AshTree for hurley making

Rujib1

Hi,

Anybody care to estimate the value of a mature ash tree for hurley making.
I have already cut the tree for firewood and left the main trunk, with a view to selling for hurley making.

R1

cjpm

I have 4 of these too. Anyone know who buy's them in North Cork? Someone told me that O'Connors don't buy the trunks, but buy in precut planks... is this true?

JP

reilig

My father did a couple of seasons of hurley ash cutting a few years ago so I might be able to give you some information, but it may not be 100% accurate as I only spent a bit of time with him at it. So anyone in the know feel free to contradict me.

First of all, you have to be sure that the tree is suitable for hurley making. ie It has to be curled at the butt so that the hurley grain will also be curled when it is cut from it. Cutting hurley ash often involves digging around the butt of the tree until you find that place where the root curls outwards - this is the curled grain on the hurley. The clay and silt down at this level are very hard on the saw blade.

Only about 1 in 5 standing ash trees have the correct curls in their butt for hurley making.
Ash needs to be cut in winter when the sap is low and they need top be dried for a couple of months before sawing.

Rujib1, I don't think it is a great idea to cut the top off the tree and leave the butt. Firstly, during the cutting process, you might have damaged the butt - even hairline cracks can leave it unsuitable. Secondly, the tree is effectively dead and if you don't cut the butt soon, it may have dried out too much.

What size is the tree in diameter and how many sides of its butt have curls that mimick the curl in the grain of a hurley? Hurley boards are sawn an inch in thickness from these butts - so for example, an ash tree butt that has the correct curls on 2 sides and that is 12 inches in diameter will yield about 20 hurleys (allowing 2 inches of waste).

Yes cjpm, most hurley makers will only buy the sawn hurley boards from you. It would be too risky for them to pay you for full trunks as they may have boast interiors or knots and be of no use to them - they leave the risk with you. There are a number of experienced mobile sawmill operators around the country that specialise in sawing hurls. Whoever you are planning to sell the boards to will most likely recommend to you who their preferred sawer is. Its about 7 years since we sawed any ash and at the time he charged us €1.50 per board. Don't know what it is now. We sold them for €7.50 per board and the buyer collected. (bear in mind that some boards will make 2 or 3 hurls).
There is a lot of waste from it. It is important to have a sawer who knows what he is doing so that he will be able to tell you what butts are not suitable so that you do not have to pay him for sawing them.

To make any money from it and to encourage a mobile sawer to come to your farm, you would need to have at least 100 suitable butts for sawing of a minimum 12 inches in diameter. Some of them would need to be 30 to 40 inches in diameter to push up your board numbers.

Its not an easy game, but you can make good money from it if you're prepared to put in the work.

And remember, a farmer can sell wood cut from his farm tax free.


**Edit: there's a small article on ash plantations and hurley ash in today's Farmer's Journal***

paudster

he charged us €1.50 per board. Don't know what it is now. We sold them for €7.50 per board and the buyer collected. (bear in mind that some boards will make 2 or 3 hurls) how much will it cost me reilig

reilig

paudster wrote: »

he charged us €1.50 per board. Don't know what it is now. We sold them for €7.50 per board and the buyer collected. (bear in mind that some boards will make 2 or 3 hurls) how much will it cost me reilig

Don't know. It's more than 10 years since we sawed any.
Contact a hurley buyer!

pakalasa

Contact for hurley makers.
http://www.igahm.ie/hurley-maker/#Antrim

I worked with a hurley maker a few years back. Reilig is right in what he is saying. Trees have to be cut out deep into the ground to get the right grain and the drying process is very important, too quick and the timber will crack.

arais

Rujib1 wrote: »

Hi,

Anybody care to estimate the value of a mature ash tree for hurley making.
I have already cut the tree for firewood and left the main trunk, with a view to selling for hurley making.

R1

what age is mature?

if ash is over a certain age it is useless for hurley making , learned this the hard way after local farmer donated a number of butts to our club some years ago

yours truly and some club members spent ages digging and drawing out by hand

the junior B team (ok I know they have a reputation as hatched men ) broke them as fast as we kept them made

depending on the soil if ash is too old it has no spring

imported boards are freely available at €4 each if you buy a quantity ,

pakalasa

Production Method

Ash will only produce quality timber suitable for Hurley manufacture if it is grown on suitable sites, preferably at low elevation where there is good shelter. Ash thrives on deep fertile soils (limestone loam are ideal) which are moist but well drained. It should only be planted in soils that are rich in nutrients especially nitrogen and phosphorus. It does not tolerate prolonged water logging or compacted soils or low lying areas where late spring frosts can cause forking of the stem. In unsuitable sites it may develop brown or black heart, a discolouration in the heartwood which will reduce its marketability. Under the current afforestation grant scheme Ash is planted in 2.0 X 1.5 metre spacing which amounts to 3,300 plants per hectare. Good vegetation control is vital over a few years usually 3-4 years to ensure a fast growing high quality crop.
Hurleys are manufactured from the butt log (bottom 1.5 metre of the stem) and from trees ideally of a diameter at breast height of approximately 25-30 centimetres (smaller trees can be used). Only fast grown, straight and branch free ash can be used for this purpose. In fast growing plantations, harvesting can be as early as 20 years. It is important to draw up a management plan for the crop at the beginning with advice from a professional.

pakalasa

Not my day...........