Water mill in Lunenburg County, NS

Ivan Corkum is a third generation operator of the family lumber mill in Lunenburg County, NS. The water-powered sawmill was built around 1913 by Ivan's grandfather. Once common in Nova Scotia, operational water-powered mills are now rare. Except for the turbine and key iron parts, these mills were hand-built of local lumber.

[@dadsvespa]

It am still amazed at how powerful flowing water really is. All that equipment is run simply by flowing or falling water. No air pollution. No water pollution. No insane noise pollution. Love everything about it.

[@gilleslebrun7779]

This old mill is actually high tech, it harnesses Earth’s gravity as a non-polluting source of power; beats fancy modern rigs any day since it is powered by clean, renewable and free energy; a despicable concept in the eyes of « the system ».

[@dadsvespa]

@@gilleslebrun7779 Oh yes ! The oil industry wants them to pay a monthly bill TO THEM, for the gas or diesel or electricity ! They can get "Fracked" ! lol.

[@curtistucker8059]

That sawmill should be preserved by a historical society, lots of people would be interested in learning how it used to be done

[@zimmor2626]

My respect to the sawman! He is a bit older and has problems with walking. But he knows the machine and moves the trees like a young man. In front of him I pull my hat. Thanks for the video and many greetings from Germany.

[@davidoickle1778]

Zimmor The man who feeds the saw (operates the carriage) is called a "SAWYER." In sawmill terms, "He's 'the man'." The boss.

[@zimmor2626]

@@davidoickle1778 Thanks for the hint. I do not speak English, so the wrong word. In German language he would be called Saegemeister. (Sawmaster? Or Master of the Saw?) That would be more or less true because it honors his achievement. Greetings to you, somewhere in the world from Ger.

[@youtubertoo]

Zimmor great observations and well said!

[@alexpantchev8418]

My respect for the sawmill man. I am from Bulgaria,my people back in 1950 had sawmill like this bit the communist people disassemble it and made sure does not exist no more around village. I have been dreaming to see a sawmill like that and eventually build one in the mountain of Pirin in Bulgaria.

[@1943L]

Pleased to see a team of knowledgeable people operating an old mill. So important that we keep this on record, it may not be passed on to the next generation.

[@tuco07]

The engineering behind this is amazing, and God bless those workers

[@petternorberg4765]

Thanks for showing, local timber prosessed on a local mill powered with (ever) running water. Can't possibly be more enviromentally right. The fact that these old masters knows how to run it brings back good childhood memories

[@gyrogearloose1345]

Hats off to Mr Corkum and the crew. Stay safe guys!

[@andrewu2480]

This is fantastic! Human ingenuity to harness the power of water for mechanical applications is so inspiring.

[@komitadjie]

Man, I'll bet that place smells *great* when it's rolling. All that pine, water, and old iron? That's gonna be a really good smell. Seriously cool video, guys!

[@Fernando98850]

Smells like good old times...Tks!

[@jasonsummit1885]

Probably smells like how my grandparent's woodshed did when they were still alive. I split and ricked quite a few cords of wood in there by hand with a nice sharp axe.👍

[@HWPcville]

Smelled like money to the sawmill owner...lol

[@joranasher550]

And all that bitchmade aka you

[@comsigninc]

A wonderful piece of history that needs to be preserved.

[@johntrevy1]

The technology needs to be revived, especially now.

[@CuriousEarthMan]

i could virtually smell that pine just like I could when I was younger and we were sawing. I got real calm all of a sudden. I miss those days.thanks for the great video! And when the sawyer first pulls the carriage back, it makes a tiny squeal or little chirp. there's no other sound like that I've ever heard.

[@romandybala]

Talk about muscle memory. The man could do that work blindfolded. Amazing work and thankyou fopr the video

[@jiminycricket2230]

What a treat to see!! Thank you for the great video. This really is amazing how they were able to harness the power of moving water. That blade showed no sign of struggle to cut that pine. It must cost just peanuts to run. So efficient and cheap!!

