Jarvis May's first lumber was firewood. He took the cherry and red oak home from tree jobs, logs headed for the side of the road or the landfill, sawed them into slabs with a borrowed chainsaw mill, and sold them on Facebook Marketplace. Today his sawmill cuts timber frames for builders from New Hampshire down to Rhode Island.
In this episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast, host Jennifer Alger sits down with Jarvis May of JM Timber in New Hampshire. Jarvis came out of the service with some rigging training, became a tree climber, and started sawing on the side in 2018 before going full time in 2022. Early on he stopped sawing for inventory and switched to cutting to order, with a deposit that covers the logs and the labor before the job starts.
You'll hear how he runs three sawmills, one for timber frame packages, one built around timber mat production, and one that cuts timbers up to 40 feet. He plans to put the mat money into wide red and white oak for a hardwood line, and he is training two sawyers on a ladder where the guy pulling scrap can move up. Most of his customers came from cold calling, and the sawmill owners around him send each other work instead of competing for it.
The conversation closes on the forest. Jarvis explains why he logs his skid trails north to south, why a landowner should know how many board feet are standing on their property, and why a timber harvested at the right time can live another 150 years in someone's home.
Chapters
00:00 Timber Frames, Bridge Timbers and Timber Mats
03:47 Slabs, a Black Walnut and the Switch to Cutting to Order
09:16 From the Service to Tree Climbing to Sawing
13:49 Three Sawmills, Timber Mats and the Hardwood Plan
19:57 Training Sawyers and Building Room to Grow
26:18 Cold Calling and the Network That Keeps Wood Moving
39:20 Caring for the Forest and Its Regeneration
The Woodpreneur Podcast brings stories of woodworkers, makers, and entrepreneurs turning their passion for wood into successful businesses - from inspiration to education to actionable advice. Hosted by Steve Larosiliere and Jennifer Alger
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You can connect with Jarvis at:
https://www.jmtimber.net
https://www.instagram.com/jm_timber/
https://www.facebook.com/jarvismay/
