Bench-Picnic Table

These benches are a great way for our good small "leftover" cuts of cedar to get used. No one wants to throw away excellent cedar just because it's not a regular lumber yard length.

Our bench-tables come in 6' lengths. A single one can be used as a mini-table, or two can be set together to create a traditional styled picnic table.

The photos show the bench with a finish coat. It is sold unfinished so you can decide how the final piece will look. We have several benches in stock...give us a call if you would like one or two for your own yard.

Landscape Timbers

Our natural sided landscape timbers are beautiful for home or yard. We mill three sides of the timber flat, and the fourth side is left as the natural log presents.

Call Don for pricing. 218-766-7748

Sunday Morning

A sincere THANK YOU to all the people, both working and bidding, that helped make Saturday's auction a success. Your presence was much appreciated.

~Wille Logging is in business and accepting new orders.

~Our recent auction was for inventory reduction only.

~Wille Lumber and Timber has been absorbed by Wille Logging and all products and services are still available under the new name.

Fireplace Mantel

This beautiful fireplace mantel has "character." Character refers to irregularities in the wood grain.

Wille Logging offers dozens of pre-cut mantels for sale. Most are unfinished, but some have been pre-finished. Northside Lumber Co. in Grand Rapids, MN has a display of our mantels. A large variety may also be seen by visiting our mill yard. Simply call ahead.

This particular mantel is installed in Northwoods Log Homes beautiful showcase home/office. Northwoods is a "producer of pre-cut log buildings." They are located in Laporte, MN.

Oriole Feeders

A Great Gift for Bird Lovers! $15*

Don and Debbie make these cedar Oriole Bird Feeders by hand in the evenings when they aren't busy with the grand kids.

Each feeder comes with two perches, two orange spikes, a metal eyelet for hanging, and two cups. The cups are intended for the grape jelly, birdseed, or meal worms that orioles love. For winter bird feeding, we suggest hanging suet on the spikes and filling the cups with seed and water. The cups are easily removed for cleaning, refilling, and bringing indoors at night to prevent bears from pillaging the feeder. Feed and model bird not included.

The feeders are constructed of natural unfinished cedar. Birds find the rough texture easy to land on and cling to. The cedar will naturally turn a weathered silvery color, or the feeder may be painted or sealed as desired.

The cedar end-cuts this feeder is made of are usually considered mill waste. This feeder creates a useful product out of waste too valuable to keep throwing away. A genuine True North Woods branded product.

*6.5% MN sales tax applied to MN sales. Shipping extra. Out-of-State orders welcome. E-mail for shipping prices.

Specialty Cuts

Wille Logging offers specialty sizes of lumber!

The pine, cedar, and white oak wood that comes into our business is sawn into timbers that take advantage of the log's best qualities.

Boston Lake Mill (located at our largest wood yard) has the capability of producing 36 foot long lumber. Wille Logging also contracts with other sawyers to produce 45 foot long lumber.

Boston Lake Mill is able to handle 30 inch diameter logs, which can produce 22" x 22" sqare cut timbers. Natural edge slabs can be made up to 28" wide.

Goods from the Woods

Don and Debbie Wille are pictured near some of the items they had on display and for sale. (You can click on the photo to see a larger version of it.)

In the foreground are the picnic table-bench, and carving wood and a duck decoy that an artist made from Wille materials. Clancy Erickson's "Leaping Muskie" chainsaw carving, and pony saddle stand are shown next to Don's fireplace mantel display stand.

For the most part, Wille Logging offers raw materials to businesses and individuals that produce finished works. We provide specialized wood products to contractors, artists, furniture makers, and home owners that wish to craft high quality finished items. The Goods from the Woods Show gave Don, Debbie, and their daughter Selena a chance to meet many folks that are interested in that "North Woods" style.

In the past two years, Don has also developed a line of unfinished pieces to complement the home and yard: Cedar Oriole Feeders, Cedar Picnic Table-Benches, and Fireplace Mantels. These items are True North Woods branded and can be delivered or shipped directly to your home. (Call for shipping pricing.)

