ROUND PRAIRIE LUMBER CO.
Round Prairie
December 3, 1959: "Recent installation of a gang saw at the Round Prairie Lumber Co. mill southeast of Dillard has increased production there by about 30,000 board feet per shift, according to Ralph Sandstede, secretary-treasurer of the company and plant manager.
Round Prairie mill is owned by a corporation, consisting of Julius Benham, president; Gene Krewson, vice-president; Sandstede and W. O. Kelsay. It has been in operation since 1950. The location is between the old highway and the new Highway 99 Freeway along the railroad track and the South Umpqua Highway just south of Roberts Mountain.
Strictly a stud operation, the mill produced green lumber only until July of 1957. It was changed then to a dry operation with the construction of a dry kiln. Upwards of 20 million board feet of lumber is dried yearly.
The plant used only a circle saw until this fall. The gang mill went into operation Sept.10. Production has been stepped up to about 85,000 feet per shift, on a one shift basis, according to Sandstede. Total of 33 persons, including management and office personnel, are employed.
The mill also has planer facilities. Dry planer shavings, a by product, are sold to farmers for stock bedding.
Round Prairie mill cuts studs of eight-foot length or less, concentration upon the one output and using up-to-date equipment for processing of the lumber. Logs are bucked to an eight foot length, trimmed by the circle saw to size, then routed through the gang saw. The gang saw handles logs up to 28 inches wide and 24 high. The sawn lumber is routed automatically through the edger.
Handling of studs is a machine operation to a large extent. Two men operate an automatic stacker, where usually six or eight men are needed, according to Sandstede. The kiln dried studs are packaged in four-foot square bundles, using metal straps, for convenient shipping.
About four million feet of logs are stored in the mill pond and dry dock. Good weather this fall has made possible logging to a much greater extent than usual, Sandstede said. The supply should last well into the spring.
The mill handles considerable cedar and hemlock, as well as Douglas Fir. Lumber has been clearing well, despite a general softening of the market, which is usual at this time of year, said Sandstede. The big lumber yards usually sell out their stocks in order to show a reduced inventory for tax purposes, which lowers the market." By: Leroy B. Inman, Business News Dept. Editor. (The News-Review)
Round Prairie mill is owned by a corporation, consisting of Julius Benham, president; Gene Krewson, vice-president; Sandstede and W. O. Kelsay. It has been in operation since 1950. The location is between the old highway and the new Highway 99 Freeway along the railroad track and the South Umpqua Highway just south of Roberts Mountain.
Strictly a stud operation, the mill produced green lumber only until July of 1957. It was changed then to a dry operation with the construction of a dry kiln. Upwards of 20 million board feet of lumber is dried yearly.
The plant used only a circle saw until this fall. The gang mill went into operation Sept.10. Production has been stepped up to about 85,000 feet per shift, on a one shift basis, according to Sandstede. Total of 33 persons, including management and office personnel, are employed.
The mill also has planer facilities. Dry planer shavings, a by product, are sold to farmers for stock bedding.
Round Prairie mill cuts studs of eight-foot length or less, concentration upon the one output and using up-to-date equipment for processing of the lumber. Logs are bucked to an eight foot length, trimmed by the circle saw to size, then routed through the gang saw. The gang saw handles logs up to 28 inches wide and 24 high. The sawn lumber is routed automatically through the edger.
Handling of studs is a machine operation to a large extent. Two men operate an automatic stacker, where usually six or eight men are needed, according to Sandstede. The kiln dried studs are packaged in four-foot square bundles, using metal straps, for convenient shipping.
About four million feet of logs are stored in the mill pond and dry dock. Good weather this fall has made possible logging to a much greater extent than usual, Sandstede said. The supply should last well into the spring.
The mill handles considerable cedar and hemlock, as well as Douglas Fir. Lumber has been clearing well, despite a general softening of the market, which is usual at this time of year, said Sandstede. The big lumber yards usually sell out their stocks in order to show a reduced inventory for tax purposes, which lowers the market." By: Leroy B. Inman, Business News Dept. Editor. (The News-Review)