Ohio Wood Connection, llc

Ohio Wood Connection, llc Ohio Wood Connection is passionate about extending the life and revealing the beauty of trees. We bel We vacuum dry green wood for homeowners and sawyers.

Ohio Wood Connection offers drying services, hardwood slabs and custom projects. We sell hardwood slabs in various sizes and species to homeowners, architects, builders, and designers. Hobbyists and artisans use smaller pieces for charcuterie boards, wall art, desks or tables. And, we convert slabs to finished pieces for homeowners and businesses. Ohio Wood Connection does not harvest trees. All o

ur slabs and dimensional lumber come from trees removed from property owners, private forests, and developers throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. We save locally-sourced wood from ending up in the landfill. Upcycling existing resources benefits the environment because we don’t use any new raw materials in our production process. In 2014, Marcus founded Ohio Wood Connection out of his garage and has continued to grow his business to its current location in Cincinnati, Ohio. He specializes in domestic hardwood, live-edge slabs, kiln drying, and custom design projects. We are open on Saturdays, 9am to 1pm, and also available for appointments during the week. We ship nationwide.

Ever wondered why a buckeye slab has all those gaps? Those gray and vanilla voids aren't damage. They come from the soft...
09/07/2026

Ever wondered why a buckeye slab has all those gaps? Those gray and vanilla voids aren't damage. They come from the soft pith channels the tree grew, stable once the slab is kiln dried, and they're what makes a filled buckeye counter distinctive. Skip the clear resin here. Buckeye heartwood runs vanilla, yellow, and gray, and a warm amber or smoke tint ties the fill into the grain so the repair disappears into the pattern. A filled buckeye slab is one of the most distinctive counter surfaces you can build.

A customer walked in with a sketch and left the rest to us. This black walnut river table is what came of it.We started ...
09/04/2026

A customer walked in with a sketch and left the rest to us. This black walnut river table is what came of it.

We started by pulling two slabs off the same log so the grain mirrors across the center gap. Black walnut carries dark heartwood and the kind of channels and pockets that form when the tree responds to water stress along a riverbank, so we set the two edges to read as one continuous line down the table.

Then into the vacuum kiln to bring the moisture below 8%, and across the surfacer to flatten and smooth without crushing the live edge. That's the step that keeps a dining table from warping or pushing its joints apart a few years in. Dried right for the Cincinnati climate, this one stays flat.

That's the whole idea behind custom fabrication here. You bring the vision, we find the right slabs and build a piece that outlasts all of us.

Got a table in mind? Send us your room dimensions and whether you want a steel or wood base, and we'll walk you through the slab pairing. 🪵

Freshly milled black walnut slabs are heading into our vacuum kiln right now.These came off the mill long and wide, stil...
09/01/2026

Freshly milled black walnut slabs are heading into our vacuum kiln right now.

These came off the mill long and wide, still sitting well above 8% moisture on the inside where you can't feel it. That's the whole reason for the kiln. We pull them down to a stable 6-8% working range so they won't warp, cup, or push a joint apart once they settle into your home.

This is the step between a raw slab and a piece you hand down. Dried, then across the surfacer to flatten and smooth without crushing the live edge, then ready to build around.

We're moving new black walnut through the shop constantly, so inventory keeps changing week to week.

Got a project in mind? Send us your rough room dimensions and a base preference and we'll match you to a slab. 🪵

Countertop, bar top, or mantel, the build starts with wood that's already stable.We handle the material science before i...
08/30/2026

Countertop, bar top, or mantel, the build starts with wood that's already stable.

We handle the material science before it ever reaches your shop. Slabs come off the mill, into our vacuum kiln to pull moisture down to a stable working range, then across the surfacer to flatten and smooth without crushing the live edge or figure. What you get back is flat, dry, and ready to work, so you can focus on the fit and finish.

We keep over 20 species in the showroom, everything from black walnut to white oak to spalted maple, so there's a grain and tone to match the room. Send us an email at [email protected] about your project and we'll suggest wood options that fit the build.