[@budspaulding7121]

What a wonderful video. I was lucky enough to have a father that made sure I saw the shipyards in Lunenburg. Wooden ships carved out by hand. God Bless

[@danconlin3456]

A great video. I learned more about how a traditional water powered mill works watching this than I have in reading a half dozen books. Congrats to Mr. Corkum for preserving and sharing his knowledge and wonderful mill. Appreciate the nicely paced video.

[@peterhansen2444]

I grew up in a sawmill i Denmark in the -50's - 60's , Although our saws were electrically powered, the saws and other machines in this old water-powered sawmill are much more advanced than ours.

[@Fiberglasser03]

That dude has forgot more then most of us could ever hope to learn.

[@candace3676]

Wow, this is amazing! As a daughter of a logger, wife to a head saw filer, now retired, I enjoyed this. Thank you for the effort to share!

[@tuggaworsley4281]

Could watch this for hours in finest detail . . Greetings from Australia & thankyou . .

[@maxhole2]

Amazing to watch! Thank you for sharing the history. Sawyer looks like he could operate that mill with his eyes closed.

[@shimon6689]

AMAZING WOODWORKER. Thanks! This place should be kept working as a live museum for human invention capability and humanity legacy.

[@lailamckinney9810]

I love visiting old mills. Old Americana rich history has always intrigued me. Thank you

[@fawadumair2791]

old mills are amazing

[@carlp5348]

If I can turn back time and think the way these men thought back in the day I would have low blood pressure and a life that only few could ever wish for

[@peaceraybob]

Ah, maybe not, given that large numbers of people starving to death and lynching of people who went to a different church than you were also just the way things were when this mill was built. A broken bone or gash was often a literal death sentence, not solely due to infection but also through not being employable for longer than whatever savings you may have lasted.

[@austinwagoncompany]

This was very interesting, thank you for putting this on KZbin for us to enjoy.

[@bewlaybros]

I Love this, thank You so much for keeping this lumber mill alive.

[@4440pvc]

I'm just old enough to remember 2 or 3 of these still running in the 50s as well as one that ran one steam that I worked in during 70s. Also my grandfather ran a Frick that was powered by a model T in Michigan back in the 50s some of the mill is still there today. I owned and operated a small firewood business for over 40 years and would come across these old sawmills in the woods and always wanted to take one and bring it back to life but sadly never did.

[@1995jug]

I love that old mill, amazing what they had in years past think better than today.

[@EphemeralObsequious]

I would have easily watched a 45 minute documentary on this.

[@dougalexander7204]

Everything from father to son, to the power of water... fascinating.

[@waggable]

I wish the music wasn't playing over top of the man speaking.

[@johnsantos5055]

Wowww.... still working at this moment I love this old stuff.

[@peteaplin8324]

I like how quiet it is, rock maple on steel! Very smart idea - a nice piece of history, keep it running!!

[@travisross8784]

I'm only 32 years old and I have loved watching that show and now that machine and the runner might be old but they both still got it

[@Chr.U.Cas2216]

Simply fantastic! Thank you so much for showing taping editing uploading and sharing. All the best luck to all involved people.

[@craigwillenborg1831]

Great running headsaw. That shim cut was impressive. Saw has a nice tickle on the way back.

[@RAUDIRS7]

What a great piece of machinery. Thank you for sharing this.

[@diligenceintegrity2308]

This was fascinating to watch. Great job by the operators and filming, too. Many thanks from Portland Maine.

[@RobertGSolomon]

Really make you respect what it took when our forefathers started to build America and Nova Scotia at the turn of the century and even before that. This is what they need to teach in schools!!!

[@hughtierneytierney3585]

many thanks for posting this wonderful film.

[@thearmouroflight102]

Absolutely love this a treasure of a place! Thank you for posting!

[@Builder99]

you can't get better than a great Nova Scotia man than this one...

[@Monkeysic]

Would love to spend a month sawing with him and learning. That is a rare individual not many guys like him around. So much knowledge!!!

