Yew logs and hawthorn trunk

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stewart

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My nieghbours have told me they are felling their yew tree. The 'trunk' is made up of lots of separate pieces - what's the minimum girth that's worth asking them for?
Also, they are felling a very unsightly (and light robbing for me) hawthorn. Does hawthorn have any redeeming qualities or is it a nice supply of winter logs?
Thanks for your time ...again!
Stewart
 
stewart":19uplny7 said:
My nieghbours have told me they are felling their yew tree. The 'trunk' is made up of lots of separate pieces - what's the minimum girth that's worth asking them for?

Everything down to Broom Handle size. It's a treasure.

If you have not had experience with drying wood then get someone from the forum in your area who has, to help preserve it as it is VERY prone to splitting whilst drying. If felling is immanent then seal it in plastic bin liners (the whole log or at least the ends) to slow the drying down until you have a chance to seal the ends of the logs properly before stacking for drying.

stewart":19uplny7 said:
Also, they are felling a very unsightly (and light robbing for me) hawthorn. Does hawthorn have any redeeming qualities or is it a nice supply of winter logs?
Thanks for your time ...again!
Stewart

Don't know about Hawthorn, will leave that to others more knowledgeable. But I suspect that anything of sensible diameter will be of interest to turners at least.
 
Hi Stewart,

Echoing what Chas says - anything above broom handle diameter size of both yew and hawthorn is worth saving at least for turning.

As far as sealing goes, it is important to get this done a.s.a.p. after cutting - straight away is best if possible. Simply done by giving a good liberal coating of undiluted PVA adhesive or old gloss/emulsion paint to all end grain on the cut ends and any other cut surfaces, e.g. where smaller limbs may have been cut away from the larger pieces.

Ideally then, if you have the facilities, it is best kept to dry in a well ventilated place, protected from rain and out of direct sunlight.

Cheers,

Trev.
 
I'll echo everyone else. It's amazing just how quickly yew will begin to show signs of cracking across the ends.
Hawthorn is great and as Como says, very similar in properties to box, though the hawthorn that I have turned has had far more interesting grain patterns than any box.
Can't really see the point in burning any wood if there's a chance to use it for turning, doesn't matter what the species is to me.
As the great man says, "It doesn't grow on trees!" :roll:
 
Thanks for the replies. I'll start sweet-talking the neighbours!! Also have to do some of that at home as I don't have a lathe so won't be able to turn any of the wood...yet :wink:
Cheers
Stewart
 
stewart":1fpqzyot said:
Thanks for the replies. I'll start sweet-talking the neighbours!! Also have to do some of that at home as I don't have a lathe so won't be able to turn any of the wood...yet :wink:
Cheers
Stewart

By the time you factor a Lathe into the household budget Stewart the wood should be nearing usable dryness :)
 
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