Mansion Red Oak Update….Fall Edition

Hello everyone,

Man! It has been a minute since I’ve shared any updated on the McPherson mansion red oak project. First off, let me apologize for that but honestly it’s because there wasn’t really anything going on with it. When it comes to oak, drying is a finicky process, you have to air dry it for about 3-5 months depending on the thickness before it can go into the kiln. Seeing as the lumber was milled in April it basically had to air dry until September then the first load went into the kiln. I got the first load out of the kiln around the first week of October. It was around 652 board feet which will make up a bulk of the lumber used for the construction of the cabinet and the conference table.

So that’s the kiln dried lumber all stacked up nice and neat in my 2 car garage. Thankfully I have 12’6” ceilings or a lot of it wouldn’t have fit vertically.

From that lumber I have made the base of the bow front buffet and also started on the legs for the conference table. The legs are a coopered design which means you cut the edge of strips of wood (called staves) on an angle and glue them together to make a curve. Similar to a wine barrel but without the vertical curve. I have one leg done which you’ll see below and have the lumber for the next two rough cut in the shop so I can start on it today. Progress should be swift moving forward so make sure you follow me on Instagram @hmr_woodcraft for more frequent updates.