Mel seeger's matchwood sawmill

“Minnesota” Mel Seeger is a traditional timber-framing expert and sawmill operator who mills his own lumber on a sawmill he made from a Mac truck! He was a longtime logger and has run chainsaws and sawmills his entire life. Mel uses few power tools, and builds gorgeous white pine barns using hand-carved Mortise and Tenon joinery.

Matchwood Sawmill and farm is just down the road from camp, where Mel built everything himself - his timber framed barn, outdoor kitchen, and giant combine shed, a sauna, and a bunk house designed after a traditional Finnish “Grillikota.”

Mel is true Do-It-Yourself master who is always learning and experimenting with new techniques. Currently Mel is raising a pair of steer calves, hand-carving and bending the wood for all of their yokes, which need to be replaced with larger sizes as they grow. He is an amateur farmer and historian, studying the Finnish and Native American roots in the area, building a tiny roadside Matchwood Museum, and he plays traditional Finnish music on the fiddle and accordion, with his wife, Aileen (who will also show you how to make goat cheese!)