# Sawmill Score outside Austin, Tx



## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

I managed to stop at 2 sawmills Friday on my way to Austin
First stop: Texas Kiln Products - Smithville, Tx. Less than 5 minutes off of Hywy 71. When we got off the highway and onto a dirt road with no signs of life, I started to joke with my wife about "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Wrong Turn". When we finally got to the sawmill - literally in the middle of nowhere, i got out of the truck first, looked at her and said "if you see me running out of the place, fall on the hood with a pitchfork in my back - just take off". Being a brave soul, she got anyway. The people were very nice and the prices were reasonable. I bought 2 boards of Mesquite for $30 each. They were very flat. Even though they are considered rough cut, all they need is a good sanding and no planing. It is amazing what a good bandsaw mill will produce. Anyway, I saved it in my GPS. As Arnold would say "Ill be back".
Next stop: Berdoll Sawmill and Furniture. Now this place was VERY IMPRESSIVE. The owner - Brandon Berdoll, was really a neat guy, both figuratively and literally. The place so well organized it was incredible, but not nearly as incredible as his lumber and slabs. Words cannot describe the quality of his pecan and mesquite. The prices were great also. When I am 'slab hunting', i don't pay attention to board foot prices, I just ask how the slab costs. I bought a beauty for $200 (Pecan). This will be an easy $2,000 coffee table. He put cardboard under my slab because it had already been through his SANDER!!!!. He also stretch wrapped it because there was a threat of rain over the weekend. How cool is that. The slab is 2" thick. "*HE IS A "MUST STOP"* for anyone within a 4 hour drive. 
Both sawmills air dry and then kiln dry.


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## mickit (Oct 5, 2009)

Love me some bugged up mesquite...nice score Tony...and just up the road from me. Thanks


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## Corbin3388 (Jan 22, 2011)

Every time im in Austin I see to go straight from the airport to The Salt Lick and eat all day. I will try to look him up next time im in the area. thanks


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

Corbin3388 said:


> Every time im in Austin I see to go straight from the airport to The Salt Lick and eat all day.....


Berdoll is not that far from the airport. here is a better shot ofn the pecan after I removed the stretch wrap.
BTW, did I mention that the slab was already flattened and sanded to 120 grit? All i have to do is finish sand and then apply finish.


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## txpaulie (Jul 21, 2010)

Thanks for the info Tony...:thumbsup:
I'll be in LaGrange(ah, how, how, how, how...:laughing Thurs and Fri.
I must make the short trip out to Smithville.
PM directions, please...:yes:

p


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Hey Tony,

Could you PM me the addresses for these guys? (I am about to upgrade my phone to a smart phone and will plug in to the GPS there...)


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

Texas Kiln Products (800) 825-9158 or (866) 774-645 or(512) 360-4385. Better call for directions. When we were on 71 heading north/west we passed the Smithville signs and thought we may have passed up the place. Then on the right hand side of the road was an antique shop. It was not the shop of the mill owners family but they told us how to get there. Just turn right at that antique shop, go down the dirt road about 1/2 mile. On your left you will see a smal sign for the mill. Follow it and it will take you to the mill. 

Brandon Berdoll's Tel. No. is 512-497-5910, he is not that much further up the road. From Memory, Berdolls is somewhere between Bastrop and the airport in Austin.


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## RefinedElements (Oct 20, 2013)

*TX Urban Sawmill - New Sawmill in Austin, Dripping Springs, Central Texas*

Well, we finally opened our operations in Jan 2018!! Conveniently located in Dripping Springs, TX on Hwy 290 and is only 20 miles from downtown Austin. Local to Wimberley, Blanco, Driftwood, Manchaca, Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, etc. We specialize in re-purposing salvaged Texas hardwoods. What is special about this mill? Woodmizer Pro Sawyer certified. We run the business to advocate and educate on tree re-use and donate a portion of our lumber proceeds to non-profits. We also do NOT buy logs and claim that we salvaged them. We literally do all the hard work and salvage everything possible from each site. We run a backhoe, 9-ton crane trunk, multiple trailers, chainsaws, etc. We also support many of the local tree service companies with our truck and are partners with TreeFolks for re-plants and helping those that cannot afford tree removals. You can see some of our efforts on YouTube. 

