Cutting whatever the weather

One of the worst things about recent weather is the water table. At Yandles our saw motors are below ground and because it keeps raining and raining and raining the water table keeps rising. We now have a foot of water in the main rack bench saw, meaning we cannot use it. This would put a lot of companies out of action, but our mill has a second larger saw meaning we can keep cutting. It is another reminder of how diverse Yandles is.  We are still able to supply fresh sawn oak beams (green oak) at our normal fast speed and high quality, because our second bandsaw is a large log converting bandsaw and we have the evergreen Ray available to help. Ray comes in part time, one or two days a week, for cutting when we need him. This, together with our stock of English oak logs, allow us amazing flexibility and means that we at Yandles are able to keep the orders going out.

As a rule Yandles cut from the fresh sawn oak beam stock we keep.  This allows us to turnaround orders quickly because the majority of popular sizes are stocked, and others can be cut back quickly on our small rack bench. Often have the order the next day as a result. If we have an odd size to cut or a waney edge order, Ray comes in and we cut it from English oak logs. This gives us an added advantage, as we can often cut unusual sizes within a week and are not reliant on importing it. At the moment we are cutting all fresh sawn oak orders on the big saw and we are truely seeing the value of having the saw and also benefitting from having stock of good quality English oak. All the oak we cut is supplied through reliable sources so we can trust in quality and the sustainability of the timber and because it is from managed estates it is of a fair size. This last thing is of importance because mature trees are more stable and this makes milling a lot easier as the timber cuts straight. Also on larger trees, the butt end (normally the first 14 foot of the tree) is normally very clean and fairly knot free. The only consideration we have to make is the 3 tonne limit on the forklift. Today we have cut among other things thirty 3m x 75mm x 75mm and found it lot easier than splitting larger beams back and watching them spring.

On the negative side though we not have x-ray glasses and we cannot see what is below the bark of a tree and therefore you have to take into account the extra waste involved in cutting logs. Often you can be four or five cuts into a tree and then find a dead knot which can ruin a plank and cannot be used.  The other problem is that if you want four 3m x 100mm x 100mm beams you do not easily get a 16” plank to cut from and so there is greater waste involved,  as it takes several cuts to get to a plank that width. Therefore it’s a real balancing act in pricing a job and is the reason that we have gradually moved over to importing beams as there is a set size and a set grading system in place, meaning a defined quality which we can work from.

All in all the greater flexibility that English oak logs and the big log saw bring us is of great benefit to us and our customers as we can offer an unrivalled service for speed and quality in fresh sawn oak.
For more information or a quote do email timber@yandles.co.uk or contact the office on 01935 822207.

Alex, in the sawmill