Whether you’re interested in building a live edge dining table, or just simply a fan of those Instagram accounts working large with slabs, milling the wood is where all of the magic starts.

I had the opportunity to help Matt Plazek, a local woodworker, and now friend, to mill up some large maple slabs this past weekend. What a great learning experience!

The setup currently uses a Lucas Mill and soon to be Woodmizer in the heart of Cranberry Township, PA. Our time began on the Lucas mill. This machine is an absolute beast! You can use it with only 1 person, but slabbing is really a two-person job.

After 4 hours of milling, stacking, and stickering, I was worn out. These slabs are still wet and often weigh in excess of 250-300lbs. There was only so much we could get accomplished without having access to the owner’s skid loader.

Check out some of the pics from our day:

Check out some sycamore I milled up the other day!