Preserving History with Cooper's Shed

By repurposing beams from Gronauer Lock once located on the Wabash and Erie Canal near New Haven, Indiana, Peter Cooper is preserving history in order to demonstrate some of his own. 

White oak beams from Gronauer Lock

The white oak beams from Gronauer Lock are dated as far back as 1837 and will be used to build Cooper’s Shed in the Pioneer Village at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Peter and his son will build the 10’ X 12’ shed in the traditional timber frame construction style, the same method that was used to build Gronauer Lock on the canal more than 175 years ago. With help from sawyer, Greg Baire and a Wood-Mizer LT50, these aged beams were precisely cut and turned into usable lumber for Cooper's Shed.

Peter Cooper (left) and Greg Baire talking about their next cut

In order to keep as much history of the original beams in place, Peter chose a Wood-Mizer to minimize as much log waste as he could. He said, "I knew that Wood-Mizer could cut the logs to the size I needed with minimal waste. I wanted to keep as much as the old hand hewed part of the log as I could and as much of the original log that I could. That's why I chose Wood-Mizer."

Greg Baire re-purposing 175 year old beams for Cooper's Shed

In the Pioneer Village, Peter Cooper will use Cooper’s Shed  to demonstrate the history of “coopering” which is the traditional method of making wooden staves and bounding them together to build barrels, baskets and tubs among other items. The construction of the shed will take place during 2014 and will be nearing completion around the time of Indiana State Fair in August. Stay tuned for updates!

For a brief history of Gronauer Lock, read 'A Lock on History' by Craig Leonard here.

Wood-Mizer Launches Online Local Portable Sawmill Service Directory

Wood-Mizer has launched an online local sawmill business directory that will help connect Wood-Mizer owners with local people in need of a portable sawmill service to cut their logs into lumber at www.woodmizer.com/localsawmills.

The easy-to-use directory allows someone to browse sawmill businesses by state, and lists information that someone would need in order to find the sawmill service that will fit their needs. Once a sawmill service is selected, contact information is delivered instantly by email.

For years, Wood-Mizer has helped people find portable sawmill services over the phone. In March of 2012, Wood-Mizer created a page on their website where people could request information for local sawyers. With hundreds of hits a week, and requests pouring in in the aftermath of disasters  such as Hurricane Sandy, the decision was made to launch a searchable online sawmill directory, which would be made up of members of the Wood-Mizer Pro Sawyer Network, pre-qualified sawmill owners that use their sawmills for a living. More information at www.woodmizer.com/pro.

Portable sawmill businesses provide many valuable services to their local communities. With a portable sawmill, storm damaged trees can be turned into usable lumber for projects, instead of heading to the landfill or the tree chipper. Many Wood-Mizer owners sell specialty lumber locally, providing species, custom sizes, and prices that cannot be found at the local lumberyard or box store.

For information about getting someone to cut your own logs into useable lumber, read “What you Need to Know when Hiring a Portable Sawmill Service”. To find out how easy it is to start sawing your own lumber with an entry-level Wood-Mizer sawmill, visit www.woodmizer.com. 

Custom Sawing & Furniture Building: A Better Retirement Plan

By Danny Hamsley, Hamsley Forestry, LLC.


After purchasing the LT15 sawmill in 2002 for personal projects, I started selling a little lumber that I had in excess of what I needed, and was surprised at the interest that I got from local woodworkers.  I developed a plan to retire at age 57 and focus on sawing and selling hardwood lumber and working as a Forestry Consultant since I am a Registered Forester.    

I was able to retire in April 2011. I am also now able to spend more time turning that high quality lumber produced on the sawmill into high quality, custom furniture.  My business, though small, is all about timber, lumber, and furniture.  If I tried to go and buy the lumber, the profit would not be there at my scale to justify it.  The sawmill makes the whole strategy work, and it is the keystone of the whole process.

  

I saw to maintain an inventory of the various hardwood species that local woodworkers are after.  When I am not sawing, I may be working on the lumber, stacking, air drying, sorting, etc.  People call and come buy lumber just about anytime 7 days a week.  I also spend a lot of time on the furniture side of things.  I always have some type of furniture project on the drawing board or in progress. 

