home made band mill that I bought from Flip. He was really interested in the Peterson and I have invited him to come visit me to see it in operation although I highly doubt that he will ever leave the hills of NC for any reason. He has never seen a hydraulic bandmill and I really didnt think he was able to grasp the idea of how it worked, but he was sincerely interested.

Come to find out, the guy was a licensed electrician and plumber, but got tired of dealing with people and built the sawmill out of scraps and just enjoyed sawing so much that he moved to the country and made a good living out of sawing. His collection of spare parts, pieces, old truck cranes, tractor parts and loads of other stuff made me dream of what could be made out of them. I came to really like the guy in just a short time. The day with him reminded me of the first time I talked to Tom and went to visit him. There is just something about sawmillers that you just cant help but to like them right away.

We talked about wood, sawing, swingmills and bandmills and of course his circle mill. In general, we solved the cheap imported lumber problem as well as a few other world problems. When I left there, it made me realize what it is about sawing wood that is so appealing and why I'm doing this.... It is all about doing something you love to do, even if the money isnt the greatest and the working conditions are hard.

Even though the trip started out on a somber note, it ended up giving me a fresh outlook on what it is I am doing and a reason for doing it.  I'm sure there are a few exceptions to this rule, but for the most part sawmillers are some of the best people on earth.

[scsmith42]

GOI - wish that I'd known that you'd be in the neighborhood... I only live 20 miles from Sanford.  What part of town does your cousin's neighbor live in?

Scott

[getoverit]

I got lost while I was there, but I know he lives on Holder road if that does you any good   His dad (my Uncle) was sheriff of Lee County for 35 years.

[scsmith42]

Was your uncle the sherrif before Billy Bryant was elected?

[scsmith42]

Yup - Holder road is on the south side of town near Lemon Springs.  I've ridden my motorcycle out there and it's really pretty country.  I live about 35 miles north of there, near New Hill.