By Garrett Ruhmann, Wood-Mizer
February 4, 2026
On April 5, 2022, a tornado struck the small town of Butler, Georgia.
Fortunately, it was a minor tornado, or as minor as something like that can be. Classified as an EF1, reports from the day show torn up grass, severe thunderstorms, a chicken coop destroyed (nearly), and several trees snapped or uprooted around the area.
As it turns out, the trees which were so suddenly taken from their firm grasp on the ground were fated for a different destiny. The tornado was merely the catalyst that started the process.
Not long after the storm, Charles Singleton, one of the 1,881 residents of Butler, received a phone call. A friend of his had some trees destroyed and wondered if Charles may be able to do something with them. “The thought of all those trees rotting disturbed me,” recalls Charles. The friend knew that Charles owned a Wood-Mizer LT40 Super Hydraulic Sawmill, bought originally to saw any trees that died on the Singleton farm.
While Charles spoke to his friend over the phone, he was struck immediately with how he could use the trees which had been unfortunate enough to live in the path of a tornado. “I saw a video on Old Bluff Sawmill (Note: a popular YouTube channel located in Georgia) about a Dovetail Cabin he was building. I reached out to him and got him to help me with a jig for the dovetail joints for the corners. Then another friend of mine had built on his farm using his Wood-Mizer. It had been my dream to build a house from the ground up. My daughter encouraged me to film it and put it on YouTube.”
With a plan in place, Charles brought his tractor to his friend’s property and began the long and arduous process of building a cabin. By the time he finished, the types of wood were numerous: red oak for the bathrooms, red cedar on the fireplace frame, white oak on bedframes, poplar in bedrooms, sycamore for night stands, hickory on mirror frames, cedar logs for the porch railing, and pine flooring. For good measure, there are two coffee tables built from black walnut.
By the time Charles finished, three years had elapsed. But the final result was worth the wait. 1,280 square feet of beautiful, custom work, with around $85,000 in money saved by sawing his own lumber.
It may not have been an easy process, but it was a rewarding one. Charles decided to enter his new dovetail cabin into the 2025 My Wood-Mizer Project Contest. In an online vote of his peers, Charles’ cabin won the distinguished People’s Choice Award in a landslide, showing the incredible amount of support for Charles and his work.
Charles attributes the support of his online following for the win (The Cabin Butler Georgia), which resulted in a grand prize of $1,250. And if he does have support, it’s for good reason. Following his win, Charles made a trip down to his local food pantry/clothing closet, House of Blessings. In his pocket he carried with him a blessing of his own: a check written in the amount of $1,250, the same amount he won for his Dovetail Cabin.
Charles has this to say about Wood-Mizer: “The Wood-Mizer has been a blessing to me. It has helped me take those dead trees on my farm and turn them into usable lumber. It’s given me the opportunity to help others with their sawing needs. I have met so many people that need those special cuts they can't get from the big box store.”
He continues, “The Wood-Mizer product is a well-designed machine. It cuts good lumber. You get to know your wood and learn to keep your blades sharp and regulate your speed to get that high-quality wood that people want for their projects. Wood-Mizer has been responsive to my parts and blade needs.
I love my Wood-Mizer.”
