Wood-Mizer saw cuts swamp oak logs

After two thousand years under water, the oak log was removed, cut and dried. It has been transformed into a splendid and extremely valuable material, and its lifespan will span the centuries to come.

Last year, during a dredging operation in flooded areas of the Elbe River in the south of the German city of Hamburg, a mysterious discovery was made in the wet, marshy ground: the bog oak: the bog oak. It was immediately assumed that other precious logs could be found nearby. But first, it was necessary to check the quality of this dark discovery.

When the log was delivered to a nearby sawmill, the shop owner, seeing this curved, very warped, relatively short piece of wood, said he couldn't make anything out of it. It is impossible to cut such a log; that could not pass through the mouth of the saw.

That's when Andreas Hünerfaut came into the game. He is known in the region not only as a timber producer, who has accurately cut logs down to the last plank even in hard-to-reach logging sites, but also as a specialist in processing problematic, twisted or bent logs.

When Andreas set up his Wood-Mizer LT40 mobile saw, it was clear that he had experience with cutting exotic, extremely ancient logs, such as the bog oak log salvaged from the Elbe River region. This shapeless chunk from an ancient tree was fixed to the saw bed, and a surprisingly well-preserved core was split open after several cuts.

Andreas was pleased with how smoothly and evenly the extremely hard wood cut through the cloth. "The Wood-Mizer saw affirms its many characteristics such as versatility and functionality," says Hünerfaut. "Even short pieces are easy to process into various pieces of lumber."

Andreas Hünerfaut bought his first LT40 saw a long time ago. The saw was delivered from the United States by sea. At that time, it took a lot of courage to start a relatively new profession - that of a mobile saw owner. Among Wood-Mizer sawmill owners there was a remarkable willingness to help people that remains to this day. Its first customers were curious teachers who wanted to give students a meaningful lesson, as well as property owners who discussed this new industry and the new possibilities at their family dinners. The rest of the success was achieved through classic word-of-mouth advertising. In fact, the Swiss Andreas Hünerfaut left his home country to get to know the world better. In northern Germany, he liked not only the landscape and climate, but also the people. So he settled here and feels so at home that he has even lost his Swiss accent.

But back to the bog oak. When it became clear that the wood was very well-preserved, Andreas Hünerfaut offered his help in finding other oaks in the floodplain. It was winter, the thermometer read -12 °C, and the temperature felt even colder in this damp environment. The work was carried out using a mini excavator. In the end, about 40 completely deformed oak trunks were pulled out.

Using its methods, the Hamburg Institute of Wood Science has determined that the age of these bog oak logs is estimated to be over 2000 years. The log with the largest diameter had an annual ring dating from 221 BC.

In the meantime, the recovered logs were cut and dried in loose stacks to obtain the appropriate moisture content. Such timber is sold by weight in planks of special sizes. It is used to make knife handles, writing instruments, kitchen boards or dashboards for premium brands in the automotive industry.

Answering a question about his profession, Andreas, who is actually a farmer and carpenter, sees himself more as a forestry worker. His experience is mainly in on-demand work when tree tops should be removed. This is dangerous work that climbers do and requires special skills. It is usually part of a program to clear and recycle felled trees. And of course the LT40 saw is very useful here.

After work, Andreas Hünerfaut sometimes rests in front of his wooden igloo on a very special bench. According to carbon research, the wood from which Andreas made the bench is around 8000 years old. Of course, this aspect gives something very special to a well-deserved short rest.