Lumber Processing
Raw salvaged wood needs expert handling before it belongs in your project. Our processing pipeline transforms rough, nail-studded, high-moisture reclaimed lumber into clean, stable, builder-ready material — without sacrificing the character that makes it special.
Processing
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers on metal detection, kiln drying, profiles, and treatment options.
Do you metal-detect every board before milling?
Can you kiln dry customer-supplied reclaimed lumber?
What milling profiles can you produce?
How do you ensure dimension accuracy on old material?
Can you treat lumber for insects or fungi?
Request a Quote
We respond within one business day.
The Processing Pipeline
Every board follows the same rigorous sequence. No shortcuts. No exceptions.
De-Nailing & Metal Detection
Every piece of reclaimed lumber arrives bristling with history — and nails. Our de-nailing process is the critical first step that separates a raw salvage board from usable stock.
Experienced operators hand-pull visible fasteners using specialized nail pullers that minimize surface damage. Each board then passes through a high-sensitivity industrial metal detector calibrated to find fragments as small as 1mm. Any board that triggers the detector is re-inspected and cleared before moving to the next stage.
This dual-pass approach protects our planer blades and your tools. A single missed nail can destroy a $400 planer knife set or, worse, become a projectile on a job site. We take this step seriously.
Key Specs
Kiln Drying
Kiln drying is arguably the most important processing step for reclaimed wood, and the one most commonly skipped by less rigorous operations. We never skip it. Every board we sell passes through our computer-controlled dehumidification kilns.
Our kilns operate at sustained core temperatures of 130-160°F over a period of 5-14 days depending on species and thickness. This achieves three critical outcomes:
Insect Elimination
Reclaimed wood often harbors powderpost beetles, old house borers, carpenter ants, and termites — or their eggs and larvae. Sustained temperatures above 130°F for 24+ hours kill all life stages of every wood-boring insect. Our standard cycle far exceeds this threshold.
Moisture Reduction
Raw salvage lumber can arrive at 15-25% moisture content (MC). Our kilns reduce MC to a consistent 6-8%, which is the equilibrium range for interior use in our climate zone. Properly dried lumber resists cupping, twisting, and checking after installation.
Dimensional Stability
Wood moves with moisture changes. By bringing MC down to its service-level equilibrium before milling, we ensure that the dimensions you receive are the dimensions that stay. Floors stay flat. Joints stay tight. Panels stay true.
Key Specs
Planing & Surfacing
After kiln drying, boards move to our planing line. We operate a 24-inch wide industrial planer with helical cutterheads that produces a smooth, even surface with minimal tearout — critical for figured and interlocked grain patterns common in old-growth stock.
You choose the finish level:
Skip Planed (Hit or Miss)
A light pass that removes surface dirt and oxidation while preserving the board's weathered character. Ideal for accent walls, cladding, and rustic applications where patina is desired.
S2S (Surfaced Two Sides)
Both faces planed to a uniform thickness. Edges remain rough-sawn. This is the standard for flooring blanks, paneling, and stock that will receive further on-site finishing.
S4S (Surfaced Four Sides)
All four faces planed and edges jointed to precise dimensions. Ready to use as-is for trim, shelving, furniture components, and any application demanding tight tolerances.
Key Specs
Resawing to Custom Dimensions
Reclaimed lumber rarely arrives in the exact dimensions a project requires. Our resawing capabilities let us cut any board or timber down to your specified thickness, width, and length.
We operate a 36-inch resaw bandsaw that handles timbers up to 12x12 and a precision table saw for smaller dimensioning work. Common resawing requests include:
Beam Halving & Quartering
Converting large timbers into mantel-sized pieces, stair treads, or thick shelving stock. A single 8x8 beam can yield four 4x4 posts or eight 2x4 boards with spectacular grain.
Thin Stock & Veneer
Slicing thick boards into 1/4" or 3/8" panels for cabinet faces, drawer fronts, and veneering applications where reclaimed character is desired on a budget.
Flooring Blanks
Milling rough stock into uniform-thickness flooring blanks (typically 3/4" or 5/8") with consistent widths for tongue-and-groove profiling.
Key Specs
Borate Treatment
For projects that demand an extra layer of protection against future insect infestation and fungal decay, we offer disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT) treatment — commonly known as borate treatment.
Borate is a naturally occurring mineral salt that is highly effective against termites, carpenter ants, powderpost beetles, and wood-decay fungi. Unlike pressure-treated lumber chemicals (ACQ, CCA), borate is low-toxicity to humans and mammals, making it suitable for interior applications including homes and restaurants.
We apply borate as a surface spray or dip treatment after kiln drying but before final planing. The treatment penetrates into the wood fibers and remains effective indefinitely as long as the wood is not subjected to direct water exposure. For exterior applications where borate would leach, we recommend alternative treatment strategies and can advise accordingly.
Key Specs
Quality Control
Reclaimed lumber is inherently variable. Our quality control process ensures that variability becomes character, not liability.
Visual Grading
Every board is visually inspected for structural defects: rot, excessive checking, insect damage beyond cosmetic, and cross-grain that compromises strength. Boards are graded Select, #1, #2, #3, or Economy based on NHLA-aligned criteria adapted for reclaimed stock.
Moisture Verification
After kiln drying, every load is spot-checked with a pin-type moisture meter. Any board exceeding 10% MC is returned to the kiln. We document MC readings and can provide them on request for specification-critical projects.
