OAK HILL IRON SAWMILL OPERATION Dean Curfman Oak Hill Iron Morganton, North Carolina www.oakhilliron.com Thursday, June 2nd, 2016 WERC Small Sawmill Workshop 2016
OAK HILL IRON SAWMILL OPERATION
Dean CurfmanOak Hill Iron
Morganton, North Carolinawww.oakhilliron.com
Thursday, June 2nd, 2016
WERC Small Sawmill Workshop 2016
Oak Hill Iron• Current sawmill capabilities
– Swing blade sawmill– Chain blade sawmill– Solar dry kiln– Dehumidification dry kiln– Nice wood shop-insulated and hvac
• Focus on making slabs – High end furniture customers– Combining slabs with metal components– Wholesale slab sales to retail outlets
Logs-obtaining from local tree trimmers
Swing Blade Sawmill
Peterson gas engine large diameter swing blade sawmill
Chain Blade Sawmill
Peterson 78” factory chain mill-electric motor powered with electric feed for carriage
Value of a Good Sawmill Building
Ability to saw at night and while raining, building protects equipment
Solar Dry Kiln
Based on proved design developed at VA Tech in the 1970’s. Took Brian Bond’s class at VA Tech.
About 1,000 board feet of capacity
Solar Dry Kiln-above view
Dehumidification Dry Kiln-1
Nyle2000 unit with about 4,000 board feet of capacity
Dehumidification Dry Kiln-2
Nyle 2000 dehumidification unit set outside the drying chamber
Has a cold water mister for adding moisture when needed
Has electric probes for monitoring moisture content
Dehumidification Dry Kiln-4
Using an insulated container as the dry kiln shell
Dehumidification Dry Kiln-5
Industrial quality fans
Plywood for baffles and fan wall
Good lighting for checking slabs and probes
Dehumidification Dry Kiln-7
Electric probes for monitoring moisture content
Dehumidification Dry Kiln-8
Wet bulb temperature probe
Covered Storage for Slabs
• Two ends covered with wood• Using shade cloth on entry side front and rear
New Wood Shop
• Insulated shop building
• HVAC for heating and cooling
• Basic woodworking equipment• Planer• Table saw• Mortiser• Belt sander
• Focus on making artistic style pieces
Future Directions
• Adding more covered storage-36x60’ building
• Want to better manage inventory so not having “peaks and valleys” in terms of dried slabs in inventory = steady level of dried slabs for sale at all times
• May add a couple of employees in the wood shop to make products
• More networking with other sawyers and tree trimmers