Sawdust and shavings

Saw dust and shavings are a useful by-product of saw milling and machining timber. The material has plenty of diverse applications such as animal bedding, mulch, weed suppressant and soil conditioner, bio-fuel, bio-char, spillage soak-up, compost component, footpath and play area surfacing and art media.

Sawdust is generated from our sawmill. It tends to be quite coarse, sometimes with stringy kerf and chip, almost like chainsaw kerf. Because we generally mill green* saw logs the sawdust itself is slightly damp but with capacity to soak up plenty more moisture. It may be a mixture of hardwood and softwood depending upon what we might have been milling at the time.

Shavings come from the operations of our mobile log moulder and workshop planer and thicknesser. The former generates a flake-like shaving which is from green* timber whilst the latter is a drier and smaller kind of shaving.

Dumpy Bags full of Sawdust
Dumpy Bags full of Douglas Fir Sawdust from Saw Milling

We collect up our sawdust and shavings in standard sized dumpy bags (approx. 0.614 cubin metre) and can supply up to 8 of these (nearly 5 cubic metres) using our trailer and pick-up to deliver and set down as necessary.

The flake, or flake and sawdust, material is ideal for providing animal bedding, both for equestrian purposes and smaller, domestic pet requirements.

*N.B. Use of the word ‘Green’ in this context does not strictly relate to colour in the log but moisture content. Whilst nearly all of our felling work is carried out in the winter when the sap content in trees is as low as it can get (unless it is a standing, dead tree) there is still moisture inherently and naturally bound up in the material.

Other products…

  • Air-dried timber
    All wood naturally shrinks as it dries. To avoid cracking and warping it needs time, and careful storage, to dry out slowly in a controlled manner.
  • Garden fixtures & furniture
    Timber makes an ideal material for garden structures and furniture. As an organic material, no two pieces are the same, there is variation and beauty which complements any style of…
  • Graded construction timber
    All our structural timber is visually stress graded according to British Standards BS 5756 (hardwoods) and BS 4978 (softwoods) and EU regulations earning it the CE and BM TRADA Q…
  • Green Timber
    All wood naturally shrinks as it dries, however not all uses of timber require it to be dried first. This magnificent timber frame was built from green oak milled from…
  • Hardwoods
    We offer a diverse range of hard woods for both exterior and interior use, roundwood or milled, structural and character, kilned and air dried, machined to order for beams, lintels,…
  • Interior timber
    A huge range of UK grown wood species is suitable for indoor use. Not constrained by the need for durability against the elements the full natural beauty and diversity of…
  • Kiln dried timber
    Kiln-dried timber does not shrink (or 'move') because it has had most of its imbued water removed from it. The photo below shows timber is stacked and ready to be…
  • Softwoods
    We offer a diverse range of soft woods for both exterior and interior use, roundwood or milled, structural and character, kilned and air dried, machined to order for beams, lintels,…
  • Timber beams
    We are proud to offer a wide range of high quality bespoke timber beams to help you complete that construction, landscaping and home improvement project with success.
  • Local sustainable timber
    All the timber we supply has been sustainably grown, harvested and procured from within Devon or neighbouring counties—nothing is imported.
  • Bird box in Spruce Plantation Ride Wildlife boxes
    These are a speciality for us. We have supplied the Woodland Trust, National Trust, Natural England, Parish Councils and private woodland owners with numerous kits and assembled boxes for wildlife…
  • Wood fuel
    We sell firewood* as a co-product from our sawmilling and timber machining operations.