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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-09-23, Page 9District News Chish 1 Wood Productsfills needs of O ists, woodworkers and carvers BY LOU -ANN DE BRUYN An interest in making furniture for themselves has led a Dungannon -area fami- ly into the creation of a new business — one that services people both near and far. Eleven -years -ago, Alex and Lynn Chisholm, of RR 6 Goderich, were consider- ing making some furniture, but problems finding good quality dried lumber in small quantities slowed their progress. It was at this point in 1976, that Alex began to consider establishing a dry kiln operation) to service the smaller needs of hobbyists, woodworkers and carvers. "I started reading about dry kilns and how to set one up. I also visited people in the area who had mentionned establishing one to see if they were actually going to go ahead and do it. When they said no, I decid- ed I would," he said. While he toyed with the idea of starting a dry kiln operation, Alex, who works full- time as a site Manager with Royal Homes in Wingham, was kept busy building cabinets ( kitchen cabinets, gun cabinets, bookcases, tables and dry sinks ). It was his inability to get good Materials for these project's that made his decide to go ahead with the dry kiln operation. In the fall of 1985, he purchased a 50 acre farm located one and one-half miles east of Dungannon which would be the site of his dry kiln operation. He then ordered a kiln from Bangor, Maine, since a small kiln could not be pur- chased in Canada. Kilns are used to "bake" (umber — take the moisture out of the wood. Extracting the moisture from a pice of wood is down slowly in temperatures of about 115 degrees Farenheit. The time a piece of lumber takes to . dry varies with the moisture content and the type of wood (hard or soft 1. The minimurn drying time is ap- proximately 25 days to. a maximum of 55 clays. "The kiln which I have dries up to 3,000 board feet. Most kilns start at 10,000 board feet and go up to 100,000 board feet. Small hobbyists. need smaller kilns since big business operations are not intended to dry lumber. for hobbyists," he explained. While the kiln works on the same basis as that of a ceramic kiln, Chisholm's kiln is best described as a well -insulated room ... which isalmost like a steam bath when turn- ed on. The lumber is stacked in piles with air space between and covered with - ---p-Iy-wood-ssheets--Hot air is then forces bet- ween the lumber eventually forcing the moisture out. In 1986, Alex, along with his father Leonard Chisholm, and nine-year-old son Jack, built the building to house the •kiln operation. Not only does Alex custom dry lumber for people who bring in their own lumber, he also. has a wide supply of lumber available for sale -- about 10,000 board feet on hand of pine, cherry, white ash, red . oak, hard maple,, white poplar, basswood, black • walnut, butternut, tulip and birch. ` • Aside from drying, and stocking lumber, Alex also installed a 36 -inch' planer — "the largest planer for at least 40 miles around." With the planer, he can plane larger, pieces of lumber within a matter of seconds. "People can play at home with small pieces I sanding) and bring their big pieces in -- the best of both worlds," he explained. With such a wide supply of lumber available, Chisholm nbted "it's just like shopping at the supermarket." He explained .that every board (type of wood) is different and suits one individual's tastes but not another's. "Every board is like a human being — it's an individual. Each is different. Wood has its own character," he added. While some people prefer the soft, clean look of pine, others prefer the "zebra -look" which ap- pears in some woods such as black walnut. GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1987 --PAGE 4 NEWS ADVERTISING CLASSIFIEDS 5242614 Alex Chisholm feeds a piece of rough lumber into his 36 -inch planer at Chisholm Wood Pro- ducts near Dungannon. The planer is the widest one within 40 miles according to Chisholm and is only one facet of his business which caters to hobbyists, woodworkers and carvers alike. (phote by Lou -Ann DcBru i ) A dry kiln is used to reduce the amount of moisture in lumber using temperatures of 115 degrees Farenheit for at least 25 days. Standing inside his 3,000 board feet dry kiln al Chisholm Wood Products is Alex Chisholm. (photo by Lou -Ann DeBruyn) FAMILY BUSINESS While the business is currently part-time only, Chisholm noted that not only is he kept busy but that he is assisted in the work by son Jack, wife Lynn, and father Leonard ( who also uses the shop to • make wooden ,rocking .horses). "We fell into the business naturally. We couldn't find anybody, who could dry wood for us so we filled the need," Chisholm said. He noted that he acts as the middle -man in the operation since he gets his lumber to sell from an area sawmiller who gets it from a logger who must call a farmer in order to get the timber. Within four or five years, Chisholm hopes to establish the business on a full-time basis. Already he is looking at purchasing another kiln next year. He is, definitely fining a need with his small kiln operation since people come from across Ontario (London, Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Petrolia, as well as the local area) to purchase and have lumber dried in his kiln. 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