Milled Lumber
The right cut is what turns a stack of lumber into finished work. Mason’s Mill runs S3S and S4S dimensional stock, custom profiles, slatwall, and moulding-grade runs across a deep species list — hardwoods, softwoods, and modified woods like Accoya® — surfaced to spec on our own equipment and quoted alongside the hardware and finish you need to install it.
Custom Milling, BuiltAround Your Project
Every project has a cut list the yard down the street can’t fill. A non-standard thickness. A one-off slatwall profile. A species the big-box stores don’t carry. Random-width S3S that has to yield efficiently against a specific board foot budget.
That is the work Mason’s Mill was built for. We surface hardwoods, softwoods, and modified woods to your exact dimensions — 1×2 through 1×12 in stock S4S, laminated wide stock, S3S random-width for maximum yield, and custom profiles milled to a drawing. Every run goes across our own moulders and surfacers, so tolerances, grain orientation, and finish quality are ours to own end-to-end.
Browse Our Milled Lumber
Ayous / African Mahogany — Cutek Extreme Clear Finish
Ayous (Triplochiton scleroxylon), also known as Obeche, African Whitewood, Samba, or Wawa, is a lightweight tropical hardwood native to the forests of West and Central Africa. In its natural, unmodified state, Ayous has a pale cream to light yellow heartwood with a straight to slightly interlocked grain and a medium-to-coarse texture with good natural luster. It's frequently grouped with — and sold alongside — African Mahogany because of its similar workability, dimensional characteristics, and the way it accepts stains and finishes to achieve rich, mahogany-like tones.
Ayous is prized for several reasons that make it well-suited to architectural and millwork applications: it's remarkably lightweight (roughly 24 lbs/ft³), which eases handling for vertical siding, ceiling, and overhead installations; it has low shrinkage and good dimensional behavior once properly dried; and its clear, knot-free character grades produce a smooth, uniform surface ideal for high-visibility finish work. In its natural state, Ayous is considered non-durable to moderately durable against decay, which is why exterior applications require a quality penetrating finish to protect the wood and extend its service life.
Each board is finished with Cutek Extreme Clear, a penetrating oil specifically formulated to stabilize exterior wood from within. Unlike surface coatings that sit on top of the board and eventually peel, crack, or flake, Cutek carries its oils deep into the wood fibers where they work continuously to reduce moisture movement — the primary cause of cupping, checking, warping, and end-splitting. This is especially important for a species like Ayous, whose natural durability benefits significantly from a stabilizing oil. Because Cutek penetrates rather than films, maintenance requires no sanding or stripping — just clean the surface and reapply when it looks dry. The clear formulation adds no pigment, allowing the Ayous's natural cream-to-honey tone to show through initially before gradually silvering to a soft gray patina if left unmaintained with a colortone.
Because Ayous can react with iron and galvanized fasteners (causing black staining), stainless steel fixings are required for installation. Pre-drilling is also recommended, as the wood can be brittle.
Ideal for architectural siding, feature walls, soffits, porch ceilings, interior paneling, sauna applications, and covered outdoor living areas where a lightweight, workable hardwood with a refined appearance is desired.
Specifications
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Species | Ayous (Triplochiton scleroxylon) |
| Also Known As | Obeche, African Whitewood, Samba, Wawa; often sold alongside African Mahogany |
| Origin | West and Central Africa |
| Modification | None — natural, kiln-dried |
| Finish | Cutek Extreme Clear (penetrating oil) |
| Finish Type | Oil-based, non-film-forming |
| Color | Natural pale cream to light yellow; darkens slightly with age; accepts stains beautifully to achieve mahogany-like tones |
| Grade | Clear grade available; virtually knot-free |
| Grain / Texture | Straight to slightly interlocked grain; medium-to-coarse texture; good natural luster |
| Janka Hardness | ~440 lbf |
| Average Dried Weight | 23.8 lbs/ft³ (380 kg/m³) — lightweight |
| Specific Gravity | 0.32 (basic), 0.38 (12% MC) |
| Modulus of Rupture | 8,680 lbf/in² |
| Elastic Modulus | 934,000 lbf/in² |
| Shrinkage | Radial 3.1%, Tangential 5.3%, Volumetric 8.7% (T/R ratio 1.7) |
| Natural Durability | Non-durable to moderately durable — finish required for exterior use |
| Workability | Machines and finishes well; sands smoothly; accepts stains and oils evenly |
| Applications | Exterior siding (with finish), feature walls, soffits, porch ceilings, interior paneling, sauna walls/ceilings, millwork, trim |
| Fixings | Stainless steel required — Ayous reacts with iron and galvanized fasteners; pre-drilling recommended |
| Maintenance | Clean and re-oil with Cutek Extreme as needed — no sanding or stripping required |
| Sustainability | FSC-certified options available |
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What You'll Find on the Shelf
A working milled-lumber inventory for cabinet shops, custom builders, millwork specifiers, and finish carpenters:
S4S Stock Hardwoods
Alder, Knotty Alder, Cherry, Hard Maple, and Cypress surfaced, sanded, and straight on all four sides. Available 1 x 4 through 1 x 12, with laminated 1 x 12 in Alder and Knotty Alder for wide-panel work. Ready for cabinetry, furniture, trim, and one-off shop projects.
