The Sawmill and ear plugs and eye wear

[jason88cubss]

I know back then ear plus was not commonly used and neither was eye protection but I wonder if any of the actors sometimes got nervous working the sawmill

It seemed very loud and they would have pieces flying off I wonder if their was any concern at all?

[Easton]

My father ran a saw mill for many years during the time when The Waltons was in first-run broadcasts. It was a simple operation much like John's mill, run by a tractor and belts. We never used ear nor eye protection and we would be at the mill for hours at a time. For us, a gust of wind was our biggest worry as it could blow sawdust into our eyes, but the mill was set up so that the prevailing winds blew the sawdust away from us.

For the Waltons who worked on or around the saw, they all took adequate safety precautions that we used at our mill, and I suspect the mill was running only as long as the cameras were running, so their exposure would have been minimal and nowhere near enough to cause hearing loss.

[carol]

Aug 7, 2021 12:58:42 GMT -5 Easton said:

My father ran a saw mill for many years during the time when The Waltons was in first-run broadcasts. It was a simple operation much like John's mill, run by a tractor and belts. We never used ear nor eye protection and we would be at the mill for hours at a time. For us, a gust of wind was our biggest worry as it could blow sawdust into our eyes, but the mill was set up so that the prevailing winds blew the sawdust away from us.

For the Waltons who worked on or around the saw, they all took adequate safety precautions that we used at our mill, and I suspect the mill was running only as long as the cameras were running, so their exposure would have been minimal and nowhere near enough to cause hearing loss.

Plus if they wore ear plugs they wouldn't be able to hear each other speak or hear the director telling them what to do.

[Easton]

^ When the show was made in the 70s, eye protection may have been a concern, but I don't think ear protection was a concern until much later, and it certainly wasn't a concern during the depression. That's more of a modern concept that really didn't become a real concern until noise pollution rose to modern-day levels and kids started growing up with hearing damage.

Still, I don't think any of the actors were ever in any real danger of hearing or sight damage working in the mill, and their exposure to the saw would have been minimal.

[dewdroppatron]

Funny, I was just thinking about these things when we watched Season 6's "The Celebration".  I know all along the young actors were helping in the working sawmill, but I sure hope they had safety instruction before every scene.  The funny thing is Ralph Waite always looked at ease working in the mill, or building furniture or chopping wood like he really had been doing that all his life.  The others it was more of a stretch when they had to swing an ax or use a hammer.  Because of that I just imagined that Ralph did wood-working and split firewood long before or even while he was an actor.  Does anyone know whether that is true?

[Easton]

As I posted above, I know my way around carpentry and a saw mill. I know how to use a hammer, various saws, axes, and other such tools.

From my memory,  Richard used an axe and a 2-handed Swede saw, and I believe he and Ben used the mill saw. Jason and Ben used the rip saw. Ben also used a hammer. I don't believe Jim-Bob ever used any other tools except mechanic's tools. John used everything but I don't think Grandpa ever used anything other than a hoe in the garden.

Those who used the mill tools properly except Ben, early in the series, held the hammer too close to the head but held it properly at the end of the handle later in the series.

Richard and even David Huddlestone (A.J. Covington) used the axes properly and chopped correctly.

The only time I saw him use a saw incorrectly was a scene, I believe, with Richard Hatch (Wade Walton). They were using a 2-handed Swede saw, but both used it incorrectly. When using such a saw, you never, ever push. You only pull.

As for the mill saw, that would be the loudest saw, but actually the easiest and safest saw they used. The only 'injury' was John-Boy getting smacked in the head, but that happened when the belt came off the pulley and hit the board which John-Boy was carrying. That is extremely unlikely to happen and would have been stopped long before the belt flew off. There were 3 people there who would have seen the belt wobbling and they would never have continued. It would have been shut down immediately and tightened.

I don't think any of the cast were ever in serious danger as long as they followed the rules, and none of the scenes were longer than a few seconds..

[e knight]

Is it possible that they had some prop logs and boards that cut more easily without fragmenting so much? Maybe the tool didn't have to be too sharp for cutting these?

Mind you, I have no idea if there are such props available.


Just had this horrible vision of John Walton hiring Larry, Moe and Curly and leaving them to cut lumber unsupervised.
Bonk
"Why you --!"
Slash!
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

[Easton]

^ There are a lot of things they could have done. Using soft woods (not softwood) would be one option. Most fir trees (pine, cedar, redwood, etc.) have soft, easy to cut and carve woods. The professional sawyers could also precut the logs to a certain point to make it look like Ralph had cut it himself when taping began for the scene.

With the sawmill being such an important feature throughout the series, I'm sure those who were involved in its usage would have been well-versed in its operation and safety measures.