The Florida Woodsmith.

The Florida Woodsmith. Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Florida Woodsmith., Archer, FL.

Hardwood sales are a bit slow lately.So I took on a side job of building a fence for a family member.But where my fence ...
06/14/2026

Hardwood sales are a bit slow lately.
So I took on a side job of building a fence for a family member.
But where my fence will blow a more professionally installed fence out of the water will be in this current step.
I’ll be kiln drying the lumber first.
Pressure treated lumber is generally milled and only dried to 20-24% before being pressure treated and then packaged and sold wet.
This means the lumber will still start to shrink down to 12%(AEP*) the moment it leaves the store. This means shrinkage and possible distortion or movement. In the case of a fence, this is exacerbated by the fact that one side will face the sun and the other will not meaning uneven drying right off the bat.
By running the lumber through the kiln first, the lumber will go up being the lowest MC possible and all possible wood movement will be past it.
Making for a longer lasting, more stable fence, that won’t have to have all the screws tightened after a few weeks.
(*Atmospheric Equilibrium Point)

A look at some Sweetgum slabs I have out to dry.This stack is all 2” and 8ft long.Lots in the 12-14” range, but some spa...
06/13/2026

A look at some Sweetgum slabs I have out to dry.
This stack is all 2” and 8ft long.
Lots in the 12-14” range, but some span up to 16” and beyond.
All coming later this summer.
Stay tuned.

Cracked this bad boy open yesterday.This is the parota log I’ve waited 3 yrs to be able to mill.Had to stop after just o...
06/13/2026

Cracked this bad boy open yesterday.
This is the parota log I’ve waited 3 yrs to be able to mill.
Had to stop after just one cut. I seemed to have hit the current 42” max of the Phoenix.
I guess this means it’s finally time to cut the throat open to the full 48” I designed it to mill.

06/13/2026

A single gorgeous 8/4 chinaberry slab.
This is among my favorite species for a reason.
Man how it glows in the right light. High chatoyancy is a hallmark of all members of the greater mahogany family
If you’ve never worked with chinaberry,
You’d love how it looks once finished.

06/13/2026

There were a number of somewhat mysterious logs in this big load.
They are oak for sure, but what type is the question.
Upon first cutting it, it appeared to be a red, but within an hour shifts to look more like a white. Sweeter smelling than almost any oak I’ve cut.
Presence of tylosis in the pores verified that it’s a white oak, But it’s not live oak, or turkey oak, or swamp chestnut. (The three white oaks I’ve milled before)
Yesterday, Alex of Gator tree Service mentioned he learned of a population of post oak growing in the High Springs river rise area, and believes that’s what this may be.
Either way, this log ended up being about as pretty as white oak gets.
Post oak is named for its popular historic use as fence posts due to rot resistance, which bodes well for my plans to use some of the bigger logs as pavilion posts…

This 5ft maple log blew me away.These slabs have so much crotch figure!!!!Milled mostly to 2”, there were a few 1” slabs...
06/12/2026

This 5ft maple log blew me away.
These slabs have so much crotch figure!!!!
Milled mostly to 2”, there were a few 1” slabs as well. Reaching beyond my bandsaw-mill’s 24”, I trimmed these to mill.
These were t pretty much directly into the kiln from the mill along with some 8ft slabs from the same tree.
I expect them to be available in about 2.5 wks.
More to come,
Stay tuned.

Check out the live oak slabs I dried for a customer.He had me dry them and they were picked up by one of my favorite loc...
06/11/2026

Check out the live oak slabs I dried for a customer.
He had me dry them and they were picked up by one of my favorite local artists to bring his table to life .
I feel honored to have had another role in a custom piece of furniture from Fluidity by Amber
Find her work here.

https://www.instagram.com/fluiditybyamber?igsh=MWozMWE3dHpoMml1eg==

Check out these amazing figured pecan slabs I have available at the moment.Most $36 or less, these have the potential to...
06/11/2026

Check out these amazing figured pecan slabs I have available at the moment.
Most $36 or less, these have the potential to be eye catching cutting boards, epoxy river charcuterie boards, keepsake boxes, shelves, or any number of other projects.
Come see them in person and fall in love with the unique shapes and high figure.
Onsite in archer every Tuesday through Saturday.
(352)870-7775

Yesterday I started my day by stacking these 6/4” maple slabs. These are 6ft and range from 6-9bfThese will be going in...
06/11/2026

Yesterday I started my day by stacking these 6/4” maple slabs. These are 6ft and range from 6-9bf
These will be going in the next load.
I expect them to be ready in 3-5wks

06/10/2026

Another load of logs came in today.
It was mostly sweetgum, but I also saw a log or two of maple and oak.

Address

Archer, FL
32618

Telephone

(352) 870-7775

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Florida Woodsmith. posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Florida Woodsmith.:

Shortcuts

Share