Salvaged "Farm Wood" Makes Beautiful Furniture
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Tim Blanski used to be a company man, climbing a corporate ladder. But his hobby was woodworking and he's always loved old farm buildings. About 10 years ago, he got tired of the corporate grind and bought a small business called the Granary Woodshops. Now he's a fulltime woodworker in the scenic countryside near Spring Grove, Minnesota. His specialty is building custom furnishings using lumber and timbers from barns and other farm buildings.
"I take materials that would be otherwise burned or buried and give them new life in someone's home."
Blanski looks for weathering, deep textures, large knots and burls in the wood homes. He has used quarter sawn oak from feed troughs for a dining room table; 70-year-old pasture fencing for trim on sofa tables; rough cut lumber for elegant jewelry boxes; rotting horse harness leather found in an old barn became decorative trim on table aprons; and small copper scraps became accent corners on cabinets.
"I get calls all the time from people who want me to salvage wood from an old building," says Blanski. "I could literally have thousands of board feet of barn board, beams and posts. The unique features I look for are often found in smaller buildings like cribs, bins, fencing and broken down barns that are very weathered."
Blanski maintains his cache of lumber inside an old barn and several outbuildings on his own farm. Planks, boards, beams, trim and moldings are piled neatly. He complements these weathered pieces with twigs, branches, limbs, pine cones and interesting burls that he finds on walks in the woods.
"I'm the world's slowest hiker in a woods," Blanski says, "because I'm always seeing something on a forest floor that I can use." One forest treasure that he couldn't carry home was a large oak burl that weighs nearly a ton and is 5 ft. tall. He had it lifted onto his trailer with a front end loader and will have a local sawmill cut the burl into smaller boards. At some point it might become a table, mirror frame, armoire or a headboard.
"This is a very gratifying business," says Blanski, "and the creative possibilities are endless. The furniture and art pieces I create are singular designs with artistic expression, but they're also functional home furnishings." He sells through galleries in the Midwest and online to customers across the country.
Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Tim Blanski, The Granary WoodShops, 18666 County Rd. 4, Spring Grove, Minn. 55974 (ph 507 498-3086; theFarm@granarywoodshops.com; granarywoodshops.com).
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Salvaged Farm Wood Makes Beautiful Furniture FARM HOME Furniture Tim Blanski used to be a company man climbing a corporate ladder But his hobby was woodworking and he s always loved old farm buildings About 10 years ago he got tired of the corporate grind and bought a small business called the Granary Woodshops Now he s a fulltime woodworker in the scenic countryside near Spring Grove Minnesota His specialty is building custom furnishings using lumber and timbers from barns and other farm buildings I take materials that would be otherwise burned or buried and give them new life in someone s home Blanski looks for weathering deep textures large knots and burls in the wood homes He has used quarter sawn oak from feed troughs for a dining room table; 70-year-old pasture fencing for trim on sofa tables; rough cut lumber for elegant jewelry boxes; rotting horse harness leather found in an old barn became decorative trim on table aprons; and small copper scraps became accent corners on cabinets I get calls all the time from people who want me to salvage wood from an old building says Blanski I could literally have thousands of board feet of barn board beams and posts The unique features I look for are often found in smaller buildings like cribs bins fencing and broken down barns that are very weathered Blanski maintains his cache of lumber inside an old barn and several outbuildings on his own farm Planks boards beams trim and moldings are piled neatly He complements these weathered pieces with twigs branches limbs pine cones and interesting burls that he finds on walks in the woods I m the world s slowest hiker in a woods Blanski says because I m always seeing something on a forest floor that I can use One forest treasure that he couldn t carry home was a large oak burl that weighs nearly a ton and is 5 ft tall He had it lifted onto his trailer with a front end loader and will have a local sawmill cut the burl into smaller boards At some point it might become a table mirror frame armoire or a headboard This is a very gratifying business says Blanski and the creative possibilities are endless The furniture and art pieces I create are singular designs with artistic expression but they re also functional home furnishings He sells through galleries in the Midwest and online to customers across the country Contact FARM SHOW Followup Tim Blanski The Granary WoodShops 18666 County Rd 4 Spring Grove Minn 55974 ph 507 498-3086; theFarm@granarywoodshops com; granarywoodshops com
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