Today's milling

[Squaredy]

15 hours ago, Big J said:

Boring timber though, unless rippled or highly figured.

Have to disagree with this.  Not dramatic like Ash, Oak or Elm, but very beautiful and subtle.  I would much prefer a Sycamore kitchen than Oak and I find a lot of customers like it also.  I admit they don't come to me with it in mind, but when they see planed boards on display many love it.  I sell only slightly less Sycamore than Oak.  Also it is the most stable of the homegrown hardwoods - wide Sycamore boards will be much flatter than any other species.  I know it will probably never have the large scale industrial appeal of Oak but it has its place.

[Big J]

2 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

Have to disagree with this.  Not dramatic like Ash, Oak or Elm, but very beautiful and subtle.  I would much prefer a Sycamore kitchen than Oak and I find a lot of customers like it also.  I admit they don't come to me with it in mind, but when they see planed boards on display many love it.  I sell only slightly less Sycamore than Oak.  Also it is the most stable of the homegrown hardwoods - wide Sycamore boards will be much flatter than any other species.  I know it will probably never have the large scale industrial appeal of Oak but it has its place.

I'm glad that you've got a market for it, but with the profusion of elm that was the case in Scotland until very recently, very few people would look at it. Customers would generally either want elm or oak. Sometimes ash, and occasionally sycamore, but not enough to warrant much effort in sourcing it. 

[Squaredy]

22 minutes ago, Big J said:

I'm glad that you've got a market for it, but with the profusion of elm that was the case in Scotland until very recently, very few people would look at it. Customers would generally either want elm or oak. Sometimes ash, and occasionally sycamore, but not enough to warrant much effort in sourcing it. 

Ah well I must have very discerning customers!  

[Big J]

Just now, Squaredy said:

Ah well I must have very discerning customers!  

I think it's just a case of people generally choosing elm if they want character and oak if they want something plainer. Sycamore never seemed to be fashionable in the 7 years I properly ran a sawmill.

[ESS]

Perhaps fashionable is a word that gets used loosely in timber terms. Hardwood furniture in general has gone out of "fashion", more modern materials, houses etc. and a lot of this will be cost based.

Surely traditionally timber was used for certain applications  because of its properties and ability to do a job .

Beech furniture was in a way poor mans oak,massed produced in comparison, but steamed and bent easily for chair backs etc. durable, grown in abundance on suitable ground around which the furniture industry in places like High Wycombe grew up around. 

Ercol,  Goodearls Risboro , ,,,Berrys of Chipping, all large millers/manufacturers in their own right, I could carry on with the list, but all gone or almost.

It wasn't as much about availability as suitability ,timber was still hauled or trained long distances to mills because of this.

[Rough Hewn]

Milled a few coffee table tops today.
This is the small Elm crotch



A different bit of Elm


Small sycamore crown


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[Stihl123]

[Rough Hewn]

Started on the big Elm crotch.
Total pig to mill.
But worth it.

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[Ratman]

Started on the big Elm crotch.
Total pig to mill.
But worth it.

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Some nice possible resin use? You done any resin pieces yet Rough?

[Rough Hewn]

Some nice possible resin use? You done any resin pieces yet Rough?

Yeah, there's a couple of boards will need resin.
Not for me, I'm a natural purist with wood.
But I think it can look great.
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