S3S Hardwoods
Alder, Knotty Alder, Cherry, and Hard Maple in random-width, surfaced-3-sides stock with two smooth faces and one straight edge. Built for maximum yield on cut-list-driven runs where board foot economy matters.
Modified & Sustainable Woods
Accoya® S4S decking, acetylated softwood carrying a 50-year above-ground and 25-year in-ground / freshwater guarantee. No additional oil or finish is required to hit those numbers, and it mills cleanly for custom rainscreen, cladding, and exterior trim profiles.
Custom Profiles & Slatwall
MC-1715, MC-3237, and MC-5850 slatwall profiles milled to specification in the species of your choice, plus custom moulding and cladding runs from our profile library or your drawing.
Specialty & Rustic Stock
Including Forever Barnwood reversible shiplap — 100-year-old weathered knotty white pine with a reversible weathered / circle-sawn face for accent walls, ceilings, and rustic feature work.
Milled Lumber That Pairs With the Rest of the Job
We built the milling program around the projects we already supply. That means the S4S stock, S3S random-width, and custom profiles on our rack are the same ones we quote alongside your hardware package from Blum®, King Slide®, or CGS, your CUTEK® finish system, and your Thermory® or Accoya® exterior wood package.
Send us the cut list, the drawing, or the sample. We’ll match species, mill to spec, and bundle lumber, hardware, and finish into one quote — one point of contact, one delivery, one invoice.
Frequently Asked Questions
S4S ("surfaced four sides") is dimensional stock — sanded smooth and straight on all four sides in fixed widths (1 x 4, 1 x 6, 1 x 8, 1 x 12) and ready to go straight into cabinets, furniture, and trim. S3S ("surfaced three sides") is random-width lumber with two smooth faces and one straight edge, sold for maximum yield on a specific cut list. If you're building to standard nominal sizes, order S4S. If you're ripping to a custom width or optimizing board foot cost, order S3S.
Alder, Knotty Alder, Cherry, Cypress, and Hard Maple are stocked as dimensional S4S in 1 x 4, 1 x 6, 1 x 8, and 1 x 12. Alder and Knotty Alder 1 x 12 are laminated wide stock. Additional species can be milled to order — send us the cut list and we'll quote it.
Yes. In addition to our library of stock profiles — including the MC-1715, MC-3237, and MC-5850 slatwall profiles — we run custom moulding, cladding, and slatwall profiles to specification in the species of your choice. Send the drawing or a sample and we'll match it on our moulders.
Accoya® is acetylated softwood — chemically modified so the cell structure no longer absorbs water the way untreated wood does. That gives it a 50-year above-ground and 25-year in-ground / freshwater guarantee, and it doesn't require an oil or finish to hit those numbers. We stock Accoya® as S4S decking and can mill it to custom profiles for rainscreen, cladding, and exterior trim.
Rustic and knotty grades — Knotty Alder, Forever Barnwood, and similar — contain tight, sound knots throughout the boards, which is part of the look. Some knots may shake loose or fall out during the milling process, and Mason's Mill is not liable for those defects in mouldings produced from knotty grades. Order clear grades (Superior Alder, Select & Better Cherry, S&B 1&2 Hard Maple) when you need a knot-free run.
Yes. Most species and profiles are available as $10 samples, and the sample fee is credited back against your full order. It's the fastest way to confirm grain, color, and profile before we cut a job to size.
Both. We work with architects, builders, cabinet shops, and contractors on trade terms, and we're also open to homeowners buying for their own projects. Trade accounts get pricing tiers and dedicated contact support — reach out if you'd like to set one up.
Yes, and we recommend it. Bundling milled lumber with Blum®, King Slide®, or CGS hardware, CUTEK® finishes, and Thermory® or Accoya® decking means one point of contact, one delivery, and one invoice — the same way we already handle M3 Custom Millwork Shop projects.
Use the Request a Quote button on this page, call your Mason's Mill contact, or stop by the yard. Include the species, dimension, quantity, and profile (or attach a drawing). If you're not sure yet, describe the project and we'll do the spec work.