Three years of logging in Finland. They returned and opened their own workshop near Fanipal
For several years, Yaroslav and Mikhail were logging in Finland — almost without days off, sometimes in frosts below minus 30. Then they returned to Belarus and started doing exactly what they dealt with every day in the forest — working with wood. Now they have a workshop near Fanipal, where they assemble tables weighing hundreds of kilograms from solid oak slabs. Onliner visited the brothers and learned how temporary work turned into a craft, and also talked about injuries, competition, and future plans.
Yaroslav (pictured) and his brother make oak furniture. All photos by Maxim Malinovsky, Onliner
We are in the OneTime Wood brand workshop near Fanipal. Here, slabs are stored, basic equipment is set up, and finished products are assembled. Two brothers work in the workshop — Yaroslav and Mikhail. The first is 30 years old, the second is 32.
By education, the guys are not carpenters. Yaroslav graduated from the Faculty of Radiophysics and Computer Technologies at BSU, Mikhail studied to be a pharmacist. After graduation, both went to work in their respective fields.
— I worked in pharmaceuticals, in production. Medications, shifts, regulations — everything as it should be, — says Mikhail.
Mikhail (in a cap) and Yaroslav make oak furniture. Photo by Maxim Malinovsky, Onliner
— My work was technical: setting up systems and equipment, including road cameras, — clarifies Yaroslav. — We worked like that for several years, renting an apartment in Minsk in parallel. At some point, it became clear that we didn't want to continue moving in that direction.
The brothers accumulated their initial capital in Finland. For earnings, the brothers went there to fell trees. They spent three seasons there, almost entirely in the country from spring to winter.
— We left around March and returned in December — spent almost the whole year there. We worked as foresters: felling, clearing, doing everything by hand. Mostly we did everything ourselves, without heavy machinery, — Yaroslav recounts.
— The schedule depended on the weather and the volume. Sometimes, we had to work every day. There were frosts down to -32. On such days, the equipment had to run constantly; the car couldn't be turned off. If the saw blade froze, we had to heat it up, otherwise, it simply wouldn't start, — Mikhail adds.
The work, according to the guys, was very difficult and required constant physical exertion.
— You are constantly moving. When it's cold, you work and sweat, stop — and immediately start freezing. But over time, you stop paying attention to it. The work is very harsh, because the wood is heavy, the tools are heavy — by evening you are so exhausted that you come home and immediately pass out. You are constantly tired, you don't have a normal social life. You live for work alone, and when you return home, the money flies away because you are exhausted and want to live a little for yourself.
We understood from the beginning that we wouldn't be able to do this all our lives, and considered this kind of temporary work only as a temporary stage.
It was there that the initial capital and the idea, from which the workshop later began, emerged.
— Simply put, all the first money for the house, tools, and workshop came from Finland. In the best months, I earned about €3800 net there — you bring this money home. Accommodation and food were organized separately, so we managed to save some. Over several seasons, we accumulated the amount with which we could start something. Without it, there would simply be no workshop, — Yaroslav says.
— Since we worked with wood every day, constantly saw wood of different quality and condition, we started to notice how much good wood simply remained lying around. That's when the idea came to try working with this material further, — Mikhail continues.
"The first table warped"
After Finland, the brothers returned and began investing the money they earned into a base for their work.
— When we returned, first of all, we bought a house. In parallel, we started acquiring tools. The first thing we bought was a chainsaw, not a household one, but a proper, powerful one, so we could saw large logs.
Then we started looking for wood ourselves: we went to the forest, looked at what was lying around, what could be taken. Mostly it was oak. Often it lay in swamps or lowlands. Such trees are difficult to extract, machinery doesn't go there, so they simply remain there. We sawed these trunks and pulled them out of the swamps ourselves. At that time, everything was done by hand.
We made the first product literally on the street, because there was no workshop yet. The humidity was high, the board was raw. At that time, we didn't fully understand how wood works. In general, the tabletop warped. We weren't upset, because it was an important experience. After that, it became clear that without proper drying and seasoning, we couldn't proceed.
In parallel, the brothers began to delve into the technology.
