Milling Door frames

I made these 4x16 door frames on an Oscar-Hud-Son 121 16" mill with a 30' track that I welded (original track was 12', but I needed a longer track for my 28' rafters). The slab was from a pine tree I cut down on my property. You can't (normally) buy 4x16's at the lumber store, and I needed enough for 3 exterior doors, plus windows on the first floor. I decided on 4x16 because the 16" fit nicely between the 24" logs. The frames are lag bolted to the logs with 12" lag screws, and add to the structural integrity of this Butt & Pass log home. I say "add" because the home is already very strong, according to my engineer. But anytime you cut a hole in a log home for a window or door, you weaken it slightly. These extra-beefy door/window frames give back some of that strength.

I bring this up as a flashback - and as a forward looking post - after the cabin is finished and we move in, I'll be building a garage to house my tools. I plan on doing a lot of woodworking and custom milling. I've already had several neighbors say they can give me all the work I can handle - they have people asking "who owns a mill around here?" I've thought about going mobile, but that's a lot of hassle if you don't have a hydraulic mill (logs are heavy, eh?). So I want to stick with building doors, tables, benches, etc. The dream is to have a huge I-beam sticking out the front of the garage with a pulley on it so a commercial trailer can back right up and I can load 500 lb doors onto the trailer and sell them right from "the factory".

	I think there is a real market for handmade doors. I made this one from lumber I bought at HomeDepot. You would pay at least $1000 (1) for a door like this, but some custom doors go for as much as $10,000.

(1) If you are from California on your way to your Idaho / Wyoming ski chalet, you'd pay $5,000 without blinking.