Felled oak

borderlinemeath · 02-09-2020 4:16pm #1

Hi all,

We purchased some land earlier on this year, on the boundary there was a mix of regular, old (on their last legs) and dead trees, and right at the entrance was an old oak. It was bent right over and had little or no leaf coverage save for a few sprigs up top. With the new gate going in, it had to come down, and now we have some lovely old oak wood, that I would love to get made into a kitchen table and bench and perhaps a few side tables.

Now, I have no idea where to start so I need to know the following, and thought this forum may be the place to find the answers!

Oak: How long to season? And where is the best place? Under cover?

Sawmills/Mobile sawmill, where to start? Google doesn't throw up much information.

Once it's in planks, what type of carpenter should I be looking for? I doubt Mick down the road who lays click lock flooring is the man for my job.

I understand it's a long convoluted process, and I could buy a far cheaper kitchen table, but it's beautiful wood and deserves better than getting chopped up for the fire. There's another oak tree in on the land that is estimated to be over 500years old, I know this one wasn't anywhere near as old, but it was still substantial, and it deserves to be put to good use!

Calahonda52 · 02-09-2020 4:44pm

Post a few pictures.
Needs to be stored under cover with plenty air circulation

borderlinemeath · 02-09-2020 4:55pm

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Post a few pictures.
Needs to be stored under cover with plenty air circulation

I'll get a few photos tomorrow when I'm over at the new place. it's still in about 5ft lengths of trunk so it needs machinery to lift it to wherever it's going to be drying out.

tabby aspreme · 02-09-2020 9:00pm

You will need to get it sawn into planks, then stack it with 1 inch spacers between each plank to allow air to circulate, you will need to seal the end of the planks with paint or preferably wax, to stop it ends of the planks drying faster than the rest of it, you will need to air dry the planks for 1 year, per inch of thickness, if they are outdoors cover them to keep rain and direct sunlight off them, this will get them down to 18% moisture approximately, they can then be kiln dried.

chillyspoon · 02-09-2020 10:06pm

If you're located on the east coast, you could call James (https://www.stickman.ie/) - his number's on the website there. He has a mobile mill and as far as I know still does onsite contract milling like that.

magicbastarder · 02-09-2020 10:15pm

i suspect the OP is looking for recommendations of sawmills who can do this first, more so than what to do once they're sawn.

i don't know of anyone in meath, but there's a chap in kilruddery in wicklow who runs one, i think, and irish hardwoods, but they're based in galway - might be worth ringing them anyway, they may be able to recommend someone more local.
any rot inside the tree?

https://www.forestry.ie/directory/mobile-sawmilling

edit: i obviously started typing that before chillyspoon responded, my typing is obviously slow...

Double Barrel · 03-09-2020 12:25am

Oak naturally has a relatively low moisture content compared with other fresh cut timber.
Air drying is the traditional form of oak drying and has bring used for centuries.
Let me reiterate some of what has being said already.
Seal the end grain with paraffin/bees wax mixture, Osmo End Grain Sealing Wax, PVA or paint but seal them as soon as possible.

In air drying the timber is stored in an area exposed to the environment such as a barn, hay shed or open warehouse. The stacks are arranged so air can flow easily around them, allowing the moisture to naturally evaporate. Once finished, the timber produced will have a moisture content of 20% – 30%. Which is acceptable for framing timbers.

More time 3-5-6 -10+ years is required for boards used for interior finished work with a moisture content of 12-15%+.

Kiln drying results in a moisture content of only 8% – 10%- 12%. Kiln drying should be controlled carefully to avoid placing undue stress on the substructure of the wood as it dries quickly. This can cause weakness in the
core of the timber that will not be externally visible.

Google homemade “solar kilns”.

Good luck

chillyspoon · 03-09-2020 3:31pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

there's a chap in kilruddery in wicklow who runs one, i think, and irish hardwoods

Yeah, Neil is the guy to talk to there: https://www.instagram.com/kilndriedhardwoods/

borderlinemeath · 08-09-2020 10:00am

Try as I might I cannot seem to attach pics. It's been years since I've uploaded photos to boards and nothing seems to work for me.

Thanks for all the responses, I just need to get my act together now and get a mobile sawmill to come and take it from there.

Felled oak

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