| Working with the local resource of timber Joiner's Shop
reduces the costs of the wooden buildings and ships. Also it
slightly improves the trade but only during the winter, the peak
logging season. Prior to the invention of the sawmill, boards
were rived and planed, or more often sawn by two men with a
whipsaw, using saddleblocks to hold the log, and a pit for the
pitman who worked below. Sawing was slow, and required strong
and enduring men. The topsawer had to be the stronger of the two
because the saw was pulled in turn by each man, and the lower
had the advantage of gravity. The topsawyer also had to guide
the saw so that the board was of even thickness. This was often
done by following a chalkline.