We now have a considerable demand for oak boards, and this is an ideal opportunity to convert the larger timber which has been felled in th High Forest as part of the Age Diversity Programme, which is now in  its third year.

Most of the trees in the High Forest are no more than sixty years old, and, due to stiff competition with their neighbours, have grown tall and slender. They are hence generally more suitable for making posts rather than planks/. Nevertheless there are some which yield a good six inches of heartwood, like the one pictured here. This stem has a good proportioon of heart wood to sapwood - a ratio that we have found to be extremely variable.

Miling is done with a chainsaw mill, which is a simple device that allows a large chainsaw to travel along a flat surface, cutting as it goes. Like all simple mechanisms, it is highly effective, but  this one does require a fair input of manpower. It needs to be controlled by two operators, who work in clouds of sawdust, usually in rather awkward postures. Two or three hours of this work, and you know you've burnt a calorie or two. We were not able to photograph the mill in action, owing to the fact that the man with the camera was also on one end of the mill. The following scene shows the same log after a couple of two-inch thick planks have been worked from it.

The green and silver mechanism resembling a large cheese-slicer is the chainsaw mill. The planks are on the edge of the trailer.

It was at this point that the team ran out of petrol, which we did not mind, because one can have enough of this job, notwithstanding the excellent results.