There is also time required to measure and mark timber, harvest timber, skid out the logs and prepare them for sawing.  I spend as much time harvesting, skidding, and preparing the logs as I do sawing them.  I may be small, but I am fully integrated!

I saw primarily hardwood, the majority off of my timberland.  My strategy is to saw, air dry, and sell rough cut hardwood lumber for local woodworkers.  I am supplying a exclusive service because you cannot find hardwood lumber like walnut, oak, cherry, yellow poplar, and maple in this area.  I cut all thicknesses from 4/4 up to 16/4.  Lengths are 8 feet and 10 feet.  To date, my primary focus has been building furniture for family and friends, but the sawmill will allow me to increase the amount of custom furniture that I can build and sell.  This will be a growth area for me.

The sawmill allows me to gain significantly more value from my timberland than if I just offered the timber for sale to a logger or commercial sawmill.  For example, I can sell a large white oak on the stump as timber to a logger or mill, and it will be worth about $60 on the stump.  I can harvest the tree myself, saw it on the LT15, air dry the lumber, and sell the lumber from that tree for $700 - $800.  That is a huge lift in value that allows me to make a return from the timberland that I own and manage as well as a return on my sawmill and equipment investment.  It also allows me to offer lumber to local woodworkers that would otherwise have to drive two hours to Atlanta and pay high retail prices.

The Re-Sharp program is perfect for me.  I focus on high quality and not quantity, so sharpening my own blades would not be cost effective.  I have found the Re-sharp service to be outstanding in turn-around time and in blade quality.

It is amazing to me the lift that I can achieve in my timber investment on my 200 acres of property by sawing a high quality product and selling the product rather than just selling the timber.  The sawmill allows me to gain a lift over ten-fold more than the market value of the timber stumpage. 

I am going to expand the furniture side of my business.  Although small, I am happy with the volume of lumber at this point… it fits my property, equipment, and business strategy well.  I can make a little money and really enjoy what I am doing.  I get to meet all kinds of interesting people.  This creates a lot of exposure for the mill and most are interested in the process, and it allows me to brag on how great a product the mill is and the great service provided by Wood-Mizer.  And, believe me, I do brag! 

Wood-Mizer Takes Applications for Professional Sawyer Program

An opportunity for actively sawing Wood-Mizer sawmill owners to boost long-term success

Wood-Mizer Products is taking applications for a new customer program, the Pro Sawyer Network, designed to boost the success of sawmill businesses and owners throughout the United States.

Members of the Pro Sawyer Network will have access to exclusive opportunities to increase the profitability of their sawing endeavors. Although Wood-Mizer has had components of the new program in place for many years, the Pro Sawyer Network brings all the benefits into one program that has involvement options that members can select themselves, such as being referred to new customers looking for a local sawing service, and demonstrating their sawmill for credit on account. More information on involvement options can be found on the online PDF application.

“Many sawmill owners and businesses have experienced some tough times in the last few years. Our desire with the launch of the Pro Sawyer Network is to funnel more opportunities for profitability directly to our talented customers that offer so much to their communities,” commented Wood-Mizer’s National Sales Manager, Dave Mann. 

The formation of the Pro Sawyer Network will also provide a local resource to individuals who want to hire a sawyer to cut their logs into lumber. Currently, Wood-Mizer offers an online request form that can be used to obtain the contact information for a local sawing service. According to Wood-Mizer’s Dave Mann, this online tool has been very successful in connecting people to sawyers-for-hire, and he says that they have plans for a more robust version of the tool down the road.

Wood-Mizer sawmill owners can apply for membership to the Pro Sawyer Network online at woodmizer.com/pro, or request a form in the mail by calling 800.553.0182. Membership is free of charge, and some qualifications apply. Members of Wood-Mizer’s previous “Custom Cutting” and “Owner Demonstration Credit” programs are required to reapply if they desire to transition to the Pro Sawyer Network.