Mill produces specialty products - and furniture.

An historic North Carolina lumber mill has converted its facility into a state-of-the-art remanufacturing plant that specializes in edge-gluing southern pine lumber for furniture and millwork components.

The firm is Coulbourn Lumber Co. in Windsor, N.C. Vice president Phil Lunsford said the changes in the mill were driven by the need to move away from timber supply problems and low-margin commodity lumber to higher return specialty wood products.

Unlike furniture plants that also have an edge-gluing operation, Coulbourn specializes in edge-gluing, with furniture production almost as a sideline.

It's a textbook example of recovery and high value utilization, with a minimum of lumber waste.

Edge-glued panels are versatile

Coulbourn Lumber was founded over a half-century ago as a sawmill at the site of a barrel stave manufacturer on the Cashie River. In the late 1970s, the edge-glue plant was built to make better use of the salvage material the sawmill produced. In 1988 the furniture plant was added to utilize the salvage material from the edge-glue plant. In 1991 the sawmill equipment was sold and Coulbourn Lumber Co. focused on edge-glued products. Most of the production is 1-inch-thick finished edge-glued panels that are used for furniture parts, tabletops, stair treads and risers.

Low moisture content

The production process starts as 40,000 board feet of southern pine lumber moves through the dry kiln in each cycle. Most of the lumber is 4/4, 5/4 and 6/4. It takes five to seven days to dry the lumber down to about 8 percent moisture content. "Controlled, careful drying is the key to quality southern pine panels," said U.F. Coulbourn, president. He added that southern pine formerly had a bad name in the furniture industry because framing lumber dried in high-temperature, direct-fired kilns had internal stresses that cause checking and warping. The low-moisture content of 8 percent ensures a more reliable glue bond.

After drying, the lumber packs are sorted by thickness and grade and then stored in an enclosed warehouse to ensure that the moisture content remains constant. As orders are processed, the lumber is moved into production where it is first cut to length by two chop saws, and then ripped into staves by three Diehl straight-line ripsaws. Between these two operations, an Oliver Stratoplaner dresses one side of the stock to aid in the defecting process and ensure a uniform thickness going into the gluing process. The lumber is then edge-glued on the Mann-Russell radio frequency glue press or sent to a Taylor clamp carrier.

Large panels

The mill uses 10,000 board feet of lumber per day. Maximum size panels measure 4 feet wide by 8 feet long, but most panels are 3 to 4 feet in length. Sales manager Brinkley Overton said, "We have the capability to manufacture a wide range of products, from large panels for tabletops to small solid pieces for furniture components."

After gluing, the rough panels are sent through a gang ripsaw to the correct width. After the gang ripsaw, the panel size dictates the next process steps. Panels that are less than 12 inches wide can be finished in the moulder, but are first precision end trimmed (PET) on the Greenlee double-end tenoner. Panels greater than 12 inches wide are first dressed on the Timesavers wide belt abrasive planer, and then precision trimmed and edged on the tenoner. From there, another Timesavers wide belt sander (with three belts finishes the panel.

"We have also worked with white pine, but we found the market was not stable, the supply was not local, and the panels were easily damaged," Lunsford said, adding, "Southern pine is more rugged and produces a beautiful panel."

The edge-glued panels are more stable than solid lumber boards, Lunsford said. The edge-glued stepping product is available in both clear and carpet grades.

The company also keeps some of the edge-glued panels "at home" to produce a broad product line of finished furniture in the plant. These include dressers, chairs, desks and living and dining room suites.

Most of the furniture is finished with a light stain sealer and a finish coat of lacquer after the pieces are hand sanded.

For more information on southern pine furniture production, contact Marc Lishewski, Southern Forest Products Association, P.O. Box 641700, Kenner, LA 70064. Phone [phone]; FAX [phone].