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The wood was purchased from a father and son team at their large plot, in the former Forestry Commission plantation, on the Pemps/Carms boarder. We found a highly professional setup in the process of restoring it into a largely native species woodland. Part of this is clear felling, and another part is thinning the mature non-native trees and milling the best into usable timber.
They had a number of logs to choose from, most of which were quick-grown Douglas fir. After a thorough examination of all their current stock, we chose the two logs, opposite. They are both from the same tree, a Japanese larch and have tight grain – an indicator of slow-growth in a shady location – good colour and very narrow sap wood. Like most of the trees on this plot, they were planted post-WW2 and had attained a height of over 100 feet. At 10 feet long and over 12 inches diameter, they will yield sufficient stock to make the benches.
We ordered them in a suitable variety of thicknesses and they will be sawn through-and-through. The planks will be stacked ‘in-stick’ in our outside store to season for a few months.
Since July the timber has been ‘in stick’ under cover in our outside wood store, seasoning. The moisture levels have been monitored until it is ready for the next stage.
Next we will pre-dimension the components for the benches and bring them into the shed for conditioning ready for manufacture. The boards will be left in stick until the New Year, when the actual making will begin.
Bench placement:
- St. Thomas churchyard in Ferryside
- Calon y Fferi
Extreme appreciation goes to Mr Ken Day who has, as chairman, led the shed through the process thus far. Mr Kevin Cassey will take on this role as the bench developments are concluded and placed within their communities.
