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A Visit to a Specialty Lumber Mill

Charles Neil, contributor

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Some 15 years ago, I ran across a phone number for a lumber mill in the back of Fine Woodworking Magazine.  You know, those small print ones in the back.  Well, when I called that number, little did I know that I would be making a life-long friend and lumber supplier for my furniture.

That first call, I was looking for some tiger maple.  Made my first of many trips to Good Hope shortly after that.  Boy, the figured stuff he had, and wide, can't hardly get that stuff any more, but still, Norman and Skip have one of the best selections in the country for highly figured woods and large slabs. 

As a woodworker and a passion for fine furniture, Norman set out in search of figured lumber for his hobby.  Through the years it developed into a full-fledged business and he opened his doors for business as a specialty lumber mill in 1990.

Premier walnut, cherry and tiger maple for fine woodworking is their specialty.  Norman searches out, purchases and custom cuts logs into matched sets.  As it comes off the saw they label it and stack on skid for air drying before it is kiln dried on site.  After drying to 8%, it is removed from the kiln and carefully inventoried so they know if what they have is what you want.  The Bubinga and Claro Walnut slabs I saw during my last visit were jaw dropping. 

So....last November, after we delivered a bubinga slab counter top to a client in PA, we had the opportunity to stop by and visit with Norman and Skip and they entertained our video tour for our woodworking audience.  This video was originally broadcast on our site in November and a little later on Youtube so it may not be new to some of you.

Hope you learn a bit about a small specialty mill and if you are in need of some really nice stuff, give Skip a call at GoodHope Hardwoods or 610-274-8842, you can count on personalized service and they ship all over the U.S.

posted in: blogs, Charles Neil, lumber mill, saw mill, Good Hope Hardwoods

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Comments (3)

Ace_HoleInOne writes: Eye candy (if you like wood) This video will get your heart pumping. Love this video, watched it several times on Charles Neil web-site. I like the Inside personal view Charles give you!

-Ace-

Oh and how about those steps!

Posted: 3:22 pm on January 26th

woodworkerplus writes: The Trip to the specialty mill was very informative. I could not believe the selection and having wood in the kiln for weeks at a time was also a surprise. As usual Charles made the visit very interesting.


Posted: 11:21 am on January 23rd

coltfanru writes: nice. its a great video and its really cool to see inside a specialty lumber mill to see what happens behind the scenes in these places!
Posted: 8:12 pm on January 22nd

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