A few of the largest mills in Texas focused on pecan are cherry picking only the best trees & leaving the remaining as waste. This is not supported by the Urban Lumber Network which is working to establish the standards for urban wood. TX Urban Sawmill is an active member and very involved in supporting a national alliance of urban sawyers & standards. We actually believe the practice of cherry picking for only the best is more damaging to efforts to promote tree re-use forestry products and growing more like-minded businesses across Texas. How would you feel if someone came to help pick up the trash after a storm but only sorted for stuff they can sell at high-end thrift stores, leaving the remainder for others to worry about? We believe this is quite selfish and is only a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Anyway, we operate the largest thin kerf sawmill in Texas and the US. It is an electric 480V mill and darn quiet, yet, more powerful than any diesel driven saw in Texas. It is a monster with a 72" inch cut capacity. 










We are co-owned across 4 committed families. We love meeting new faces and simply getting to know folks. If you are aware of a non-profit program in need of lumber or milling, please call us as focused on people & community outreach 1st! We consider ourselves the neighborhood sawmill of Dripping Springs & Austin. Building up our inventory still and our prices are great, we will beat pricing on any equivalent Texas hardwood slab offered by other equivalent TX sawmills by at least 20%!!!! We actually believe the pricing of TX pecan slabs and TX hardwood lumber is far too high. We also want more people to be able to afford re-purposed lumber & help spread the word about its benefits to our communities. Not to mention the history in these trees. 

Worth checking out this business with a community minded focus http://txurbansawmill.com and calling for an tour / appointment.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

Thanks for your excellent post. I wish your family and the other three families good success.

I recently went on a tour of Angel City Lumber in Los Angeles. I was most impressed with their idea of saving trees from the chippers/landfill and turning them into useful boards. They seem to be doing well, but you can tell that they are still operating as a startup with limited funds. They may be "cherry picking" trees, but any trees that they don't accept go to the chippers. Their choice of trees is not only limited by which trees are coming down where, but also the practicalities of removing trees in an urban environment without damaging other property. Sometimes they bring a portable sawmill and cut the boards in place from the fallen tree.

They had a many beautiful live edge slabs from multiple species of wood for sale. They had a small amount of dimensional lumber as well, mostly 8/4 boards. The gum tree boards had beautiful coloration in the grain. I didn't buy anything on that trip, but plan to go back in the future.

https://www.angelcitylumber.com


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## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

I looked up The Salt Lick in Driftwood on Trip Advisor. My nephew lives in San Antonio and when we go to to visit will certainly visit the barbecue.
johnep


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## gj13us (Apr 19, 2016)

RefinedElements said:


> Well, we finally opened our operations in Jan 2018!!



How does a start-up score the largest thin-kerf sawmill in the U.S.? 



And I really like the idea (ideals?) behind the business. 



I was at a conference last week that included a discussion on ethics in the workplace. _*Believe it or not*_, people are most fulfilled with their jobs when their jobs exhibit their ethics and values. Who knew?! :laugh2:


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## holtzdreher (Jul 20, 2016)

I am fortunate to have 14 or so sawmills within 20 miles of home. Some have incredible slabs. One at Groff's was three inches thick, 4 ft wide and about 16 ft long. I just can't imagine a tree that huge. The closest is a part time mill which only operates a day or two a week, but offers some of the best deals on rough cut lumber. They owner will custom cut your logs too. Heard about a new one near home just a few days ago. They use most of their lumber in their furniture business, but sell off cuts and such infrequently. I have a mill's guy here right now taking an inventory of trees on my property for possible cutting this winter. They use poplar and oak and mill interior trim for builders.


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## gj13us (Apr 19, 2016)

holtzdreher said:


> I am fortunate to have 14 or so sawmills within 20 miles of home. Some have incredible slabs. One at Groff's was three inches thick,



Groff as in Groff & Groff in Scotland, PA?


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## holtzdreher (Jul 20, 2016)

Maybe the same outfit but different location, in Quarryville PA. https://www.groffslumber.com/


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## holtzdreher (Jul 20, 2016)

ethics and values in the workplace? I am a retired attorney. I appreciated the old country lawyer gentlemen manner of practicing law, where attorneys could deal with each other. Some of the new crop of attorneys got the idea that they must disagree about everything. Some would not even agree that it is 2018.


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## gj13us (Apr 19, 2016)

holtzdreher said:


> Maybe the same outfit but different location, in Quarryville PA. https://www.groffslumber.com/



Yes, that's it. I got Scotland Rd and Scotland, PA mixed up.


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## gj13us (Apr 19, 2016)

holtzdreher said:


> ethics and values in the workplace? I am a retired attorney. I appreciated the old country lawyer gentlemen manner of practicing law, where attorneys could deal with each other. Some of the new crop of attorneys got the idea that they must disagree about everything. Some would not even agree that it is 2018.