[@crush42mash6]

Wow look at all those moving parts, I could watch this for 45 minutes. Old-school technology, I love the ingenuity! 🇨🇦

[@crazyDIYguy]

And all those complex gears and machinery still works generations down the road. Different breed back then💯👍

[@apb71]

Out of this world fantastically beautiful!

[@RovingCanada]

Thank you for sharing!! The people of Nova Scotia are truly amazing.

[@toxicated3622]

thanks, we are

[@RovingCanada]

@@toxicated3622 modest too...LOL

[@MsBigtom]

"Tore the ribs right off his backbone...." Oh my. This was before guards were invented. (Still not used)

[@trackie1957]

Matt DeMatt hmm...let’s put a handle on that thing so you can start it without getting your coat caught...

[@sizzlenotsteak]

That hasn't happened to ME before, but I can't imagine anything more painful. And I'm not going to try anymore.

[@nathanmciver6737]

The most amazing part is that I can imagine how many of these places that are in operation today, because someone see's the value and some probably produce for the stores. Old machinery is just the same as modern equipment, just have to keep the maintenance going to preserve

[@jerryorichefsky6940]

Slaps mill, 'Now this wouldnt pass inspection', Starts mill up.

[@enwri]

A minute later, "And it tore the ribs right off his backbone"

[@MrZazzles94]

@@enwri To shreds you say?

[@gattonpc]

What inspection? MARKETING greedy for money retards inspection? these mills worked for centuries.. without any fucking inspections and regulations..and people were happy. OFC sometimes accidents hapend..but when accidents do not hapend? Even today with all the regulations and inspections accidents still hapend.. Morrons working in dangerous places will end up as a meat cannon just because they are idiots and ignore some basic rules when you working with spinning blades equipement.

[@enwri]

​@Mister Sir There would have been a lot of gruesome injuries back in the real early days of mechanisation. Just found this the other day, www.rustyiron.com/literature/Flywheel_Explosions.pdf article counts at least 60 major flywheel explosions a year.

[@stephensommers7573]

@@enwri iui

[@maxwellbutler4184]

This whole operation is poetry at work. God save the Corkums and their mill!

[@airforce004]

Fascinating! Thanks for the video. I'm interesting in water-powered mill but it's so rare to find these days.

[@ColinTonkasdad]

brilliant bit of history. hope it still remains for the future. cheers

[@immortalayarna]

absolute genius from beginning to end, beautiful

[@jamescampbell7780]

Impressive set-up. Well worth a repeat viewing.

[@randomthingswithrandarawan8077]

We all know pops been running the mill since 1967. 😂😂 I love watching old sawmills in action. They don't make em like that anymore.

[@raeanker3078]

These are the real national treasures ,the mill and the man ,this is the type of operation that should be fully documented and preserved in working order as is ,the shame is there's countless different industries that were built by men and women ,when it was a matter of ,make what you need with what you have ,and that is completely lost on recent generations .And I'd bet the person that designed and built this mill never went to college or even high school. Thanks for the great video mate ,Cheers from down under.

[@gardenstatestacker1879]

Such a Beautiful piece of history thank you for sharing !

[@waynegonnella5790]

Just awesome to see this running like the day it was built .

[@gordonpeden7432]

aren't people ingenious? Loved this! thanks for sharing.

[@1943L]

Pleased to see a team of knowledgeable people operating an old mill. So important that we keep this on record, it may not be passed on to the next generation,

[@bonnycross8946]

A great video and lesson on a local water-powered mill.

[@snoozinglion8596]

Very cool! So glad I found this... So glad you took the time to share! Cheers :)

[@backpages1]

Every man at OSHAs' head would explode if they saw this. What a tribute to our forefathers ingenuity and dedication to get work done. You wouldn't have found them in an unemployment line! Great video, thanks!

[@andrewu2480]

Government regulation has forced people into unemployment lines!

[@backpages1]

@@andrewu2480 I cannot argue with that! Thanks for your comment!

[@tannerlane9669]

Yet the people they work for traffic kids for fun…..the irony

[@stevenfitzgerald2414]

Great video love all old technology and the people who still run them cheers from Australia

[@Xiao_PP]

One of the best things ive seen on youtube thank you

[@widehotep9257]

The astonishing complexity of these machines reveal the best of human creativity. Similar water and wind-powered sawmills were common in Europe and North American since the 1700's. IQ is real.

