This load of Beech was delivered to us just before Christmas courtesy of Euroforest and AW Jenkinson and their driver Ray. The logs will be turned into kiln dried firewood in very short order. The load is especially interesting since it comes from Savernake Forest which covers around 4,500 acres in Wiltshire – and has… Read more »
Category: acoustic fencing
Alex keeps up the tradition
This picture shows Alex Evans, who has recently obtained his HGV licence, about to deliver some local orders for Ransfords. Hats off to him for the qualification, and for becoming the first of the fifth generation of the Evans family to get behind the wheel in this way. Alex follows his father, Alistair, his grandfather… Read more »
Round to square and back again!
Most of our time at the sawmill is spent turning round logs into square bits of useful timber. However, sometimes we need to make the square bits round again! This video shows you how we do it….
TWELVE STEPS TO SUSTAINABILITY #12
In our business we’re used to taking the long view. A commercial forest like this one can take over 50 years to come to maturity from time of first planting – and it’s entirely dependent on nature delivering the goods. We take the same long-term view when it comes to growing our business: constantly investing… Read more »
A walk in the woods
A couple of weeks ago we reflected on the sheer versatility of wood as a building and landscape material. Here’s another example: woodchips spread on a muddy track through the woods to keep the going less muddy. It’s the most natural solution in the world. Of course, there’s nothing better after a country walk on… Read more »
How we make the most of every log we process
It’s always good to see old timers
Anyone who knows Ransfords knows that many of the folk who work here are passionate about the restoration, preservation and showing of vintage vehicles of any kind. So, it was a real treat to welcome this old timer to our yard for a brief stay between shows. It’s a steam powered Sentinel made in Shrewsbury at… Read more »
A woven fence to confuse the bats at Mellington Hall
At Mellington Hall, the hotel and caravan park owned by the family that own Ransfords, there is a sizeable and very healthy population of bats. It’s not surprising: Mellington Hall stands in over 200 acres of park and farmland a mile from the nearest road so is a perfect environment for insect seeking bats. In… Read more »
It’s been a season to remember for Ludlow Cricket Club
Ransfords sponsor a number of local sporting and voluntary organisations among them (through our sister company Woodlink Forest Products) Ludlow Cricket Club whose First Team became Shropshire County Cricket League Premier League Champions for only the second time in the club’s history, exactly 25 years after their previous triumph in 1997. Following a hugely competitive… Read more »
TWELVE STEPS TO SUSTAINABILITY #11
Some of the logs coming into our yard that can’t be milled into useful timber products can be used for firewood and this equipment automates the process. The dried logs will either be delivered to homes in our part of Shropshire and mid-Wales or picked up from the weighbridge in the mill yard. Seasoned and… Read more »
During half term it’s all hands to the pump…
…or perhaps we should say all hands to the log grab. Just visible in the cab is our Operations Director Alistair who, thanks to the half term holiday, was the only qualified one around to unload a trailer full of logs when they arrived at the mill. The irregular shape and size of the logs… Read more »
Kallfass get straight to the point
The makers of our new automatic post pointing line have written an extensive study of the project on their website here. The new Kallfass line is now fully operational and has made a huge difference both in terms of the speed and accuracy of the process itself and in virtually eliminating manual handling of these very… Read more »
Lights, camera, action!
The video of our operation here at Ransfords which appears elsewhere on this website is now a few years old and so doesn’t give an accurate picture of recent investments. To put that right we’re in the throes of making a new video to chart the journey of the log from forest to finished product…. Read more »
Lights, camera, action!
The video of our operation here at Ransfords which appears elsewhere on this website is now a few years old and so doesn’t give an accurate picture of recent investments. To put that right we’re in the throes of making a new video to chart the journey of the log from forest to finished product…. Read more »
TWELVE STEPS TO SUSTAINABILITY #10
Dust extracted, bark-free British wood fibre is another of our co-products. The surface knits together to absorb shock and build stamina. It’s an ideal material for top trainers looking to dress gallop, canter, trotting, arena and turnout areas.
Grab a look at this
Keeping a sawmill like ours running at its peak involves a series of very big investments (see earlier posts about the Solar Panels, the Timber Treatment Centre, The Feather Edge line, the engineering workshop, the new post pointing and incising line etc etc) and even more investments which are rather more modest. This new grab… Read more »
Without sharp saws we couldn’t cut timber.
We’ve just installed these two computer-controlled saw sharpening machines in our new engineering centre. Without machines like these it would simply not be possible to turn huge round logs into useful and mostly rectangular pieces of timber. In fact, each of the blades used in the mill will work only one shift before being removed… Read more »
Without sharp saws we couldn’t cut timber.
We’ve just installed these two computer-controlled saw sharpening machines in our new engineering centre. Without machines like these it would simply not be possible to turn huge round logs into useful and mostly rectangular pieces of timber. In fact, each of the blades used in the mill will work only one shift before being removed… Read more »
TWELVE STEPS TO SUSTAINABILITY #9
Every part of the log is used. These massive piles are of woodchip, bark nuggets, and bark fines which arise from the sawmilling process. They will go on to be used in a wide variety of horticultural products and bring landscapes to life all over the …
Just great to see our investment working
These pictures show the new incising and post pointing line in full swing. In the one above, the posts have been through the inciser and are on their way to being precision pointed. The picture below gives an idea of the consistency with which the new line works: a pack of perfectly pointed posts uniformly… Read more »