Sawmill Business Podcast

HOW THE BUSINESS STARTED On this episode, I chat with Mathew Wlotkowski of Rough Sawn Detroit. For Mathew, the business started out as a hobby. He had and wanted to get into cutting lavage material he had been buying for a while for his own stuff like tables, but later on, figured it would be best to get some cash out of it. He’d been going through the Detroit area sourcing his material from trees that had fallen or cut out from people putting up houses. He then started posting pictures on social media in order to get his products out there and that is where he sourced his customers. RUNNING THE BUSINESS AND CHALLENGES FACED Currently, his biggest challenge is getting time to get his projects done on time and building the business because it's a side hustle for him. He’s been practicing landscaping for 15 years now, but his new business is growing at a faster rate than he thought. Due to this challenge of lack of time to really engage in projects, he is milling wood to provide to other makers and woodwork

HOW THE BUSINESS STARTED Kyle Schloss, the owner of Southern Grain Craftsmen, had done a few different jobs in his lifetime but was really passionate about woodwork ever since he was in middle school. He used to build things in his garage and one time he found an old cabinet shop from an owner who had run out of business. Luckily, he knew him and he called to ask whether he could move in which he accepted. He then moved in swung right into work. TAKING THE LEAP OF FAITH Starting this business was a huge risk for him as he didn’t know what lay ahead. This move meant that he had to partake responsibilities such as having to pay for rent and other costs that came with the business. He obviously didn’t know where his next check would come from or if he’d actually get paid for his work, but he just hoped that his work would speak out for itself, and it did.   RUNNING THE BUSINESS, LESSONS LEARNT AND MOTIVATION The business has been running for a year, which has three workers but is seeking to employ more. Th

For episode 032, our guest is Danny Torres of Deadwood Revival Design. DANNY TORRES TURNED AN INTEREST INTO A BUSINESS Danny Torres turned an interest into a true passion called Deadwood Revival Design. It is a testing, wood and steel fabrication outfit out of San Luis Obispo, CA, serving customers for a year and a half. While talking with a guy he met, Danny discovered that he had a Granberg Mill, with plans to learn how to cut so that he could start his own woodworking business. This inspired Danny and he committed to buying his own his own Granberg Mill, though he didn’t have any experience in woodworking. It wasn’t until he met Scott Romain that things started falling into place of what would eventually become Deadwood Revival Designs. Danny knew people who work to combat forest fires which exposed him to to the problems the country has with big fires. During his off time, he put down some hazard trees and realized that they could be utilized and converted into lumber. His interest in woodworking began

HOW BRODYE CHAPPELL GOT STARTED IN THE BUSINESS Brodye worked in his father’s custom home building business for 15 years. He humbly began by selling lumber but quickly worked his way up to being the lead finish carpenter in his crew. Dedicated to his work and building some really cool stuff, his friends started noticing him and would ask for a hand in their businesses. Some clients would even specifically just ask for him. Brody then started taking some time off in the evenings and weekends and it wasn't long before he got really busy to the point he would ask his dad for some days off. Reluctantly, he accepted his plea. Things then got really busy and it was then he decided to start his own business away from his dad.   TAKING THE LEAP OF FAITH. Brodye gave his all in whatever he did and everything would just click. He felt happy in his work. Of course, clients noticed this. The compliments he received from them made him feel as though he was capped in his father’s business. With all the ideas he had in

Get insights, and motivation from incredible interviews from people inside the sawmill business industry. Get the marketing and business skills that you need to be able to grow you sawmill business. In this episode Host, Steve interviews Joshua Kincaid a sawmill business owner from Rockford, Illinois. [00:00:53] Woodworking with his grandfather as a child he saw his passion. In 2016 he started his own woodworking business creating custom furniture. He climbed the ladder from woodworking small furniture to getting a Granberg Alaskan mill and started a sawmilling business! [00:02:24] Joshua started his business with Granberg after doing some research. Granberg is one of the best products out there. Granberg was most appealing to Joshua mainly because it is a brand that stands behind their product, and is a decent expenditure. [00:02:32] While in the grind stage he is actively doing things to grow his business and get his name out there. In the area he lives he goes door to door giving out his business card.

