How I Select My Timber.

How do I select my timber ? 

I first started selecting timber from  timber yards when I was studying bespoke furniture making at the Peter Sefton School of Furniture. Under the watchful eye of Mr Sean Feeney I learnt exactly what to look for and I will never forget him pulling out of his pocket the smallest wood plane I have ever seen ! This was his secret weapon when it came to selecting timber.

When I select timber I carefully inspect each board, ensuring there are no defects such as knots, woodworm, sap wood, and splits. Selecting a board with such defects usually  leads to excessive waste or even worse, can lead to your products splitting and not being fit for purpose. The process of detailed inspection during selection is critical.

I also select my timber on the beauty of it and sometimes you can't see the beauty in the rough sawn timber until you plane it. Once planned, the grain and colour jumps out at you! This is where Mr Sean Feeney secret plane would come in. He would use it to shave a few layers off the rough sawn timber to see if the grain was beautiful enough and meet his high standards!

To conclude, selecting timber is a vital  process for me. I want my customers to have the highest quality and the most beautiful wooden products that will last a lifetime. My clients know that each product is completely individual and will never look the same as another. It is not something that you can buy off the shelf.