Dead and down: Much of what we cut is standing or fallen trees that we collect in the Village or nearby. We actively search for these trees because we can get them to market quickly. These trees can have rot and defects, but they are also full of beautiful surprises. We recently cut into a Russian olive and found two dusty lizards curled around one another in a pocket of rot, still alive, just a couple millimeters below the saw blade, but we also find spalting, wild grain, burl and other treasures. The nice thing for our business  is that these logs are usually dry and stable, so we can stack and store them outside after cutting and sell them immediately.

Fallen or harvested live: Trees that come down in storms or have to be removed for building projects or road construction are still alive and have to be treated as living, changing things. A log can stay wet for years if it isn’t cut when it’s taken down; even when milled and stacked outside to dry, it can take a year or more for 2” planks to reach the desired moisture content of 7 to 10 percent. We have built two kilns to speed up the drying process so we can sell what we mill and guarantee your satisfaction. 

It’s still not fast. We recently upgraded our second kiln to be housed in an insulated shipping container, R28 on all surfaces, with gas heat and and high quality industrial fans. It’s also throughfeed so we can load whole logs instead of laboriously stacking plank by plank. But it will still take between 4 and 6 weeks to dry 2” hardwood planks, and more time for dense species like walnut. 

The key to quality is a balance between heat, humidity, airflow and time. Too hot and too fast results in checking, warping and case hardening that can completely ruin a glorious log. We’ve opted for slower drying times to create a product we can be proud of.