Furniture Maker Mills One-of-a-Kind Cypress Desk

Kyle Snellenberger had the creative idea of using an entire log for one piece of furniture, so he milled and made a one-of-a-kind statement piece for a hotel lobby in Louisiana.  

One-of-a-Kind Project 

The sinker cypress desk, measuring at 15’ long, 36” wide, and 42” high, was carefully crafted from a single log that was salvaged from the 600+ mile long Ouachita River and milled into 3” thick slabs with a Wood-Mizer LT15WIDE portable sawmill.  

Kyle decided to use a Sinker Cypress to mill the desk - a species native to the southeastern United States and is typically found near riverbeds. “The LT15WIDE allowed me to mill this log to its max width of 36”,” said Kyle. “Every cut on the mill had to be perfect or the piece would be ruined.” 

Although it took him about 4 months to complete the project, Kyle milled 100% of the lumber using his LT15 portable sawmill. And because of this, he was able to save up to $2,000. 

Sawmilling and Furniture Making 

Before owning his Wood-Mizer portable sawmill, Kyle sourced wood from other sawmills which was more expensive and rarely what he truly wanted for his furniture designs.  

Kyle owns his own furniture shop and while lumber prices continued to increase, he wanted to find a way to produce his own lumber. This inspired Kyle to purchase his own Wood-Mizer LT15WIDE portable sawmill. “We run the mill every day at the shop, so we have a lot of projects in the works,” said Kyle.  

Growing His Business 

The sinker cypress desk is a prime example of turning a log into exactly what Kyle had envisioned from start to finish. “It was very nerve-wracking in the beginning but turned out absolutely perfect,” said Kyle. “From the day I milled the log to the day it was finished; it took around four months which includes kiln drying time. I get compliments on this desk weekly because it's in a high traffic lobby. It has gotten me untold amount of business.”