You should try politics sometime. :laugh2:


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## Robert Webb (Oct 13, 2010)

If you get a chance be sure and like them on Facebook. The post some fantastic photos of trees that they are taking down for the sawmill! I am a hobby woodcarver and would love to go see the sawmill some day.


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## RefinedElements (Oct 20, 2013)

Thanks for all the kinds word related to our efforts to save trees & help to bring some of the philosophies of the Urban Wood Network to Texas. 

One question was how a start-up was able to purchase a WM1000? Lots of hard works, lots of savings, getting together a group of people who all believe in re-investing our earnings, etc. So I started Refined Elements LLC back in 2012. We focus on producing the finest live edge furniture in Texas. I never took a penny from that business. In fact, I've re-invested most my savings in that business over the last 6 years and 100% of the profits. Admittedly, I was working in biotech in various Director level roles in parallel while moonlighting Refined Elements. This allowed me to not "steal from the business". It required 80-100 hour work weeks to do both but I never gave it My hair certainly went from jet black to salt & pepper over that time!!! The immense sacrifices and struggles are now beginning to pay off. I officially resigned a nice six figure salary and took a 70% pay cut to run both Refined Elements & the Texas Urban Sawmill full-time. My wife even went back to full-time work while we have 3 young kids at home. Most everyone that knew me in corporate life thought I was an idiot. I was basically told that walking away from all my education and work experience (biomedical engineer, masters in business, lots of industry certifications, patents, etc) would end my career or seriously compromise it. Well, good! Gotta take chances in life. It had been an amazing choice. I now work with a small group of guys who all believe in making positive changes and helping others. Our sawmill is slowly becoming known in Texas for being a community minded and people focused business 1st. The team gets more energy from our salvaging and donation efforts than anything we may sell. 

My entire life's outlook hasn't changed in a very positive way in just 10 months. It use to be about growing my salary, benefits, stock options, etc. Today, I've come to realize just how manipulated my thinking had been in the last 20+ years by corporate politics and a drive to increase profits / EBITDA, etc. Nothing better than going to bed knowing that you truly are making a difference and bringing positive influence to environmental sustainability and social change in Texas. Call me crazy. So that's my story in a nutshell and how this all came about. Almost 7 years of laser focus and we are finally just now getting out of the gates! Certainly not making a profit and while that's the goal in order to sustain the business & support the committed families, this is not our #1 focus. I feel strongly that business success comes if you focus on serving the local residents and our communities. Completely against everything I learned in business school and absolutely against everything I learned working for publicly traded biotechs. 

Enough about my boring story! We love to receive visitors and talk about tree re-use efforts. You don't need to buy a thing! And we'd love to schedule any group who wants to view the live milling of a log cut. We try to schedule visits by appointments only right now as we are commonly salvaging trees throughout the month. We also welcome weekend visits by appt. We are usually around but not guaranteed. So please call (512) 762 5898 or text me (usually best) or email or Messenger us. So many communication platforms and we are very responsive.

I'd appreciate any Likes on Facebook or Follows on Instagram. We really need help in spreading our mission within Texas. Right now, there are only 5 sawmills in Texas (one in Dripping Springs, one in Austin proper, two in Houston, one in San Antonio, one near Dallas) focused on salvaging trees (regardless of the quality) and I hope to help get more started. Most these guys are 1-2 man crews and working hard to simply get off the ground. Other established sawmills may mention lumber from salvaged trees but they are primarily buying these logs from loggers. And these loggers are in it for one reason alone.....money & are not following any type of industry standards. We started the FB group - "Texas Urban Sawmills & Urban Lumber Network" and are working on a website for like minded sawmills to share their ideas, efforts, to cross-promote, and sell genuine urban lumber. We welcome anyone based in Texas to join that is focused on supporting these ideals or utilizing these lumber products as makers, artisans, etc. The Berdoll Sawmill is not part of this group and hasn't applied for membership, just stating a fact. 

Thanks for all the kinds words. I really love this forum. No bashing, positive energy, everyone seems genuinely helpful! 

Oh, we are saving the oldest documented pecan in the history of Texas. I'll post a new thread once we begin an attempt to save at least a portion of this beast. Tree diameter is easily 7 feet+. It will also be part of a Sunday television program in Feb 2019. Post more in a few months. Here are just a few details: Largest Salvaged Tree in Texas


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