Wood sawmill ‘The Young Sheep’

Giant logs are cut here daily, just like centuries ago….
The original sawmill “Het Jonge Schaap” from 1680 stood in Zaandam, but was demolished in 1942. Between 2005 and 2007, a replica was built on the Zaanse Schans, based on the centuries-old original construction plans. Also used were minute measurements from 1942 and also modern computer techniques. The project was designed in part to preserve the craft of millwright for future generations. One of the young carpenters who helped rebuild the mill subsequently became the miller of “Het Jonge Schaap,” where he works in the sawmill processing mainly local wood; such as oak, elm and pine.
Interior wood sawmill ‘The Young Sheep’
It is the last above-cross wood sawmill in the Netherlands, with a unique hexagonal mill body and three sawing frames, one of which is a “scalloped frame,” for sawing the bark edges off the boards. ‘Het Jonge Schaap’ is located on the Kalverringdijk and even has an exhibition cellar under the mill, from which you can also admire the sawing work from below. Logs lie along the dike ‘watering’ in the authentic little timber harbor and are pulled into the mill via the ramp to be sawn.
This blueprint was made in 1940 by the Husslage brothers with the intention of later rebuilding the mill, which eventually happened between 2005 and 2007
Wood saw mill ‘Het Jonge Schaap’ is a unique example of the 17th-century wood sawing technology that made the Golden Age possible in the Netherlands. At one time there were about 109 upper-cross wood sawmills in operation in the Zaan region and ‘Het Jonge Schaap’ is the last of them. Another peculiarity is that it is one of eight hexagonal mills in the Netherlands and of these, the only wood sawmill. The execution of the project was in the hands of Vereniging de Zaansche Molen and Stichting ‘Het Jonge Schaap’.

Wood saw mill ‘The Young Sheep’ circa 1930 in the Westside field