On this week's episode we interview Victor from The Stump Shop. Hailing from Toronto, Ontario in Canada he runs a small wood shop business that repurposes tree stumps and reclaimed wood and makes them into furniture. What's amazing is that he takes the overlooked and often discarded part of the tree and found a niche to build a successful business. Are there parts of the tree or pieces of wood that fell off the mill that you had ideas for? Well make it happen! Visit The Stump Shop at:  https://www.instagram.com/thestumpshop/  

This week's episode we talk with Rick from Wood From The Hood -- a sawmill and wood business in Minneapolis. They've been around for almost 10 years and he talks about how he started the business on a dare.... and how that was one of the best decisions ever. Wood From The Hood has been able to skillfully outsource some of the sawmilling so they can stay focused on drying, processing, and sales of wood products. They have 2 main revenue streams, small wood products like cutting boards that sell in over 50 locations in their city. The other is working on architectural products like tables and flooring. They've also been lucky enough to work on large scale products involving the city government and sporting centers. This is a super inspiring episode. For more information on Wood From the Hood visit: https://woodfromthehood.com https://www.instagram.com/woodfromthehoodmpls/ For more information on Sawmill Business visit:  http://sawmillbusiness.com  

Today's guest is Dan Richfield from RE-C0 BKLYN. Dan has a sophisticated approach to running his business, something we will take a deep dive into learning about on this podcast. Who Are Re-Co Bklyn And How Did They Get Started? The company officially started in January 2012. Dan's business partner, Roger had been learning and experimenting with a chainsaw mill and a homemade kiln for a few years prior to starting up the business. Dan, however, was a software/web developer. Using his 10 years experience as a successful businessman, Dan partnered with Roger and invested in a kiln, sawmill, bandmill and a yard. Urban lumber has come a long way since the early days of a small group of sawyers to the highly competitive market on the upscale across the states including the New York metro area. Both Dan & Roger are furniture makers and understand what a furniture maker wants to get from milling and drying wood. Armed with the requisite knowledge, they seek out the right types of logs and mill the right

For episode 026 Robert Rising of NY City Slab is our guest. A bit about NY City Slab At NY City Slab, Robert and his team mill urban lumber from what might seem an unlikely source. The idea began when Robert was building a house and wanted to use local wood. Robert found that trees in his locality were being used for mulch and wanted to put those cut down trees to better use. Robert started off using a Lucas mill but it found it slow in terms of production. At a woodsmen show, Robert bought the biggest mill he could buy with his money at the time. He went for a 14 inch bandsaw mill and built a 50ft track to go with it that enabled him to cut through 6-8 logs in a day. How Robert Got Into Milling After working in the White House, Robert decided to take a u turn from his planned career in politics. His initial goal for building a house was to use it to restore old Volkswagens and Porsches. Gradually, work transitioned from fixing cars to milling logs. The very first log Robert milled sat for 3 years before bein

For episode 25, our guest is Tom Loeschner from GreyWood Design. GreyWood Design specializes in commission based furniture and some milling work. Tom provides a 'tree to table' service which is very popular with customers who love the concept of having a table crafted from the tree in their backyard.  Tom has a strong background in metal work which translates to his furniture pieces, almost all of which have metal bases. Tom used to live overseas in West Africa doing consulting in sustainable forestry practices and advising on the proper running of sawmills. This inspired Tom to create his own slabs back at home in the United States. While Tom's primary line of product has been live edge slabs, he is currently diversifying into metal and wood designs and expanding into different types of wood for his furniture making. Along with the much favored pine, Tom is producing items made from red and white fir trees and experimenting with textures and surfaces. Having a mill of his own allows Tom to control the p

For episode 24, we're getting to know Jeff Perry from Angel City Lumber. Angel City Lumber was born out of the need to make the somewhat ad hoc sawmill services in LA more streamlined. The business grew from a small idea: sourcing trees marked for landfill and harvesting them for lumber to a full scale operation in supplying raw materials. For now, Jeff is committed to milling based on his assessment of his local community's needs. He stresses how imperative it is to create awareness of this need for urban lumber. Jeff's business partner, Charles found the current location for Angel City Lumber in Boyle Heights. This has allowed them to set up a structured professional working space and a network that has given the business legitimacy. Jeff feels it was always best to 'go all in' and learn as the business grew. Having good start up capital and a helpful and supportive local sawyer community was a huge boost in confidence. The consensus of feedback convinced Jeff & Charles to pick a Lucas sawmill as their

On this episode we're getting to know Shane from Cape Cod Sawmill Company Cape Cod Sawmill is located in Bourne, Massachusetts, the company started in April, 2016. Shane started the business with his brother in law, Brian, a tree surgeon who wanted to do something positive with the timber rather than see it consigned to landfill. Shane and Brian started putting together a business plan, Shane dealt with the financial side of things while Brian took care of the creative side. From there, they went on to source their equipment and set up their sawmill company. Brian had a lot of the equipment needed to start Cape Cod like skid steers, trucks and trailers. it was simply a case of purchasing a Wood-Mizer LT40. Shane readily acknowledges his struggle to learn the ropes of sawmill work. Having a brother in law who is not just an expert but has wood cutting down to a science is highly advantageous and has helped Shane become adept in the field himself. What makes Cape Cod a well oiled business machine is Brian'

