River Wood, Recovered & Reclaimed
Timber from Waterways
River wood is amazing, whether sunk from a raft of logs, or installed for piers, dams, locks and more. Only some tree species can stay under water for centuries and come out strong and looking good. So trees are also even more awesome after a long bath.
Sinker Wood – Cypress
Cypress, Heart Pine and hardwoods could sink and set for centuries, getting tinted from river minerals, like iron and copper. Here’s Cypress, one of earth’s slowest growing trees, flat sawn to present grain and color range. It’s a real testament to the wonder of trees.
Sinker Cypress Projects
There’s a wide range of looks within a log, so opportunities are great. Sinker Cypress colors depend on time, tree and river, and dynamics depend on how we saw it, flat or quarter sawn.
Here’s some Pecky Cypress, a cherished and colorful type carved by a burrowing fungus, sometimes dominant in square area.
Next is Master Millwright Ken Strout with some box mitre beams made of Sinker Cypress that is even older than him.
Sinker Wood – Heart Pine
Heart Pine (aka Longleaf & Yellow) built the US into a 19th century economic power. As the preferred timbers for ships and factories, it was felled and floated down to mills. Some of the incredibly hard, dense logs sank in the river, waiting for intrepid seekers like us.
Sinker Pine Rainbow
The color range of sinker wood is, again, wide and wonderful, like the boards. Pale to purplish blues, to milk and dark chocolates can be found in the rich yellows and tans of our Sinker Heart Pine.
Structural River Wood
Rivers were optimized for water and transit. We have structural timbers that include Douglas Fir, American Chestnut, White Oak, Beech, Heart Pine and more.
New York Harbor Timber
Our Upper Bay Pier Wood is from the first structure of its kind – a 1920’s Jazz Age access for cars from NJ into New York City. The Holland Tunnel used two woods for piers holding ventilators. Here’s some cut in half to 45′ and end grains of Heart Pine (yellow) and Douglas Fir (red).
Douglas Fir River Wood
Cut when they were 80-100 years old in 1920, the Douglas Fir has an enhanced color range. From the Pacific Northwest to a century’s immersion in estuary mud and water, they’ve only gotten better. The dynamic grain figuring (shown flat sawn) is normal for this famous western conifer (an evergreen, not a fir).
California Wood Colors
Light pink and yellow to purple and browns provide a distinct palette for design. It’s good for flooring, paneling, furniture and more.
Longleaf Heart Pine River Wood
Heart Pine was a mainstay from the Southeast for 1800’s US ships, factories and more. Also about a century old when cut, it’s hard, dense wood. but waters change it. Purple and grey is seen in the sapwood and deeper.
Here are flitches, cut to 1/42″ for a veneer project in process. See below! And a closeup of the heart pine river wood grain and colors. It all offers distinct looks for paneling so we’re partnering to develop some new products.
River Wood Veneer
Like having a forest inside, this veneer is dynamic with clear finish and can be muted with stain. Here’s a book-match Douglas Fir, then a slip-match Heart Pine. And of course the range of potential looks is wide, depending on the layout and…the tree. Douglas Fir is more knotty and dramatic, while Heart Pine offers a subtler, yet still dynamic look. Get paneling with history and beauty built in!
Moosup River Chestnut
This is very rare and truly awesome! We have a few thousand bf of this reclaimed chestnut (and some oak) that was transformed by time and waters. Chestnut is rare enough, but to have it tinted like this is fantastic! River Chestnut! Up in NE Connecticut, we reclaimed dams, allowing trout to spawn again, and we’d bet they taste amazing. This is pre-blight chestnut, too, meaning cut pre-1900’s, and without worm holes.
