PRODUCTION METHODOLOGIES Assessment of useable timber A preliminary assessment, Timber Volume Calculations, undertaken by Arbor Safe, 22.12. 2016 indicates potentially 88 cubic metres of useable timber. The Preliminary Fauna and Timber Re-use Survey 24.01.2016 undertaken by Melbourne Tree Care, assessed the trees in the ground for useable timber, broadly in three categories, un-useable, suitable for chipping and suitable for milling. The survey lists 35 trees as owned by University of Melbourne and 12 English Elms listed as owned by City of Melbourne. We established that the trees would have to be assessed ‘in the round’ after their removal from site to collect a true picture of useable volumes. The site nominated for the removed trees is Laurens St / Barwise St, North Melbourne, south of Arden St (VicTrack Land). We recommend a speedy assessment, after the trees have been cut down and delivered to site, to clearly understand the quality and quantity of usable timber. Tim Kennedy’s background as an arborist, mill owner, artist and woodworker gave us an appreciation of how the trees might be best assessed and an understanding that the stories recorded in the timber might be important to an artist. “Environmental stresses, wounding, fire scars and insect infestations tell the story of a tree’s life. Looked at in this way, a tree is like a book; it’s history can inform the design process and determine a particular way to cut the timber to open its pages.”6 This approach resonated with us and we recommend engaging Tim Kennedy’s particularly appropriate knowledge set, for assessment of useable timbers. We see this as a solid base for assessing possible outcomes for art projects and building materials.
Delivery to site and storage It’s important for future costs and identification that the logs are delivered to the site neatly in lengths, and where possible located in types. The time taken to reconfigure logs dumped in piles might preclude them being financially viable to mill. The space allocated for the delivery of the logs should be open enough to allow for the milling to be undertaken on site, ie the logs should not be in a corner or inaccessible.
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Tim Kennedy, conversation, February 2017
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