As we have recently experienced here in Cumbria, many beautiful trees have succumbed to the powers of Storm Arwen. Some trees will only be destined to become firewood, others however may be worth processing, be it for a garden feature or to become a piece of household furniture.
We have put together some pointers to consider if you have decided to utilise your fallen tree for something other than fire wood:
- There’s no rush! Other than deciding how carried away someone gets with their chainsaw you don’t need to decide what to do straight away.
- Using your own fallen tree to process into usable timber is not a cheap option but gives longevity to the tree that once stood proud on your property.
- The tree will need to be cut to a manageable length that allows it to be manoeuvred either to be milled on site or for transportation to a fixed sawmill. There are 3 main milling options;
- Hire a mobile mill with an operator. The mobile mill is only really suitable for processing smaller logs as how the log can be lifted on and off the mill has to be considered on site. The mobile mill will provide a reasonably good quality of cut which would be best for outdoor use.
- Alaskan chain saw mill. This is the most cost effective method for milling a large log on site. Depending on the size and number of planks to be cut from the log it will take ½ to 1 day per log.
- For a large, good quality log it may be worth considering transporting the log(s) to the fixed sawmill where it would be quicker and easier to process to a high standard. This would cost approx £450 +vat depending on transportation requirements. The planked timber would also be required to be returned to yourself for drying.
Options 1 and 2 are available via Piotr Juziuk ([email protected]) at a cost of approx £300/day. Help may be required manoeuvring the logs on to the mill.
- If the planked timber is to be used for household furniture then the timber needs to be allowed to dry. This can be left under cover to air dry, with an expected drying rate of 1 inch/12 months. Usually planked at 2 inches you would be looking at 2 years before you could use the timber. You may consider arranging your timber to be sent to be kiln dried which would of course speed up the process to be able to use the timber but would add an additional cost.
- If you have a good quality log that you would like to be used for something other than firewood but aren’t interested in keeping the timber for yourself or the cost is too great then it might be worth trying to sell the log.
Hopefully this gives you a bit of an idea what is required and the approximate costs on turning your fallen tree into something new.
Witherslack Woodworks includes all the expertise needed to achieve your desired result. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss it further.