Meet our Carpenter

My name is Mark, I’ve been in the building trade all my working life, I am 61 years young.

I like to work with old products which can be recycled like oak barrels and hard wood railway sleepers are my first choice regards materials, I do however do some live edged timber such as oak and ash, which because of ash dyeback, is plentiful as I like to rescue what I can. The oak mentioned above is sourced from forestry sites where some trees need to be removed to let others grow. I like to support small businesses and use a small wood supplier with a bandsaw. I dry all my own wood in a SOLAR kiln which reduces the seasoning time dramatically compared to the traditional air dried timber, which in my opinion is a more suitable product than the modern KILN dried. Kiln drying wood involves intense heat which produces stresses within the wood structure, producing a product that one doesn’t last as long and two if used to make something (which exposes the moisture) causes distortion.

With the sourced barrels, longevity is key. The barrel’s I use have already done a working life of about 50 years. Regarding the sleepers, well, these have had steam trains run over them, and are still in as good a condition as when they were laid down as track. Air dried and seasoned for more years than i can count.

The characteristics that years of weathering has put into wood is only found when restoring or remaking an item :- for instance bringing back to life a 70 year old oak farmers gate which frankly cant be replicated in new items.

I have been in the building trade for many years and have seen the thirst for wood being compromised more and more, to the point where the pith between the growth rings on the young trees will rot faster than the trees grow. I ask how is that sustainable?

I cant put the world right but if you buy something from me you will still have it in 20 years time and you will know it comes with a backstory, it’s own story to tell.

(see below a old farmers oak gate)

When i collected the gate

During restoration process

Complete showing all

its true characteristics

My Memorial Benches

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