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Box tree felling and timber sale HL

Box tree felling and timber sale

,

West Sussex, December 2019

Photos by Fiona Henley and word by Huw Crompton

EBTS Chairman Chris Poole organised the felling, sale and productive use of box timber for members Peter and Fiona Henley, through EBTS member Huw Crompton, who for 10 years has specialised in growing, managing and processing boxwood timber in the UK.

The felling season for box is a short window either side of Christmas, from the end of November to February when the trees are less active.  The pale timber is at less risk of the dark staining which often happens when the trees are growing.

The occasions when good box timber enters the market are scarce and this article describes an ideal working model for the process.

Update November 2020 – Peter and Fiona gave a sample of the felled wood to a friend who was a cabinet maker and he counted the rings in the sample, 299 so the tree didn’t quite make it to its 300th birthday.

Step 1

Felling these tall straight box trees began well with the tree surgeon perched in the upper branches, taking the weight off the crowns and working down the tree to avoid any damage to the lower stems and trunk.
Felling these tall straight box trees began well with the tree surgeon perched in the upper branches, taking the weight off the crowns and working down the tree to avoid any damage to the lower stems and trunk.

Step 2

It’s a good sign, of decent timber in prospect, when your tree surgeon begins at the height of a 3 story building! What stout stems await beneath. Smaller, medusa-bendy branch work, with not a great deal of weight, was kept by the owners as gifts for local craftsmen. This lower grade wood previously formed the raw material for tool handles and turning on the round after 10 years’ drying.
It’s a good sign, of decent timber in prospect, when your tree surgeon begins at the height of a 3 story building! What stout stems await beneath. Smaller, medusa-bendy branch work, with not a great deal of weight, was kept by the owners as gifts for local craftsmen. This lower grade wood previously formed the raw material for tool handles and turning on the round after 10 years’ drying.

Step 3

Logs over 100mm were cut to 1.5m or so lengths using the forks, clefts and elbows as a guideline. Gently does it, and the many cut ends are kept clean and clear of mud to reduce the staining risk. Lighter branch work (50-75mm and below) and the leafy canopy was discarded.
Logs over 100mm were cut to 1.5m or so lengths using the forks, clefts and elbows as a guideline. Gently does it, and the many cut ends are kept clean and clear of mud to reduce the staining risk. Lighter branch work (50-75mm and below) and the leafy canopy was discarded.

Step 4

A gorgeously chunky 200mm diameter log shows good clear timber. A little imperfection in the middle is to be expected and since the logs will be quartered, either cut out or consigned to the periphery of a milled turning billet.  This high grade of log is very versatile and will make up many larger joints in sets of baroque clarinets to serve a waiting list of musical instrument manufacturers in the UK and around the world.
A gorgeously chunky 200mm diameter log shows good clear timber. A little imperfection in the middle is to be expected and since the logs will be quartered, either cut out or consigned to the periphery of a milled turning billet.  This high grade of log is very versatile and will make up many larger joints in sets of baroque clarinets to serve a waiting list of musical instrument manufacturers in the UK and around the world.

Step 5

Stacked timber from 2 small trees ready for loading up. Most of these logs are AA grade and show little signs of processing waste at this stage.
Stacked timber from 2 small trees ready for loading up. Most of these logs are AA grade and show little signs of processing waste at this stage.

Step 6

Loading the slaughter for transporting to stacking and drying. Productive use begins with quartering within 12 months, and billeting within 2 years. The instrument market expects semi dried billets which have stabilised early and rested some time close to their finished working dimensions.
Loading the slaughter for transporting to stacking and drying. Productive use begins with quartering within 12 months, and billeting within 2 years. The instrument market expects semi dried billets which have stabilised early and rested some time close to their finished working dimensions.

Step 7

A most convivial and enjoyable morning ends with the purchase of the timber at market rates. The Henleys were pleased that their trees will be used to make music and enjoyed by many listeners around the world. Thanks from us all to Chris Poole for making the arrangements, we made the most of a chilly December morning the week before Christmas.
A most convivial and enjoyable morning ends with the purchase of the timber at market rates. The Henleys were pleased that their trees will be used to make music and enjoyed by many listeners around the world. Thanks from us all to Chris Poole for making the arrangements, we made the most of a chilly December morning the week before Christmas.

Thanks to Huw and Fiona Henley for the pictures and text of this story.  If you have a boxwood tree that needs felling, then Huw can be contacted via the details below:

Huw Crompton Landscape Design

4 Bridge Street,
Overton,
HAMPSHIRE
RG25 3HD

07973 291 654

huwcrompton@aol.com

Huw’s other areas of work:
3D perspectives: www.hand-drawn.co
Mining restoration: www.hafodhooter.co.uk

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