New Projects

Well folks, it's been a minute. Darwin and I have been running around since Thanksgiving trying to get everything squared away. We've been diligent with some things and not so with others. The blog has been one of those things. And for that we apologize.

Some of you may know and some of you may not, we've started a furniture company - Urban Reclaimed. We looked around one day and thought, we've got all these beautiful pieces. Why don't we make something out of them. We can start basic, see how they sell and then move along from there. In the past we have been approached to do custom pieces and everyone seems to love the turnout, so why not turn that into a furniture side business.

As of right now we are in the process of promoting it and seeing where it takes us. We are navigating the waters of becoming a furniture business and I think (read: know) Darwin and I are both excited about the potential of where it could lead. Keep your fingers crossed! Check out our website, spread the word, and if you want to see some of the pieces in person, head on over to I.D. Lab (off Huff Road) and speak with Chris Hagen.

If you know of anyone that is looking for a custom piece please tell them to e-mail us (urbanreclaimed @ gmail.com) and we will see what we can't figure out. We appreciate any and all input you all may have.

Now, aside from the furniture business we have been trying still to get everything set up at the new shop. Yes, still. It's a long process. We've got it mostly set up. Slabs have been lined up on walls (well the new ones at least), the tools have been mounted or shoved away, the mechanics room has been mostly built out, and the solar kiln, well the solar kiln is in process. For the most part, it is a fully functional wood shop/work shop. It's out in the country and it's lovely. Darwin and I are content because we found a Moe's and a Home Depot. What more does one really need?

We are still milling away - chainsawing milling that is. That has been keeping Darwin pretty busy and tired as of late. However, the rain that we have been getting has been proving to be a bit of a hindrance. Mainly the is it going to rain, is it not going to rain game.

We hope everyone had a splendid Thanksgiving and is prepared for Christmas (which is quickly approaching). Until next time...

Dot & Darwin

happy fall.

A lot of things have been going on around Mississippi Wood Trader. Some you may have heard about and some you may not have heard about. For starters, we have moved the shop. Darwin and I made the decision to move out to the country for some quiet and fresh air. So far it is going amazingly. Since we have been here we have managed to finally start to build that solar kiln we have always talked about. It is taking shape nicely; once it is completely finished I will make sure to get pictures out of it.

It's amazing how much you can get accomplished when you are left to your own devices and have no distractions. We are much better at planning things out now. And by 'we,' I clearly mean that I am much better at holding Darwin to plans that have been made. That is not an easy task in itself if you have ever met him, but then again I'm not much better.

Aside from the solar kiln, it's mainly been a process of reorganizing and repurposing. Packing 17,000SF of space was daunting enough, but unpacking 17,000SF of stuff into a space not quite that size, causes some serious creative thinking. We are making it work though. We have as much space as we need and we are beginning to realize that more isn't necessarily always better in certain areas.

We've also sold 'Grover,' our beloved CNG truck. He made the move with us, and then we decided that he just wasn't practical anymore. He has gone to a good home in Oneida, TN and we hope he has many happy years out there. It was a tough decision to let him go, but I am sure Darwin will find some sort of replacement for him. In the meantime, we carpool in my diesel jetta. Ya know, keeping it a diesel family around here.

If you would, stay tuned for a venture that Darwin and I are undertaking. It's current name is URBANgreen. Keep a watch out on Facebook and this blog as I get more done on the project and can give updates.

We hope everyone is enjoying this fall weather and had a great Halloween! As always, don't forget to 'like' us on Facebook (Mississippi Wood Trader) and check back soon as I hope to have more updates for everyone!

Grover

As sad as we are to have to let the CNG truck go (dubbed Grover), it is something we must do. He has been a good truck to us and we hope to find him a loving new home. You will find below Darwin's loving description of Grover. If you have any interest or know of anyone who does please pass this along.

Hello,

Up for sale is "Grover", my 2003 CNG-powered ford F 150 7700 series 2WD. Grover began life at our airport, piloting around a supervisor on the runways. He never left Hartsfield-Jackson until last year. I absolutely love this thing, but its not made for towing, and I need something that is. No towing hitch, but there is a ball on the bumper. It is a perfect vehicle for light-duty running around the city all day. A/C is ICE cold - I mean it. even now, it'll run you out of the cab! I also am getting rid of this to attempt a CNG conversion on a regular car, which, provided it goes well, will be an available service in the future.

