 About the same time he constructed a machine with a gang of circular saws for slitting thick plank into siding and flooring.He added furniture making to his business, and for a time before the Civil War had an extensive sales room on Canal Street, near Erie.In 1865 and 1866 he purchased the river frontage necessary and in the three following years constructed the West Side Water Power Canal, a description of which is given in "Baxter's History of Grand Rapids, Michigan".