What wood do you want?

[JLA Arborists]

Just been reading The complete countryman by Alan Titchmarsh. There was a bit about wood turning.

I was wondering what woods do you all like?

As I'm beginning as a tree surgeon I could keep an eye open for good bits and save them from the chipper

[se7enthdevil]

my goodness! a tree surgeon who wants to keep stuff out of the chipper!!!!!

 

your a rare breed my friend, i only hope more follow in your footsteps.

 

whatever you save, imediatly seal the ends and put a date on it so you know when it was cut...

 

in answer to your question, it depends on the turner realy. just speaking for myself i'd like to turn anything that i've never had before. as far as interesting looking woods go it usualy depends on the tree's growing conditions and the species. im probably biased because i like all timbers but you might want to save things like, laburnum, plum, box, tree of heaven, paulownia, magnolia, laurel, rhododendron, white beam, rowan, juniper, catalpa, holly, pear, judas and so on.

 

basicaly anything that yeilds a hard woody structure that we call timber. in my opinion there are so many trees that are overlooked for timber, these include liquidambar, true cedars, leylandii, most pines are all good timber trees if large enough.

 

i wish that most trees were milled rather than turned in to firewood as the bi product from the milling should be what goes on the fire not the whole tree.

 

as a rule if your thinking of saving things from the chipper then if it isnt oak, ash, beech, sweet chestnut, pine or any other main timber tree then save it if you can.

 

if anything is overly colourful, figured or burred then save that too.

[nepia]

my goodness! a tree surgeon who wants to keep stuff out of the chipper!!!!!

 

your a rare breed my friend, i only hope more follow in your footsteps.

 

Agreed but he ain't the only one y'know!

 

 

JLA, good attitude but I come up against two major hurdles as well as a myriad of lesser, logistical ones.

First, the size of timber. Either it's too small to make anything from or it's too big for most lathes!

Second, few turners seem prepared to buy green wood; they want it seasoned.

But that is unfair to some turners, who divide into two major groups, professionals and hobbyists.

 

If you can involve yourself with professional turners such as 7thdevil you'll be fine; they will consider green wood, they know the material and they understand that everything in life doesn't come free.

Dealing with hobbyists is usually very different to the above. I'll say no more except that I deal with both camps but I'm spoilt in having a very helpful contact on the hobby side of things.

 

 

As for what to do with the timber... I split down the middle usually to release tension and stop cracking. Sealing the ends is good and I get it in the shade, just off the ground, usually covered. In short try to slow the drying process to a trickle without putting the wood in stagnant air (> mould).

Edited October 8, 2013 by nepia

[agg221]

If you can get out lengths of 4ft and up, in diameters of 8in and up, and it's reasonably straight, consider whether there may be demand for milling.

 

If it's nothing special then it would have to be bigger, but there is demand for things like waney-edge chopping boards etc and it's always worth asking on here if anyone wants it. For example, plum/damson/blackthorn/prunus pissardi, or pear, or cherry, I would probably be interested. Lots of other things get interesting as they get bigger, but that's dependent on you being able to get them out (or the customer being willing to have them milled where they lie).

 

Don't expect enormous sums for green timber. For the same volume you will make more if you split and season it as firewood, but that doesn't factor in the labour of doing it, or delivery costs etc, so if you have no shortage of material it can be worthwhile to do this with the more interesting bits.

 

Alec

[Pat Ferrett]

I save timber for turners it kicks around the yard until I get short of firewood then I log it up, a pile of yew is next on the chopping block.

[northcountryboy]

There are a growing number of green wood workers creating 'Bodger Groups' out there who would love to get their hands on a steady supply of green wood, check out https://www.bodgers.org.uk/ for local groups in your area.

 

In answer to your question I love working with cherry and English oak so if you have any interesting bits knocking about i'll be happy to take them off your hands

[slackbladder]

Any wood with character should be saved

But turners are as tight as tight can be

Find the right ones to deal with

I would tend to ignore the woodturners clubs

[slackbladder]

whereabouts are you based as i'm only in hinckley

[se7enthdevil]

i think two groups of hobbyists and pro's arnt enough. you get green woodworkers, ones who only like seasoned wood but you also get ones who like both. personaly it's nice to have a stable bit of wood on your lathe but if there is sufficient colour or figure then i'll happily take a soaking wet bit too.

 

nepias right about the splitting for slightly larger bits, for the ones which have large radial shrinkage you need to take the tension out. these would include box, laburnum, strawbery tree, laurel, yew and others that we all learn about as time goes by.

 

by the way size isnt everything, the good looking woods are usualy the small ones and lots of us are hapy to make goblets out of 3-4" branchwood.

 

if you get box, keep every branch.

Edited October 8, 2013 by se7enthdevil
spelling

[JLA Arborists]

I should of asked average sizes as well. The thought of smashing up usable bits makes me shudder.

I will be keeping an eye open for med/big lumps as I want to get into carving. I just hope people have a good imagination "it's an owl, honest" 😃