Now, for a quick primer on CNG vehicles: Their main advantages are 1) cheap fuel ($2.30ish commercially, $1.00 at home) and 2) environmental impact - very, very clean burning. Their disadvantage is that fuel can be hard to locate (stations that I use are on Whitehall street, and Riverdale Road - there is one on Sylvan road as well), and they don't have a very long range between fill-ups. This truck will only hold about the equivalent of 15 gallons of gasoline. It gets about 12mpg around town, and about 18-19 on the highway, giving you between 180-275 miles per tank. Not really a way around that, but the fuel savings are significant if you drive a lot. Also, not all fueling stations are created equal. The Riverdale road station (built to service airport) is a 3600psi system, which is good for the newer vehicles. This truck will hold around 3800psi. The PS energy stations are made for city and county fleets, and only go to 3200psi. (Whitehall street). A 3200psi fillup is fine, but it does not last nearly as long. You just can't get much fuel in these tanks at the lower pressure. With the 3600+psi fillup, it has almost a 300 mile range. With the 3200psi, especially around the city, its more like 150 mile range.

Now, the nitty-gritty:

The odometer currently reads 24,091.8 (yes, you read that correctly), but will increase slightly with daily driving. I use this truck around the city, and to get back and forth from work. 2003 Model, and ford FACTORY CNG powered. Truck qualifies for Alternate Fuel Tag, (yes, I'm that guy riding by myself in the HOV lane while the rest of you sit in traffic.....) and requires no emission testing. The best part?? $2.30/Gallon for your fuel, and its domestically produced!! No more funding the overseas oil business/taliban/whoever. Makes jobs right here in the good 'ol US of A.

CNG is available at PS energy (special card required - I can set you up with our rep), and in college park from Clean Energy. No special card needed at that one, just swipe the ol' VISA and go.

Grover is in good shape overall, with recent navy blue paint job, and an aftermarket stereo. I like music, so I needed to be able to plug my iPod in, and the AM/FM was not cutting it, cause lets face it, when 99X keeled over, there was not much left out there.....

Other than that, its a completely stock XL truck. Clean, basic, super reliable (look up CNG engines online, they routinely do 500K), the oil is still gold!

Fresh oil change, fresh tires, good spare (still has nubbies on it!!), brakes good, 4 speed automatic, long bed, short cab.

Everything works, just replaced a couple taillight bulbs, title in hand, etc.

$8,000.00 OBO. This is an EXCEPTIONALLY low mile and well cared for truck. No lowballers, I'm not desperate to sell.

Emory Slabbing

A little while ago, I told you all about Emory University contacting us about making a slab table out of a tree that fell on their campus. Now this tree apparently fell in front of one of their oldest dormitories (I think, don't quote me on that, but that's the rumor around town...). Today, on this blistering Tuesday, Darwin has been chainsaw milling the log. It is absolutely gorgeous! This will turn out to be a really beautiful communal table.

Summertime in the City

Things have finally calmed down enough around the shop to catch a
breath and write you all an update as to what is going on around here.
Darwin and I have been running around like crazy people and the
warehouse shows it. Aside from the basic neglect of the office, we
have some exciting projects to undertake this summer.

Emory University has knocked on our door again. We have been asked to
help them make a table out of a tree that fell in front of one their
oldest dormitories. We cannot wait to get started on the slabbing of
that tree as well as fabricating an amazing table out of one of the
slabs (we all know how much Darwin likes to use that newly improved
and loud chainsaw mill). The designs are absolutely incredible and
should make an incredible statement piece that will be talked about
for years to come.

We recently shipped a bunch of slabs that had been air drying on the
yard up to the kiln. They are about ready to make their debut
appearance back at the warehouse. We are going to have a lot of
Sycamore slabs that have amazing figuring throughout them. I am sure
that Darwin would love to make you a smoking deal (his exact words).
Earlier in May we got back 3 big Red Oak slabs that are big and clear
as well as some Water Oak slabs. Check out our Facebook page to see
pictures of the recent slabs.

