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V O L . X X X I I N O. X X I V O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 2 6 6 U.S. Sen. Susan Collins announced that the Maine Department of Transportation was awarded $27.8 million to restore nearly 44 miles of I-295 between Portland and Topsham. The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant program. The senator also announced the release of $38 million in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding to help low-income Maine households and seniors with limited incomes afford their energy bills. The city of South Portland held a groundbreaking to mark the start of construction on the Pearl Street Pump Station upgrade. Edamame Pet, a pet brand in Kittery, said it was selected by the United Inventors Association to showcase its Double Pod Leash after a nationwide search for innova- tive new pet products. Holman Homes in Brunswick and Penobscot General Contractors in Falmouth, along with real estate devel- opers Solhem Cos. and Lumen Design and Development, broke ground on the Lupine, a 183-unit residential com- munity in Topsham. B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state Midcoast manufacturer makes tools that are handed down over generations B y T i m G r e e n w a y A chorus of high-pitched whirring machines filled the pol- ishing room at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, where workers put the finishing touches on bronze pieces. The company makes high-end woodworking tools at its 30,000-square-foot facility on U.S. Route 1 in Warren, includ- ing hand planes, chisels, saws and spokeshaves. Its custom- ers include furniture makers and boat builders. For Cheyanne Cookson, who has worked at Lie-Nielsen for six years, the final stage of making those tools is among the most demanding. "Getting it beautiful, getting it smack-dab perfect is the hardest thing to do, but it really does come together in the end," says Cookson. Technology can handle much of the machining, but some work still requires something a machine cannot provide. "You gotta use every sense that you have to actually make it look good," Cookson says. "Once it gets to that fine-tuning, you really need a person's hand." Hand planes remain Lie-Nielsen's signature product, with standard bench planes ranging from about $300 to $575. From shed to shop Thomas Lie-Nielsen started the company in 1981 in a 400-square-foot shed on a Rockland blueberry farm. He built his first hand plane with equipment from a retiring toolmaker. Now employee-owned, the company has 75 employees. The company makes more than 60 types of tools, producing 600 to 700 individual tools a week. Lie-Nielsen ships worldwide. Its clientele ranges from beginners to fine furniture makers and craftspeople whose work appears at the Smithsonian and the White House. Some tools now pass between generations. At a recent meeting, Robin Macgregor Nolan, vice presi- dent and chief operating officer at Lie-Nielsen, read employees a letter from a veteran who had found purpose through woodworking and using their tools. "I don't want to be overly dramatic, but you guys saved my life," the veteran wrote, according to Nolan. For Nolan, the letter spoke to something larger. "I think making things with your hands is an inherent part of the human condition." How it's made A Lie-Nielsen hand plane combines metal components with hand-finished wood parts. For the No. 63 Low Angle Jack Plane, the body is CNC-milled, sanded and powder-coated, then further machined and surface-ground for precision. The steel blade is machined, heat-treated and sharpened. The bronze cap is polished by hand. And the cherry knob and handle are sanded, oiled and buffed before assembly. Lie-Nielsen moved to computer numerical control technol- ogy in the 1990s. These machines use computer-programmed instructions to control machining tools. Today, CNC is the company's largest department, with pandemic-era invest- ments helping offset retirements and labor shortages. But there's a limit to how far Lie-Nielsen wants to take it, Nolan says. "Investing in automation but not too much automation." SP ONSORED BY P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Cheyanne Cookson polishes a bronze block plane cap at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. Thomas Lie-Nielsen, founder and owner of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, and Robin Macgregor Nolan, vice president and COO. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY The No. 4-1/2 Smoothing Plane. N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E S T A T E W I D E N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N S O U T H E R N

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