Mother Nature, the Goddess of Millwork

I always try to do a few extra details in the homes I build. In this case, Mother Nature did the hard part- thank you.

The log home I’m currently rebuilding was lost to a fire. Been a huge pita process for rebuilding with all the govt agencies involved.

A white oak that stood in the yard had to be taken down. I counted 173ish rings in it before I got into the rotten ant infested center. Guessing the tree was well over 200 years old. So I am surprising the owners with this. I mulled out some logs and had a buddy cut and dry for me. Utilizing what we can in places to add character and tie the house to the land. Not the most spectacular grain in the wood, but I think the placement, ant holes, and the story behind them will be very much appreciated by the homeowner if/when they get to see the house.

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Fantastic piece of wood Randy thanks for sharing

I’m finishing up 1600sf of white oak rift quartersawn right now. Select grade so it doesn’t have the character stuff which can be really cool but still darn pretty.

Few other characteristic

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Here’s a few nosings that’ll be going on an open box set of stairs with landing. Not a fan of the double board on middle nosing but that can get stuck in corner. One can imagine how the grain would pop with some oil on em!

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Love the 1/4 sawn look with the worm holes!

Nice stuff.
We used Maple for our new place and distressed Maple for cabinetry.

It’s too bad for new maple floors during the mill run they will pull all the birds eye. Caught one sweet board in a prefinished the other week. Not all of it is birds, some of it just factory crap but there’s quite a bit.

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Sweet floor Nick. Is that 6″ plank?

Very nice Randy. I love extended window sill jambs. I don’t have pics, but once I did a Walnut ceiling made from a very large Black Walnut that crashed through the finished roof of a new home under construction. Had that Amish mill it up. It looked very nice.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Sweet floor Nick. Is that 6″ plank?

White oak is a 5″. Maple was 3 1/4″ or 4″.

Pailofperch wrote:

Very nice Randy. I love extended window sill jambs. I don’t have pics, but once I did a Walnut ceiling made from a very large Black Walnut that crashed through the finished roof of a new home under construction. Had that Amish mill it up. It looked very nice.

KARMA

Love to see pics of that perch.

Randy, you have some mad talent, very impressive. A few years ago I had a load of cherry wood milled to use for Window trim in our house as we had all widows replaced. The soyer installed the wrong ban saw blade on his mill and ruined the wood. It turned out all wavy going from over an inch to under three quarters. We were so bummed he didn’t realize it and did the whole works like that. Our windows are still are unfinished.

Run it through a planner?

Dusty Gesinger wrote:

Run it through a planner?

That was the plan . My dad has a wood shop and he puts out some pretty impressive projects himself. He said the wood is so bad it would ruin a planner by the time the wood would be fixed. The waves are on both sides. I think the boards would end up around a quarter inch in thickness by the time they were straightened out. I’ve been cutting it up and smoking fish with it , so all is not lost. I was not charged for the sawing but it’s a shame as the wood is beautiful.

I did salvage some to make a shuttle though.

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Gino wrote:

unfinished.
Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure. Confucius

That’s too bad that it was killed wrong. I’ve tried to salvage boards like that and it’s a waste. That cherry is great for the smoker!

Randy, just curious how you got that “bench” with pink diagram above so tightly into place between the 2 sidewalls? It appears no bevel underneath to put it in at angle and then lower one side so…… Or is that what the trim is for on the top, to cover a gap? I love it, looks amazing!

I usually cut sills about an 1/8 under sized and shoe the edges