He Turns Farm Trees Into Family Heirlooms
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“I regard every log as a gift. I cut each one for character, and each one has a unique fingerprint hidden inside. It’s my privilege to open it up and expose that beauty for others,” says James Dykema as he describes the process of transforming tree logs into family heirlooms at his Willmar, Minn. sawmill. His 2 primary products are dining tables and fireplace mantles. Each work-of-art includes a complete history of the piece branded into the underside.
Dykema started his Three Fingers Sawmill operation in 2008 when he decided that he’d had enough of over-the-road trucking. “I bought a sawmill that was for sale in Wisconsin, got a 10-minute lesson on how to operate it, and just started cutting,” he says. “I had no idea how to turn logs into furniture, so I just sort of invented my own methods and style.”
What makes Dykema’s business unique is that he specializes in making tables and mantles from trees that have meaning to his customers.
“There are a lot of Century Farms here in Minnesota, and the younger generation likes the idea of furniture made from the tree great-grandfather planted on the farm. We brand the underside of each table or mantle with the complete history of where the tree came from, the kind of wood, and then each family member signs his or her name. Each customer becomes part of the heirloom project.”
One of Dykema’s favorite projects involved a batch of aromatic cedar trees from a Minnesota church where a woman’s grandfather had planted the trees. “They were beautiful logs, and we ended up making a number of furniture pieces for members of the family, and for the church where the cedar trees stood for generations.”
One of the challenges of cutting heirloom trees, Dykema says, is the metal found in the logs. “Many of these trees have nails, screws, wire, bullets, horseshoes or other metal in them. One sawyer I know found a 7-lb. cannonball embedded in a trunk. But that’s part of the beauty of this business, to be able to tell the story that granddad used to shoe horses underneath the tree that this table was made from.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Three Fingers Sawmill, 4004 Hwy. 71 N.E., Willmar, Minn. 56201 (ph 320 235-1215; www.threefingerssawmill.com).
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He Turns Farm Trees Into Family Heirlooms FARM HOME Furniture “I regard every log as a gift I cut each one for character and each one has a unique fingerprint hidden inside It’s my privilege to open it up and expose that beauty for others ” says James Dykema as he describes the process of transforming tree logs into family heirlooms at his Willmar Minn sawmill His 2 primary products are dining tables and fireplace mantles Each work-of-art includes a complete history of the piece branded into the underside Dykema started his Three Fingers Sawmill operation in 2008 when he decided that he’d had enough of over-the-road trucking “I bought a sawmill that was for sale in Wisconsin got a 10-minute lesson on how to operate it and just started cutting ” he says “I had no idea how to turn logs into furniture so I just sort of invented my own methods and style ” What makes Dykema’s business unique is that he specializes in making tables and mantles from trees that have meaning to his customers “There are a lot of Century Farms here in Minnesota and the younger generation likes the idea of furniture made from the tree great-grandfather planted on the farm We brand the underside of each table or mantle with the complete history of where the tree came from the kind of wood and then each family member signs his or her name Each customer becomes part of the heirloom project ” One of Dykema’s favorite projects involved a batch of aromatic cedar trees from a Minnesota church where a woman’s grandfather had planted the trees “They were beautiful logs and we ended up making a number of furniture pieces for members of the family and for the church where the cedar trees stood for generations ” One of the challenges of cutting heirloom trees Dykema says is the metal found in the logs “Many of these trees have nails screws wire bullets horseshoes or other metal in them One sawyer I know found a 7-lb cannonball embedded in a trunk But that’s part of the beauty of this business to be able to tell the story that granddad used to shoe horses underneath the tree that this table was made from ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Three Fingers Sawmill 4004 Hwy 71 N E Willmar Minn 56201 ph 320 235-1215; www threefingerssawmill com
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