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[JK Lewis]

So I went over the the sawmill earlier, with the first 10 willow wedges from the tree I felled last week. Took around 90 minutes to saw them to shape. Sawing creates as much waste as good wood, so there's some clearing up to be done. But, very successful outcome, the 10 clefts are now in the garage, sealed and stacked. Only around 30 still to go...

They're not completely regular in length, but even the shortest are plenty long enough. They have an average density of 0.68 g/cm3, my target is 0.42 g/cm3. So, there's around a couple of kilos of water in each of them, that I need to dry out over the next few months.

Half sawn clefts


8 Finished Clefts


Waste


Clefts sealed and stacked. If you look to the left side of the photo, you can see a few of the test clefts from Tree 1 (2016) - in the workbench. Today's work is a major step forward!

[hell4leather cricket]

They will need good airflow from day one , or they will stain

Matt

[edge]

There's some proper lookers in that first batch @JK Lewis , looking good!

[JK Lewis]

They will need good airflow from day one , or they will stain

Matt

Thanks Matt, I will be fixing something up tomorrow evening with that in mind. Maybe try a couple of different ideas, to see what works best.

[JK Lewis]

There's some proper lookers in that first batch @JK Lewis , looking good!

Yeah, I'm pleased with what has come out. Nice wood, decent grains and relatively few blemishes. When they are dry enough to plane up a bit, we'll see what they really look like.

[Biggie Smalls]

Yeah, I'm pleased with what has come out. Nice wood, decent grains and relatively few blemishes. When they are dry enough to plane up a bit, we'll see what they really look like.

Some nice two tones in amongst them aswell..... young Johnny B may be breaking into your shed soon ! 

[Biggie Smalls]

Are you planning on keeping the waste cuts , for graft repairs or anything ? Just wondering if thats what some batmakers do in order to minimize wastage , or if they can be put to any other use .

[JK Lewis]

Are you planning on keeping the waste cuts , for graft repairs or anything ? Just wondering if thats what some batmakers do in order to minimize wastage , or if they can be put to any other use .

I'll likely keep a little of it, but it's a space issue really. I have yet to tell my wife that there are another 30 odd clefts to find room for, and she demands most of the garage to store all the empty boxes from the mixers and blenders and dehumidifiers and whatever else she invests in. Our next door neighbour keeps his car in the garage! What a nutter.

[Biggie Smalls]

I'll likely keep a little of it, but it's a space issue really. I have yet to tell my wife that there are another 30 odd clefts to find room for, and she demands most of the garage to store all the empty boxes from the mixers and blenders and dehumidifiers and whatever else she invests in. Our next door neighbour keeps his car in the garage! What a nutter.

Can you at least convince your missus to 'flatpack' the boxes where possible.....just thinking about those poor clefts ! 

[JK Lewis]

Can you at least convince your missus to 'flatpack' the boxes where possible.....just thinking about those poor clefts ! 

I could flat pack the boxes, but the problem is that they all have fillers inside - moulded pulp or expanded polystyrene. That crap is impossible to deal with and she worries that if a thing breaks and has to be returned, it should be in the same condition as that in which it arrived. So all these boxes pile up in a massive pyramid until such time as the warranties expire and I can hire a 40 footer to take them away.

Don't worry about the clefts. They will be stored in various places, so that I can compare the drying rates.