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12/10/2018 This Week's Hours: Thursday: closed due to snow on entrance Friday: Closed Saturday: 9am to 4pm |
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Come On Inside and See Our High Quality Hardwoods
Great prices, great service, great lumber for the hobbyist, craftsman or professional woodworker. Serving Greensboro, Winston Salem, High Point, Raleigh, Charlotte, and surrounding areas. Come on by, take a look and you'll see some wood that will make your eyes light up.
We Now Have a Brand New Vacuum Kiln to Dry Our Boards and Slabs.
We Now Have a Brand New Vacuum Kiln to Dry Our Boards and Slabs.
Kiln Drying and Sterilization -WE NOW HAVE TWO KILNS! Our new addition is an 18' Vacuum Kiln
So what makes a Vacuum Kiln different from our Dehumidification Kiln? A vacuum kiln lowers the atmospheric pressure inside the chamber so we are drying our wood at the equivalent of 30,000 feet above sea level. The air is much thinner within the kiln and this allows the moisture within the cells to wick out more easily.
For sterilization to occur, the internal temperature of the wood needs to be at a minimum of 133 degrees for a period of time (depending on the thickness of the boards). This kiln will allow the heat to reach 160 degrees which will be easily be hot enough for sterilization. Our objective is to lower the moisture level of the boards to between 6.5% and 7.5%.
We also have a Nyle Kiln that had been our primary drying kiln. It now has a new job but I need to back up for a bit. When we first get our boards from the sawmill, We "sticker" the boards which means that we insert small pieces of wood that measure 3/4" x 1 1/4" between the boards. The wood was then air dried to allow the moisture to be removed slowly. The wood will air dry more quickly when we are dealing with warm summer temperatures. In the winter will little to no heat, the wood barely gives off any moisture so it becomes a very slow drawn out experience. In the winter, 1" walnut needs to air dry for close to five months before it was ready to go into the kiln. 2" Walnut could take 9 months or more going from the fall to the spring. Here is where the Nyle Dehumidification Kiln will come into play. When wood comes from the sawmill, we sticker it as we normally do. Then we put the boards directly into the Nyle Kiln at 90 degrees with a light breeze. Now it will "air dry" much quicker as it thinks that it is summer time. After 1-2 weeks, it is ready to be transferred into the vacuum kiln.
The time comparision below is for starting to dry in the fall or winter months:
1" thick wood: 3- 5 months air drying and 1-2 weeks in the DH Kiln. Now we can get the same finished product in 3-4 weeks. When dealing with 2" slabs, the difference in time is much more pronounced.
So what makes a Vacuum Kiln different from our Dehumidification Kiln? A vacuum kiln lowers the atmospheric pressure inside the chamber so we are drying our wood at the equivalent of 30,000 feet above sea level. The air is much thinner within the kiln and this allows the moisture within the cells to wick out more easily.
For sterilization to occur, the internal temperature of the wood needs to be at a minimum of 133 degrees for a period of time (depending on the thickness of the boards). This kiln will allow the heat to reach 160 degrees which will be easily be hot enough for sterilization. Our objective is to lower the moisture level of the boards to between 6.5% and 7.5%.
We also have a Nyle Kiln that had been our primary drying kiln. It now has a new job but I need to back up for a bit. When we first get our boards from the sawmill, We "sticker" the boards which means that we insert small pieces of wood that measure 3/4" x 1 1/4" between the boards. The wood was then air dried to allow the moisture to be removed slowly. The wood will air dry more quickly when we are dealing with warm summer temperatures. In the winter will little to no heat, the wood barely gives off any moisture so it becomes a very slow drawn out experience. In the winter, 1" walnut needs to air dry for close to five months before it was ready to go into the kiln. 2" Walnut could take 9 months or more going from the fall to the spring. Here is where the Nyle Dehumidification Kiln will come into play. When wood comes from the sawmill, we sticker it as we normally do. Then we put the boards directly into the Nyle Kiln at 90 degrees with a light breeze. Now it will "air dry" much quicker as it thinks that it is summer time. After 1-2 weeks, it is ready to be transferred into the vacuum kiln.
The time comparision below is for starting to dry in the fall or winter months:
1" thick wood: 3- 5 months air drying and 1-2 weeks in the DH Kiln. Now we can get the same finished product in 3-4 weeks. When dealing with 2" slabs, the difference in time is much more pronounced.
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GPS Hardwoods is a small, friendly, family owned lumber operation specializing in producing furniture grade lumber located in Kernersville, NC between Greensboro and Winston Salem. We sell a variety of high quality kiln dried and planed hardwood sawn from trees harvested locally in North Carolina, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania to hobbyists, craftsmen and professionals who want great wood for a great price. We try to make buying top quality hardwood an enjoyable and stress free experience, and take pride in having a clean, neighborly place for you to check out our lumber. Take a look at our "Lumber Inventory" link at the top of page, to see what we currently have for sale.
I am a woodworker, and furniture maker and have lived in North Carolina area for nearly 12 years. I used to spend more time looking for quality hardwood lumber than I did building my woodworking projects and when I found some, it was low quality, incredibly overpriced, air dried, or turned into potato chips by someone else's attempt at kiln drying. So we took the bull by the horns and started a small lumber kiln operation 1 1/2 years ago to provide high grade furniture lumber for ourselves. Soon word got around, other folks liked working with our lumber, our business grew little by little, and now we use a local sawmill and our kiln to provide top quality hardwood to hobbyists and professional wood workers alike in the Triad and surrounding areas.