[@JBiggsNewJersey]

The music is an Irish reel called "Bird in the Bush" if anyone was wondering. And yea they should cut it after the intro.

[@patrickrolf482]

Omg you could charge people to work your sawmill. I would be 1 of the first to sign up. It’s amazing how quiet it was in the mill. I could spend hours just looking at the gears and belts The engineering that went into it is awesome

[@RickySpanish168]

this is insane. the speed that the machine carries the logs into the blade is so fast, and the blade doesnt complain one bit. the things you could do to a human body in this shop is wild.

[@hammerdragon4321]

You just don't see stuff like this anymore awesome video

[@rodcorkum8482]

Just found this - my father was a carpenter and I remember him getting some lumber from some mills like this when I was a child (not this one). One was water powered, one was powered by a gasoline engine. The water powered one however had a misalignment in the saw carriage so the rough sawn lumber was often a bit thicker on one end than the other (like a wedge) and Dad would often curse it when trying to run it through his workshop planer as some of the boards would jam if the thinner end went in first. If this is the Ivan Corkum I think he is, then we are 4th cousins twice removed.

[@garyh4458]

Nothing like a happy story to start a video.

[@PatrickBaptist]

Thanks this was fun to watch. With every pass of the saw you could hear a tree-hugger scream.

[@cooper68ns]

Great inventive and forward thinking people. Thanks

[@dudeman69abc123]

Next time im in Lunenburg i got to have a look for it. Its awesome to see it in operation and would like to see it.

[@Mainer1945]

I enjoyed that very much. Thank you.

[@beachfiredude]

Wow Fantastic Thank you for sharing That was great view of how it was done

[@seanmcguire7974]

Love to see that fully restored.

[@fsj197811]

Cool stuff, thanks for sharing.

[@russellking9762]

a helical gear set cut from timber!….un…be..f….n..lievable…just when i thought i’d seen it all..respect to you sir…thank you for taking me with you on that tour.

[@johnnycondor]

All powered by water! Amazing!

[@johnschuster9192]

Beautiful set up there guys...Oh to have a creek to cut lumber with.. great video!

[@andrewford80]

Love it. Fascinating process.

[@westwindcharters9146]

Just what I needed this morning.

[@MrCayoCoco]

Great stuff---and not far from home---love it !!

[@bamboo_craft]

Great doco. Thanks!

[@jshicke]

Amazing at the power they get from just a water wheel.

[@PrinceAlhorian]

I've seen a similar mill. It ran on a duplex drive system. If the river did not have enough volume, as the river was very seasonal, it ran off a steam engine. All the offcuts and sawdust became the fuel for the engine. Almost no smoke it was so clean burning. The smell was incredible with the engine and mill going full tilt. Pine, steam, smokey air, steam oil and old style machine grease. Strong but not unpleasant.

[@bobordewald1367]

Thank you for sharing

[@bamaslamma1003]

Very cool. Now I've seen sawmills powered by water in both liquid and gaseous state. Water turbine and steam.

[@oldtimeengineer26]

I love those old mills

[@marty01957]

Absolutely Awesome!

[@ivanfitch9158]

Who would dislike this video ?? Great video and great name 👍👍👍

[@kevinehart]

Excellent work.

[@johngrace199]

Very fun to watch but definitely a place to keep your wits about you.

[@jvwg95rt98]

Cool it with the music

[@cabotbluegill]

very interesting for sure My great great grandfather owned and operated a water power saw mill in Fairfield Vermont in the late 1800 hundreds . All i have is a coule pictures of the mill buildings where it was .

[@kyzor-sosay6087]

Fantastic video,thank you.

[@sporcelhorse]

Que belleza!! Gracias por compartir.Saludos desde Argentina

[@Builder99]

Ivan is some cool man...I worked with many like him at Sydney Steel Plant...I wish him great health...

[@phaitoon8183]

Wow, this is amazing!