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Finger jointing technology & timber
Lengths as short as 125mm can be
finger-jointed into 6 metre lengths
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(Click here for a downloadable version of this article)
 From
Pulp to Parliament
transforming coppice timber
The decline of traditional markets for coppiced sweet chestnut over the
twentieth century has brought this once thriving sustainable industry to a
relative standstill. The loss
of biodiversity, productivity, traditional skills and rural lifestyles has
been well documented in recent years.
Numerous projects throughout the region have sought to support our
sweet chestnut heritage, now in the hands of a very few dedicated cutters
and traditional crafts people managing to preserve skills and eke out a
living.
New markets need to be found to provide economic stimuli for maintaining
coppice woodlands. In the face of extremely cheap timber imports this can
at times seem like an impossible dream. Nevertheless some dedicated local
timber experts have been quietly developing a new approach to adding value
to ‘low-grade’ small diameter coppice hardwoods.
Production of finger-jointed lengths of local sweet chestnut and
oak is underway, resulting in a versatile product that can be used for any
internal and external joinery and in laminated beam form as a stable
structural timber.
Inwood Developments Ltd, based at Whitesmith, East Sussex, have pioneered
the use of finger-jointing technology to process short lengths (as little
as 125mm) of 15-30 year old coppiced hard-woods into high-grade, stable
timber products. Working in conjunction with EC Forest Products (also at
Whitesmith), Inwood Developments Ltd can offer full machining and
finishing of finger-jointed timbers. The possibilities for this new
product are limitless, offering manufacturers a versatile timber from a
local sustainable source.
The transformation of low-grade coppice timber into high-grade joinery
and construction timber is already making an impressive contribution to
the British construction industry. The
roof structure of the new Debating Chamber in the Scottish Houses of
Parliament is made from finger-jointed lengths of laminated oak supplied
by InWood Developments – 27 kilometres in all!
WoodLots readers are already familiar with the Woodland Enterprise
Centre near Flimwell, with the main gridshell structure and all exterior
cladding and external joinery built from finger jointed sweet chestnut. Furthermore,
finger-jointed coppice timber has superb environmental credentials,
providing an economic stimulus for coppicing (a sustainable management
system supporting scarce and diverse ecosystems), maximising the use of
wood otherwise destined for pulp mills, and minimising transport costs
when compared to imports.
However, the economic sustainability of this supply chain is yet to be
fully tested as Inwood Developments requires sawn timber lengths cut to
100mm x 30mm. Generally timber processing in the Southeast is aimed at
breaking down large logs. Production of small planks from small diameter
timber on a typical mill is a far more labour intensive process.
As such, the viable production of sawn coppice suitable for finger
jointing will depend on the adaptation of current technology, enabling the
cost effective planking of small diameter coppice possibly in the woods.
This is an exciting challenge offering opportunities to coppice workers,
farmers, landowners and contractors to diversify and transform the
productivity of our currently neglected coppice woodlands.
Inwood Developments Ltd immediately require accurately sawn timber (100mm
x 30mm), green or dried, from 15-30 year sweet chestnut coppice in lengths
of 1metre to 3 metres. High grade is not important as knots can be removed
through skilled selection during the finger jointing process. For further
information contact: Nigel Braden Tel: 01825 872150
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