Taking a break from all things wood today. Caught this Great Blue Heron sunning itself on the banks of the Ohio River, a...
08/27/2026

Taking a break from all things wood today. Caught this Great Blue Heron sunning itself on the banks of the Ohio River, and then it took flight. Nature continuously amazes us - be it hardwoods or this stately heron. Enjoy!

08/24/2026

Customers ask how we get from a whole log to a workable slab, so here's what happens on our mill.

A log comes in and gets read first: where the pith sits, how the bark rolls, where the crotch or lean put tension in the grain. That read decides how we open it. We break it down into slabs on the mill, keeping the cut parallel through the length so the boards stay flat and the figure lands where it should. We handle oversized hardwood logs here, so a wide oak or sycamore that's too big for most setups still gets processed in-house. From there the slabs go to the kiln, then to surfacing when they're ready to flatten and smooth.

Every step stays under one roof, which is how we keep track of moisture, flatness, and grain from the raw log all the way to a finished piece.

Surfacing and Planing Are Not the Same Thing!Most people treat these as interchangeable, run a slab through the planer a...
08/21/2026

Surfacing and Planing Are Not the Same Thing!

Most people treat these as interchangeable, run a slab through the planer and call it done. Here's the mechanical difference: a planer presses your board down through compression rollers, which is fine for dimensional lumber but tough on a large live-edge slab. Our custom industrial surfacer uses a hydraulically controlled floating head that glides across the slab, flattening and smoothing without crushing those natural contours.

That's why a slab like the kiln-dried white oak shown keeps its graceful shape and strong grain patterns after it hits our surfacer. Got a slab that needs proper surfacing? Contact us at Ohio Wood. Looking for a slab that has been surfaced - we have over 20 species available in the showroom and for shipment!

Twelve years on the floor. Every question still gets a real answer.That's Marcus, owner of our Cincinnati shop, standing...
08/17/2026

Twelve years on the floor. Every question still gets a real answer.

That's Marcus, owner of our Cincinnati shop, standing next to a kiln-dried cherry slab with warm heartwood tones running the full length. He's been sourcing hardwoods within a thirty-mile radius since 2014, and he'd rather spend twenty minutes walking you through moisture content, grain direction, and base options than sell you the wrong slab.

One of our customers, Nicholas, put it plainly in his review: he had several questions and never once felt less than satisfied asking them. That's the room you're walking into.

So bring the messy questions. Room dimensions you're not sure how to measure. Species you've only read about. A build you're stuck on halfway through. None of it is a bother 🪵

Stop by the showroom, or send us your project details and we'll point you to the right slab on the floor.

08/15/2026

Look at this survivor!

Red elm was decimated by the Dutch elm disease. Millions of trees were lost to the fungus spread by beetles. Marcus shows the wood's character, color and tone of this slab harvested to keep the grove healthy.

Steel drum on the left. Slab stack on the right. Concrete floor holding both. 🪵This corner of the shop is where every ha...
08/11/2026

Steel drum on the left. Slab stack on the right. Concrete floor holding both. 🪵

This corner of the shop is where every hardwood we sell gets stabilized before it ever touches a bench. The ESP Extra Wide vacuum kiln pulls moisture out under pressure, so a 2-inch live-edge slab dries in days instead of the year-plus air-drying would take. And it dries evenly, pith to sapwood.

Here's why that matters at your dinner table. Uneven moisture is what cracks a finished top six months after glue-up. Vacuum kilning locks the slab in at 6-8% moisture content across the full thickness, which is exactly the range you want for interior furniture in the Cincinnati tri-state climate.

The character stays put. Voids, spalting, mineral streaks, live edge, all of it intact. Only the water leaves.

Got slabs that need drying, or a project waiting on stable stock? Send us your species, thickness, and rough dimensions and we'll walk you through the kiln schedule.

Address

8805 Lancaster Avenue
Cincinnati, OH
45242

Opening Hours

Tuesday 12:30pm - 5:30pm
Wednesday 12:30pm - 5:30pm
Saturday 9am - 1pm

Telephone

(513) 581-0361

Website

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