While it might seem counterintuitive, one Milwaukee man is bringing dead pieces of wood back to life.Rather than trashing trees destined for the dump, Nick Hardrath turns them into pieces of art.At the end of its life, it might be damaged from a storm or from the life expectancy of a tree thats taken down, and were giving it a second life as lumber," Hardrath said. He is the owner of Urban Craftsman. Hardrath will take trees that have been felled and turn them into lumber for do-it-yourselfers or woodworkers. Plus, Hardrath also specializes in making custom furniture from these pieces of wood.Weve had a lot of stories throughout the year, somebody that has a tree in the backyard that maybe their grandfather planted; they want to turn it into furniture and keep that legacy," he said.He can make bookcases, coffee tables, and more from the tree in your backyard.Almost all the wood he gets comes from Milwaukee County. He works with homeowners and places like the city of Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Wauwatosa, Milwaukee Public Schools, and more. "Very rarely do we have something from outside of Milwaukee County, so its pretty hyper-local," he said.There is a financial incentive for cities, and its better for the environment.Municipalities and cities that are taking down the tree actually spend a huge amount of money to take and discard of that tree. Youre releasing the carbon (dioxide) that the tree has collected all of its life40, 50, maybe 100 plus years," Hardrath said.Hardrath sees the beauty in the imperfections of these treeswhich are grown more or less naturallyversus ones specifically grown to be harvested for lumber in places like the Upper Peninsula.See how Nick Hardrath brings dead trees back to life Milwaukee woodworker turns the dead tree in your backyard into family heirloomsIts not grown really straight and perfectly to harvest as a 2-by-4 or a perfect piece of wood; it has more character and a lot of stuff going on, which you wouldnt get anywhere else," he said.Hardrath receives about 250 to 300 trees a year. Thats hundreds of trees brought back to life thanks to Hardrath.See examples of what Urban Craftsman makes on its website.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip