At Work With a Crosscut – Nine Mile, Potter County

Two men work together with a crosscut saw, removing a trunk section of a peeled hemlock tree that broke when it fell across another tree already down. A break like this was undesirable, for sawmills could not create boards from the tree unless the damage was removed. Loggers prided themselves in dropping a tree without such a mistake, but the occasional accident still occurred. When sawyers worked together with a crosscut saw, the technique was to pull only; never push. Timing was essential and sawyers soon adjusted to one another’s rhythm if they were to keep working together. Image is near PA Lumber Museum along Route 6.