Unique solid wood furniture

HOW OUR TIMBER IS RECOVERED AND PROCESSED

This huge 800-year-old Rimu log had been lying on the ground in the forest for 32 years since the old millers cleared the bush.

The logs are cut in our West Coast yard.

This is solid Rimu, 1.1-metre wide, being cut using a portable chainsaw mill.

These salvage Totara logs have been cut ready for drying.

Stock must be stored properly with good ventillation.

A shed full of stock (one of several).

The Naturally Native Furniture Co is based in New Zealand's West Coast area, and has a strong ethic and interest in environmental protection and respect. The business was started in 1994 and has remained small and sustainable.

We recover logs that have fallen to mother nature, whether it be on a river bed where a tree has been washed down, or lying on the forest floor having succumbed to a recent storm or the elements of nature.

For example, the old Rimu log in the photo at the top right of this page is about 800 years old and had been lying on the ground in the forest for 32 years since the old millers cleared the bush. Others like it are in big gullies where pine forests now grow. They were considered too big and ugly back then. This log was one of 5 from the same tree, totalling 14.8 metres and 16 tonne.

Logs are recovered by various means. Some can be recovered by tractor, digger or helicopter. In other cases the mill can be taken to the log and the timber sliced on site to minimise the impact to surrounding areas.

Once the wood flitches and slabs have been skillfully milled, it is then stored and stacked with good air ventilation. Because the wood is very dense and old, it takes several years to complete the drying process - 25mm (1 inch) per year on average. It cannot be fast-dried. Storage areas are leased to complete the process.

These trees range in age from 80 years to 800 years and are located throughout the entire West Coast region. With the exception of Macrocarpa (a North American native), they are all native to New Zealand.

The timber

Rimu
A forest canopy tree usually 20 - 35 metres high but sometimes reaching 60m. THe tallest specimens are found in the central North Island and in south Westland. The trunk is generally straight and up to 1.5m in diameter. The bark is distinctive, darkish grey in colour, and peels off in long thick flakes. The tree, called red pine in parts of the South Island, occurs from sea level to 600m, and is probably New Zealand's best known native species.

A flitch of richly coloured Rimu.

Totara
A tall, often massive tree with thick fibrous bark, it grows normally to around 30m and with a trunk up to 2.5m in diameter. The heartwood is an even reddish brown. It has a straight grain so that it splits easily, and a fine, even texture which cuts smoothly across the grain. The heartwood is dimensionally very stable once dry.

Macrocarpa
A native of the US and of the cypress family, introduced to New Zealand in the 1860s, it grows in the toughest environments and therefore can look rather scruffy. It produces a low- to medium-density softwood which looks and works like kauri. The heartwood is golden brown and has a speckled appearance which is rare in timber. Because of its fine, even texture, it turns and machines well.

Matai
A robust tree up to 25m in height and 1.3m in diameter, the largest specimens are found in the central North Island. The dry heartwood is straw yellow to chestnut yellow, with an occasional reddish tinge; the sapwood is white. It is a straight-grained timber with a fine, even texture, and is similar to Rimu at first glance.
 
 
 

How our products are made

Each component is rebated into the other to a depth of between 12 to 15 millimetres in both vertical and horizontal directions, as the diagram shows. The rebates are glued with epoxy marine glue and clamped in position untilt he glue is cured (about 12 to 18 hours).

This method of construction removes the need for fastenings, by locking the timber in both directions. Note that on some of the larger items, fastenings are also used as an extra measure.