# A project in the works...... (pic heavy)



## Treecycle Hardwoods (Nov 10, 2013)

Labor day weekend of 2012 I started my most ambitious project to date with my sawmill. What did I choose to do???? Well a house for the mill of course!! (and storage for some lumber too) The total square footage is a pinch under 1000 ft square. I would have went bigger but those pesky building inspectors said something about codes To me it sounded like he was talking in code

After setting up the forms for the concrete I hired a company I used to work for in high school to pour the mud. 

Had to wait a few days to put the mill on the slab but once it was on there it was built into the shed. We were sawing and building all at the same time.

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Nov 10, 2013)

Next up the roof (kind of) we got the sheeting on along with the ice/water and felt last fall. I choose to go with a roll roof and it was too cold last fall to put it on so we put that up this spring (pix to come on the roof) 

One thing that was obvious right away was that I had to bring in so much fill for the concrete that erosion was going to be a problem so I pulled the trigger on a second concrete pour. I had to put up a short retaining wall and pour a 6 foot wrap around the front half of the building. It worked out well for building in 2 new kilns and it really makes the whole thing look cool. (more pix to come on the kilns and overhang) 

This set of pix also shows the beginning of the siding. I get more guys (and wives) complementing the choice of siding than i ever expected. I was just trying to be cheap and didn't want to put up a steel building.

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## Kevin (Nov 10, 2013)

That's nice. What species is the siding? It looks like y'all just poured the slab right on top of the ground - no fill?

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## Mike1950 (Nov 10, 2013)

Cool siding- it will be nice when you get done.

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Nov 10, 2013)

The species are pine and spruce. I traded a guy some wood who brought in (32) 3 yard loads of fill.

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Nov 10, 2013)

Here is how the building sits today. The wrap around has a roof over it. One of the kilns is fired up. I have the curly walnut waiting out from for it's turn in the kiln. In the second picture you can see a blue spot above the roof that is a 3hp cyclone dust collector I will be hooking the mill to so I don't have to deal with a shovel any more.

The back side of the building has 2 large doors one 12 x 12 and another 16 x 12 . One is for bringing logs in and the other is for scraps and lumber to come out. 

The final pic in this group is a new concrete pour going in this week. Gonna reinforce this one with lots of rebar. This particular slab is where most of the action will take place so it has to be strong. You can see the mill inside the building in this shot. It has sat there since I dropped it off last fall. It is 18 feet long with a 16 foot door only 2 ways out now is to dissemble it or drag it out the back door.

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Nov 10, 2013)

Here are some pix of the amenities. Sorry no bathroom here we still use the fence.

First up is the 2 kilns. The one on the left is slightly bigger and can hold 1200 BF. The one on the right will hold 1050 BF. They have 2x6 construction like the rest of the building fully insulated with 10" on top.

Next up is my 24" planer, 36" drum sander, 20 hp phase converter, and a 16" radial arm saw. I traded wood for 3 of the 4 pieces. Had to pay cash for the phase converter. My cost for all of the equipment here is about $2000. If I had to pay cash for all of it I would have spent $6000

Inside we have 2 aisles of kiln dried lumber inside with 13 foot ceilings for customers to choose from.

My favorite thing about the building us t he walnut siding! The tail end of the building was really wobbly when it first went up. We didn't have any pine cut up and ready so we had to use some common grade walnut to finish the job. We still have some interior siding to put up in the mill area. I am waiting for all the electric wiring to be run then we can seal up the final portion.

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Nov 10, 2013)

I forgot to mention that I also traded wood for my dust collection unit.


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## Patrude (Nov 10, 2013)

I like what you have accomplished. I live in a purely residential neighborhood, no chance to set up a mill like this, but I do venture over to my favorite mill couple towns over to chat, help out and smell saw dust often enough. Just something about milling wood that says Come on in! Nice job, best of luck with your mill

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Nov 10, 2013)

Thank you for the well wishes. After re - reading my posts I also for got to mention that as part of the newest concrete pour I will be putting another overhang that will be enclosed. I will be putting the planer in there with storage locker style roll up doors for easy access.


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## dbroswoods (Nov 10, 2013)

Looks real nice and it looks like you put lots of thought into everything!! 

Mark

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## rob3232 (Nov 10, 2013)

Wow Greg, Looks like you have been busy to say the least. Looking foreward to more pictures as things progress. I think a trip next spring may be in order so I can see it all up close.:)

Rob

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## woodtickgreg (Nov 10, 2013)

Thanks for posting this after I busted your chops.  This has got to be the nicest saw shed I have ever seen. Man I would love to have a barn like that to spread out in. Great Job Greg.

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## DKMD (Nov 10, 2013)

That's a sweet looking setup!

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Nov 10, 2013)

Thanks guys. I wish I could build it as quickly as I can dream it up. I have a small shed we started also that I didn't picture here. I should be able to fit 1000 or so turning blanks in there when I am done. I will add pix of that project as we make progress.

