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| Wood Processing / Products |
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VFS processes some of the wood generated from stewardship operations into high-value products such as flooring, paneling, interior trim, posts and beams, and custom orders for local builders, artists, cabinet-makers and boat-builders. This wood is from Vashon, provides jobs to Island residents, and goes almost exclusively to Island residents. VFS feels strongly about local resource use, local jobs, and minimizing environmental damage in the harvest, transportation, and processing of forest products.
The following sections describe what we do, why, and what we have to offer in products and services. Please check back frequently as we are developing these pages and to learn about new products.
Joel Kuperberg Memorial Mill Yard
The Forest Stewards have been producing sustainable lumber, milling boards and beams, for nearly five years at our mill yard centrally located on Vashon Island (corner of SW 188th and 103rd SW). We are now capable of fully processing lumber at our location - from the forest to the floor, as the saying goes.
Species Processed
Vashon Island's forests are diverse in species and provide numerous marketable products from them. The Island has significant amounts of Alder, Maple, Madrona, Hemlock, Douglas-fir, and Cedar. Alder, Maple, and Madrona are hardwoods that are often used for cabinets, flooring, paneling, and numerous woodworking projects. Hemlock, Douglas-fir, and Cedar are softwoods that have a wide range of uses, from framing lumber to trim, from flooring to siding, and everything else in-between.
VFS is interested in turning all of these species into higher value products. However, due to infrastructure, capital, and knowledge-base constraints we have had to focus on limiting the species we buy, process, and stock in inventory. To date we work almost exclusively with Douglas-fir, due to its superior strength characteristics for structural projects, its beauty and resilience for finish projects, and its forgiveness in storage and seasoning conditions. We have done small experiments with Madrona, Alder, and Maple and are excited to pursue them more when markets become clearer and we have infrastructure in place.
Currently VFS mills Douglas-fir into appearance grade timbers and boards. Wood is first air-dried, then kiln-dried for added stability and finally processed into standard or custom dimensions. The dried boards are suitable for trim, paneling, siding, and flooring. We can custom cut almost any lumber style including historic profiles such as shiplap and drop siding which were used on old barns and houses. We also have limited quantities of hardwoods and mill scrap at the yard, as well as a perpetual supply of sawdust and firewood at discounted prices.
We also do custom milling and surfacing of other peoples wood.
Please click here for more details on products and services
To find out more information or to get a quote please contact:
Morgan Holtz
Mill Yard Manager
(206) 818-5254 (cell)
or
David Warren
Managing Director
(206) 463-9405 (office)
(206) 295-6670 (cell)
david@vashonforeststewards.org
Selling or Gifting Logs to US
In addition to the logs we purchase from ecological thinnings, VFS occasionally mills "salvage" logs that are from clearings for home sites, drain fields, and other non-forestry activities on Vashon Island. These salvage logs are usually in quantities too small to efficiently sell to other mills. Hauling these logs to VFS allows for greater resource use and helps the landowner by removing it from the site.
Most salvage logs are given to VFS outright. The fact that we are a non-profit allows for a tax write-off for these gifts, though it rarely seems to be the motivation for the gift. We also have taken logs in exchange for credit on future purchases or in-kind services, a program we call "Wood Banking". This program works well since many of our customers have logs they do not need, or that do not match the timing or attributes of their own projects.
Occasionally VFS will buy salvage logs outright, primarily when they are of a particularly valuable species or are exceptionally large logs. However, this is rare due to our limited funds and the time required to recoup the investment. Please contact us if you believe you have a valuable log, such as Douglas Fir >30", Black Walnut, Black or Fruit Cherry, White Oak, and Black Locust, to name a few.
To find out if VFS would be interested in your logs please contact:
David Warren
Managing Director
(206) 463-9405 (office)
206-295-6670 (cell)
Created on 06/12/2006 09:36 PM by stephen
Updated on 04/02/2009 10:23 AM by David
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