In the north, in the tiny Canadian maritime province of Prince Edward Island, there is no lack of heritage. And because of this, for Raeford Waite of RW Woodworking and Custom Milling, business is doing well. Indeed, if you need a turned, turned, or curved eastern white pine for, say, a 200-year-old arched door, Raeford and his trusty three-man crew are your best bet on the entire island and perhaps most of Canada. . Sure, Raeford can build you a cabinet, or just about anything else, but his true passion is milling wood that will be used to restore and preserve historic landmarks like churches, quaint shop fronts, and government mansions.
In Canada, the federal government awards grants ranging from $ 5,000 to $ 50,000 to restore heritage projects. Raeford remembers the 1970s, when that money just didn’t exist. When it came to renovating and maintaining historic landmarks, corners were cut. In some cases, vinyl siding was even used due to lack of funds. Today, the government ensures that these cover-ups are rectified and that history is restored. In the age of digital cameras, you better be prepared to meet the expectations of people who appreciate real wood and authentic craftsmanship. Raeford Waite loves this challenge and is happy to be inundated with orders for milled white pine and custom installations.
Raeford’s appreciation for White Pine is telling. You can talk about the changes you have seen in the quality and composition of the stocks you receive from suppliers throughout eastern North America. He explains that the density and stiffness of the grain has visually and tactilely degraded in his 25 years of carpentry. Decades of massive harvests mean that today’s eastern white pine crops are younger. Newer trees grow faster and the growth rings tend to be larger and smoother. As Raeford says, the grain of a ring that measures 1/8 inch to 3/16 inch just won’t last as long as the softer grains absorb moisture, compounding vulnerability to rot. Now that lead paint is off the shelf, mold is much more common. It’s harder to keep your pine intact than it used to be. Such are the challenges of modern carpenters.
At the same time, one element that Raeford points to as a boon to artisans today is the quality of the wood glue. He wonders what carpenters would have done 200 years ago if they had had access to modern glue and resin chemistry. It talks about secret ancient formulas seeping into an old carpenter’s wood stove that may have incorporated horsehair, or even stranger ingredients. The fact that the current tails can hold 3,500 pounds. per square inch leads him to ponder whether the old windows of the heritage projects he restores would not have lasted another 1,000 years. Perhaps, luckily for Raeford and his crew, the horsehair was not valuable in that capacity.
From history lesson to history lesson, Raeford enthusiastically expresses what is interesting about pine milling and can evoke mystery and genuine excitement. Imagine a saw breaking into a century-old pine tree and making violent contact with buckshot and lead bullets from a war that no one immediately knows how to date. Or reflect on the men who search abandoned properties for that perfect pine forest, not knowing if an old well is waiting to devour you. And, again, the trees themselves have known, over time, to digest lucky horseshoes that had been nailed to them or clothesline pulleys. According to Raeford, you don’t want to be near a saw when you hit a horseshoe. Reflecting on the history of Eastern White Pine and other materials of his trade seems to come naturally to Raeford. While his voice, rich in reminiscent of an Irish accent, betrays his youth in his 40s, what is actually said reveals a wiser and more diligent spirit. He speaks fondly of his crew, whom he often lets decide which projects to undertake so that they can feel proud of their work. He goes on to describe how his creed “pride before profit” has as much to do with the heart and soul of a worker as it does with the “love of wood” he expects from his men. These are, in fact, high standards for living by the standards that you will no doubt pass on to your son, Timothy, who at age eight has already built a fleet of toy airplanes out of scraps of pine and other lumber found around them. 5,000 square feet. shop. He held his first hammer when he was three years old. Raeford has little doubt that “Tim the Tool Man” will remain in his father’s shoes. After all, he is the only child of an only child of an only child. And this, I realized after talking to Raeford about Eastern White Pine, is the true nature of heritage.
