An original StringDancer all-star cast documentary. It’s the story of fourteen fresh-cut poplar logs (ranging 12″ to 24″ in diameter), mercilessly subjected to a portable milling machine, resulting in an impressive stack of 1″ planks, destined for use early this Fall as board and batten siding on the homestead.
The final cost of the project in terms of fiat Federal Reserve Notes of dubious value came to $825. By way of comparison, had I gone down to the local building supply store to buy this amount of wood, I’d spend over $4200. Admittedly, such wood is also planed and sized to width, which my poplar isn’t. I would not have saved so much had I simply gone to a local sawmill and bought rough-cut poplar boards… but I would have missed four days of healthy exercise, the good companionship of friends (who are now compensated participants in my quest for self-sufficiency), the pleasure of supporting a local entrepreneur of good character, and the satisfaction of a job well done.
In addition, by salvaging good timber that would have otherwise either been buzzed up for firewood or left in the forest to rot, I acquired the building supplies I needed without diminishing the stock on-hand at the local sawmill… in effect bypassing the market. Thus I didn’t contribute to the demand side of the equation that drives up the price of timber, and therefore I helped to make hardwood, in some miniscule way, less attractive to harvest. So, in theory I contributed to the conservation of natural resources. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.
I acquired the felled trees from my buddy Rick Fettig, who also helped with prepping the timber, assisted by logger extraordinaire Roy Seacrest. The WoodMizer owner/operator is Jason Waterford of Bloomington Indiana, who not only does custom wood milling, but makes some fine hand-crafted wood products to boot. Check out his website at: WaterfordWoodworks.com
And yes, we’re aware that we were not wearing goggles or ear protection. The machine isn’t all that loud, and there was no flying debris to worry about. Safety third, I always say.
