The Woodyard part 1

As blogger still wont let me put up my Wood yard post all in one, I have split it into 2 posts. This first photo shows the 'pedigree' of the wood they stock. It is all responsibly sourced and stamped so none of it is illegal or endangered woods.
The second photo shows how they take a whole tree, then slice it up into the thickness customers require. Thin batons are then placed between each slice and it is kiln dried to prevent warping and cracking. We selected an English Ash tree this time to make swifts from. The Ash is very dense and hard, but has pretty markings (figuring) on the wood so it is attractive to look at but strong too. We often use Beech and Sycamore for the same reason.

The blocks of wood below have been cut from Oak and are destined for a childrens play area. I found it interesting that the wood can be cut to most sizes a customer desires - truly a personal service : )

After kiln-drying, the wood is placed in huge barns to keep them dry and let the air circulate. As you can see, different trees have been cut to different thicknesses. Our Ash tree has been cut to 1 1/4" and 2" thicknesses for the arms and blocks needed for swifts. The offcuts from the arms make the pegs so nothing is wasted.

More on selecting our wood on the next post : )