tombo

Thanks for your help guys. I'll pass those details on. Best. Tom

I've been asked to find someone in or around London SE9 who'd be available to carve a couple of oak stumps in Elmstead Woods ? Anyone out there ?? Best. Tom

Don't know anything about Peterson mills, but we've used Atkinson Walker's nail chomping blades for ripping reclaimed timber joists and rafters for a couple of years now. Excellent. UK made. Family business and they give good discounts.

I've run a Sauno VT1 for a few years now. It's a smaller version of the same kiln. It works very well for me and we're aiming to get another one for the furniture making employment project that I help to run : Homepage | London Reclaimed There are one or two others on the forum who run Sauno kilns, so hopefully they'll contact you too. But PM me if you want to talk or whatever. All the best. Tom

Thanks for all these replies ! Really appreciate them. Personally, I occasionally I need 2" kiln-dried boards when I can't keep up with my own needs. Heading into one of those times very soon ! As London Reclaimed, most of our furniture is made to order from reclaimed timber, but quite often we are asked to make pieces from homegrown hardwood. Table tops really must be from KD stuff (2" stuff), but table legs etc can be from well air-dried stuff. Trying to find one or two suppliers close to SE London / Kent ideally. Hopefully be in touch with one or two of you before too long. All the best. Tom

I mill and dry small quantities of UK hardwoods mainly for my own small business, but also for a furniture-making employment charity that I help to run : www.londonreclaimed.co.uk I/we sometimes need more dry stuff than I can knock out. Just wondering if there's anyone out there who sells waney-edge kiln-dried boards (sometimes really well air-dried is OK), preferably in sensible reach of South London. Ideally M25 radius or South East. Just thought someone might know ! All the best.

You probably know this site already, but I find it quite useful for id-ing exotic hardwoods : HobbitHouse Wood ID site

Yes ! Traditionally used alongside of beech.

I've made quite few cutting and serving boards and have sold hundreds over the last couple of years. I use pretty much whatever local hardwoods I can get, either what I've milled or what I buy ready-milled. Ash, cherry, sycamore, beech, hornbeam, whatever ! All dried in my small Sauno kiln. I oil them with 2 coats of liquid paraffin and a final coat of Rustins Original Danish Oil, which means that they stay looking good for longer ( the liquid paraffin soaks in after a week or two and leaves the board looking a bit dull ). Price depends on your finished quality and your market. People don't realise how much work is involved in producing a decent board ! Mine go for £10 -£40 depending on size. People like to know a bit about the , the process and where it came from : all good selling points. Hope this helps. All the best. Tom

Hi timbermillers Interested to hear about your Sauno oak drying experience. I've only ever dried a few oak boards mixed in with other loads because of Logosol's warnings. I run an Alaskan mill, and also dry large rough-turned bowls. vessels and other lumps. Recently fried the motor / fan assembly on my kiln ( my fault : I turned it off by mistake during the steam cycle : duh ! ) and had to fit a replacement. Considerable corrosion of the housing, but not the heating elements or the fan, and guessed this might be due to my drying some unseasoned oak. Just wondering how yours has been affected. Interested in your oak no-steam experience . . . . any wisdom to pass on ?? All the best

Hi Oli I run a small Sauno Kiln, and there are some issues around drying oak. The Swedes are very vague about this, but variously say remove the bark or air dry for six months before kilning oak. Apparently to reduce the corrosive effects of the tannin on the elements during the steaming cycle. Worth checking this out to avoid expensive damage . . . . The Sauno kiln works well enough for me : I find it's OK to open it to pull out a board or two to check MC which varies according to where it is in the stack. More a matter of trial and error : getting to know how your particular kiln works. I'm not an expert, but have a reasonable grasp of timber tech : have been hacking up bits of wood for an embarrassingly long time . . . .

Well,maybe ! But it is an amazing place. The bandmill is about 1890 vintage, and the yard is full of treasure too, sadly much of the milled timber spoiling / spoiled.

New kid on the block ! I'm always after small quantities of freshly-felled timber in the round : 14" / 350mm minimum diameter and 3ft mimimum lengths : for turning and making into boards. I can collect in a half-ton ( 6 x 4 ft trailer ) in South Bucks / Watford area. Beech, maple, sycamore, cherry, hornbeam is what I'm usually after. Really appreciate any help here : contact me on 07876 655173. Thanks !