Bog Oak The Jubilee Table

[custard]

Following on from Mike G's posts about Bog Oak, this month's Furniture & Cabinetmaker contains a wonderful article about the "Jubilee Table" project, which is recognising a spectacular and unique 13m long Bog Oak log for what it truly is, a national resource and treasure.

You can read more about it here,
https://www.thefenlandblackoakproject.co.uk

 

[Buckeye]

Thanks for that. Very interesting and will be a beautiful piece of furniture

 

[Nelsun]

It's longer than my house! Love it and thanks for posting the link. I have the video bookmarked to watch later on

 

[Racers]

Wow that is some tree, makes my plank of bog oak look very small!

Pete

 

[woodbloke66]

Following on from Mike G's posts about Bog Oak, this month's Furniture & Cabinetmaker contains a wonderful article about the "Jubilee Table" project, which is recognising a spectacular and unique 13m long Bog Oak log for what it truly is, a national resource and treasure.

You can read more about it here,
https://www.thefenlandblackoakproject.co.uk

Spectacular! Is this the the project that Hamish was trying to get the Prince of Wales interested in? - Rob

 

[custard]

Yes, that's the one.

Just imagine, that tree is older than Stonehenge. In the right location and with the right publicity it could rival the Coronation Chair as Britain's most famous piece of furniture. And if that were to happen then MikeG's stock of Bog Oak would instantly become about one hundred times more valuable!

 

[Trevanion]

You try and get regular British oak 13m long anymore! I think if you asked for it they'd laugh you out of the sawmill.

Priceless would be an understatement!

 

[custard]

The deeper you dig into Bog Oak the more mysterious it becomes, if Merlin ever commissioned a piece of furniture I bet he would have specified Bog Oak!

Normal Oak weighs around 600-700Kg per cubic metre, but similarly dry Bog Oak can weigh up to 1000Kg per cubic metre. While not the heaviest timber in the world, that's heavier than many Rosewoods or Ebonies, astonishing from a British tree.

And the ring count is off the scale. These are just some random pieces from my timber store, starting with Bog Oak,

As you can see the growth rings are often in the range 0.5-1.0mm. That's phenomenally slow growing. Compare that with modern Oak where the growth rings can be in the range 3-5mm.

I've heard a few different theories to account for this, that it was much colder when these trees grew, that they're a different species of Oak, or that they shrink during drying much more than modern Oak and so are artificially dense. I've no idea which, if any, of these are true. But when you touch this wood there's no doubt that you're holding something absolutely unique and precious.

 

[thetyreman]

wow the world would have been a very different place when this tree was in the ground, amazing!

 

[thetyreman]

It might explain why the druids worshipped oaks in pre christian times, imagine a tree over 100 foot high before any branches, that's like being in a rainforest.

 

[custard]

You make a good point, the physical presence of some trees can be awe inspiring.

In the New Forest, where I live, there is a particular area that was densely planted with Redwoods in the mid 1800's. These trees are still babies compared to some of the monsters in North America, but they're already amongst the biggest trees in the UK, there are only a handful of Scots Pines that are bigger and in a few decades these Redwoods will have outgrown them too.

I often walk in this part of the forest (if you're ever down here it's an area called the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive) and to be amongst these goliath trees just takes your breath away.

http://www.new-forest-national-park.com ... drive.html

 

[BigMonka]

That's a great project. So is black oak just a different name for bog oak?

I didn't know that there were giant redwoods on Rhinefield Ornamental Drive. I used to regularly cycle along there with my Dad on routes to/from Brockenhurst. Next time I'm down visiting family I'll have to go and have a look around.

 

[Noel]

That's a great project. So is black oak just a different name for bog oak?

I didn't know that there were giant redwoods on Rhinefield Ornamental Drive. I used to regularly cycle along there with my Dad on routes to/from Brockenhurst. Next time I'm down visiting family I'll have to go and have a look around.

Black Oak is a separate species (mostly US I think, lovely timber, similar to Red Oak), whereas bog Oak is regular Oak steeped and marinated in a bog for a while.... ~: )

Edit- See what you mean- the article refers to "Black Oak" so no idea if it's bog Oak or Black Oak or bog Black Oak...... Somebody?

 

[custard]

Black Oak and Bog Oak are the same thing.

Hamish Low, the guy in the video who dug up and dried this tree, has pretty much cornered the Bog Oak market, he thinks the name Bog Oak is a bit low rent and is limiting the timber's appeal, so he's trying to re-brand it as Black Oak!

 

[Noel]

Black Oak and Bog Oak are the same thing.

Hamish Low, the guy in the video who dug up and dried this tree, has pretty much cornered the Bog Oak market, he thinks the name Bog Oak is a bit low rent and is limiting the timber's appeal, so he's trying to re-brand it as Black Oak!

Black Oak is a relative of Red Oak I thought. Whereas bog Oak is much as I described above, no?
If the man wants to describe it in more up-market terms he should call it blackened Oak perhaps, or buried in the ground Oak....... : )

 

[AJB Temple]

I only have a couple of cubic feet of bog oak and use it for making knife handles. I love the romance of it really. Nice post, Custard, thanks.

 

[Harbo]

What happened to the Bog Oak sale day?
Did anybody comment on it?

Rod

 

[MikeG.]

What happened to the Bog Oak sale day?.......

Ask Noel, but don't expect an answer.

 

[Racers]

Not many of us showed up, those who did got some very nice wood.

Pete

 

[shed9]

What happened to the Bog Oak sale day?.......

Ask Noel, but don't expect an answer.

:roll:

Move on........