A Trip to Jeff's Family Sawmill

  For the cedar benches I required, you guessed it, cedar. Also it was high time to side the front of the garage as I hadn't finished it since the renovation. Good quality eastern white cedar is sometimes hard to find. Then I found Jeff Waite and his family sawmill.
  The mill is a relaxing 20 minute ride from my house including the stop at Tim Hortons. He and his other family members farm together on the homestead and operate a sawmill during late fall and into the winter.

  Jeff called on the phone this morning and let me know he'd be at the mill doing some planing for another customer before he headed out to the fields for some weed spraying. I was in the truck and on my way.

Clarke band saw mill. Just got a sharpened blade for her today.

   You can make special requests in the summer and they will try to fell and cut to order. Jeff's cedar is pretty nice, he cuts off the sapwood and takes out the defects, "It's firewood " he says. "They end up in the slab piles for burning.

  Jeff is a nice guy, farming all his life. I don't think he'd have it any other way. Also he is a wood turner. He picked up a large lathe a while ago and he's moving up to turning the big stuff.

This is Jeff, nice fella, always happy to talk with you a while.

  On an earlier visit this spring I was the lucky beneficiary of the leftovers from a flooring order, nice cherry, pink and almost clear of knots. Awesome! I felt like I'd just found a free case of beer. I took some home as well as some sugar maple he had.

 So I'll show you around a bit.

Cedar logs waiting for sawing. I think they ran out of room in the barns this winter.

Field of dreams. They saw the cedar into piles of planks.

Gang saw cuts the wane off each side leaving the useful board in the middle.

Which leaves you with some of this

And a little of that

Today's haul for a shed floor and longer planks for siding the front of the garage. He loads it all in for ya.

Jeff working out my bill for today.

Jeff's dog stuck with me until I paid my bill. I think he's the muscle. Next time I'll bring him a treat.

  It was a hot one today in the 30's (90's) with lots of humidity. But that didn't bother me cause any day at the mill is a good one. I almost forgot, Jeff told me the cattle don't like the humidity either.

Thanks for coming along.
Ken