Let’s start our third project with a Google search. Type in “sawmill near me” and see what pops up! You might find some industrial mills, but we’re not interested in these big operations. Proprietors usually won’t let you shuffle around on your own and explore the cool stacks of lumber and scraps. The smaller setups often do, though. My dad and I found the one in the black and white photo below, and the owner was more than happy to let us poke about. An amusement park for men!
Enjoy searching for a unique board that you can use to make a tabletop (side table, console table, telephone table—whatever you need). The legs are easy: diyhairpinlegs.com. Anything goes for the top: live edge, dressed, rough sawn. You never know what you might come across.
We discovered a true gem. Check this out: back in the 1800s, most of the southeastern United States was forested, and logging was big business. Lumberjacks would cut down giant, old-growth trees and float them down nearby rivers to the sawmills waiting to process them. Turns out, a lot of these logs sank on the way—there are literally thousands of logs at the bottom of rivers! And some of the waterlogged wood, like cypress, is perfectly preserved. Now, salvagers are pulling up these submerged timbers and milling them into specialty lumber. I got my hands on a bundle of “river heart” cypress boards to make the table in the photo and my dining table as well. It’s crazy—I eat dinner while looking at wood that laid on the bottom of a river for well over 100 years!
If you prefer an adventure that won’t make you sweat, though, no worries. Maybe try treasure hunting. Scour your local antique stores and flea markets for old maps of the area you live in. maps are wonderful décor and give us a deeper sense of “place.” They look great on walls and even better on easels!
Let’s start our third project with a Google search. Type in “sawmill near me” and see what pops up! You might find some industrial mills, but we’re not interested in these big operations. Proprietors usually won’t let you shuffle around on your own and explore the cool stacks of lumber and scraps. The smaller setups often do, though. My dad and I found the one in the black and white photo below, and the owner was more than happy to let us poke about. An amusement park for men!
Enjoy searching for a unique board that you can use to make a tabletop (side table, console table, telephone table—whatever you need). The legs are easy: diyhairpinlegs.com. Anything goes for the top: live edge, dressed, rough sawn. You never know what you might come across.
We discovered a true gem. Check this out: back in the 1800s, most of the southeastern United States was forested, and logging was big business. Lumberjacks would cut down giant, old-growth trees and float them down nearby rivers to the sawmills waiting to process them. Turns out, a lot of these logs sank on the way—there are literally thousands of logs at the bottom of rivers! And some of the waterlogged wood, like cypress, is perfectly preserved. Now, salvagers are pulling up these submerged timbers and milling them into specialty lumber. I got my hands on a bundle of “river heart” cypress boards to make the table in the photo and my dining table as well. It’s crazy—I eat dinner while looking at wood that laid on the bottom of a river for well over 100 years!
If you prefer an adventure that won’t make you sweat, though, no worries. Maybe try treasure hunting. Scour your local antique stores and flea markets for old maps of the area you live in. maps are wonderful décor and give us a deeper sense of “place.” They look great on walls and even better on easels!
