I have a home based woodworking business using a small bandsaw sawmill. I enjoy milling logs that would otherwise go to waste. I am getting in to building rustic furniture, and decor items.
All orders are handled through my Etsy store. There is a link to the store under additional contact info. I got started in milling trees after a really devastating ice storm struck our area of Lexington, NC. There were many trees that were knocked down on my property, and on neighboring lots. It seemed like such a waste to see so many beautiful trees being turned into mulch or compost. I began milling some small items for family and friends, and was actually able to acquire enough to build my own small shop...all made from rough sawn lumber! I have since branched out by working with local tree service companies. I try to get the logs either by purchase or barter to save them from being mulched. I typically cut slabs, stump stools, and turning blanks from the wood. So many of these logs have such beautiful figure hidden inside of them, for me its like opening a present to see what you might find. My brother and I currently run a Logosol chainsaw mill operation, and although it gives satisfactory cut quality I would like to upgrade at some point to a bandsaw miill. A mill like this would increase my efficiency, and allow me to cut wider slabs. Currently I am limited to 28" in width. I hand sand all of the sump stools down to 220 grit which gives them a very smooth texture. I plane the slabs with my Dewalt planer resulting in a very smooth finish that is ready to work. All of my turning blanks are sealed in paraffin wax to prevent splitting and cracking with changes in tempature, and humidity. That is generally as far as I take the process, although I have recently begun making a few glued up table tops for customers. I even built a small rustic cedar table for a family member, and may be branching out into that in the future. I allow all of my slabs to air dry in my dry shop until they have regulated to our relative humidity in this area which is roughly 12% moisture content. At this point the piece is ready to work. Sometimes additional cracking will occur when the piece is brought into the home where moisture content is generally a few degrees lower. I then make it available to the Facebook, Etsy, and Ebay community!