You may be thinking that we only have slabs at the moment. While yes,
we do have a lot of slabs floating around the warehouse, we also have
some Hand Hewn beams as well as some more of the Reclaimed 2x's. Those
2x's are becoming a hot commodity in the restaurant world - Mellow
Mushroom, Charleston and Louisville, and The Highland Bakery, Midtown
location, to name a few. Shoot us an e-mail and I can get you a better
detailed list of what all we've actually got in and around this
monstrosity.

With the summer making an early appearance and reminding us all about
how hot the South is, we've decided to arrange our office hours a
little differently. Ya know, in keeping with the theme of rearranging
we've got going on around here in this 2011 year. Starting July 1, we
will be closed on Fridays and starting effective immediately we are no
longer taking weekend appointments.

On that note, I am done rambling, or you have more than likely stopped
reading… Go out and enjoy this sunshine. Stay close to the shade
however, because it is melt-worthy outside. If you want to stay cool,
stop by Victory Sandwiches in Inman Park and check out their outdoor
seating (tabletops by yours truly) and have one of their frozen jack
and cokes; they will most certainly take the edge of any hot summer
day.

Dot & Darwin

slabs

We've got sooo many slabs right now. I am back to playing slab tetris. I have absolutely no idea where to put all of these! PLEASE BUY THEM! Check out our facebook page (click the link below) and look at the pictures of all the new guys!

Mississippi Wood Trader

Woohooo slabs!

Spring Update!!!

With Spring in full bloom, we've decided to hit the ground running (more like forced into this dead sprint, but that's neither here nor there). We are still milling away on the yard and we are beginning to resemble something quite close to a fully operational and functioning lumberyard. There are stacks and stacks of air drying material outside the warehouse and we are attempting to figure out exactly where each piece will find it's new home. I've begun labeling and charting them all accordingly (because it's why Darwin puts up with me), and I must say the list has grown quite exponentially since our last update.

Take today for instance: Darwin is out on the yard slabbing a beautiful Pecan tree. The pieces that are coming out of this tree are absolutely stunning. For the next few weeks, our mornings are going to be spent slabbing out trees on the yard. I am excited, but I am not so sure Darwin is going to be too terribly excited once he realizes how big of an undertaking this will be…We've also decided to do a makeover of the warehouse. By we, I clearly mean I have forced Darwin into participating in making the warehouse more customer friendly. Once everything has been re-situated and settled in it's new home everyone will have to come have a look! Also, watch our Facebook page for updated pictures as we will be getting new slabs and other material back from the kiln very soon! - Such as the Reclaimed Oak 2x's that are getting cooked as we speak - these are featured in The Madison Hotel in Washington D.C., Mellow Mushroom in Charleston, SC and Louisville, KY as well as the new Highland Bakery in Midtown Atlanta.

With the recent storms that came through Atlanta, we have been fielding a lot of phone calls regarding what to do with fallen trees. We are trying mightily to make sure that everyone gets a response, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to juggle, so much so that I have imputed a new e-mail into our list of contacts: trees.mswt@gmail.com. We are super appreciative of everyone thinking of us and we want to help rescue as many of these trees as possible. Emory University contacted us about another tree project they want to pursue. A tree came down in front of one of their oldest dormitories on campus, and they want to find a way to slab a piece of it out for a table to be used in the dorm as a gathering/meeting place for students. It has arrived on the yard and we can't wait to break it open and see what it looks like. We also received a White Oak tree that came down in Darwin's front yard. He has dubbed it the "Avatar" tree because it is HUGE and left a massive crater in his front yard, and may or may not have crushed some neighboring cars on it's way down. He is definitely itching to get that one slabbed out.

Keeping with the Spring cleaning and Spring reorganizing theme around here we are currently also running a Spring special. We have about 3000BF of Quartersawn White Oak flooring blanks in varying widths, that we would love to make a deal on for you. It has all been kiln dried and is from locally recovered trees. It has good karma and is anxiously awaiting to spread into it's new home….

So with that, pat yourselves on the back for going green and using "urban lumber," because we most definitely are! Hope everyone is enjoying this change to beautiful weather! I promise the rambling has ended, so go out and enjoy the sunshine.