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## Woodman (Nov 11, 2013)

You have a really nice setup, I'm envious.

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Dec 1, 2013)

Been working on my turning blank shed the last few weeks. Here is the progress to date. This past weekend we got 3/4 of the building sided and ran out of material on Friday. We hopped up on the roof and got 3/4 of that done before dark on Saturday. I am putting skylights in to help with lighting it will stay that way til next year when I might get time to run electricity over to it.

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Dec 1, 2013)

Once the roof was started I brought in a bunch of blanks. I would say the pile has 300-400 blanks in it. I estimate that I can get 1000 to so in here once all of tge shelving is up.

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## rob3232 (Dec 1, 2013)

Looks nice Greg :) I m geussing you may need to make a really big Parking lot for all of your clients.... and a reserved spot for me ;) ;)

Nice!!

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Dec 1, 2013)

Lol! I have plans in the works but I have this mountain of mill debris in the way. Keeping my fingers crossed we don't get significant snow before I can get it cleaned up and stone down.


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## woodtickgreg (Dec 1, 2013)

I am so appreciative and envious of what you do with your mill. Love the buildings and the siding as well. Mike might be the Jedi box maker, but you are the Jedi wood master. Thanks for taking the time to share pics with us.

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## Nature Man (Dec 1, 2013)

What type of shelving are you planning to install?


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Dec 1, 2013)

woodtickgreg said:


> I am so appreciative and envious of what you do with your mill. Love the buildings and the siding as well. Mike might be the Jedi box maker, but you are the Jedi wood master. Thanks for taking the time to share pics with us.


Thank you for the kudos sir. After this expansion is complete I will be starting on the hut for my big planer.


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Dec 1, 2013)

Nature Man said:


> What type of shelving are you planning to install?


For now it will be brackets screwed to the wall. Eventually I would like to have adjustable units


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## elnino (Dec 4, 2013)

I def like the setup! lots of work but turned out awesome. is the shed for blank drying or selling of blanks not turned? Cuz you have a little bit of turning to do!!!!


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Dec 4, 2013)

I sell lots of turning blanks but I will grab from the stash when I want to turn something. Thanks for the kudos btw.


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## Dane Fuller (Jan 4, 2014)

That's the coolest shop I've ever seen, Greg! Looks like a true labor of love. Very impressive!


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## Bluestingray (Apr 12, 2014)

Awesome project Treecycle! I think I want something like that also, with custom slab siding.


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Apr 12, 2014)

Bluestingray said:


> Awesome project Treecycle! I think I want something like that also, with custom slab siding.


Thank you sir! Brace your self it takes many logs to make it happen. I have 100+ logs into my project. Sourcing all of them can be daunting unless you have a forest to harvest from. I rely on tree services for my logs. The building has stalled several times while I had to hunt down more material.

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## GeauxGameCalls (Apr 13, 2014)

I think I drooled on my lathe! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! You earned my respect sir! If you don't mind what kiln design are you using

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Apr 23, 2014)

GeauxGameCalls said:


> I think I drooled on my lathe! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! You earned my respect sir! If you don't mind what kiln design are you using


Thank you for the kudos! We started painting trim this past weekend with the warmer temps. My kilns are a mix of designs. You could say they are all kind of a " @Daren " design but my big unit is an EBAC brand. My other 2 run on DH units you can buy at the box stores.

Reactions: Sincere 1


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## GeauxGameCalls (Apr 23, 2014)

Oh ok. I'm thinking about building a small one. What do you think would be the best a solar or dehumidifier?


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Apr 23, 2014)

GeauxGameCalls said:


> Oh ok. I'm thinking about building a small one. What do you think would be the best a solar or dehumidifier?


That is a debate all of it's own! lol I have plans to build solar kilns but that is down the road a bit. Either one will get your wood dry it is a matter of how fast and predictible it dries. With Solar kilns mother nature is boss. No sun for a few days and the temps can trail off and slow the drying process. If you just want it dry and don't care if it takes 5 or 6 weeks on 4/4 material solar is free to run after the initial investment of materials and time.


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## GeauxGameCalls (Apr 23, 2014)

I think I may go with solar because the sun is always shining here. Hoe big of a panel will I have to have to run the light and fan? If you know lol


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Apr 23, 2014)

GeauxGameCalls said:


> I think I may go with solar because the sun is always shining here. Hoe big of a panel will I have to have to run the light and fan? If you know lol


there is a good ratio of heating panel size to the amount of BF the kiln will hold but i don't have the info memorized. I did a thread in the processing section of the trees to timber portion of the forum. I have links in the thread to a bunch of reverence material if you wanted to do some reading.


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## GeauxGameCalls (Apr 23, 2014)

Ok. I'm always up for info


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