Top 5 wood to mill

[6scotty6]

Hi folks,

What are the top 5 hardwoods to mill in the uk?

Regards

Scott

[Big J]

Oak - everyone always want Oak. It's not a species that I was hugely fond of, but I've grown to love it. The reason I didn't like it earlier on is that it is a swine to dry from green in the kiln. Simply put, don't bother trying. I'm not saying that it cannot be done, as I have done it quite successfully on high quality logs, but you are always advised to air dry first.

 

The market for Oak in the cabinet making world is perhaps the strongest. It's a perennial favourite and the cachet associated with 'I've got an Oak kitchen etc' is ever present. As a consequence of this, I've got about at least 900 cubic foot air drying and about 90-100 cubic foot kilned in stock!

 

Elm - my personal favourite timber. Hard to come by if you are further south (and increasingly scarce up here too). Can be a cow to mill, with straight cuts through burrs and knots a challenge. Dries very readily and can be dried in the kiln from green, though like with all timber, it's advised to air dry first. The price per cubic foot of good elm can be equal to or exceed that of Oak.

 

More so that other species, smaller diameter Elm can be quite poorly behaved whilst drying. Best results I've had have been from very large diameter logs, halved with the chainsaw mill and then milled with the woodmizer beyond that.

 

Good stickering is crucial with Elm as unsupported sections of timber will just move like you wouldn't believe.

 

Ash - strong demand for ash up here. A fairly amiable timber to cut - rarely presents too many problems, though on smaller logs there can be quite a lot of tension sometimes. I find that it is very prone to splitting, with the splits often extending a long way into the board. This can be the case on good quality logs, stacked well and gently air dried. It just seems to do it regardless.

 

Usually more demand of olive ash than clean white ash.

 

Cherry - quite a few cabinets made from cherry, along with consul tables, boxes and coffee tables. Hard to find good quality forest grown stock, so often having to rely on garden trees, that have a shorter stem and usually a healthy quantity of nails. Not a timber that I tend to mill that much of, but usually sells quite well when I do.

 

Sycamore - a good seller for me last year, though not without it's issues. The time to fell and mill sycamore is now. The old adage goes that you should fell a sycamore in the morning, mill it in the afternoon and kiln it in the evening. It's very prone to staining, fungus and all sorts of problems that will see nice, clean white timber turn grey, green or black. Best results are achieved by either air drying with the timber end reared (stood upright) or kilning straight from green. Don't let logs sit around for any amount of time prior to milling as the grey sap staining from the ends moves quickly. I don't have any sycamore in stock at the moment, but will try to get some before the sap comes up again.

 

Jonathan

[burrell_]

what we talking about

TO SELL

EASY TO MILL

or the NICEST COLOUR PRODUCT

[nepia]

Big J, out of interest how does Wych Elm compare with the real stuff? I ask as I have a source of occasional W/Elm logs (just one or two at a time - small windblown hedgerow trees)?

 

I've had no problem selling them to a miller but in light of your comments above I'm thinking about it a bit more deeply.

 

Thanks,

 

Jon

[Big J]

Big J, out of interest how does Wych Elm compare with the real stuff? I ask as I have a source of occasional W/Elm logs (just one or two at a time - small windblown hedgerow trees)?

 

I've had no problem selling them to a miller but in light of your comments above I'm thinking about it a bit more deeply.

 

Thanks,

 

Jon

 

Hi Jon,

 

I've always found elm of small diameter to be a pain (basically anything under about 16-18 inches). Elm is a wood that is prone to a lot of distortion whilst drying. Bigger logs tend to be more stable and consequently dry better. However, in your situation (assuming you have a lack of large elm logs), any elm is better than no elm and I would mill it anyway.

 

Jonathan

[nepia]

Thanks for that. The guy I sell to is very happy to take it (10-14" dia) so I guess that W/Elm isn't all that different then. I'll keep quiet about small diameter stuff!

 

Cheers,

 

Jon(athan)

[Rob D]

Tricky question to answer but any wood with any sort of figuring is always good...

 

But at a push -

 

Walnut - nice to mill, lovely to look at, easy to dry.

 

Oak - Mill so much of it - that tangy smell is so familiar - not keen on the wormy sapwood though!

 

Ash - fairly easy to mill and olive ash can have some lovely colour

 

Beech - cause it's easy to find big lumps of it!

 

Sycamore - as it's popular!

 

 

[agg221]

Really need an answer to Burrell's question, but for the pleasure of opening up a new surface and seeing it freshly milled and wet, I would go with:

 

Walnut

Oak (particularly brown)

Elm

Cherry

Laburnum

 

Alec

[Pat Ferrett]

So why has'nt Yew had a mention ?

[agg221]

So why has'nt Yew had a mention ?

 

Because the OP asked for hardwoods.

 

Alec