Custom Milling & Woodworking Services

Custom Cutting to Any Dimension

Not every project uses standard lumber sizes. Whether you need 2×3s ripped down from 2×4 stock, 3/4-inch boards planed to 5/8-inch for a cabinet project, or 16-foot timbers cut to a non-standard length, our shop handles it with precision. We rip, crosscut, and dimension lumber to your exact specifications on industrial table saws and radial arm saws calibrated to tight tolerances. The result is material that fits your project without the extra labor of field-cutting on site.

Planing and Surfacing

Rough-sawn lumber is more affordable, but it requires surfacing before it is ready for most applications. Our heavy-duty planers surface boards to any specified thickness with a smooth, consistent finish. We offer S2S (surfaced two sides), S4S (surfaced four sides), and single-face planing depending on your needs. This service is popular with woodworkers buying rough hardwoods and contractors who need custom-thickness decking, siding, or sheathing material.

Profile Milling: Custom Molding and Trim

Our moulding machines reproduce virtually any trim profile you can bring us. Crown molding, baseboard, chair rail, casing, window stool, wainscot cap, picture rail — if it has a profile, we can mill it. We maintain an extensive library of standard and historic knife profiles, and for truly unique patterns, we can have custom knives ground to match your sample piece. Minimum run lengths are low, so you can order exactly what you need without buying excess.

Edge Jointing

Clean, straight edges are essential for glue-ups, panel construction, and anywhere boards meet edge to edge. Our jointer produces perfectly straight, square edges on boards up to 16 inches wide. If you are building tabletops, cabinet panels, or solid-wood countertops, jointed edges ensure invisible glue lines and a professional result.

Resawing

Resawing thick lumber into thinner boards is one of the most versatile milling operations we offer. Our wide-capacity band saws resaw hardwoods and softwoods into veneers, thin stock for drawer sides, bookmatched panels, and lightweight cladding material. This is an excellent way to maximize the yield from premium or expensive species — one thick plank can produce multiple usable boards with consistent grain and color.

Specialty Cuts for Restoration Projects

Chicago’s built environment is rich with architectural detail, and restoring it properly requires materials that match the originals. This is where our milling service truly sets us apart. We specialize in producing period-accurate millwork for Chicago’s most common residential architectural styles:

• Chicago bungalows: Craftsman-style trim with wide, flat casings, tapered columns, and characteristic built-in profiles found in the thousands of bungalows across the Bungalow Belt.
• Greystones: Ornate interior trim, tall baseboards, and decorative moldings typical of the limestone-clad rowhouses found in Lakeview, Logan Square, Pilsen, and other neighborhoods.
• Two-flats and three-flats: Classic Chicago multi-unit profiles including thick door casings, window stools, and crown moldings that match the era in which the building was constructed.
• Victorian homes: Complex, multi-piece profiles found in Queen Anne and Italianate homes in neighborhoods like Old Town, Wicker Park, and Pullman.
• Mid-century modern: Clean-lined, minimal trim profiles from the 1950s and 1960s, common in ranch homes and early suburban developments.

Many of these profiles are no longer manufactured as standard stock. Without custom milling, property owners are forced to compromise with modern profiles that look out of place in a historic home. Our service preserves the architectural integrity that makes Chicago’s residential neighborhoods distinctive.

Our Milling Equipment

The quality of custom milling depends entirely on the quality of the equipment and the skill of the operators running it. Our milling shop is equipped with industrial-grade machines that deliver precision results on every job:

• Weinig Powermat 700 Moulder (6-Head): This six-head moulder is the heart of our profile milling operation. Six independently adjustable cutting heads allow us to shape all four sides plus the top and bottom of a board in a single pass. It reproduces complex, multi-step trim profiles with tolerances of ±1/64 inch. Feed speeds up to 60 feet per minute keep turnaround fast even on large production runs.
• SawStop Industrial Cabinet Table Saw: Our primary ripping and crosscutting saw features a 5 HP motor, a 52-inch rip capacity, and SawStop’s patented flesh-detection safety system. We use it for precision ripping of dimensional lumber, cutting sheet goods, and creating custom widths from standard stock. The sliding crosscut table handles panels up to 48 inches wide.
• TimberKing 2000HD Bandsaw Mill: Our heavy-duty resaw handles stock up to 24 inches wide and 12 inches thick. The 2-inch blade produces thin, consistent slices for veneers, bookmatched panels, and thin stock for drawer sides and cabinet backs. The large capacity also allows us to resaw thick timbers from logs and live-edge slabs.
• SCMI S630 Wide-Belt Planer: This industrial planer surfaces boards up to 24 inches wide with a helical cutterhead that delivers a smooth, tear-out-free finish even on difficult figured grain. Thickness adjustments are precise to 1/64 inch, and the 15 HP motor handles hardwoods without bogging down.
• Pneumatic Edge Clamp Gluing System: For panel glue-ups, tabletops, and wide boards, our pneumatic clamp system applies even, consistent pressure across joints up to 8 feet long. We use Titebond III waterproof wood glue for exterior-rated applications and Titebond II for interior work. Proper clamping pressure and joint preparation produce glue lines that are stronger than the surrounding wood.

