Aladdin's Cave of wood

[Tazmaniandevil]

OK, so, the merchant finder on the right doesn't seem to work for me. Not a big problem, I have many friendly tree surgeons round my way. A furniture maker visited me in the shed one day at the weekend, asking if I could turn a replacement spindle for a chair he had been asked to repair. Nothing fancy, and took about half an hour.
Now to the point. (yes I do have one... :lol: )
This chap told me about his favourite timber supplier, which is fairly local to me. (less than 20 miles) This supplier is Scottish Wood, which is near Oakley in Fife. Forgive me if I am preaching to the converted, I'm finding it hard to contain my excitement.
I spent a good while in the showroom before buying some beautiful burr elm, a slab of elm, and a mahoosive slab of spalted beech. Luckily for the bank balance we went in SWMBO's car and not mine, otherwise I could have fitted some spectacular lengths of elm in the car.
All this timber is very well priced, compared with what I have seen on other web sites. If you are in the central belt and don't know about this place - give it a whirl. You will not be disappointed.

 

[boysie39]

I think elm is a timber that will become very hard to come by in the near future . If I were you I would be inclined to head back to where you got it and get as much as you can .

 

[Silverbirch]

Always meant to check it out, having come across their website, but never heard of anyone having been there. In fact, I wasn't sure if it was still in business. Now that I know it's alive and well, and in good health, I must pay a visit!
Thanks for posting.

Ian

 

[Kalimna]

Once you have been to, enjoyed, and bought from Scottish Woods at Oakley, you should check out Falkirk Wood. Not as wide a selection, but fabulous source of local timber.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

I think elm is a timber that will become very hard to come by in the near future . If I were you I would be inclined to head back to where you got it and get as much as you can .

I will be back as soon as the bank balance allows.
They have some oddments of timber which are cheap as chips. The slab of burr elm I got for example is a little over 2" thick, 2'6" long, by 14" wide. There is a bit of rot on one end of the bark side which means I will lose about ¾" from that part, and one of the burrs has a big crack in it. Apart from that, the rest is extremely usable.
It cost, wait for it, £6 \/
They also have stacks of lime, with some stunning figuring in it. How is lime for turning?

Once you have been to, enjoyed, and bought from Scottish Woods at Oakley, you should check out Falkirk Wood. Not as wide a selection, but fabulous source of local timber.

I've seen them advertised on-line, so will give them a try next time I have a few days off.

 

[Kalimna]

Never turned lime, but looking for some for a rocking horse... You didn't happen to notice any hornbeam, did you? I'm after some for a guitar.
It might be worth giving Falkirk Wood a quick call before you go - I recall them not always being available.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

Didn't see any hornbeam, no. Pretty sure we have a rotten hornbeam tree in the garden. I'm not great with identification of anything other than the most common....
It has the serrated leaves in the correct formation and seems to be the right shape. One of the neighbours cut a few branches off at the start of the year, which I have left to "season" at the side of the garden These are about 2" in diameter, so probably not thick enough for your needs. Also can't guarantee there will be no rot inside them.
If it doesn't come down over the winter, I think felling will be in order in the spring.