Fallen beech - anyone interested ?

[graham]

I have a newly fallen beech and I wondered whether anyone might be interested in the timber. It's not tremendously large and does have some rot in it (i suspect that contributed to its demise but I thought that beech was quite an in-demand wood...

I am in west Wales - near Llansawel, that's not too far south east of Llanybydder. I'm not sure of its value so I would be content with a cut and take at your own risk sort of deal, subject to contract etc. etc. etc.

the main trunk is somewhat over a metre in diameter and the main branches are 400mm approx. diameter.

If you enlarge the view you should be able to see that there's a blue electric fencing post along the trunk, it's about 900mm long.

It seems a shame to just turn it into firewood so I'm open to any suggestions...

graham

[Binz]

try contacting wood turners or local woodworking club. if its started to rot then some of the wood may be spalted (having black lines running through it and different shades of wood) which looks good when turned. I've also seen it made into guitars. http://www.acguitars.co.uk/acg_admin/wo ... -4-string/

[oldclaypaws]

Good suggestion Binz. I sold dozens of spalted beech pieces in my craft gallery, its very popular among woody craft folk. Beech is also good fuel, so with a few mutterings on the local grapevine you should find quite a bit of interest.

[Dexter's Shed]

I told dozens of spalted beech pieces in my craft gallery,

what did you tell them paws

[SimonFisher]

I told dozens of spalted beech pieces in my craft gallery,

what did you tell them paws

Dexter, if we were to pick you up on every one of your typos...

[oldclaypaws]

I've transformed the offending 't' to a 'S' using the powers of editing.

Will endeavour in the future to spell correctly, if only America would do the same.

[Wendelspanswick]

Log it for firewood, Beech is one of the cheapest of the English hardwoods to buy planked from timber merchants and they will only want the best specimens.
The only commercial customers we used to get for Beech in the timber mill I was employed in were upholsterers and bread/chopping board manufacturers and occasionally kitchen manufacturers.
French Beech is incredibly cheap and basically killed the market for English Beech.

[graham]

thanks for the comments. I had thought of crafts but I don't know anyone personally who does that sort of thing, I must visit the couple of craft shops I know; I see that the one in Llandeilo has moved in the past few years, I must call in tomorrow.

graham

[oldclaypaws]

This is a magnificent spalted beech bowl which was given to me as a gift. What doesn't come across in the picture is the size, its over two feet wide. Rather large for our modest little old house, but a wonderful piece of wood. Probably the most impressive piece of spalted beech I've seen, and considering it was quarter-sawn, the original tree must have been huge.

[Binz]

run a saw through it in a couple of places to see if here is any spalting, then post up on a woodturners forum (there must be some) and invite people to come and get it; maybe ask them to give you something made from its wood instead of payment.