On today's show, we get to know Vinny Walsh of Walsh Woodworks. Vinny is from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Vinny started Walsh Woodworks in 2016. He wanted to return to his upbringing working on the sawmill. In this podcast we will learn How Vinny Walsh set up his sawmill business after 18 years working in the film industryWhat Vinny loves about working with woodHow Granberg tools compliment and enhance his work How And Why Vinny Walsh Set Up Walsh Woodworks Vinny's father was a carpenter and a young 8 year old Vinny would work with him during the summer. Vinny spent 18 years in the film industry working as a lighting technician before setting up Walsh Woodworks in his home town, Michigan back in 2016. He was shocked at the cost of lumber board when he went to buy maple Boards from a local supplier for a picture frame project. This inspired Vinny to source his material from scratch and cut it himself. What Inspires Vinny Walsh? Vinny gets inspired by the entire process of sourcing wood from trees and cutting

The Sawmill Business Podcast: Interview With Daniel West of Big Ass Slabs In this episode, we are introduced to Daniel West of Big Ass Slabs Chainsaw,Milling & Timber works just outside London, Ontario, Canada. Daniel operates a 60 inch Granberg Alaskan sawmill plus a 48 inch model for smaller logs. He works with a local network of sawmills and furniture makers who each specialise in a particular aspect of the production chain. How Daniel Got Into The Sawmill Business Daniel has been running Big Ass Slabs for a year or so. Prior to that he worked for a local farmer with an older Woodmeiser LP40 model. Daniel has 14 years worth of experience in sawing and now works for himself as part of his extended network in London, Ontario, Canada What Chainsaw Milling Means To Daniel For Daniel, chainsaw milling is an opportunity to make use of logs and trees normally used for firewood and produce stunning slabs from them. Through his work, Daniel helps protect the environment by making good use of potential wast

The Sawmill Business Podcast With Special Guest: Erik Granberg In this episode of The Sawmill Business Podcast our host, Steve introduces his guest, Erik Granberg. Erik is the president of Granberg International, the founders of the original Alaskan Sawmill. Introductions Erik talks about the new initiatives currently happening at Granberg International including CNC technology, new packaging for sawmills up to 36 inches in length, a new design on the mill and increased productivity.   The History Of Granberg Erik talks of his father Elof's invention of a chainsaw sharpener in the early 50s. Erik's father was a logger from British Columbia and one of the first to carry the portable chainsaws we see today. The sharpener would clap on to the saw bar allowing quicker and more efficient filing of chains that led to a large increase in production throughout the sawmill industry. This turned into a business beginning in 1954/55 with product sales in Canada and California which became large scale with the intro

In this episode we talk with Mark Sundermeier and his business AA Wood products. Check him out at http://www.aawoodproducts.biz/ or on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/aawoodproducts/

In this week's episode, we interview Joseph Nefsky from Out of the Woods Custom Woodworking out of Ontario, Canada. In this episode, Joseph talks about how he's used Instagram to grow his following, to learn new skills, document projects, and connect and get motivated with the woodworking and sawmill business community. If you want to learn specifically how to grow your following, listen to this. Follow him at http://instagram.com/outofthewoods.

In this episode of the Sawmill Business Podcast, we interview Eric Florip of Florip Toolworks! Eric drops a ton of knowledge about how he got started in the business, how he diversifies his income by buying and selling wood, making tools, and leveraging digital technology to grow revenue. This is a great episode and super inspiring for those who aspire to be a tree hustler! Follow him on Instagram.

In this episode, President of Far West Forest Products, Jennifer Alger breaks down how she runs her business, how she spends her time and gives the blueprint and plan to start your own sawmill business. She's also the exclusive Woodmizer sales person for California and Nevada so she has a ton of experience finding the right sawmill for people and has educated and taught people how to get started. This is a great episode. Give it a listen. Also follow them on instagram.

This episode we talk with Matt Cremona, a woodworker and youtube personality. In this show you'll learn how he turned turned being laid off from work into an opportunity to start his woodworking business. He also talks about how he uses his youtube and social media for building his audience and selling more products. Lastly, you'll learn how he generates most of his revenue, just by being himself and sharing what he learning. This was an incredibly inspiring episode and I hope you found some value.