
On the 15th June, 2007, I was able to see the beams being cut to their correct curvature at the Somerscales sawmill near Grimsby, Lincolnshire. The logs had previously been through the large mill where one tree was found to have pipe rot and had to be rejected for the job. Three trees were milled and the boards were taken into the workshop where Melvin & David marked and cut out the required profile, provided by Price & Myers. The boards were marked and cut to in the first pass in order to release the tension in the wood. The final scribing represented the requirements of the drawing and again the large circular saw did its deed. Thereafter the beams were planed with an electric hand-planer with an 18 inch cut. Melvin and David were masterly under the watchful eye of Andrew Somerscales and his father, Stuart. The time spent watching these characters at work was most rewarding.





Stuart Somerscales
