Wood

Wood is a wonderful construction material. It is inviting to the touch. It is strong and durable. With time and use it ages beautifully. As hands rub over the arm of a chair or the handle of a door the wood develops a beautiful lustrous patina.

Wood has more character than most other materials. There is so much variety in its appearance. Bog oak is black and very open grained. Holly has a tight dense grain and is nearly white. Even within one species the colour and figure of any piece of wood are affected by the soil conditions, the climate, which part of the tree it is cut from, how it is seasoned, what finish is applied.

In the Barnsley Workshop we understand the importance of careful timber selection and we maintain extensive stocks of seasoned timber. Over many years we have gained a deep knowledge of the material and how to find the best. We maintain contacts with timber yards and foresters who know we are always keen to obtain interesting unusual logs. The advantage of this approach is that we can oversee the conversion of the log and specify how we would like it cut. When making a piece of furniture we might require thin boards for a carcase and thicker boards for a plinth or base. By cutting boards from one tree at different thicknesses we ensure that the colour and figuring of the grain will match. There are four large sheds next to the workshop where we carefully dry the logs with wooden spacers between each board. This allows air to circulate freely. Air-drying the boards in our sheds reduces the moisture level in a slow and controlled manner. This process takes from two to four years depending on the board thickness. When timber has been selected for a particular job the dried boards can be brought inside the workshop for final conditioning.

We have occasionally made furniture out of a client's own timber. Obviously this approach requires some forward planning. Then we can advise on the conversion of the raw timber with the future use in mind.

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