Custom Milling

In 2016, we finally pulled the trigger and bought a Wood-Mizer portable mill, and it’s the newest phase for Trees for Life. The main reason we eyed mills for years was the overwhelming wasting of high quality wood gained during inescapable removals. In many cases here in the valley we are removing trees in excess of 100 years old, trees with beautiful, tight grain, or even just wood with abstract patterns that would be a crime to chop up and burn. Turns out we’re wood nerds too, not just climbers!

So, we want to take that beautifully aged wood and turn it into something that represents the trees that watched over this valley for decades, even centuries. Whether it be tables, benches, or counter tops, we can mill and create a piece for a client that continues the legacy of the organism from which it originated. In our mind it’s all a part of creating a more sustainable environment.

Some people would just like to use their lumber to make posts and boards for building, like with this pole barn we built to house our mill.

Others may want something with more finesse, like this madrone side table.

Or maybe a bigger piece, like this larch farm-style dinner table.

And then there is the beauty of just a long slab, like this live-edge western red cedar counter. Below are slabs from ancient Douglas fir and Norway maple. All the wood from these pieces was recycled through TFL.