Wood-Mizer WM4500 Industrial Sawmill Boosts Father and Son Lumber Business

Making a cut with the Wood-Mizer WM4500 industrial sawmill. ‘The Wood-Mizer WM4500 is the best move I made in 25 years of business,’ says Brandon Wooldridge

PIKETON, Ohio – Located in the lush rolling hills of Piketon, Ohio, Brandon Wooldridge and his son, Bryce, run their sawmill business, Deep Woods Lumber Co. The family owned and operated sawmill business, established in 1998, recently upgraded to a Wood-Mizer WM4500 industrial sawmill.

Start in Sawmill Business

Brandon started in the sawmill industry right out of college and worked for a local timber business for several years. “I decided to go out on my own, and my father helped me,” recalled Brandon. “I needed to put a sawmill in, so I put in a Frick sawmill.”

Deep Woods Lumber Co. has remained a family business for more than 25 years thanks to the help of Brandon’s son, Bryce. “I am a fourth generation sawyer, so it’s kind of just in the blood,” said Bryce. Growing up seeing his father work in the logging and sawmilling business, it was only a matter of time before Bryce took an interest.

“I used to skip school and go with him, hang out in the log yard, and help my grandpa cut up logs and stuff,” said Bryce. “I’ve just been around it since I was a little thing.”

Brandon ran the Frick circular sawmill for a few decades. Now that Bryce was part of the business, Brandon wanted to upgrade to a Wood-Mizer industrial sawmill. “I didn’t want Bryce sawing on a circular mill,” said Brandon. “It’s dangerous. The Wood-Mizer WM4500 is the best move I made in 25 years of business.”

To increase production Deep Woods Lumber Co. added this Wood-Mizer industrial board edger, which improved material flow and efficiency

The Sawmilling Process

Deeps Woods Lumber Co. is located in southern Ohio, a little over 65 miles due south of Columbus. The region has abundant forest resources. The Wooldridges cut hard maple, soft maple, red oak, white oak, and chestnut oak, among other species. They cut about 40,000 to 45,000 feet of lumber per week. Typically, they make 4/4 and 5/4 lumber.

“We start out in the woods,” said Bryce. “We contract a logging crew and a trucking company, too. And they’ll get the logs and bring them in here. We unload all the logs and stack them into the piles. We’ll debark those logs according to the purchase order, and we’ll saw them out, grade them, put the lumber, the ties, the cants, and everything on the truck, and send them out.”

It didn’t take long for Bryce to learn how to operate the new Wood-Mizer WM4500 sawmill. “I hopped up in there, and within three months I was pushing logs through. The first log I ever cut in my entire life was three years ago on that sawmill,” said Bryce.

“I’ve learned everything, pretty much just started from the bottom, and learned how to scale logs,” added Bryce. “I can run every piece of machinery over there.”

‘I am a fourth generation sawyer, so it’s kind of just in the blood,’ says Bryce Woolridge. Growing up seeing his father work in the logging and sawmilling business, it was only a matter of time before Bryce took an interest.

To increase production Deep Woods added a Wood-Mizer industrial board edger, which improved material flow and efficiency. “All of the boards, ties – everything will end up on the same side of the sawmill at the same time,” said Bryce. “Honestly, we have probably one of the simplest and easiest set-ups there is for this type of Wood-Mizer.”

Along with using Wood-Mizer SilverTip Turbo 7 band blades for the sawmill, Deep Woods has also integrated Wood-Mizer blade sharpening equipment to maintain the saw blades in-house. “Normally on our hardwoods, we get three to four runs per band at about an hour and a half per band,” says Bryce. “So, you’re looking at six hours per band. For the price of them, you can’t ask for much more.”

With the thin-kerf band blades Deep Woods also is benefitting from increased yield, which adds to profit. “I can compete now with the other bigger mills because of that saw kerf,” said Brandon. “Every 10 loads of hardwood lumber we sell, 7,500 board feet per load, I gain a load. So, my 11th load is free. And that makes a world of difference. I wasn’t getting that in a circular mill until I put that Wood-Mizer in.”

Looking Toward the Future

Brandon has big plans for Deep Woods Lumber Co. that include more Wood-Mizer sawmill equipment, a log yard, a full-time lumber grader, and a bright future for Bryce. “In the next five to ten years I can see myself sitting on a beach somewhere with my wife and letting Bryce run the sawmill,” said Brandon. “That’s what I see.”

Source: TimberLine