Handcrafted Dining Tables
From Saint Louis Trees
Local Sawmills
Rescue Trees From The Chipper
Arch Timber
Turns Them Into Handcrafted Furniture
St. Louisans
Give Them A Home
Urban Timber Is Unique
[Press + To Expand]
+ Special Sauce
Urban Timber naturally possesses lots of character. Fascinating grain patterns. Bark inclusions. Unique knots.
+ Vertically Challenged
Why the difference? One reason is that forested trees, unlike their urban counterparts, face greater competition for sunlight and therefore exhibit a more vertical growth pattern. Urban trees, usually less constrained, grow more "out than up."
This is significant because large low-hanging branches produce interesting grain pattern inside the trunk of the tree. The result for woodworkers using urban timber: wood with character.
+ Lots of Flavors
Utilizing Urban Timber gives customers the opportunity to select from a wide range of local wood species. Sought-after species such as Red Oak, White Oak, Hickory, and Walnut all grow in St. Louis and are therefore available at Arch Timber.
Urban Timber Promotes Local Business
[Press + To Expand]
+ Nothing Against Henry Ford
Roughly half of all American lumber is produced at one of 85 sawmills owned by one of six companies.
+ We Just Prefer The Local Guy
Arch Timber works with the other half.
More specifically, Arch Timber works with a small number of local sawmill operators (sawyers) who are dedicated to processing urban logs.
+ Two For The Price Of One
Therefore, when you purchase a table from Arch Timber, you’re supporting two local businesses: us, and the local sawyers who supply our lumber, without whom Arch Timber would not be possible.
Urban Timber Is From Your Backyard
[Press + To Expand]
+ Waste Not, Want Not
Each year in the United States more than 10 million usable hardwood trees are removed from populated areas and converted to wood chips or otherwise discarded.
This figure is roughly equivalent to the volume of US hardwood lumber—sourced from traditional timberlands—used in the construction of fine furniture.
+ Beauty Is Pain
Why the mismatch? Primarily because Urban Timber, for all its beauty, is difficult to mill. Logs are generally spread out, slowing down pickup; the same large branches that add character to the wood also make the logs difficult to maneuver. Even embedded metal—whether from hardware, fencing, or something else—presents a serious challenge for those who process urban logs.
+ Lucky For Us
For the above reasons, most commercial sawmills are unwilling to process urban logs, and therefore furniture makers wishing to utilize local timber often struggle to source material.
Fortunately for St. Louisans, however, a few wood-lovers remain undeterred: we are home to a number of local sawmill operators who do the dirty work of converting urban logs into beautiful high-character timber.