Ottawa Forest Products Inc

About Ottawa Forest Products Inc — Hardwood Lumber in Ironwood

Ottawa Forest Products Inc has been Ironwood’s trusted hardwood lumber supplier since establishing operations on Wall Street. This full-service sawmill specializes in providing premium hardwood boards to furniture makers, cabinetmakers, professional woodworkers, and hobbyists throughout Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin.

The mill stocks an extensive inventory of domestic and exotic hardwood species available in rough, S2S, and S4S formats. Customers can select from FAS, Select, and #1 Common grades, with boards sold by the board foot to meet project specifications. Custom milling services accommodate unique dimensions and specialized cuts for demanding woodworking projects.

Local hardwood suppliers like Ottawa Forest Products offer advantages that big box retailers simply cannot match. You can hand-select individual boards, examine grain patterns and figure, verify moisture content, and receive expert advice on species selection. The ability to inspect lumber before purchase ensures your project starts with the right materials.

Ironwood’s location in Michigan’s timber-rich Upper Peninsula provides ideal access to premium hardwood resources. The region’s harsh winters and slower growing seasons produce dense, stable lumber with excellent working properties that discerning woodworkers appreciate for fine furniture and cabinetry projects.

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Location & Directions

What to Expect When You Visit

Visiting a working sawmill like Ottawa Forest Products offers an authentic lumber-buying experience where you can see, touch, and select your materials. The facility typically features organized stacks of air-dried and kiln-dried lumber arranged by species and grade, with knowledgeable staff available to help locate specific boards and discuss project requirements.

Expect to spend time browsing through inventory to find boards with the grain patterns and characteristics your project demands. Staff can provide insights into wood movement, finishing properties, and working characteristics of different species, plus arrange custom milling services if standard dimensions don’t meet your needs.

Products & Materials

Ottawa Forest Products maintains extensive inventory of both domestic hardwoods including hard maple, red oak, white oak, cherry, walnut, ash, and hickory, plus specialty species like curly maple, bird’s eye maple, and quarter-sawn white oak. Exotic species selection typically includes mahogany, teak, purpleheart, and other premium imports for distinctive projects.

Lumber is available in standard thicknesses from 4/4 through 8/4 and beyond, offered in rough-sawn condition or surfaced to S2S or S4S specifications. All grades from FAS (Firsts and Seconds) down to #1 Common are stocked to accommodate projects ranging from fine furniture to rustic applications.

Custom milling capabilities include ripping to width, planing to specific thickness, and specialty cuts like live edge slabs and turning blanks. The mill can also provide kiln-drying services and maintain proper moisture content documentation for commercial customers requiring certified lumber.

Who Shops Here

Ottawa Forest Products serves a diverse customer base including professional furniture makers crafting custom pieces, cabinetmakers building kitchen and bath installations, trim carpenters seeking architectural millwork materials, and serious hobbyist woodworkers pursuing fine woodworking projects. The mill also supplies contractors needing specialty hardwoods for restoration work and boat builders requiring marine-grade lumber for watercraft construction.

Serving the Ironwood, Michigan Area

Ironwood’s position in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula places it at the heart of one of America’s premier hardwood growing regions, where the cold climate and shorter growing seasons produce exceptionally dense, stable lumber. The area’s rich logging heritage and continued forestry operations provide Ottawa Forest Products with access to high-quality local timber, while the region’s active woodworking community includes furniture makers, log home builders, and craftspeople who demand premium materials for their projects.

Tips for First-Time Buyers

• Call ahead to confirm inventory of specific species and grades you need for your project
• Bring project plans and measurements to help staff recommend appropriate board dimensions and quantities
• Allow extra time to hand-select boards and examine grain patterns, especially for visible project components
• Ask about moisture content and acclimation time needed before machining your lumber
• Inquire about custom milling services if you need non-standard dimensions or specialty cuts
• Consider purchasing slightly more lumber than calculated to account for defects and waste during machining

Woodworking Clubs & Resources near Ironwood, Michigan

Woodworkers in the Ironwood, Michigan area can connect with the Gogebic Community College which offers woodworking and industrial arts programs in nearby Ironwood. The closest major woodworking resources are typically found in larger cities like Duluth, Minnesota or the Twin Cities area, where chapters of the American Association of Woodturners and established makerspaces provide more extensive community workshops and guild activities. Local hardware stores and the regional vocational programs serve as informal gathering points for woodworking enthusiasts in this rural Upper Peninsula community.

Find a local woodworking guild →  ·  Find an AAW chapter →

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