Improvements Keep Coming

        We are working hard on improvements to the mill this summer. On Wednesday our main parking lot was repaved. Possibly one of the hottest days we will have this summer. 

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4^th of July to everyone…..

What is the meaning behind the red, white and blue colors of the American flag? Red        stands for hardiness and valor. White symbolizes purity and innocence. Blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice.

               Dan Wightman, Cliff Clune and David Wightman

Check out our web site wightmanlumber.com to learn how Wightman Specialty Woods was born. Dan and David Wightman are the current owners. They strive each day to expand the company while maintaining the time honored traditions of delivering quality materials to our customers. If you stop by you will see these guys busy working around the mill.

Not counting the years that spent growing up around the business Dan and David collectively bring another 91 years of experience. This brings the number of experience and expertise introduced up to 185 years. 

We will be closed on July 4^th for the holiday. Our retail sales will be open on Friday, July 5^th from 8 am to 4:30 pm and on Saturday, July 6^th from 8 am to 12 pm. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Our retail sales representatives are Pat Wightman-Yank and Marty Corsi. Pat has been working here for 29 years. This only includes the years she as actually worked at the mill not the number of the years she has been around the family business.

Marty is on the go around the yard and available to help you make your wood selections.

He has been with us for 13 years. Marty said he has had the opportunity to work in almost every area of the mill to help him develop a strong understanding of the milling and grading processes. He shared with me that he has learned from everyone he has contact with and that often our customers bring new knowledge and perspective on product uses. Marty said that the number one thing he enjoys about his job at Wightman Specialty Woods is the really great customers he gets to meet everyday.

Together Pat and Marty add 42 years the organization. Joel Griffith adds 8 years and with Cliff Clune’s 44 we have introduced you to 94 years of experience and we are just getting started. As I continue to introduce our employees it will be amazing to find out how many years of know-how we have collectively.   

Holy Maple ------

This week we have been sawing Hard Maple logs and this is a big one. It is truly amazing to see the size of the boards coming off. The largest hard maple log we currently have in inventory is 36” in diameter with 1024 board feet. That is a lot of log to handle and these guys know just how to get the job done.

                        Spots in photos are caused by sawdust particles. 

                                          Very large hard maple log.

                                          Typical size hard maple log.

Pictured Joel Griffith – Feeding cuts from large maple log into edge trimmer. Joel has been with Wightman Lumber for 8 years. He works in the sawmill as a sawyer, saw operator and filer. 

Delaware Academy Furniture Gallery

On June 17, 2013 Delaware Academy held the 4^th annual Furniture Gallery featuring woodworking projects completed by students of Technology Teacher, Eric Sturtz,. Marty Corsi was able to attend the showing and enjoyed viewing the workmanship of the students combined with our specialty woods. Marty found that the students displayed much talent and great future potential in the field of wood working. We wish the students great success and fulfillment in their future years as wood workers.

The following was taken from the program:

“A man who works with his hands is a laborer;

a man who works his hands and his brain is a craftsman;

but a man who works with his hand and his brains and his heart is a an artist.”

                                                                                    Louis Nizer

Cliff Clune - Whole Sale and Mill Safety Office

Cliff joined Wightman Lumber in August of 2012 and brought with him a wealth of experience and knowledge. Having started in the lumber business at the age of 18 he has grown with the industries for over 40 years. Cliff is a graduate of the National Harwood Lumber Association Inspection School in Memphis, TN. His years in the lumber industries have included lumber inspection, kiln operator, mill management, purchasing and sales. For a number of years he operated his own business, Clune Lumber, located in Otego, NY.   

Cliff shares that he enjoys the honest, hardworking and interesting people he has meet over the years. When I asked Cliff why he loves his job he told me, “After over 4 decades in the industry every day is still a learning experience.” He also shared that is his looking forward to spending many more years learning and meeting people. We are grateful for the knowledge, talents and experience that Cliff brings to the job.



Cyndi Miller saying hello from Wightman Specialty Woods

I would like to introduce myself, Cyndi Miller. I am a fresh face at Wightman Specialty Woods. I will have the opportunity to enjoy a wide diversification in my work responsibilities. One of my many exciting goals is to keep in contact with weekly updates to Wightman’s blog and Facebook page. I will be introducing to you our employees and sharing a little history about the experience that they bring to our company. Collectively we have an incredible number of years of experience in the industry.

I am looking very forward to the opportunity to let our friends know what’s going on at the mill in Portlandville, New York. We have been very busy at the mill this spring. We are looking forward to some projects slated for this summer and are also busy developing plans for our 20th Fall Open House which will be held on Saturday, October 5, 2013. I hope to meet you all in person at our open house.

