A reflection on Spacht Sawmill, a hidden gem for woodworkers in the Philly area, and a tribute to its late owner/operator/sawyer, Dave.

This post is mainly for the woodworker scene.

There are a few sawmills around the greater Philadelphia metro region in which we currently inhabit. You probably know most, if not all of them.

This article is about one of them in particular. If you’re a woodworker or cabinet maker of any variety or maybe even not, you may have come across Spacht Sawmill off of Germantown Pike in Fairview Township.

Tucked Away in a Neighborhood

It’s a bit of an oddity in that it’s in the middle of a residential neighborhood. I don’t know why that’s important to mention. But maybe it’s not an oddity, as I would wager when the place was first put into business as a mill it wasn’t really a residential neighborhood such as you would conceive of one today. I think the original place goes back to the 1940s or 1950s, maybe longer, and from what I remember Dave saying and reading on the site, it sat unused and in decay for a good while before he bought the place in 1983.

I discovered it when we relocated to eastern Pennsylvania back in 2015 and I was looking for suppliers and places to obtain the raw materials of the trade. That would be wood, for all those of you in the back not paying attention and reading your latest copy of Mortise & Tenon. Eyes forward and your undivided attention, please and thank you.

About the Mill

Spacht Sawmill has been in business for 40+ years. And they are great. Dave and Carol bought the place in the 1980s, and I would guess they
have been pretty successful since the mill is still going strong as of the writing of this little story.

Unfortunately, sadly, tragically, inconceivably, Dave died unexpectedly around Thanksgiving 2024. You can read about him on the website, in addition to reading about the mill in general and their offerings and services.

I won’t rehash all of that here because you should just go to their website and check it out for yourself and get educated. They also have a Facebook page where more timely information and posts about current happenings at the mill live.

And then go to the mill and buy some stuff for a project. Or you can buy some stuff and just give it to me if you don’t really need it. I’ll take it off your hands and make something of it.

From my reading and visits since then, several of Dave’s good friends have stepped in alongside his wife Carol to keep the place running pretty much as it had been. That can’t be easy, but as far as I can tell, they haven’t missed a beat.

What You’ll Find There

As you would imagine, as a sawmill and retail lumber business, you can find a wide selection of domestic hardwoods and softwoods for sale in the rough and otherwise — board stock and live edge slabs, the selection of which is constantly rotating. Walnut, maple, cherry, ash, oak, pine, etc. etc.

What they bring in and offer for the discerning customer is of the highest furniture-quality stuff you are likely to find. They focus on quality, and not cheap stock. I think the website says something to that effect, but less… blunt.

I don’t know about now, but they did offer custom milling/sawing of your own logs on the 1950’s era circular mill they have, if you could get your logs there yourself. That thing is so cool. I wish I had one in my back yard. Inside the shop they have a Wadkin mill. I wish I had one of those, too. Also very cool. Dave had a helical head put in his old 15″ Powermatic planer. He was superexcited about that when he showed me. I don’t remember when that was. Couple years ago. I don’t know how much use it get, but there’s a massive 12″jointer. Probably 1930s or 1940s era. It’s basically a solid block of cast iron. It must weigh an ungodly amount. Again, I wish I had one. Check it out in person. Read more about it on their website.

Dave was always more than fair on grading the stock and with his pricing. Maybe because he felt sorry for me spending all my disposable income on lumber. I have not experinenced a change in this since.

Some Personal History

I’m not sure how many times I visited the mill and purchased materials from Dave. I have a fairly large inventory on site of stuff that I bought either just to have on hand, or for planned and personal projects.

Sometimes I’d make a trip just because it had been a while and I needed some good sawmill time. And I usually walked out with a trunkful of stuff for some as-yet-known project down the road. If you see good stuff, interesting stuff, get it — because you won’t see that exact same board or slab ever again.

For example, one day he had three or four slabs of burly pin oak. I think he said it was the first time he’d had that for sale at the mill. Not sure where he procured them from. Very pretty stuff. I bought two of them and they are sitting in the basement waiting for the right project. Here’s a picture, slight tweaked in photoshop to punch the contrast to better capture the figure. Both are 48″ long. Between 18-22 inches wide, give or take.

Another time I bought a small pile of what he had labeled as OLD, dark cherry. I think he said he purchased it from someone and that it had been sitting for quite some time. I’ve used what I have for a few projects. It’s gorgeous. It wasn’t a lot. 6 pieces in total of varying widths. May 8 or 10 board feet. Here’s a photo of the remaining 2 pieces I have with the description on the end.

The boards seem to have oxidized all the way through somehow, so they’ve got the characteristic aged dark cherry look through and through, evident even after additional milling. It’s also got super tight growth rings. Probably from a very old, very large cherry tree, the likes of which you can’t come by much these days. I wouldn’t go so far as to say old growth, but perhaps if they had been sitting for many decades or longer in a barn somewhere in eastern/central PA. The two boards I have left are pretty wide, maybe 14–16 inches.

Good Lumber, Good Talk

Most visits would take a while. Either because I wasn’t in a hurry, or Dave was busy with other customers or planing stuff or taking care of various other duties. But there was always a lot of time to talk about assorted topics of the day or seven kinds of what have you.

I never brought this up with Dave. Didn’t have the time, at the time, but I had an idea of doing a photo essay on the mill and him and the people that regularly stop by. You see, photography has been a hobby of mine for about the last 25 years, though I’ve gotten out of the habit of late, sadly.

I thought it would be an interesting and ideal project to haul out my ToyoView 4×5 and 8×10 view cameras and lens and document the place and the work and the people with large format B&W film photographs. Probably contact prints. Would have been fun.

I regret not proposing the idea while I still had the chance.

The Last Visit

I don’t remember all the visits in detail, but I do remember the last one with Dave, that is. Right before Halloween 2024. I needed some 8/4 ash for a project I was working on and also picked up a couple smaller slabs of walnut and cherry, just because. I still have the slabs, which are waiting for a use. The ash went into some cabinetry.

Anyway, I remember when leaving I said, “I’ll see you next time.”

Sometime in early December I needed to make a trip for some supplies, but the weather was crappy, so I checked the website first to make sure there wasn’t a “closed due to inclement weather” note for that day. There was a note, but not about that.

The note I saw said Dave had passed away unexpectedly. I didn’t get to “see him next time.”

Still Going

I think I waited for a couple months after that to go back, which I have four or five times since for project stuff. The place is still the same. Same, but different, of course.

I was just there about two weeks ago for a load of 8/4 maple for some things currently in the shop. Cabinet doors and carcasses, and some other assorted woodworking things. About 50 board-feet worth. 10-footers.

I can get 10-footers in my 2008 Honda Accord and still close the trunk. Love that car.

Love that sawmill.