After 14 months air drying and a few weeks in the kiln, the processed boards of the Ailanthus tree are nearly ready to use. Now the timber has been moved to the workshop for further acclimatisation.
The wood has fared well through the process bar a few shakes and splits, the majority of which occurred shortly after milling. The boards where cut through with the chainsaw and I remember watching as the tension in the timber pull the boards apart almost as soon as they hit the ground.
Of all the boards that were milled, the top half of the tree, a wind swayed section seen in the above photo is very curved compared to the straight portion of the lower drunk. The client has requested a pretty modernist design for a desktop and the natural curve in the timber is sadly not appropriate to use this time around.