Summer 2001 Newsletter

Since last time the wet autumn ...

... turned into the wet winter and whilst it has not been too bad in the woods as it is on a slope and is on chalk it has meant that we have done even less than usual. The proposed Summer House hasn’t got beyond a pile of rubble for the base. We did manage a useful day of repairs to the drying sheds that hopefully shouldn’t fall to bits for the next year. In fact as our stocks are increasing we decided to add another 12’ x 12’ of covered area. My father favoured lengths of 4”x 2” with a generous input of 6” nails for all constructions and failing eyesight meant he could dispense with the sprit level. As a result the existing sheds look like a CND / Environment protestor peace camp (shouldn’t say this as it is not PC and we might get some residents). We decided to enlist the blacksmith’s help for the extension with metal instead of timber supports that won’t become full of woodworm. This still is hasn’t been completed but hopefully will be soon.

We have got about 60 cu ft of Oak ...

...back to the woods from the sawmill, racked and stacked it so by next summer the thinner stuff should be saleable. Brian has got hold of a couple of sycamore trees cheaply and a dead Ash that should be quite dry when we plank it. Brian has also found a walnut tree and done a deal which is not expensive, particularly as Harold who has seen it reckons it is one of the best walnut trees he has seen for years. We finally managed to collect it and take it to our woods and we are hoping some dry weather will enable us to get it home and plank/slab it. Stop Press : have run a saw through a couple of bits and it is worth seeing

We have culled one large Beech and a couple of medium sized Oaks in our woods, these will probably stay in stick until the summer. Having these lying around does mean that if someone wants some particularly long planks 10’ plus we can plank to order instead of our usual planks which tend not to be longer than 6 or 7 foot. I have also paid for three lumps of Beech from my brother in laws Farm near Reading which came down in an October gale and as I write are quarantined from Foot and Mouth. I should have had Brian checked years ago.

Whilst keeping out of the rain...

... in the autumn we had a few new visitors and the odd interesting order. We’ve had some odd visitors and new orders as well but that’s another story. One was from a local traveler who has a genuine Gipsy caravan that is still horse drawn. He wanted long lengths of Ash for the bits that attach the caravan to the horse and Brian cut these from a tree in our woods that had been hit by lighting and died standing up. Having supplied Ash for a cross bow last year we have had an order for a bit of Ash cut in a particular way for a Long Bow. One chap is making a small Harp out of Walnut. We enjoy getting photos of projects completed from our wood. I have finally got round to having one good effort on to the website and hope to have more.

The Internet continues to...

... be a steady source of new custom. With recent publicity about buying and selling babies over the Net I thought about extending my range and have offered my mother in law for rent/purchase but have not been inundated with offers so will stick to wood.

A very polite young chap called Alistair e-mailed me before Christmas. He was doing a GCSE project making a small box and wanted suggestions of material. I recommended sycamore and his teacher agreed that it would do nicely. Because it was small the cost of the wood even allowing for Brian’s labour planing it was only £20. His father brought him over from Hertfordshire one Saturday and they took photos of Brian, The Kiln and other woods. As it was part of the batch of sycamore from Middle Wallop they also went over there to trace its roots so to speak. It was one of those orders that don’t earn much but are a pleasure to do. They also brought Brian and myself a rather nice bottle of red each and who knows one day Alistair might come and spend a few hundred pounds.

In the last newsletter...

...I had taken a trailer load of wood to Wales. My second trip was cancelled at the last minute because of the fuel crisis. I finally got round to going again towards the end of November. Having done it twice in the Land Rover and dropped off at three or four places I actually made money on the second trip. If I do it again I will probably hire a diesel transit and load it to the gunnels, if I can sell 30 cu ft in a trip there is a clear profit and motivation for the effort. Anybody on the M4 corridor who would like to be included in this discount drop let me know.

