THE LIFE OF A PIECE OF TIMBER FROM A GROWING TREE TO ITS PLACE IN THE WORKSHOP AS A PIECE OF FURNITURE

1) The Oak is a magnificent tree which should not be cut down for the sole purpose of making furniture.Sometimes, however, they may be diseased or they may need thinning to encourage others. This is when the furniture maker can make the best economical use of the wood.	2) When the tree is felled it is normally cut into logs about 10ft long but we have to cut them 7ft-6ins to fit our  kiln.   The ends are painted to prevent excessive moisture evaporation from the end grain.  This reduces the possibility of  cracking It is preferable to fell the tree in early winter when the sap is down.
3) The next stage is to cut the logs into planks.The best time to do this is in winter because rapid evaporation in summer will create uneven shrinkage and the stresses set up will cause cracking. Modern band saws are very economical and can be easily towed to the log site where a considerable quantity of timber can be converted in a days work.	4) The sawn planks are stored in the open, preferably over the winter, to air dry for a period of about six months.   This disperses much of the surplus sap which appears immediately after planking. After felling the tree the moisture content is well above 100%.   After six months of air drying the moisture content could still be as high as 50% - totally unsuitable for indoor work.

5) After air drying the planks are placed in a 'kiln' for drying to a moisture content suitable for indoor furniture.  The kiln shown here is a commercial kiln made from a freezer lorry container.  Inside there is a 'dehumidifier' to remove the water.  The freezer container retains the warmth of the process and the moisture content is lowered to about 10%	6)  The length of time taken to dry lumber to 10% in the kiln depends on the moisture content at the start.  It may only take four weeks for well air dried planks.  But it could take four months if the planks were kilned immediately after the tree was felled.   This photograph shows a much smaller kiln recently installed by Glen Creran Wood for their sole use.
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7) After kilning the wood is taken to a dry store for use in the workshop. It has to be kept in an atmosphere of low humidity or it will revert, over a period of time, to the ambient outside humidity.  In  Argyll it is high most of the time! The photograph shows a recently dried plank being made into drawers for a dresser.	8) In the manufacturing process up to  50% of the original log is wasted. The bark and sapwood are removed, knots are seldom used and both sawing and shaping are wasteful.  Only a small proportion of a huge tree finishes up as a piece of furniture. This photograph shows the finished dresser.5.

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