Custom Lumber Maker Travels From Farm To Farm

Custom Lumber Maker Travels From Farm To Farm AG WORLD Ag World 20-5-22 Carroll Ernst is a custom "lumber maker" who travels from farm to farm with his portable sawmill, turning trees into dimension lumber for building barns, garages, sheds and even houses. He's kept himself fully employed at the job for the past 9 years. The most unusual job he ever did was to saw up a pile of salvaged telephone poles for a farmer who used the wood as framing for a pole barn. Ernst saved the poles, cutting some up into 2 by 4's and 2 by 6's for use as framing. "Utility poles work well because they're so dry. Real nice to work with," says Ernst. Normally, a farmer hires Ernst to saw up trees cut down on his own farm. Ernst uses his portable Wood Mizer band saw. The charge is 13 to 15 cents per board foot, de-pending on the type of wood. He saws the lumber green and stacks it for drying. A drying fan that can be used to speed the process. Customers like the way the portable saw's thin band-type blade keeps waste to a minimum, and the fact that the wood comes out so much smoother than wood cut with a large circular blade. Ernst says some of his customers are cutting wood for a specific building project. Others like to cut up trees in the off season and keep the lumber on hand for use as needed. They like not having to haul the logs to a sawmill for cutting. Wood sawing is generally a two-man job. Usually, the farmer who Ernst is working for acts as his helper. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Carroll Ernst, Rt. 1, Box 252, Farina, Ill. 62838.

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