The U3A Tree Group visited the workshop last Monday to see how we convert the trees we buy from local estates into usable timber for making furniture.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are not in fact a cult and are actually a nice group of retired and semi-retired people who have an interest in learning about trees. As it is winter they thought that rather than spending a morning in a cold forest they would visit my cold workshop.
We covered the process from buying timber to milling, stacking, drying and then further into converting the raw planks into usable sections that can be sensibly lifted and are closer to a finished size.
We followed the process onto machining and further drying so that the timber is as prepared as possible to be made into a piece of furniture. We didn’t get into the technicalities of actual furniture making but we discussed what to look for in a dry piece of timber in terms of defects, straightness and twist and how to work with the wood you have.
It was a fairly comprehensive chat and as far as I know everyone was interested in the process and possibly surprised at how long it takes to turn a tree into a usable piece of timber.
Thanks to everyone who came along and listening to my chat about wood. If you are interested in a workshop visit then get in touch.
Clachan Wood Blog 