Invent Design Make

Step 6 – Get some wood

Ok this is a crucial stage. I happen to be friendly with a nice chap called Martin, who works at his step dad’s sawmill (Cefnllwyn Timber). Using their monster big bandsaw and planer, we can get the size of boards we want to make the design.
After firing up the three phase diesel engine generator, Martin and I spent the best part of a day working out which boars we were going to cut up, measuring, marking, sawing and planing. The result: arriving home late with the van full of some lovely oak. Then staying up even later in an excited frenzy, sorting and labelling the oak, and arranging temporary accommodation for it in the workshop… Then dreaming soundly about oak door related jazzzzz.

Below: the bandsaw or band re-saw, is quite big! The power feed (the yellow unit on the right) pulls the wood through the saw at a consistent speed. It has its own powerful drive motor, and is also connected to an air compressor – this works a ram that forces it against the wood, which is in turn forced against the guide fence.

This is a ‘four sider’ – a planer that planes all four sides at once. It has a long in feed table, so that it can straighten long boards.  It is fairly easy to set the final dimensions of the wood on this machine.  Technically, you set the value in mm, it spits out a perfectly finished piece ready to be used (though in practice it is not quite like that).

In the bottom-left you can see the post-planer boards – sweet smooth oak.  And at the top, to contrast, a slightly ropey looking board, before bandsaw or planer.

A bunch of oak wood, cut and dimensioned :) A very pleasing, if slightly nerve racking moment.

The wood has arrived. It is sorted out, and grouped together with like dimensioned pieces. I used some masking tape to keep things manageable. It is a good idea to keep it flat and off the floor, especially if it is prone to damp. We want to minimise any warpage. Looks like the workbench is going to be occupied for a bit…

All grouped and labelled up in accordance with the master plan (the cutting list).