Hello, My name is Steve and I may have a helpfull tip in these not so freindly economic times. I own a small sawmill operation, I was a Home builder, I am a carpenter, designer and build furniture.

When running the mill to make B&B siding, I use pretty big eastern white pine logs, which makes for large peices of Slab-wood.

Slab-wood for the small scale sawyer is a pain to deal with and always looking for ways to get rid of it. some use it for firewood, some farmers for corrals etc and some woodworkers for material. With a-lttle work you can turn slabwood into usable lumber and get it for cheap, for free or by the halt ton load for next to nothing. If you have a small scale sawyer in your area, stop by and see what He`s got. You could be very surprised at what you come home with.