. . . but until it dries, nary a board to build with.
It’s bittersweet to part with a fine, big, hardwood tree you’ve grown to appreciate for its shade and beauty, BUT. . .
. . . when you can have it milled into gorgeous lumber it takes the sting right out of the situation.
The hard part is waiting for the lumber to dry so you can use it.
Just look at these boards:
Beautiful now–imagine them sanded and polished. Stunning black walnut.
As if that wasn’t enough, check out the cherry on the right:
So pretty.
How did this happen?
Portable sawmill.
No need to get a flatbed to haul your trunks to the sawmill–this one came to my yard.
I’ve had other trees cut down and converted into firewood, but since these trees were particularly special, it was great to have the option to turn them into useable lumber. I was so glad I found a portable sawmill service in my area.
It’s an excellent way to make the most of something that took decades to grow and, to coin a phrase, to “build local,” using extremely local trees and a local service. And you don’t have to live on a hundred acres of timber. It’s doable even in suburban or urban areas.
I found one through the local Craigslist.
That is very cool lumber. What do you plan to do with it? It seems it would best be used to make a furniture piece that would be “on display” in your home somewhere. I would hate to have that used to build something only utilitarian with no design and aesthetic value. Keep us posted.
Doug A.–Thank you. And I agree with you. Not going to build a chicken coop with it, definitely. Although, I could then probably sell it to some movie star with a chicken palace behind their Bel-Air mansion. I’ll keep you posted once it dries.
TL – my wonderful neighbor! Thinking – thinking very hard on how to use the exterior pieces that have bark on them….. I stared at the piece of cherry you gave me yesterday for a long time – maybe I can re-do the outdoor bar the guys left behind with it – flip flop the pieces the where every other one shows the bark – it would look pretty darn cool! Then make the bar top showing all the grain sides!
Gina–Mmhm. Like where you’re going with this. A little sanding and a spar varnish, perhaps, or let it weather? Too cool, can’t let this stuff go to waste!
What beautiful wood! We had the same thing done to our cherry tree when we had to cut it down. We hired a local landscaper that had a special attachment on his saw that mimicked a portable sawmill. We first invisioned a beautiful cherry mantle for our fireplace, but then we decided to move and our real estate agent thought it was a ridiculous idea, so we took the wood with us to use in our new house. Some people just aren’t fans of high quality, beautifully grained and colours woods i guess.
Poor them. 🙂
Enjoy dreaming of the projects you’ll be making with this lumber!