Our customers range from hobbyists, homeowners, carpenters, cabinet and furniture makers, professional musical instrument makers, wood carvers, to folks who just want to build a doghouse or front porch bench. We put a lot of effort into producing top quality hardwood lumber and are very proud of the wood we sell. I won't sell a board that I wouldn't use myself. People sometimes ask if we deal in exotics, I tell them "Yes, North Carolina exotics!" The reason I say this is that most people never get a chance to see the beautiful and amazing wood available in this area. Who needs wood from overseas when our native wood is as pretty and unique?
If you are wondering why our lumber would look any different from the stuff you can buy in the big box stores, it's because the wood sold commercially by franchise stores is specifically processed to dull out the highlights in order to reduce batch to batch color variability. For example, the walnut sold by big box stores in California needs to look the same as the walnut sold in North Carolina or Florida. So big commercial kilns use processes to flatten out unique colors and pigments so everything looks the same. They intentionally color level it. So if you buy walnut from the box store, you would be paying twice as much and go home with bland wood you are forced to make look good with a bucketful of wood stain and other finishing techniques. We do just the opposite. We use gentle, low temperaure processes to bring out and preserve the true colors of the wood, so it looks a natural as possible. The best way to finish our wood is with just a quick wipe of finishing oil. Its kind of like buying a hamburger; you can get a bland, processed one from the local fast food joint and drown it with ketchup and mustard to make it edible, or you can get a really delicious one cooked with care by a real chef or backyard grillmaster that makes your mouth water. I'm not saying I can cook the best hamburgers, but I will say that there is a reason we have customers drive from distant areas to purchase lumber from us. Our lumber has been described as "Wow Wood" because that's a common phrase we hear all the time when folks see the colors, grain and vibrancy of our lumber.
Logs - Our lumber comes trees grown in the Appalachian mountains from North Carolina to Pennsylvania. Since we try to utilize the whole tree and waste very little, we end up with multiple grades of wood, from premium lumber to rustic. We work with local professional loggers, top quality sawmills and log brokers to help us find premium logs. We know that great lumber only comes from great logs, and we spend a considerable amount of time and effort tracking down the best logs in North Carolina, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It's not easy finding these high quality logs, and sometime our stock of lumber runs low, but we won't compromise and buy low quality logs and try to pawn them off as the good stuff.
Logs - Our lumber comes trees grown in the Appalachian mountains from North Carolina to Pennsylvania. Since we try to utilize the whole tree and waste very little, we end up with multiple grades of wood, from premium lumber to rustic. We work with local professional loggers, top quality sawmills and log brokers to help us find premium logs. We know that great lumber only comes from great logs, and we spend a considerable amount of time and effort tracking down the best logs in North Carolina, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It's not easy finding these high quality logs, and sometime our stock of lumber runs low, but we won't compromise and buy low quality logs and try to pawn them off as the good stuff.
Log End Sealing - We inspect and trim the ends of the logs to ensure we have the best quality sections to work with. Then we end seal the logs with Anchorseal, a product specifically formulated to prevent logs and lumber from end splitting. This ensures that our logs don't degrade in the log yard and make it to our sawmill in the best shape possible.
Milling - Although we expend a lot of effort finding the best quality logs, we take it to the next level sawing them correctly. We use specialized milling techniques called grade sawing and parallel bark sawing to get the highest possible grade and yield from the logs. Without a doubt, there is a lot more to sawing lumber than hacking at a log like its a piece of cheese! We work with local, high quality sawmills to get the best boards in the area, and each and every board is hand inspected by us, and must meet our very high standards. Although we get inquiries quite often, we don't mill customer logs,
Our Commitment - We want to provide the best lumber, at the best prices, with the best customer experience. We do our best to cater to everyone who has an interest in fine wood, to keep things relaxed and easy going, and are proud to say that we have a lot of women and young people as repeat customers. We don't have a fancy showroom, but most folks don't mind the view at our farm in Kernersville, and we have a spacious and clean converted barn to house and display our wood.
Woodworking is supposed to be fun, but it’s not if you have to spend a big pile of bucks to buy a few boards that you can carry out of the retail store tucked under one arm. Depending on the grade of lumber you want, I can fill up your pickup truck for the same amount of money.
The End Product - First Class Lumber!
In the end, what do you get out of it? What are we trying to sell you? First class lumber that fits your needs! Looks at the picture below, and try to imagine how good you would feel building projects from wood like this. When is the last time you've seen 12" walnut boards? Without a knot? Kiln dried? Flat as a pancake? Or when was the last time you and your kids could share a woodworking project without having to worry about missing a cut or bending a nail because the wood you bought retail was so expensive?
Woodworking is supposed to be fun, but it’s not if you have to spend a big pile of bucks to buy a few boards that you can carry out of the retail store tucked under one arm. Depending on the grade of lumber you want, I can fill up your pickup truck for the same amount of money.
The End Product - First Class Lumber!
In the end, what do you get out of it? What are we trying to sell you? First class lumber that fits your needs! Looks at the picture below, and try to imagine how good you would feel building projects from wood like this. When is the last time you've seen 12" walnut boards? Without a knot? Kiln dried? Flat as a pancake? Or when was the last time you and your kids could share a woodworking project without having to worry about missing a cut or bending a nail because the wood you bought retail was so expensive?
