An Afternoon With: Drew and Neal from HansonMade Woodworking

Drew and Neal met at Church, and when they realized they both wanted to pursue a woodworking journey, they bought a sawmill

Drew started learning woodworking at a young age and growing up with a father who was a “Jack-of-all-trades”, Drew picked up on it quickly. 

As he got older, Drew fell in love with the scope and capabilities of different machines – and that did not exclude sawmills. When he moved into his current home and found himself with 2.5 acres of land in North Carolina, Drew realized the potential he had to expand on his passions and grow a part-time business out of them.

That’s when he met Neal at Church. The two realized they both had a passion for woodworking and a desire to buy a mill, as Neal was using a chainsaw mill at the time and was looking for something to make his work a bit easier.

So, Drew did some research and found Woodland Mills. That’s when he decided to purchase the HM126 Woodlander Sawmill – and he hasn’t looked back since. The two work together to make their business run smoothly and efficiently.

Because Drew bought the Woodlander trailer package for the sawmill, it has allowed them to travel to different locations within the state to collect logs and mill the lumber on site.

From there, the lumber either goes back to the owner, or Drew and Neal load it up into their truck and take it back to Neals where it goes into a solar kiln to dry. Drew uses the lumber to build beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture, as well as cutting boards, charcuterie boards and much more.

Neal, will then take whatever lumber Drew is not using and sell it to people who will use it to make their own projects. It goes to show that team work really does make the dream work, and what these two are doing is definitely working for them.

Make sure you follow Drew’s page on Instagram @hansonmadewoodworking to see all of their projects and log loading techniques. We had such a great visit with you both and thank you again for having us!