If your are building a new home, hoping to add a rustic element to your existing home, or have need of wood for fencing, construction, or artistic purposes, contact Don today. Don Wille has 30 years of experience working with and supplying wood. He has helped many clients decide on just the right piece to add beauty and interest.

As always, we extend a huge thank you to our wonderful clients. We appreciate your business and value your friendship.

Cedar for Organic Purposes

Northern White Cedar and White Oak are traditional species used for fencing because of their ability to withstand exposure to sun and weather for many years. Treated lumber has largely replaced the use of untreated wood in fencing applications. However, Certified Organic livestock and vegetable producers (and those who wish to reduce chemical use on their farms and in their gardens) still need a long lasting, strong, untreated wood for their fencing needs. Even though many producers use steel fence posts for their fields, strong corner posts and corner bracing is still required. Tall posts surrounding a garden also help keep out deer and other pests. Raised garden beds are best made out of non-toxic materials...

Wille Logging now offers Northern White Cedar round logs in 5-6 inch diameters. NW Cedar is also available in 6x6 inch square sawn timbers ,with or without one natural side. (The natural-sided timbers have a beautiful rustic appearence for flower/vegetable raised beds.) White Oak is offered in 5x6 or 6x6 inch square sawn timbers. Both species are available in lengths of choice.

Autumn is a great time to get that fence in so you are ready for next spring's production. It's also a great time to plan ahead for next year's fencing needs. We are proud to supply untreated fencing posts and timbers for organic food producers. Please call Don with any questions you might have about using Cedar or Oak in your next fence or garden project.

Lake Home and Cabin Show

In April (27th-29th) Don attended the Lake Home and Cabin Show held in Minneapolis. A variety of Wille products were displayed at the True North Woods booth. Don and several other members of True North Woods took turns supervising the booth throughout the long weekend so passers-by always had a knowledgeable person to talk to about the gorgeous wood products on display.

This Expo provided a great deal of exposure for True North Woods Brand and its Branded Members. There was a vast array of wood products featured in this single booth, representing dozens of Northern Minnesota artisans and wood products specialists. Don sold some of the mantels, oriole feeders, and picnic table benches that he brought down from Puposky. He also was able to visit with many interested folks that wanted to know more about the hand-crafted items that had caught their attention. Since TNW is a cooperative effort, Don was able to direct people toward the True North Woods businesses that could best meet their needs and desires.

All of the Members involved in this show worked very hard to make the booth aesthetically beautiful, exciting, and informative. Don scoured our local shops here in Bemidji to find "scale models" of Baltimore orioles and porcupines to decorate his display items. Folks were able to identify at once the unique features the bird feeder had to offer because the model bird was perched in just the right place.

At the eleventh hour the special porcupine stuffed animal was shipped to us via Headwaters Science Center in Bemidji. It illustrated how the pine character mantels get their gorgeous look from healing after porcupine predation. My contribution was the purchase of two fat stuffed orioles that played a real oriole bird song when squeezed. Compared to the finely carved model Dad had perched on his feeder, they were funny looking. But apparently kids attending the show loved them! Keeping attendance entertained is an important aspect of having a booth at an expo. Dad said he could have sold the porcupine and orioles a hundred times over! So in the end, those poofy stuffed birds did their job. They drew the crowds in to explore the True North Woods booth and gave the Membership a chance to dazzle the public with high-quality, hand-crafted designs. And that is what it is all about.

True North Woods AGM

Monday evening I was Dad's guest at the Minnesota Wood Campaign's annual general meeting and potluck. The group gathered on the grounds of the Forest History Center in Grand Rapids, MN and enjoyed some great food, conversation, and networking.

Minnesota Wood Campaign is an innovative corporation "owned by wood and forest producers and supported by it's members." It is a "joint Marketing and Branding venture for products produced from materials sustainably harvested from the world-class forests of northern Minnesota." (quotes taken from MWC Membership Info pamphlet)

Members in attendance listened to the President's review of the past year and heard updates and progress reports on the various projects MWC is involved with while they enjoyed their supper. Then each member was encouraged to give an update of their own. Some had participated in the Farmer's Market in the Twin Cities. Some were a part of the interior design showcase house in the Twin Cities. Some closed deals on very unique ventures. All expressed a conviction that the exposure of True North Woods was building momentum and Membership was a supportive, beneficial aspect of their business.

