New England Grown Hardwoods For Fine Furniture

People often ask me where I get the wood I use for my projects. I tell them anywhere I can. I may buy rough sawn wood from a dealer such as Berkshire Products Inc. in Sheffield MA, or Forest Products in Greenfield MA. Often I get it from private individuals, with large parcels of land, who cut and dry wood they store in their barns, such as Steve Smith in Guilford VT and Joe Tennyson in Chestertown NY. Paul Waite operates a nursery in Chester MA and in his spare time logs his land. Paul is a good source of cherry. My brother-in-law, Winter Bargeron, and I sometimes cut trees on my own 45 acre lot as shown in the top left picture.

On occasion I will buy logs, and have them cut. Such was the case with these walnut logs which I purchased from an individual who cut down a tree in his yard.

Winter owns a pick-up truck fitted with an EZ Dumper bed. We hoisted the logs, one at a time, with the aid of a second pick-up truck and block-and-tackle. With the lifting of each log Winter backed his pickup under and we gently lowered it into the EZ Dumper. We slowly hauled our load from Greenfield MA to his place in Worthington. After unloading the logs Winter sealed them to prevent checking or splitting at the ends.

Winter had several maple logs he wanted cut, so we enlisted the help of his friend, Gary Rodd, who owns a portable mill. Gary set up his mill on Winter's lot and we prepared the logs for cutting.

Each log is rolled up the ramp one at a time and held into position with dogs (metal clamps). There is an art to choosing the starting point and the type of cut that will produce the best grain and maximum useable lumber. Winter has 30+ years experience as a professional grader and guided us in positioning and turning the logs. Donning hearing protection, Gary operates the mill, the job of the sawyer in the logging profession. My job was to help roll the logs up the ramp, stack and sticker cut boards, take pictures and generally follow orders.

After about five hours of cutting, edging and stacking my truck is loaded with approximately 200 board feet of lumber (a board foot is 1" x 12" x 12"). All that remains for me is to drive home and carry the walnut to the second floor of my shop where it is again stacked and stickered to dry. After sitting there for a year it will be ready for use in a custom project.