Emerald Ash Borer

Here is a recent photo of our forester giving a talk to local elementary school students.  The question raised by one very well informed 1st grader was: were the ash logs on the load cut because of the Emerald Ash Borer?  Impressive for a 7 year old!

The answer is no.  Luckily we have not seen too much of the Emerald Ash Borer in our area...yet, though some of our surrounding counties in New York have reported incidences of this Asian beetle.  Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was first discovered in Michigan in 2002 and has since spread rapidly throughout the northeastern U.S., infecting and killing millions of Ash trees - a sad situation for the health of our forests.

Emerald Ash Borer

To learn more, please visit The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website where regular updates on the status of the Emerald Ash Borer within New York are posted. 

Lumber manufacturing (continued)

Recently we've talked a lot about our sawing processes, but what happens to our sawn lumber after this step?

The next step in our manufacturing process is drying the boards of lumber.  This is accomplished by placing lumber into large drying kilns where circulating air allows the excess moisture in the boards to evaporate and the wood to be brought down to the correct moisture content for finished materials.  This is a critical step as wood with too much moisture will cause problems in the final application (ie. swelling in wood floors, bowing of boards used in furniture making, etc).  Different species of wood require different amounts of time to dry down to the ideal moisture content (hardwoods, 6-8%).

Lumber being loaded into drying kilns

Once lumber comes out of our drying kilns it is processed through our grading facility.  This step separates the nicer boards from the more rustic boards.  The grading of lumber is actually a complex science with strict requirements that have been set by the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA).  Our graders have passed rigorous NHLA coursework and are regularly updated of new developments in lumber grading standards.

Grading kiln dried lumber

Once our lumber is graded it is either sold in the rough form in wholesale lots to cabinetry and furniture making companies, or processed through our finishing mill to create the wood materials that you might use in your home.

Finishing mill

What lies within

What is found inside of a tree?  Wood of course, right?  

Turns out that's not all you might find. 

Unknown metal object found in log

It's amazing what we have found inside some of the logs that we have processed through our plant over the years.  Whether we realize it or not humans have had a great impact on forests and their trees throughout the course of time.  From sap spiles used to tap maple trees for syrup to metal brackets used for clothes lines, it's incredible the amount of metal objects that become embedded in trees over the course of their life.  Take for example the forests of Europe:  many of the trees in these forests have permanent scars from the effects of bullets entering the wood during both World War I and II.

Arrowhead found in log

For a sawmill metal materials can severely damage sawing equipment should they come in contact with the sawing blades.  For several years we have had a metal detector in place which scans each log before it enters our sawing facility.  We recently installed a new detector which has been even more effective in identifying the presence of metal materials in our logs before they are sawn.

Metal detector that logs pass under at our facility prior to entering our sawmill

A great time for siding!

The summer months provide the perfect opportunity to install siding on your home.  Obviously the warm weather is a key factor for the comfort of the installer but warmer temperatures are also critical when applying primer, stain and paint to unfinished siding.

Many oil based primers require minimum temperatures of around 50 degrees; latex stains and paints have similar temperature requirements.  Taking care to seal both the front and back side of the wood siding will ensure the proper protection of the wood.  Sealing the ends of each board is best to guarantee against any water penetration into the wood; caulking at joints will also achieve this goal.

Here is a Cypress siding installation in progress:

Unfinished Cypress clapboard

Primed and painted

Installation of clapboard and trim in progress at front entrance

May Rough lumber availabilities

Mini Lot Wholesale (200 – 500 BF)  Small Lot Wholesale (500 – 3,000 BF) 4/4 Select and Better Grade
Specie	6'	7'	8'	9'/10’	11'/12’
Ash		y	y	y	y
Basswood			y	y	y
Black Walnut					y
Cherry - Sap		y	y	y	y
Cherry – Red		y	y	y	y
Hard Maple	y	y		y	y
Hickory				y	y
Red Oak	y		y	y	y
Red Oak – Qtr. sawn				y	y
White Oak				y	y

4/4 Common Grade Specie 6’ 7’ 8’ 9’/10’ 11’/12’ Ash y Basswood y y y y y Birch y y Hard Maple y Red Oak y y y y y Soft Maple y y y y y White Oak y y y   4/4 Rustic Grade
Specie	8’	9’/10’	11’/12’
Cherry	y	y	y
Red Oak	y	y	y

5/4 Select and Better Grade Specie 7' 8' 9'/10’ 11'/12’ Basswood y y Hard Maple y y y y Red Oak y y y y   8/4 Select and Better Grade
Specie	8'	9'/10'	11'/12'
Ash			y
Hard Maple	y	y	y
Red Oak		y