Summers County is home to Green’s Sawmill Services, which is unique in that it is a portable sawmill operation. The business, owned and operated by Howard Green is located on Madam’s Creek in Hinton. There, Green creates custom products such as cabin logs, timbers and beams out of everyday logs.
Green said he started a sawmill service after retiring to fill his spare time. Before opening Green’s Sawmill Services, his work took him all around the world to exotic locations such as Haiti, Africa and Mongolia. Now, he fills his time with his sawmill. Green said that during his free time, he often utilizes the mill along with dying or excess trees around his property to produce lumber and live edge slabs. These are sometimes kept for his own use, other times he sells them to the public. He also builds primitive benches, birdhouses, log planters, garden planters and small crates among other wooden items to sell.
Customers interested in Green’s services have two options. If their order is small, the customer can bring their logs to the mill on Madam’s Creek and wait while their order is completed. For larger orders, Green packs up the portable mill and takes it directly to the source of the logs. The customer will pile the logs wherever is most convenient and when Green arrives, he parks near the logs and sets up his equipment, taking the time to stabilize and level the mill. Once everything is set up, the blade must be positioned and adjusted to best fill the specific order and meet the customer’s needs.
After the equipment is ready to go, Green sets to his work and begins sawing the logs to the order specifications. Once all sawing has been completed, Green breaks down the mill for transport, hooks it to the truck and heads home.
Green says he hopes to fill the niche of providing a mobile sawing service that can go to the customer. This keeps customers from having to go through the process of finding a way to transport their logs and load up the heavy wood. Green travels within reasonable driving distances around the area including places such as Princeton, Alderson, Beckley and Hinton.
The portable mill that Green uses is capable of sawing logs up to 21′ which, according to Green, is more than most small mills can handle.
Another passion of Green’s is conducting workshops for groups such as schools, WV Forestry Department and the USDA on how the mill works. He also offers workshops to groups such as the Boy Scouts, church camps and youth groups.
When discussing his work, Green said, “Sawing logs into lumber never gets old.” He went on to say that there is always something new when it comes to sawing logs whether it be an odd coloring or interesting shape in the wood grain.
For more information on Green’s Sawmill Services, check out www.greenssawmillservices.com. All questions and service inquires can be directed to Green by calling 304-466-2336 or emailing hwrd_green@yahoo.com.
