ASHFIELD, Massachusetts — Tristan Romer, 36, is on a new kick. He built a timber frame house for himself a few years ago, and he could not get over the thrill of producing such a classic and time-honored piece of architecture he now calls home. “After I built it, I got onto a house-building kick,” Tristan said.

      “A timber frame home gives you a great feeling because it’s a structure that is primitive and architecturally pleasing,” he added. “Once I’ve worked my way through this (kick), I will go back to finer cabinetry and custom woodworking.”

      Deciding to focus on timber frame home building for a period of time meant stepping aside from his successful carpentry and fine cabinetry business, Tristan Romer Carpentry and Woodworking, in western Massachusetts.

      That decision also meant that Tristan needed to find a portable sawmill that would allow him to be more productive and also provide the high quality wood products for which he has earned an established reputation. He found it in the summer of 2004 and could not be happier.

      “One of my buddies discovered information on the Norwood Industries LumberMate 2000 on the Internet,” he recalled. The description of the small portable sawmill sounded like what he needed, so he ordered a demonstration video. On the strength of the video, he and his friend traveled to Norwood Industries in Buffalo, N.Y., with the intent to buy one of the company’s portable sawmills. “We liked what we saw and we decided the price seemed right, and we brought it back to Massachusetts,” said Tristan.

      Promoting self-sufficiency, small business and the local economy is what Tristan and his company is all about. “This kind of mentality is very important to me,” he said, so a portable sawmill fit right in with his way of thinking. Tristan and his friend each own pine wood lots, and Tristan plans to use the timber for a lumber supply.

      The Norwood Industries LumberMate 2000 is a manually operated portable sawmill although a power feed option is available. Norwood offers the band mill with four power options ranging from a 13 hp Honda engine to a 23 hp Briggs & Stratton engine with electric start. The mill runs 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 inch blades, depending on the power option. It is available with bed extensions to saw long logs, and Norwood supplies additional accessories and equipment.

      “I am building a timber frame home for a client now,” said Tristan, “which is the second one I’ve built, but the first time using a portable sawmill. I am cutting all the dimension lumber and the heavy timbers for this home on the LumberMate 2000. I will also cut all the joinery in the old-style method.”

      Using the LumberMate 2000 this time around really made a difference. “I can cut any size lumber I want to a certain dimension, so when I plane it I get exactly the size I want right here in my yard — as opposed to having to make phone calls to a lumber yard and hope that things come out right,” said Tristan. “Another bonus in having the mill is that I can cut lumber to non-industry standards, and I have the ability to do custom cutting. I can also cut joinery with this bandsaw.” It beats having to buy lumber and trim material, particularly the pine trim that Tristan uses for exterior and interior projects.

      “So I am using the LumberMate 2000 to help sustain my carpentry business by cutting out my own materials and then having stock on hand to sell as wholesale and for resale for my carpentry and cabinetry business,” Tristan added. “Another main criterion for purchasing this mill was that I was hoping I could partially eliminate a materials supplier by creating my own materials in the cabinetry as well as in the home building areas of my business.”

      Like other portable sawmills, the LumberMate 2000 conserves natural resources. “It’s much more efficient being able to have the sawmill out in the woods with me because the closer to your trees you can place it, the less environmental damage there is and the scale of your equipment can be much smaller,” Tristan noted. “Your general overhead is much lower because you don’t have transportation costs.”

      Tristan fells trees with a chain saw. He uses a 1958 four-wheel drive pick-up truck to skid them to a landing. Using a small set of skids, cant hooks and the help of another person, Tristan rolls the logs onto the bed of the sawmill.

      “There are so many more options in what I can do working with trees and wood,” Tristan explained. “For example, the availability of the stock of materials I need is great. I can just throw the materials I need for a job right onto my truck and go off to work without having to go to the lumber yard. And I can take boards from my pile and plane them and make trim to the exact dimension and throw it on my truck and head to the job site.”

      Although he had never used Norwood equipment before, Tristan said he would certainly consider buying more. “I tend to purchase more equipment from the manufacturer of equipment I like to use,” he said. “Norwood’s equipment is exceptionally well designed and engineered. People I’ve shown the mill to are surprised by the efficiency of it and what its capabilities are for the cost. It can do a phenomenal amount of work.”

      The work Tristan does is of the highest quality in old-method craftsmanship, and the LumberMate 2000 enhances his productivity. “I am doing very high quality work, and the sawmill allows me to cut extremely accurate pieces. I can even cut veneer with this sawmill,” he said. “This mill allows me to do the broad range of things I do very efficiently — including cabinetry and carpentry, timber framing, house building, and lumber and retail sales.”

      Tristan has been involved in working with wood since he was a child working with his father. He has been in the carpentry and home building business for about 18 years and apprenticed for about the first eight years of his career.

      However, Tristan has an independent spirit, and he wanted to be in business on his own. “I am a self-driven person, and I like to calculate how a particular job will proceed and how it will all happen. And I don’t want or need to be told what to do or how to do it,” he said. “I also like dealing directly with clients.”

      The near future for Tristan looks quite bright. “I plan to put my land into APR (Agricultural Protection Restrictions) forestry, and I will selectively cut timber off my land to use for producing timber frame dimension lumber — possibly for creating kits for house building so people can put together their own timber frame homes. So I would be selling pre-made kits that would include the elements of fine carpentry and fine joinery, as well as a set of timbers that would be milled out on the Norwood small portable sawmill.”

      The Norwood Industries LumberMate 2000 will help Tristan achieve his business goals. “I am the sole proprietor of my business and, although I get a little weekend help some times, the beauty of this sawmill is that you can do all the work by yourself,” he said.

      For further information on Norwoods complete line of equipment call 800-661-7746 or visit their website at www.nor­woodindustries.com.