Common Custom Milling Projects

Our milling shop handles an enormous variety of work, but several project types come through our doors regularly:

• Historic trim replication: Bring us a sample piece of your existing trim -- even a 6-inch section is enough -- and we will measure the profile, grind a matching set of knives, and reproduce it precisely in the species of your choice. We have matched profiles from Chicago homes dating back to the 1880s, including ornate Victorian crown moldings, Craftsman-style casings, and Art Deco baseboards.
• Custom flooring dimensions: Standard flooring comes in limited widths (typically 2-1/4" or 3-1/4"). We mill flooring to any width -- from narrow 1-1/2" strip to wide 7" or 8" planks -- in any species we stock. We can also mill custom tongue-and-groove profiles, ship-lap edges, or micro-beveled edges to your specifications.
• Oversized timbers from logs: Need a 6x8, 8x8, or larger timber that is not available off the shelf? We can mill oversized timbers from logs or large cants to your exact dimensions. Popular for post-and-beam construction, mantels, and decorative exposed beams in Chicago loft conversions.
• Live edge slab flattening: Our wide-belt planer and router sled system can flatten live-edge slabs up to 24 inches wide and 8 feet long. For wider slabs, we use our router sled jig to achieve a dead-flat surface ready for finishing. Popular for dining tables, bar tops, desk surfaces, and mantels.
• Tongue-and-groove paneling: We mill T&G paneling in any species and dimension for ceilings, accent walls, wainscoting, and exterior soffits. Standard profiles include V-groove, nickel-gap, beadboard, and center-match. Custom profiles are available on request.
• Custom wainscoting panels: Raised panel, flat panel, beadboard, and shaker-style wainscoting panels milled to your room dimensions. We provide both the panels and the associated frame stock (stiles, rails, cap, and base molding), all milled from the same batch of wood for consistent color and grain.

Turnaround Times

We understand that project timelines are tight. Our standard turnaround times are designed to get you back to work as quickly as possible:

Need a guaranteed time slot? We offer pre-scheduled milling appointments for contractors with recurring custom orders. Reserve your production window up to two weeks in advance, and your order moves to the front of the queue on the scheduled date. This service is free for Tier 3 and Tier 4 contractor account holders.

Milling Tolerances & Specifications

Precision matters. Our equipment is calibrated daily, and our operators perform in-process measurements throughout every job. Here are the tolerances and specifications we maintain:

Our standard finish of 15-20 knife marks per inch is suitable for most trim, molding, and construction applications and is ready for paint or stain with minimal sanding. For furniture, cabinetry, and other applications where a glass-smooth surface is required, we offer a premium finish of 25 or more KMPI -- this surface requires little to no sanding before finishing and produces noticeably cleaner stain absorption and paint adhesion.

Who Uses Our Custom Milling Service

Our milling shop serves a wide range of customers:

• General contractors who need non-standard framing dimensions, custom-width decking, or milled trim for renovation projects.
• Finish carpenters and trim specialists who require precise, ready-to-install moldings and casings.
• Furniture makers and woodworkers who buy rough hardwoods and need planing, ripping, and resawing services.
• Homeowners undertaking renovation or restoration projects who need to match existing trim and millwork.
• Property managers and landlords maintaining older Chicago apartment buildings where original trim needs to be repaired or replaced.

How to Order Custom Milling

Getting started with a custom milling order is simple:

1. Bring in your specifications or a sample. For profile work, a 6-inch or longer sample piece is ideal. For dimensional cutting, bring a drawing or a detailed list of the sizes, species, and quantities you need.
2. Get a quote. Our milling team will review your request and provide pricing based on the species, type of milling, and quantity. Most quotes are provided the same day.
3. We mill your order. Standard turnaround is 3 to 5 business days. Rush service is available for time-sensitive projects.
4. Pick up or schedule delivery. Your milled materials are bundled and ready for pickup at our yard, or we can deliver them to your job site.

Have questions or want to discuss a milling project? Contact us or stop by the yard with your sample or specs and we will get you a quote right away.