Saw pit
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A saw pit or sawpit is a pit over which timber is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled saw, usually a whipsaw, by two people, one standing above the timber and the other below. It was used f
A saw pit in use near Kalomo, Zambia, in 2007
Large logs would usually be hauled to the site by horses.
The main surviving retaining wall of the pit with the collapsed wall in the foreground
Looking along the pit towards the Glazert Water
Whipsaw
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A whipsaw or pitsaw was originally a type of saw used in a saw pit, and consisted of a narrow blade held rigid by a frame and called a frame saw or sash saw. This evolved into a straight, stiff blade
Saw pit
…A saw pit or sawpit is a pit over which timber is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled saw, usually a whipsaw, by two people, one standing above the timber and the other below. It was used for producing sawn planks from tree trunks, which could then be cut down…
'The Sawpit' by Luke Clennell
Whipsawing for boatbuilding in Alaska, late 19th century
Woodcut showing work above a saw pit
Pitsaw being sharpened