Day 3

We started the day at the Elkins Railroad Station It is a beautiful structure.

Next we went toColonial Millwork. They make transitional molding for Armstrong and others  They start off with green wood that needs to be dried. They use 20 species of wood including bamboo (pictured above) and ahybrid called Pacific Albus http://www.calcedar.com/about-pacific-albus/.  They put wood in kilns and bring moisture down to 8.5 percent. Next they grade the lumber checking for knotholes etc. The wood is then divided into stacks organized by species in factory. Red oak and maple are used the most.

The wood is is then ripped and then stacked as shown in video. The pieces left over are put on a conveyor belt to be made into sawdust and sold to Haimer Pellet. They can glue pieces together to make larger boards. they can split wood width wise. The machines are programmed to cut pieces the picture shows a shelf holder being cut.(below) (right pieces cutout of board)

To make the molding they need to make a profile so they can have the knives made to cut the wood automatically.They have 300 different profiles and can make more if needed. Usually they cut 2-3 molds at one time

Next it goes through an automatic sander. Then it is painted or stained heated dry and then have a uv finish  put on to portect it. Finally it is boxed. Throughout the process there are qulity checks to make sure a quality product is made.