Oak Bay / St. David, New Brunswick
Southern Forestry Ltd. is a small, owner-operated forestry, sawmill, and woodworking business in Oak Bay / St. David, New Brunswick. We call what we do Farm to Table: from the tree farm we manage in Charlotte County to a finished table, and every step in between.
We select and harvest the best trees from 150 hectares of forest land we manage in Charlotte County.
Read more: The ForestWe saw northern red oak, maple, ash, birch, and poplar into boards, specializing in rift sawn and quarter sawn lumber, and cut slabs for live-edge counters and tabletops.
Read more: SawmillA combination of controlled air drying and our dehumidifier kiln brings the wood to 7–9% moisture content, suitable for indoor fine furniture.
Read more: DryingWe plane and joint boards, and we can flatten slabs with a router sled on our sawmill.
Read more: SurfacingWe can build tables and other pieces, modern live edge or traditional Arts and Crafts / Mission style in quarter and rift sawn oak.
Read more: FurnitureBecause we do each step ourselves, we control the quality and consistency all the way through. You can buy from us at any stage, from rough-sawn boards to a finished piece. We also cut softwood lumber to your dimensions in spruce, hemlock, and eastern white pine.
Step 1 of 5
All of our wood comes from 150 hectares of forest land we manage here in Charlotte County, New Brunswick. We select and harvest the best trees for lumber, and we look after these woodlots ourselves.
Knowing where every log came from is the first step in controlling quality.
Step 2 of 5
We saw our hardwood logs into boards on our own sawmill. We specialize in rift sawn and quarter sawn lumber, the cuts furniture makers and millwork shops look for because of their straight grain and stability. In quarter sawn oak you also see ray fleck, the figure often associated with Arts and Crafts / Mission style furniture.
We also cut hardwood slabs for live-edge counters, tabletops, benches, mantels, and shelves.
Hardwood species: northern red oak, maple, ash, birch (white and yellow), and poplar.
We also do some custom sawing of customers’ own logs; ask us.
These species all grow on the forest land we manage in Charlotte County. Choose one to see its character and what it is good for.
Hardwood
A strong, open-grained hardwood with a warm, light reddish-brown colour and bold grain. Quarter sawn, it shows ray fleck, the figure often associated with Arts and Crafts / Mission style furniture.
Good for: Fine furniture and tables, Arts and Crafts / Mission style pieces in quarter and rift sawn oak, and millwork.
Hardwood
A hard, dense hardwood with a pale, creamy colour and fine, even grain. It wears well and sands to a smooth finish.
Good for: Furniture, tabletops, cabinetry, and millwork.
Hardwood
A strong, springy hardwood with a light colour and bold, open grain that looks a lot like oak. It is tough and bends well.
Good for: Furniture and chairs, millwork and trim, and tool handles.
Hardwood
A pale, fine-textured hardwood, lighter and softer than yellow birch. It has a plain, even look and turns well.
Good for: Turned pieces, small furniture and projects, and interior trim.
Hardwood
A hard, strong hardwood with fine, even grain and a light golden to reddish-brown colour. It machines and finishes well.
Good for: Furniture, cabinetry, and millwork.
Hardwood
A light, soft hardwood with a pale colour and straight, even grain. It is easy to work and takes paint well.
Good for: Painted furniture and trim, drawer sides and other interior parts, and shop projects.
Softwood
A light, strong softwood with a pale colour and straight grain. It is a standard building wood in Eastern Canada.
Good for: Custom dimensional lumber for framing and general building.
Softwood
A strong, coarse-grained softwood with a pale, buff colour. It has long been used for heavy timbers and barn building.
Good for: Timbers for post and beam, siding, and cribbing for wharf work.
Softwood
A soft, light softwood with a fine, even texture and a pale colour that warms with age. It is easy to work and stays stable.
Good for: Furniture, siding, and trim.
Step 3 of 5
We dry our lumber with a combination of controlled air drying, with the boards stickered and stacked, and our dehumidifier kiln. Together they bring the wood down to 7–9% moisture content, which is suitable for indoor fine furniture.
At this stage the lumber is dry but still rough-sawn, and it can be bought as is (see Buy at Any Stage).
Step 4 of 5
We surface rough-sawn lumber on our planer and jointer, so boards come to you flat and ready for work.
Slabs are too wide for most planers, so we flatten them on our sawmill with a router sled. That gives you a flat slab ready for final sanding and finish.
Step 5 of 5
The last step is the one the whole process is built for: a great table. We can build tables and other pieces in two main styles:
Live-edge tables and pieces made from our slabs.
Arts and Crafts / Mission style furniture in quarter and rift sawn oak.
Our pieces start as trees from the forest land we manage, sawn, dried, and surfaced by us.
We also saw softwood from the same Charlotte County forest land we manage, so it is Farm to Table wood too. We cut custom dimensional lumber to the sizes your project needs.
Dimensional lumber, and boards for furniture, siding, and trim.
Timbers for post and beam, siding, and cribbing for wharf work.
Custom dimensional lumber.
Tell us the sizes and quantities you need, and we’ll get back to you.
You don’t have to buy a finished table. We sell what we make at each step, so you can pick the stage that suits your project and your shop:
Hardwood, including rift sawn and quarter sawn, dried to 7–9%.
Planed and jointed.
Rough, or flattened on the router sled.
Tables and other furniture, live edge or Arts and Crafts / Mission style.
Spruce, hemlock, and eastern white pine, cut to your dimensions.
Wood grown and harvested on land we manage in Charlotte County carries our Farm to Table seal. Anything we bring in from elsewhere is labelled separately.
What we have changes as we saw and dry. Contact us to ask what is available now.
We are still setting up our CNC and laser engraving work. If you have a sign, engraving, or small CNC job in mind, ask us and we’ll tell you whether we can take it on yet.
Southern Forestry Ltd. was founded by Gee Bradley, who runs the business as president. We are a small, owner-operated forestry, sawmill, and woodworking business based in Oak Bay / St. David, New Brunswick.
Our strength is that we do every step ourselves: managing the forest and harvesting the trees, sawing, drying, surfacing, and building. That is how we keep the quality and consistency where we want it.
To ask about hardwood lumber, slabs, surfacing, softwood cut to size, or a table or other piece, email us or use the form.