Look at all this timber

I had a call last week from a local country estate, asking if I was interested in some yew trees, which had just been felled – you bet I am! Just a quick look at all those sold pieces on my website will give an idea of what people like the most!

It is almost imperative that I collect yew timber when it’s green, or felled within a month or two. The wavy natural edge, which makes yew bowls so distinctive, is the outer surface of the tree and this can deteriorate if left in the sun for too long. The bark will dry too quickly and flake off, leaving the bare wood to soak up the rays and develop rather unsightly cracks.

Armed with my chainsaws, fuel and a friend (plus his landrover and trailer!) I arrived at the estate, to be greeted by a spread of lovely yew trees along the side of a track – a wood turners dream come true! However, I was less than impressed by the size of the mini digger, which had been hired to lift them on! I guess there’s no such thing as a perfect day…

Yew trees galore!

A small digger playing with a big tree…

The first few on the trailer...

Loaded and nearly ready to go...

After a bit of cutting and pushing, we loaded the smaller bits first and left the two larger ones for the second journey. Moving them is a tricky business, since any scuffs and marks on the outside, will render those sections unusable for natural edge bowls – yes I am very fussy! I knew the large ones would have to be cut in half, but this is unavoidable. Even as a wood turner, I still like to plank the pieces which most deserve it, but only when the opportunity arises.

The two loads totalled about four and a half tons – this should make a lot of bowls! I’ve already chainsawed some of it ready for rough turning and am blown away with the quality. There is no heart shake at all, something of a rarity in yew and the colours are stunning. When I process the next tree for rough turning, I’ll make sure I post some photo’s.