-Dot & Darwin

P.S. Don't forget to "like" us on Facebook! (or whatever disturbing terminology they are using these days…)

Tree Rescuing...

With all the trees that came down with the storm earlier this work, we've been fielding a lot of phone calls about rescuing them. We appreciate everyone's interest in saving trees from the wood chipper and we are attempting to touch base with everyone, but we've been absolutely swamped. If you do have a tree that is down that you would like to see saved, whether for personal use or just because it's the right thing to do environmentally, or if you know someone looking to have a tree saved please send them our way. The best way at the moment is to send us an email with as much information about the tree and or trees as possible (height, trunk diameter (from the smallest end), pictures, location, etc.). Please send the email to: trees.mswt@gmail.com. We greatly appreciate everyone's move toward using urban lumber. We hope that everyone survived the storm relatively unscathed and we wish for a speedy recovery for those who did receive some damage.

Emory Project

I mentioned the other day that the crew from Emory stopped by to check out what we were all about and see some of the process of milling their trees into the pieces that will be used to make the kiosks for their campus. It was a fun day and a great way to spread the word about the "urban lumber" movement we are attempting to be the forerunners of. Check out the pictures and be sure to check back for more updates!

look what we found!

River Recovered Cypress has been located tucked away in the warehouse. It is spectacular and we want to make you a deal you can't refuse. There are about 100BF and we are selling for $9/BF. It has been surfaced on 2 sides and 1 edge has been straight line ripped. It is absolutely stunning...Come and get it before Darwin changes his mind! HA!

spring cleaning...

Recently around the shop we have been in spring cleaning mode. Punxsutawney Phil got us rolling on the log yard. It had been beautiful and if any of you have been down here recently you would have seen the massive amounts of logs outside. We had and still have an abundance of logs on the yard. So Darwin and I started to play the purge the warehouse and the yard game. It's been working out so far and we've made some great progress. We recently landed two big institutional jobs (Emory University and Colombia Theological Center) where we are lucky enough to have logs from their respective campuses and utilize them for their projects.

The crew from Emory came down last week to check it all out and see what the process involved. They were a fun bunch to entertain and genuinely were interested in seeing the logs become cants and get cut into boards. The kiosks that are going to be made for the Lullwater Estate at Emory are going to be absolutely stunning. We have begun the prep work for Colombia Theological Center and we cannot wait to see how these logs turn out. They are gorgeous on the outside and not to mention HUGE! Their floors are going to be spectacular.

We are excited for the "urban lumber" movement to start taking off. It is a really great concept and we hope that more people start looking to utilizing what Atlanta has an abundance of: trees. There is absolutely no need for all of those trees to be sent to the wood-chipper. Just think, you could have your very own piece of Atlanta in your home. Check out some places around Atlanta that have gone "green" - Grindhouse Killer Burgers, The Highland Bakery, Local Three, Republic Social House, Atlanta Fitness, The Sound Table, and many others. Also, if you are in the Charleston area check out the new Mellow Mushroom.

Yesterday was spent purging yet again. Darwin got to play with his newly improved chainsaw (I am sure there is a more manly way to say that, but that is neither here nor there) and I got to document it. He cut some end pieces of logs and we ended up with some smaller but beautiful Walnut and Spalted Maple slabs (see photo).

Aside from purging, we made an investment right about Christmastime. We purchased two tractor trailer loads of Antique Heart Pine. Yes, you've read that right, two tractor trailer loads. Quite a lot of Antique Heart Pine. Currently there is one load in the warehouse, but good gracious it is a lot of wood. Now we will have to figure out where on earth to house the second load. But it is beautiful stuff. It came from a textile mill in North Georgia and it has an amazing grey patina and if you cut it open it has the richest color you will ever see.

So come on down and check out what we've done and and what we are up too. We would love to show you around, but remember, please be sure to make an appointment beforehand. Also, "like" us on Facebook and for our purposes we have streamlined things a bit:

General Inquiries: info.mswt@gmail.com
Directions: directions.mswt@gmail.com
Pricing/Sales: sales.mswt@gmail.com
Salvage Work: contact.mswt@gmail.com