Sawyer (occupation)

Sawyer is an occupational term referring to someone who saws wood, particularly using a pitsaw^[1] either in a saw pit or with the log on trestles above ground or operates a sawmill. One such job is the occupation of someone who cuts lumber to length for the consumer market, a task now often done by end users or at lumber and home improvement stores.^[2]

Sawyers in Japan, circa 1800. Nishiki-e print after Katsushika Hokusai.

The term is still widely used in the logging industry to refer to the operator of a chainsaw (or still in some limited applications, a crosscut saw) for harvesting, wildfire suppression, trail construction and related work. In the construction industry, the term is applied to the operator of a concrete saw.

See also

• Hewing
• Wood splitting

References

1. "Sawyer" def. 1 formerly "Sawer" def. 1. Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition.
2. 20 Jobs That Have Disappeared, By Miranda Marquit, Main Street, thestreet.com, May 3, 2010.