Urban Timber Sawmill

“This trades training program will sustainably manage our urban forest timber as a renewable resource. Towards achieving this goal we will best use these trees as their final intended purpose should be.”

A farm timber sawmill was the genesis of Soldiers to Sawyers nonprofit. In 1979 Army WWII veteran Eino Werronen sponsored our first farm mill. That combat veteran laid the  foundation for this non profit, towards our building a veterans sawmill apprenticeship trades training program today.

Urban timber saw milling through S2S non profit will work with corporate providers of urban timber waste resources. This will provide our veterans apprenticeship with a sustainable supply of materials for their trades training.

 Veterans will up-cycle each of these community trees, first by evaluating them as a best usage planning.
When possible our program training will utilize milled hardwood lumber as further training materials. This will support another division of apprenticeship training supporting advanced tech CNC wood working.
Veterans desiring to learn these traditional sawyer trade skills, will find a career that offers very rewarding life experiences.

Generations of timber sawyers have enjoyed successful careers. Auxiliary sponsorship support will enable this American trades apprenticeship to pass on down this tradition through our veterans apprenticeship.
Veterans will be sustainably managing our natural resources, creating best use of our community trees through trades training. Hardwood lumber manufacturing supports our community's final use of canopy trees. Through this resource management plan your memberships sponsors real benefits.
Community urban timber hardwood lumber may support a S2S online marketing division, where entrepreneurial spirit may develop from shop skill development. Lumber yard apprenticeships may include business management training towards marketing business goods and services.

Portable band sawmills allow for pickup truck trailer transportation. Through public service contracts with our public parks, schedualed demonstration mill work may be provided to our greater community. Senior veterans through our membership may enjoy the benefits of sawmill experience here. In this way all veterans may enjoy these experiences of traditional American lumber saw milling.

Sawmill trades apprenticeships will be offered during the winter months. This may better support interested veterans employed as farmers. Apprenticeship in industrial hemp  farming may apply to begin after their  seasonal agricultural field work has been completed.

Mill apprenticeship is team training. This includes machinery safety awareness at the mill and around the lumber yard. Our apprenticeship program will align with State Apprenticeship guidelines. This will support divisions of traditional trades, to better develop skills that employ modern equipment with adaptive tools and advanced technology support.

Technology training begins with apprenticeship and continues over many years. This skill development includes gaining a greater knowledge of the environment as a sustainable resource. Learning about  different equipment applications and how they apply in urban and rural settings. Forestry management includes urban canopy maintenance. This career skill development is necessary towards a better understanding of how each lumber tree species may be best utilized, and when to mill specialty lumber specific for fine woodworking. This business skill development, beginning from apprenticeship training, creates efficiency of time and added market value for the forestry products.

S2S Board of Directors have been working directly with the Wood-Mizer Corporation. Through their Mission Outreach discounts S2S has received a 25% sponsorship on a dedicated professional apprenticeship mill construction. Division of CNC wood shop fabrication will launch their apprenticeship training in Wadsworth Ohio. This begins from that 2014 milled lumber. This lumber was milled from Radcliffe Brakeman Land Trust woodlot, specifically as quarter sawn specialty hardwood.

This hardwood was milled quarter sawn so it would later provide the best defined materials needed for advanced tech fabrication training. Lumber milling planning may also be directed towards supporting our Division for Veteran Homes. Vintage 1900' era residential constructions will be selected for deconstruction then re-construction planning. Heritage project  sites may also require hardwood replacement of their interiors and hardwood flooring. Trades apprenticeship training may soon include hardwood flooring installation. CAD re-engineering of vintage buildings can use advanced technology engineering as a tool towards identification of work detail. These residential re-construction sites and historical building preservation site may then be precisely managed down to the smallest detail.

Traditionally sawyers working at local sawmills were essential to our early communities. Yards were located nearby these growing villages and towns as providers of essential building construction resources. Today through the utility of portable band sawmills communities may support these apprenticeship trades, towards organizing resource management of the community urban timber. Having access to affordable hardwood lumber enables multiple outcomes. As greater volumes of milled lumber exceed training needs, there may be new opportunities to kick start community trades in wood crafting.

Generations of Americans have enjoyed wood craft before the digital age. Today master craftsmen may not have that next generation interested in bridging over their trade skills. By having access to affordable lumber American wood shops may be seen again in our communities. Public schools until quite recently offered Shop classes. Earlier rural communities participated together at Grange locations. Today we see urban timber sawmills engaging with our communities, towards supporting  apprenticeship wood crafting trades. Urban areas may support from their home basements and garages. S2S supports these trades skills, so they may pass down from generation to generation, it's in the essence the Mission of S2S. Traditional trades for centuries may now be supported with advanced tech to provide this membership with greater safety in apprenticeship. Home wood craft business may be an income source or purely for recreational enjoyment.

Our plan is to resources urban timber away from landfill dumps and firewood chain saws, and into lumber mill trades training. This effectively sustains our community mission plan by:

• Providing those best usage plans are in place as a priority for our beautifully mature neighborhood lawn trees. After lost from storm damage or natural decline.
• Re-purposing these valuable timber trees for lumber after these tree's life spans have come full circle is essential as a community service.
• Towards build a plan that uses all the trees for higher purpose, instead of sending the majority of them away to the waste disposal dump.
• Provide meeting Posts where members of these communities may come together and organize new plantings of canopy timber trees for future generations.
• Provide an American community template, where others may align similarly.

S2S Posts will be nearby the people. This supports local organizational planning by this membership. Here they may develop a best non range management of their community canopy trees, to serve us as a continuing resource. This is the S2S mission plan for sawmill apprenticeship trades training.

Immediate fundraising needs list:

*Tools and Equipment necessary to launch Division #4 Urban Timber Sawmill Apprenticeship Lumber yard training       include:

75% remaining cost of new WoodMizer professional sawmill or a lease usage agreement on a used portable band sawmill

2- used transport utility F-350 trucks for transport of apprentice trainees to sites, lumber from mill to CNC shop, and hauling saw logs trailer to the sawmill mill.

2- used transport trailers for lumber &  for timber to mill.


*$45k estimated working capital: towards initiation of this division's operating costs. Coverage calculated for the first 120 day cycle. Voucher program reimbursements will then provide sustainability through the Dept of VA (VetTech) program.

This is how S2S plans to maintain all its divisions 1-6 as sustainable programs. 



Dreams with defined goals require sponsorship of people money as a membership dedication. Dreams become a reality from persistence and hard work. Our combat service veterans have earned this opportunity by honoring flag and country. Without the generosity of our sponsors we wouldn't be where we are today. Funding of materials, tools helps each veteran and their family get one step closer to their goal.