{"id":1055,"date":"2021-11-24T16:48:54","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T16:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8009\/stories\/?p=1055"},"modified":"2024-06-25T15:20:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T15:20:25","slug":"the-woodworkers-of-rayonier-shane-bergman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neforestrydistribution.com\/stories\/the-woodworkers-of-rayonier-shane-bergman\/","title":{"rendered":"The Woodworkers of New England Forestry: Shane Bergman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s been incredible to witness the demand for forest products explode over the past year-and-a-half. Not only do the trees we grow help keep industries running, but they have provided a source of creativity for thousands of DIYers throughout the pandemic. In this series: The Woodworkers of New England Forestry, we celebrate the exceptional projects completed by our talented team members. Today, we feature Texas-based Senior Timber Marketing Manager Shane Bergman, who got his whole family involved in an accidental DIY side-hustle building patio furniture during lockdown.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

They say nothing can prepare you for the role of a parent…especially<\/em> a parent during an unexpected pandemic lockdown with a teenager. That\u2019s what Shane Bergman, his wife Kandis and their daughter Layla (along with millions of other parents) experienced last March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey shut down the schools and we were all at home. But then Layla finished all her schoolwork within a few weeks so she had nothing to do,\u201d Shane says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They could have panicked and signed their kids up for a million additional online courses, but that\u2019s not what happened with the Bergmans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Necessity is the mother of invention…especially during lockdown<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since his daughter completed the school year early, Shane had to quickly think of a project to keep her occupied that would also help bring some normalcy and fun into their lives. He kept in mind that Layla wants to be an engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy wife Kandis had always wanted a patio set, so I asked her if she wanted us to build one. So we all got in on it together. I got all the wood, Layla helped with the measurements, joining and puttying, and Kandis painted it. So we made a little assembly line.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Shane
Shane Bergman with his wife Kandis, far left, and daughter Layla, center. \/ All photos courtesy of Shane Bergman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They all enjoyed the work, and Shane felt good about using lumber produced in east Texas \u2014 especially since part of his job is to sell New England Forestry timber to lumber mills<\/a> in that area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After they completed the set, Kandis posted a picture on Facebook. Little did she know that photo would launch their pandemic family woodworking business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe got so many likes from the photo that she asked if anyone would be interested in buying one…we got 4 order requests within the first 24 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lack of Experience Didn\u2019t Stop The Bergmans from Building and Selling Their Furniture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Shane and his family which, up until lockdown, had very little experience building, went into business head first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy Dad was a welder and then he went back to school to be an Elementary ed teacher, so he had a lot of blueprint skills and I\u2019d help him on projects growing up,\u201d Shane says. \u201cBut it\u2019s different when you\u2019re actually there measuring and making the cuts. The year before, Layla and I built a deer stand and put a tin roof on it and stained it. That was our first go and we haven\u2019t looked back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YouTube videos, some refresher geometry tutorials and hands-on work provided the bulk of the Bergman family woodworking education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Handmade
The Begman family’s handmade patio set was an instant hit when they shared photos on social media.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy daughter wants to be an engineer so she\u2019d do all the measurements with me and she kept a little cheat sheet up in the garage. The hardest things for me were the angles, because I want to know exactly how you calculate that, so I refreshed my geometry and everything to get that right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The orders poured in throughout lockdown, which made for many busy nights in the garage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe started in March and did that for literally a month straight after work Monday through Friday. It was to the point where my wrists and fingers were killing me! But it was fun and we\u2019ve had a few people reach out ever since. If I would have known what I know now about the rush on wood, I would have bought a big flat of 2X4s in the beginning from our local sawmills. But I\u2019d have to say it was fun just hanging out and listening to music with Kandis and Layla.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did he keep his daughter engaged with the hard work and long nights?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be honest with you, she was always saying she needed to make money so I told her I\u2019d pay her a commission and she went for it and learned some responsibility too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His Favorite Woodworking Piece To Date<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although patio sets were their most popular product, Shane\u2019s favorite piece he\u2019s built is this two-seater burnt bench pictured below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"two-seat
Shane’s favorite project to date is this bench.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how he achieved the finish using fire:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you use southern yellow pine, you\u2019ve got naturally lighter and darker colors in the wood grain. So, you take a little blue propane torch, light it and keep it 3-4 inches away from the wood and it just accents it like a zebra print. Then we add a clear coat.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technique takes patience, but it\u2019s not hard to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust don\u2019t do what one of my buddies did. He used lighter fluid to speed up the process. It worked, but I wouldn\u2019t recommend it! I spent about an hour and a half on just that bench to get it right, and once you see the end result it\u2019s pretty cool. That board had really good characteristics.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He learned the technique on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shane\u2019s Advice For Woodworker Newbies: Make The Time and Just Do It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Obviously Shane doesn\u2019t shy away from learning something new on the fly. But his perspective serves as good advice for aspiring woodworkers who are on the fence about how and when to get started:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just do it. I\u2019m one of those people who believes you can\u2019t get time back, and some things you\u2019ve got to say no to and some things you say yes to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnything you want to do now, whether it\u2019s mechanics, fishing or anything, you can find a way to kind of get your feet wet and learn. After you research it you\u2019ll find it\u2019s not that hard. I\u2019d just type in \u2018wooden patio sofa\u2019 and see what videos came up. For woodworking though, Home Depot has a lot of stuff online and they\u2019ll give you a whole list of exactly what you need, the lengths, etc. The cuts are the most intimidating, especially if you\u2019re going to cut on an angle. Also, I wouldn\u2019t jump in and buy the most expensive tools to start with. I\u2019d go to Harbour Freight to start out with a cheaper tool, and that way you can find out if you like it before spending more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve all learned over the last year and half, life can throw us some unpredictable curve balls. And something like a pandemic lockdown can create serious challenges for families. Yet, the Bergmans\u2019 story serves as a reminder that life is truly what we make of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their case, a lockdown brought them closer together as a family, taught Layla some basics about managing money and starting a business and provided the opportunity for them to forge a new hobby in woodworking. Not a bad way to spend a few months stuck at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congrats to Shane and his family on their pandemic side-hustle and beautiful patio sets!
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been incredible to witness the demand for forest products explode over the past year-and-a-half. Not only do the trees we grow help keep industries running, but they have provided a source of creativity for thousands of DIYers throughout the pandemic. In this series: The Woodworkers of New England Forestry, we celebrate the exceptional projects completed by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[53,1,2,50],"tags":[51,52],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nThe Woodworkers of New England Forestry: Shane Bergman | New England Forestry Stories<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Meet Shane Bergman, a New England Forestry forester who used Southern yellow pine to build his family a patio set -- and then made many more for friends and neighbors -- during the pandemic.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.neforestrydistribution.com\/stories\/the-woodworkers-of-rayonier-shane-bergman\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta 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