CUSTOM MILL WORK

The majority of signs we see from storefront and other sign vendors are installed on unpainted cheapest lumber they can find with no processing or "snap together" vinyl, plastic and PVC decorative posts which come in boxes marked "made in China" or some other unfriendly to the U.S. emerging industrial nation. Even if made in the U.S. (except for some of the super high quality fiberglass columns) most have minimal structural strength which degrades quickly from U.V. exposure to the sun. We prefer to use quality treated pine or higher grade lumber to make our posts even if it takes more time, costs us more money and has a smaller profit margin than the snap together import plastic posts. From the smallest to the largest unless we move to steel our saws are still doing our mill work in our own local shop. We source the best wood products for our needs, YellaWood pressure treated is our most used for sign posts but often use treated woods for outdoor use to fire retardant treated by Wolmanized Wood for both Fire Retardant needs and Outdoor Above Ground use. We are still allowed to hand select our redwood at the Narjo Timber (owned by Randall Brothers) at their Atlanta railhead just as we still hand select each piece of western cedar we use from Thomas Lumber.

CUSTOM POSTS IN PROCESS

We keep a 1950's vintage Dewalt professional radial arm saw in the shop just for processing custom posts. While its a dangerous saw the closest model sold for $3,700 when Dewalt discontinued it 2003 (a good tight all steel vintage saw like ours still sells for $3,000 used) we use its speed combined with precise cuts makes it a necessary evil and have upgraded it with a dust collection system to keep dust down as much as possible. This saw has the power to stack over an inch of dado blades to get wide decorative groove in a single pass. The last photo in above series shows how a properly milled, painted and installed treated wood post looks out in the wild. The pictured post has been on site for over twenty years at the time picture was taken. There are several professional trade techniques we use to ensure our posts last for decades and not just a few years. While the occasional fresh coat of paint will keep them looking good a plastic post will have turned to dust before a repaint of a well made post is mandatory and proper prep will keep rot or insects from becoming an issue for decades.

FROM RELATIVELY SIMPLE DESIGN TO COMPLEX WORKMANSHIP A NICE POST CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOUR SIGNS LOOK

RECLAIMING VALUABLE & RARE WOOD TO SEE NEW LIFE

I HAND SELECT ALL WOOD PRODUCTS MYSELF BEFORE THEY ARRIVE ON OUR YARD

When we go to the lumber store I try to get enough material to reduce odds of returning again too soon. It also allows us to stack our lumber in manner it can continue to cure properly with minimum twisting, warpage and cracking. A truck load of redwood is an investment, not just a trip to get lumber and selecting from a fresh rail car allows me to match the grain structure of each board closely as possible. In the third photo above will notice we remove all tags from our treated posts for even commercial sign installations, pull the staple that held the tag and paint the posts using premium exterior paint being sure to get every end, knot hole, crack and imperfection filled. If look closely will see two sawhorses painted and drying with a stack of poles already painted beginning to pile up so were ready to go if get a rush of orders in short time frame. The final photo shows poles we removed installed by our chief competitor for commercial real estate signs which we share an account. They cover the clients metro Atlanta and south needs while we handle all of northeast Georgia but occasionally both bleed into the others territory. Notice they not only leave tags and staples but do not paint the ends of the posts which encourages water and insect ingress after placed in the ground. Every job needs to be done fully, even painting a pole.

MORE MILL WORK TO COME...

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