Having a need for some white oak lumber to use on my boat refit I contacted an uncle of mine that has a small sawmill and inquired about purchasing some from him.
This uncle is my dad's older brother, the 3rd of 4 siblings. My two aunts that were the oldest have passed on some years ago leaving my dad and his brother.
Dad is 81, Uncle Bob, yes Bobs my uncle, is 85. I can only hope that I am as fit as he is at that age.
Grandpa, my uncle and dad were all carpenters and my uncle is a pretty skilled cabinet maker. Dad joined the Air Force originally as a carpenter but moved in to electronics soon after joining.
My uncle sawed up about 100 board feet of some of the nicest quarter saw white oak I've ever seen at an incredible family price of 60¢ a board foot.
I drove down to their little homestead yesterday and picked it up.
Got a nice tour of the sawmill operation. He has one of these set up -
https://woodmizer.com/Store/Shop/Portable-Sawmills/LT15-Portable-Sawmill?keyword=woodmizer%20lt15&creative={creative}&msclkid=96b58a870c8114370b58d6924313bf8c&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Portable%20Sawmills%20%7C%20Search%20B&utm_term=woodmizer%20lt15&utm_content=Wood-Mizer%20LT15%20%7C%20SearchAlso had a pleasant visit with my aunt and 2 of my adult cousins I haven't seen in 30+ years.
I see my uncle and aunt usually a couple of times a year when dad and the wicked step-mother pass through town.
We spent a couple of hours reminiscing about family members and event and caught up on who was still alive, who had passed on andwhat all medical issues we and our immediate family members have had.
Anyway, after loading the wood and enjoying a nice visit with family my uncle invited me out to see his wood shop. I probably left a trail of drool looking at his mostly antique industrial grade woodworking tools, tables saws, planers, jointers... While we were looking around I noticed an old 2-man crosscut saw hanging on the wall. I mentioned that I had one that came from his dad's farm after he passed and it was my turn to pick through the junk piles. We took turns oldest to youngest to collect the stuff.
He said he remembered the saw and was with his dad when he bought it. They had taken a load of cotton to the mill in town in a horse drawn wagon and with some of the proceeds from the sale Grandpa bought the saw at the local hardware store for the lofty sum of $7.00 . Which, as my uncle pointed out was a lot of money in 1947.
Darn good day.