What a great project! Back in September, a gentleman and hobbyist woodworker came to our shop to mill some reclaimed wood into flooring. After pulling the old white pine from the kiln, we went pretty much ran full circle together – denailing a bit, ripping the wood straight, and the putting it through our molder. We cut the surface just right so that the old patina looked great. He enjoyed the Saturday in the shop and went off on his merry way to install.

About a month later, I get an email with some pictures and the customer says —

The flooring went down perfectly and after five coats of Waterlox Tung Oil, I finally finished the project and was able to place some of the furniture back into the porch. We think the floor looks just terrific!

Thanks again for all your help in making this project so special. I think its great that we have been able to incorporate such a special floor and we know exactly where the wood came from. Having the chance to help you mill the wood was an extra bonus. Lots of our friends that have been watching me complete the porch agree that it has been a neat project.

The wood we reclaimed that day was from an 1870’s transitional timberframe-stick frame house in Norwood, Minnesota. It was in built by phenomenal craftsmen who mortised-and-tenon’ed everything — even the studs. There were very few nails where today the guys would have gotten carried away with their air nailers. The place was a straight as could be. While we wanted to save this building as a whole, we couldn’t find a buyer in time. The reclaimed pine floor that we crafted was from the outside shiplap sheathing that had developed a great color over time. Stay tuned for more information on about this old house.