I enjoyed hearing the stories behind the different arts, crafts, and skills that were represented. This diverse group is comprised of business owners of large sawmills as well as artists that make furniture and use flower pounding to create beautiful botanical pillows. They share a common vision: to promote the incredible traits of Minnesota wood products, and to help the greater community realize the high quality craftsmanship and capabilities our local wood businesses have to offer. This group was celebrating it's 5 year anniversary. I personally feel it is going to see even greater success for it's membership as the brand name, True North Woods, becomes recognized for it's superior quality.

Don was also elected to the Board as an Ex Officio Director Monday night. (Congratulations, Dad!) He will be acting as a representative for Beltrami County, as well as offering the perspective his lumber and timber business has helped him form over his career. One of Don's goals is to help others recognize the benefits of becoming Branded Members of MWC. I learned so much about this amazing cooperative effort just from attending this one meeting and asking questions during the ride back to Bemidji. Don would be happy to answer any questions you might have too.

If you are looking for a beautifully crafted wood product, or if you are from northern Minnesota and would like the exposure a MWC membership could bring to your business, I encourage you to give Don a call, or check out the True North Woods website to learn more.

A Very Special Cargo

When a client asks for something really unique, it is a good feeling when the order is filled. A lot of planning, networking, scouting, and work go into securing just the right type of wood for the job. Wille Logging is comfortable handling orders of this magnitude. Still, a load like this doesn't come down the road every day.

This incoming load of logs was harvested from the Net Lake Reservation area and it measured 3500 board feet. Don had the logs custom sawn. Those timbers went to Blue-Ox Timber Frames LLC. in Alexandria, MN and Timber-Frame Builders LLC. in Dent, MN. Eventually, this wood will become beautiful timber-framed homes.

Pictured beside the logs are Elmer Galdamez (left) and Don Wille (right.)

Just Passing By...

Don and Debbie took 4 of their grandsons camping this weekend up near Big Falls, MN. They happened to drive past a large log sign made from Wille logs so they snapped a photo. It's always nice to see the projects our wood products become.

Beautiful Bridge...

Another one of the gorgeous installations of Wille logs and timbers.

Fireplace Mantels

Don has been asking me when I'm going to get the photos of fireplace mantels up. One of these days I need to unpack each and every single one and take it's picture from both sides-top and bottom. Since this task requires a person to help me lift these brutes, it hasn't happened yet. So for now, I will simply show you what the display stand looks like loaded with mantels. Don took these to a home expo in the Twin Cities a few months back and we snapped a couple of shots before we loaded the trailer.

Fireplace mantels are one of the fun things about our business. They highlight some of the most unique features of wood, and they can be added to almost any home. Some folks want the smoothest, most uniform half log available. We can do that. Some folks want a mantel with so much character it becomes a converstation piece, or the focal point of a room. We can do that too. In fact, that is where the fun comes in. One of our specialties is "porcupine" logs. This wood was once a porcupine's meal. But the tree did not die, it simply grew around the wound in an interesting pattern. It's quite beautiful. Burl is another unique growth pattern that is captured in some of our mantels.

We have several mantels in stock. Some of these are ready to install. Debbie sanded the cut edges smooth. I helped fill in any crevices with a clear pour. Some of the crevices were lined with polished stones like jasper, quartz, and agate. (those are my favorites.) Our friend, Jamie, sprayed them with a durable finish coat. We have many, many more that have not been finished. All lengths are available. Several species of wood are available. We also have basic and character support posts to go with them. All you have to do is contact Don and tell him what type of features you are looking for in a mantel and he will find the perfect match for you. Better yet, visit us and pick out the one that captures your eye.

Eventually, I will get a photo of every mantel we have on hand loaded into the blog so you can see them all.

Effie

If you are ever driving through Effie, MN, you might notice these two landmarks. The first photo is of a structure at the Visitor's Center. The other is a monument. Both of these were built with our logs.