Its bizarre that when you have plenty of one type of wood , you get offers of more of the same and all new enquiries ask for what you don’t have. This time last year we kept sourcing Sycamore whilst we were short of Oak. Having forked out several hundred quid buying and planking Oak I have actually turned down some more. We have made the decision to stay small with as low as possible expenses. The downside is that we don’t have big purchasing power or the budget to advertise widely. The big plus is that if we are not under pressure to sell big quantities to cover the overheads. When the workforce is 150 years old and including me heading towards 200 you can’t push them too hard.

Helpful suggestions...

...still come and a few bring changes in practice. Feedback is always useful. The consensus of opinion re ‘ Are you willing to Pay extra for posh (round and waxed) blanks ‘ was NO. I don’t think its because you turners are a mean lot, its more that it is a hobby and as such is not an essential. If it becomes too expensive then the hobbyist will either cut back or play with fence posts and other bits you pick up off the roads- yeah I know you all do it. One of our long established customers from Worcester Park, the honest chap who reminded us we hadn’t cashed his cheque came up with another cost cutting idea. This was to cut slabs to the size of the apple boxes and leave the customer to cut the blanks to the size he wants thus cutting down preparation time.

I have just started to...

...dabble with waxing blanks. This has nothing to do with the feminine practice of removing body hair – a job I’m in two minds about having a go at. Most people buy blanks from places that have circular and wax sealed blanks. We have never bothered, the old man never did, I don’t know why and I think perhaps we should. I have discussed it with a learned turner or two and the gist is that you heat up ordinary wax in a big dish and just dip them in. My first go last week was quite exciting when it caught fire, luckily Brian was on hand, fireman being another of his talents. There is work to be done before this is sussed and routine practice. I have invested in a bit of end seal to cut down cracking and have applied it to new Walnut and Cherry. However it is quite expensive so I am not completely convinced.

We have wanted to source a good supply of Cherry for the last couple of years as demand is stronger than the supply. A recent customer told us about some Cherry trees near Basingstoke and we are currently looking into this. Whilst visiting this site we got chatting to some tree surgeons and are now the proud owners of a couple of large cherry trunks which are waiting for planking, early bids considered.

Having done a few good days in...

...January we lost February completely, the only spell of good weather coincided with Brian being really quite ill with viral pneumonia and without him progress is virtually non existent. I can liaise with customers and fill small orders but cannot do much without him. Happily he is back on his feet and on the mend. March was too wet to do any sawing. The tractor has been at the Blacksmiths after its major overhaul so we need to get it back to work and clear the pile of logs by the saw. There is also the walnut that urgently needs planking and slabbing.

As we come into early summer, the tractor is back working in the woods , as thank goodness are Brian and Harold. There is much to be done and keeping on top of the wood maintenance as well as restocking quite a challenge.

A couple of weeks ago whilst reversing the Land Rover out of the garage one of the doors swung in resulting in me breaking the nearside wing mirror. Brian leveled the score at 1-1 the week after when a branch hit and broke the front windscreen. As a new mirror cost £11 and the new screen the £50 excess I think he took this contest on points, unfortunately points don’t make prizes in this game.

As predicted last time...

...this newsletter has taken some time to come out. I sent out a lot less of the last one for a couple of reasons. The first being that as it is published on the website the techie customers can read or print it from there. The other is that I have realized that sending a newsletter as a mail shot is a waste of time so the newsletter is only a way of updating existing users of the GOULDEN wood emporium with what is happening in our corner of Hampshire. I do like it when I get the odd letter saying Oi where’s me newsletter as I can convince myself that they find it interesting. If a regular customer writes in the future I will write back individually with offers and what has been happening in our corner of the country

We are looking forward to...

...seeing old and new customers at the Woods through the warm summer months. Come and make a day of it, with either a picnic or try the newly refurbished Pub in Stoke which has excellent food. I think this will be the last newsletter in this format but will probably there will be periodic updates on website and I may do a news sheet featuring some of the articles from the last couple of newsletters and an update for new customers available on receipt of a stamped addressed envelop.

Paul GOULDEN

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