As many of our visitors will know, Birchanger Wood borders Birchanger High School in Bishop’s Stortford. When Roger Newman, from the school’s Technology and Construction department, contacted us earlier this year with an idea, we were only too happy to help.
He was looking for some birch timber to make a special gift for retiring head teacher, Dr Chris Ingate. We thought this was a great idea, and a wonderful reminder of the history of Birchanger Wood, which would have been used as a resource for building and furniture-making by generations past. We supplied the school with a large birch log that we hoped would be just right for the project.
Fast forward to summer, and Mr Newman has shared a step-by-step report with us on how the team at the school took the wood from log to a side table. He has kindly said that we can share some photos here.
Splitting the log was the first step – it takes real vision to see how this can become a table!
Normally, the wood would be ‘seasoned’ (dried out) for at least a year, but the team were short of time and had to improvise with some clever ideas to make sure it didn’t warp during or after manufacture:
They decided on a three-legged design, featuring curved legs, which involved some complicated angle calculations!
The finished design is elegant and uses lots of different carpentry skills.
The natural beauty of the wood grain has been brought out with several coats of Danish oil.
Mr Newman noted:
“This was the point where the birch timber just sprang to life and showed us what beautiful grain structure and reflective qualities it has. We were truly amazed, and no photo has really managed to capture what it looks like in real life.”
We’re delighted that a small part of Birchanger Wood is making its way home with Dr Ingate and we are sure he will treasure it.
Birchanger Wood 