A sawyer is a person who cuts wood for a job. Sawyers were at one time important members of the rural community, because many implements, as well as buildings, were made of wood. In England, the terms used were 'bottom sawyer', for the man standing in the pit, and 'top sawyer', for the man who balanced on the log.
Together, the sawyers would alternate pulling the two-man saw through the log. If the saw kerfbegins closing, it can cause the saw to bind and increase friction. Wedges, most often made of convenient bits of wood, could be inserted in order to keep the kerf open and reduce the friction. Kerf is an Anglo-Saxon word related to our modern day word 'carve'. Two-man saws were designed to cut in both directions and very careful tooth design was necessary to clear the sawdust during the cut. The sawdust accumulated to the extent that it had to be 'dug out' and removed in a bucket. Oak dust could be burned and used in the curing of bacon.
The two man team would use a two handled saw, called a 'whipsaw', with 'saddleblocks' or 'dogs' to hold the log in position horizontally. Sawing was a slow and exhausting process, requiring strong men with great stamina. The topsawyer had to be especially strong because the saw was pulled in turn by each man, and the lower had the advantage of gravity. The topsawyer also had the important task of guiding the saw so that the board was of even thickness. This was often done by following a chalkline. Is some cases the box handle on one end of the saw could be removed so the saw could be pulled free when the sawyers needed to move the timber to a new position.
The top-sawyer's work had to be very accurate, for as stated it was he who kept a careful balance on the log and guided the long saw, kept the cuts straight or curved as required and estimated the width of the planks. He was the man in charge of the operation, and it wasn't uncommon for nicknames such as 'Williams Top-sawyer' to be common currency in country areas. Great pride was taken in the finished article and the anticipation of the end result tended eased the severity of the labour required.
Shipbuilding was a major user of saw pits, often naval, where the planks of wood were sawn for the construction of all classes of vessels. The logs of wood to be sawn were placed over a pit on planks of wood called "dogs" in naval jargon. The senior sawsman stood on top of the plank and the junior had to go into the pit, often partially filled with water, with sawdust constantly 'raining down' and also he stood in sawdust as a result. One disputed theory of the origin of the terms 'top dog' and 'underdog' is that they come from saw pit work practices; however, dog fighting is quoted as a far more likely source, backed up by some documentary evidence. Cutting from underneath a suspended log is sometimes called "underbucking."
Water-driven power sawing could saw up to 200 boards a day compared to the 12 or so a day by two men in a saw pit. Ten foot logs were sometimes sawn into boards except for about the last two inches, in this way the boards could be more easily handled; when required the boards could be separated by cutting off the end of the log.
A saw pit could if circumstances demanded, be worked by a single person, the end of the saw being weighted with a stone or such-like and then raised and lowered by the sawyer.
