#HTE

Two German Dudes Using Nifty Old-School Contraptions to Mill a Log Into Boards

File this under “cool random stuff on the internet.” In Germany there’s an outdoor museum called the Glentleiten, a sort of Bavarian cousin to Colonial Williamsburg. It’s populated with more than 60 traditional buildings filled with folks performing traditional crafts and agrarian activities. But they’re also allowed to use old-school (19th or 20th century, by the looks of it) machines.

Two guys work at a sort of primitive bandsaw mill, and are tasked with turning big-ass logs into boards. Logs of that size would be impossible for two men to lift, so they’ve got a cool series of trolleys, tracks and contraptions they use to haul, position and mill it.

I don’t know how to say “bandsaw mill” in German, but every part of this thing looks so dangerous that it should be called Der Widowmaker.

The sharpening machine in particular is pretty nifty, and note that they’ve got a single engine that they use to power different machines at different times by slipping the belt onto different pulleys. Take a look at how it all works:

Also: Am I the only one who noticed that every time this dude looks at the other dude, he looks like he wants to murder him?

He should also be called Der Widowmaker.