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