Dimensional Accuracy
Planed and resawn boards are checked with calibrated calipers against the ordered dimensions. Our tolerance is +/- 1/32" on thickness and width. Boards outside tolerance are re-milled or downgraded.
Metal-Free Guarantee
After de-nailing and metal detection, we guarantee that processed lumber is free of ferrous metal. If a customer finds a nail in a board that was sold as processed, we replace the board and the damaged tooling at our expense.
Species Identification
Reclaimed lumber is often mis-identified. Our graders can visually identify over 30 domestic species and use hand-lens and chemical spot-tests when visual ID is ambiguous. You get what the tag says.
Chain of Custody
For LEED projects and historic preservation work, we maintain documented chain of custody from salvage site to customer delivery. This documentation supports MR credit applications and provenance verification.
Need Custom Processing?
Whether you need 50 board feet of skip-planed barn siding or 5,000 board feet of kiln-dried, S4S heart pine flooring, we can handle it. Tell us your specs and timeline, and we'll deliver.
Request Processing QuoteFull Equipment Inventory
Our Townsend Road facility houses industrial-grade equipment purpose-selected for the unique demands of reclaimed lumber processing.
36" Resaw Bandmill
Capacity: 36" wide x 24" tall. Carbide-tipped blade with thin kerf (0.045") to minimize waste. Variable speed 2,000-4,000 FPM.
24" Spiral-Head Planer
Segmented carbide inserts (72 per head). Tolerance: +/- 1/32". Helical cutterhead for reduced tearout on figured grain. Feed speed: 20-40 FPM.
Four-Head Moulder/Profiler
Simultaneously profiles all 4 faces. Accepts custom HSS knife sets. Max working width: 12". Max working height: 6".
Straight-Line Rip Saw
Laser-guided carbide blade. Tolerance: +/- 1/64" on width. Conveyor-fed for consistent results on long stock.
Industrial Metal Detector
Dual-channel detection for ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Sensitivity: 1mm ferrous fragments. Full-board scanning at belt speed.
Dehumidification Kiln
2,000 BF capacity per cycle. Temperature range: 90-170 degrees F. Closed-loop condensate recovery. Computer-controlled schedule programming.
Wide-Belt Sander
37" capacity. 60-220 grit range. Used for final surface preparation on flooring, furniture components, and architectural panels.
CNC Router (New 2025)
5x10 table. 3-axis routing for architectural millwork, sign blanks, and complex profiles. Enables digital reproduction of historic moulding patterns.
Processing Capacity & Throughput
Understanding our capacity helps you plan lead times and set realistic expectations for your project. Here are our typical daily throughput rates for each processing stage.
Typical Processing Timeline: From Raw Salvage to Finished Product
A board's journey from a demolition site to your job site involves multiple processing stages, each with its own timeline. Here is what a typical order looks like when starting from raw salvaged material.
Intake & De-Nailing
Material arrives from the salvage site and is unloaded, sorted by species, and queued for de-nailing. Hand de-nailing begins immediately, with each board then passing through the metal detector.
Kiln Loading
De-nailed boards are stickered and loaded into the kiln. Initial moisture content readings are taken and recorded. The kiln schedule is programmed based on species and target MC.
Kiln Drying
The longest single stage. Softwoods typically require 5-7 days; hardwoods and thick stock may require 10-14 days. The kiln is computer-monitored and adjusted as needed to prevent drying defects.
Post-Kiln Conditioning
Boards are removed from the kiln and allowed to equalize for 24-48 hours in our covered storage area. Final MC readings are taken and verified against target specifications.
Milling & Profiling
Boards enter the milling line: planing, resawing, profiling (T&G, shiplap, or custom), and straight-line ripping as specified. Quality checks at each station.
Final Grading & Packaging
Finished boards are graded, measured, tagged, and packaged for delivery. Stickered, banded, and wrapped per our freight preparation standards.
Delivery
Scheduled delivery to your job site or available for customer pickup at our yard. Two-hour delivery windows are confirmed the day prior.
Timeline shown is for a typical order starting from raw salvaged material. Orders using pre-dried or partially processed inventory will have shorter lead times. Rush processing is available for an additional fee.
Quality Checkpoints Throughout Processing
We do not wait until the end to check quality. Inspection happens at every transition between processing stages.
Intake Inspection
Visual check for chemical contamination (CCA green tint, creosote odor, lead paint), structural rot, and active insect infestation. Boards that fail are quarantined and not processed.
Post De-Nail Scan
Every board passes through the metal detector after manual de-nailing. Boards that trigger the detector are hand-inspected with a wand detector and re-cleared before advancing to any blade.
Pre-Kiln MC Reading
Moisture content is measured at intake to determine required drying time. Boards are grouped by MC range to ensure uniform drying within each kiln load.
Post-Kiln MC Verification
Every batch is spot-checked (minimum 10% of boards) with a pin-type moisture meter after kiln removal. Any board exceeding target MC is returned to the kiln for additional drying.
Mid-Milling Dimension Check
During planing and profiling, operators check dimensions with digital calipers every 20 boards. Feed speed and depth-of-cut are adjusted immediately if measurements drift outside tolerance.
Final Order Audit
Before packaging, the entire order is audited against the customer specification: species, grade, dimensions, MC, surface quality, and quantity. Discrepancies are resolved before the order ships.