This kind of talk was certainly catchy with lumbermen for it also sounded good. There was, however, just one thing Mr. Esplin and others overlooked, namely, if an adjustment is at all necessary to meet changing conditions in a band saw running from 9,000 to 10,000 feet in a minute, then that adjustment must of necessity take place almost like a flash of lightning, and that automatically. Mr. Esplin’s lower wheel, boxing, shaft, belt pulley, rocker frame, lever and weight probably weighed four tons. Such a weight cannot move like a flash, and goes too far when it does move, and broken saws or snakey lumber were the logical result. The inertia of such a mass prevents quick action. This mill was a failure like the rest, and the designers of Band Saw Mills for sawing logs were left groping in darkness. To be sure, Band Mills to some extent were in use though largely under protest because of the poor lumber they made, the small quantities produced, and the troubles experienced with cracked and broken saws. [Illustration: Cunningham Inclined Band Saw Mill] It was in the same year, 1886, that The Filer & Stowell Co., of Milwaukee, Wis., flattered themselves into believing that other machinery builders did not really understand just how a Band Mill for sawing logs should be built, and being perfectly cognizant of the difficulties experienced and of the remedy to be applied, they designed and brought out and advertised the Cunningham Inclined Mill, an illustration of which is here shown. For a unique organization this mill took the cake. The idea of it was good, and it should have been a winner, but for some reason it was not. They built and sold quite a number of them, and then later they changed to a more sensible kind of a mill. As will be observed, this mill inclined to the rear twenty or more degrees, with the result that the saw would enter a log like a circular saw, cutting under in a manner similar to the circular instead of straight down across the grain as band saws usually do. It was understood that a circular could do straight work and very much more daily than was possible with a band saw. It was, therefore, quite natural to suppose that if a band mill could be constructed so as to operate substantially like a circular with equal advantages, then there appeared no reason why it should not do as good work if not quite so much. At all events it was expected that this mill would do more work and better work than any of its predecessors. But it did not, and proved to be quite a nuisance as it required about six men to place the saw on its wheels every time they were changed; and the mill went out of use. [Illustration: Band Saw Mill of Wilson & Hendrie]