— We started reading, watching, communicating with other craftsmen. We looked at how people work with solid wood, how they dry wood, how they stabilize it. We bought a simple portable dryer. It's inexpensive, infrared, cassette-based. This was the first step to controlling the process.
We made the first products for relatives. We made a table for our parents. Then my brother from Russia ordered kitchen countertops. We made them cheaply because we wanted to gain experience and skill. In the first year, we made about 50 products. These were countertops, small tables, simple shapes.
And most importantly, we weren't chasing quick money, because there simply isn't any here. Imagine: you cut down a tree today, and you can only work with it a year or two later, because it needs to dry. And this immediately changes your attitude towards the process; you start thinking ahead.
Manual labor, minimum machines, and 300-kilogram slabs
Now production is integrated into a regular yard on a private plot.
— We don't have a large workshop. It's a workshop that grew as opportunities arose. There's a separate room for dirty work, where slabs are stored and cutting takes place. There's a work area where we level slabs, sand, and assemble products.
Wood is a dirty material, and it's visible here.
The main equipment consists of basic machines: a machine for leveling surfaces, a router with guides, a miter saw, sanders, clamps. And the most important tool — a moisture meter.
The hardest part is not sanding or assembling, but bringing and unloading the wood. A raw slab can weigh 200-300 kilograms. Previously, we carried everything by hand. Now, some issues are handled by machinery, but much still has to be done manually.
One day easily goes just for bringing the wood, unloading, and arranging it. After that, you are physically exhausted.
Work in the workshop revolves around individual orders.
— We almost never make products in stock; mostly we work on specific orders. A person comes, looks at the material, we discuss sizes, thickness, finish. Much is decided on the spot. It's important to convey to the client that this is solid wood; it's alive. I immediately talk about humidity, about possible wood movements, about stabilization. If the person understands this, we continue working.
— Now we are moving more and more into solid wood, minimal epoxy. Resin is expensive, difficult to work with, and not always necessary. I'm more interested in making tables and countertops where the wood itself plays the main role, — says Yaroslav.
From a few hundred to thousands of dollars per table
The price consists of material, drying, consumables, and working time.
— If you take large tables made of slabs, the price starts from several hundred dollars and then depends on the size and task. There is no ceiling as such. There was an order in Grodno — a table approximately 110x260 cm. We sold it for about €1400.
A designer table with resin, for example, can be sold for €2000. At the same time, almost a thousand euros is the cost of the resin alone. About 35 kilograms will go into it.
A significant part of the cost is material preparation.
— Drying oak in a press-vacuum costs about €500 per cubic meter plus delivery there and back. This is a mandatory step. If you take a countertop without legs, just solid wood, covered with oil, such work costs about $800.
Plus, risks should be taken into account, because if something warps or goes wrong, we redo everything at our own expense.
If a person already has a house or garage, they can start with a couple of thousand dollars. This will be enough for basic tools and material. But it's important to understand that this is manual labor. If you are not ready to carry heavy things, go to the forest, work all day near a machine, then nothing will work out. You can buy tools, but not health.
"My back is currently on injections"
Working with solid wood involves constant physical exertion and high health risks.
— The hardest part of this job is carrying raw slabs. My back is currently on injections. There was a moment when we were dragging a slab through the swamp, that's when my back got pinched. This is a common story here.
It's also risky when felling the oak itself, because you never know where it will fall. If you make a mistake with the cut, the tree can go in a different direction, and God forbid, towards you.
Dangerous tools are also used here: routers and large saws. If you don't maintain concentration, you can lose fingers. So far, all fingers are in place, but splinters, cuts — these are constant.
The market for solid wood and slab products in Belarus is small. Mostly, craftsmen work alone or in small teams. If you take craftsmen who technologically understand what they are doing, there are not many of them — four or five people. The main difference is in wood preparation.
Many rush: they dry quickly or don't dry at all. Because of this, problems with products arise later. Yaroslav and Mikhail claim that they do not put slabs into work if they are not properly dried.
— The first thing we want to do is expand the workshop, — the craftsmen say. — Over time, we want to move more towards pure solid wood: less resin, more wood. To make things that will quietly last many years and not depend on fashion.
The brothers no longer plan to go abroad for work. There's enough work here.
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