Building Connections - Spring 2002

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Winter 2001

Building Connections

Volume 1 Number 4

A publication of Vermont Woodnet, a network of small wood workers in Addison and Chittenden Counties working to support Vermont wood products businesses based on a commitment to the sustainability of the forest

Page 1 Sustainable Woods Workshop, Wood Use with
            Character
Page 2 WoodNet's Evolving Leadership, Governor's Table
            update, WoodNet Logo
Page 3 Green Wood Procurement Policies, Gardeners
            Supply Sells Green, A Walk In The Woods

Sustainable Woods Workshop
Nils Per Shenholm and Parker Nichols
On September 15, 40 forest product enthusiasts were greeted by a quintessential crisp and sunny Green Mountain fall morning at Steven Taylor's family land in Lincoln. Wood turners, a financial investor, foresters, woodworkers, a forest - salvage manufacturer, wood brokers, government representatives, and others gathered to further collected interest in shaping the way people appreciate and utilize our natural renewable forest resources. The workshop included a woods walk demonstrating sustainable forestry practices, demonstrations of grading lumber and a portable saw mill, as well as presentations on wood use and a panel on marketing sustainable wood products. This edition of 'Building Connections' documents the newsworthy day of learning and networking.

Wood Use with Character
Parker Nichols
The 'Wood Use' session of the Sustainable Woods Workshop provided an opportunity to share experiences in manufacturing and marketing products made from character wood and wood from local sources.

Don't Miss Vermont WoodNet's
Quarterly Meeting
Wednesday, November 7, 7-9 PM

Neal Albert, of Shelburne Fine Woodworking - Furniture, will show a number of router attachments for laminate work and his large edge bander and Cabinet Ware software.
Bob Lavallee, of Lavallee's Sharpening Service, will talk about saw blade care, carbides best suited for woodworking, and the cost of sharpening compared to replacing blades.

7:00-7:20 Group introductions and tour of Neal's shop 7:20-7:40 Bob's sharpening talk
7:40-8:15 WoodNet business
8:15-8:45 Neal's demonstration of Cabinet Ware
8:45-9:00 Demonstration of edge bander

Directions from the North: Take 116 south. South of Hinesburg Village at the sharp left turn in the road go straight onto Silver St., continue straight several miles, just past Monkton General store bare right toward Vergennes, 1.6 mi., turn left onto Monkton Rd. (Just past Boro Hill Rd.). The shop is a big red barn, 1599 Monkton Rd. From the South: take Rte 7 north to Vergennes, at blinking red take a right towards Monkton, 7 mi., take Right on Monkon Rd. The shop is a big red barn, 1599 Monkton Rd. Tel.: 985-8208

Following introductions led by Brian Jones, Parker Nichols of Green Mountain WildWoods (GMW) in Burlington started the session with a presentation of his disease-killed, forest-salvage butternut business. Focused exclusively on the selective harvesting and processing of butternut trees killed and dying from an airborne fungus, GMW has developed new markets for this under-utilized species

Parker recounted the success of his marketing efforts in introducing "wormy", and character grade products directly to high-end architects, designers, and builders. He offered his success as an example of consumer's receptiveness to changing their views of what is 'beauty' in a wood product.

Jeff Parsons of Beeken & Parsons furniture located at Shelburne Farms followed with a few examples of their exquisitely crafted 'character wood' chairs. Jeff recounted the research & development into their concept, and how during 'blind' viewings of several chairs, the review committee repeatedly (and unknowingly) was drawn to the pieces that utilized the most natural character features of the tree. Jeff spoke about techniques required to work with character wood which included drying materials properly and designing specially ground cutting tools to get the best results with "difficult" wood that the industry has traditionally excluded from the high-end markets.

Len Schmidt, the operations manager for Vermont Family Forests (VFF) in Bristol, spoke about VFF's use of character grade wood in a recent building collaboration with Middlebury College. Len spoke about the difficulty of working with 'mainstream' architects who often come to a project with predetermined concepts of beauty in wood products. Middlebury's architect originally wanted to design a large wood paneled wall, specking veneer-grade cherry throughout. Len talked about the frustrations and ultimate triumph in presenting the architect with a book-matched flitch-cut beech panel product that unfolded up the wall, telling the story of the tree. Len described the character markings as central to the piece, rather than "edited" out, as is so often the case.

Jim Cunningham, of Moose Maple Furniture in Bristol, rounded out the session by introducing his character wood clock pieces exclusively from found and donated material. He showcased several clocks made from curly maple salvaged from the sawmill scrap pile at Addison County Field Days illustrating another example of the almost endless character wood use possibilities.

In addition to the presentations there were a variety of displays illustrating wood use, marketing and wood sources including, Department of Forest Parks and Recreation, SmartWood, and a boat from the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

Vermont WoodNet
P.O. Box 4562
Burlington, VT 05406
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