# Making pallets and ties at the mill



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

This is what happens when a tree gets milled into pallet size lumber. A lot of workers and machines get involved:






A different mill here making cross ties, but very sophisticated machines and operators at work:







I wonder about all the cut offs and where they end up. You would think a person could go there and get all the scraps you'd need for a life time of woodworking. I wonder if they are ground into mulch or could be purchased? :|


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## gmercer_48083 (Apr 9, 2016)

I love these kind of videos! I would sure like to get my hands on some of their waste wood. Thanks for posting.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

There used to be a pallet mill north of here in Alabama. We drove through that town frequently and the plant was actually on both sides of the road. I do not think they had much waste. They did have a huge sawdust pile. And years after they closed there was still a huge pile of unsold pallets.


George


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

We used to have one of these here near downtown, but it closed many years ago. It also did the creosote treatment of the ties. It was located inside the large wye junction of three railroads (good for shipping the finished product) and had its own narrow gauge trackage for the movement of work. Back then the slash was just burned to make steam for the pressure treating of the wood. We also have a Sauder Woodworking complex near here. It is highly automated and basically the raw materials are unloaded from rail cars, loaded into the factory, and finished, boxed ready to assemble product comes out the other "end". At this plant, all scraps are automatically captured, transported by air handlers, and burned to produce steam to spin electric generators. The surplus electricity is fed back into the grid. No scraps to pickup or take away.


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