This study examined the potential for improvement within a conventional (crosscut-first) rough mill. Improvement was measured in terms of volume and also value of cuttings produced. Current levels of yield were obtained from an in-plant yield study of 138 boards. The same material was then processed with a computer optimization program designed to simulate a crosscut-first operation. Tests between the two methods, actual and optimized, showed that . current levels of cutting volume production were not able to be improved upon with optimization. Due to the varying costs of different length cuttings, however, a significant increase in the value of cuttings produced was possible. The distribution of cutting lengths produced was found to be a significant factor in these results. / Master of Science / incomplete_metadata

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-110). Also available via the Internet.

Solitude, a nineteenth century farmhouse and historic landmark, located on the campus of Virginia Tech is currently slated for preservation. The purpose of this study was to trace the architectural history of the farmhouse and adjacent outbuilding through its existing mill work, hardware, and other architectural features. Eighteenth and nineteenth century architectural pattern books and the knowledge of architectural historians were used to date the interior millwork and hardware in this building. The millwork and hardware produced evidence of at least three distinct design periods. To determine if mill work and hardware dates supported the approximate construction dates commonly thought accurate for the three major sections of this building. The 1801 and 1834 sections of the house exhibit Federal style. Greek Revival dominates the 1851 section, as well as the renovated 1801 section, and the later additions exhibit Victorian style details. The adjacent log and frame outbuilding contained mill work that mixed Federal and Greek Revival elements. Using this information, along with information obtained from researchers who previously studied Solitude, a sequence of floor plans was developed. These plans show the evolution of the house through two major additions, as well as three smaller ones. The evolution of the outbuilding was also noted. / Master of Science

This document is an examination of the millwork industry in the nineteenth century and its influence upon the residential built environment. This study explores influences and results in relation to the development of millwork in the United States. The first is the technological divergence that developed between the United States and Europe, as America introduced different technologies to exploit the vast amounts of timber accessible to the New World. The second development occurred as the New World slowly developed a taste for the type of elaborate millwork previously associated with wealthy patrons. Low cost of materials and new technologies made more complicated wood finishes available to those of modest means. The third situation reflects the struggle between an elite class of architects and pattern book designers, who advocated restraint in design, and carpenter-builders and their clients, who wanted to display their talent or status through the use of a high level of ornamental millwork. / Department of Architecture