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.

6 Tim Kennedy, conversation, February 2017

Drying and Milling

We recommend milling at the North Melbourne site using a transportable Woodmizer mill. This will eliminate transportation costs and keep the project close to the University, and identified production partners, the Victorian Woodworkers Association and WMU.

Trees that are assessed as suitable for milling can be assessed and ‘matched’ to art projects and / or building projects.

Wood volumes assessed as appropriate for art projects and / or building projects will require a specific cost analysis for milling, drying & storing timber.

The end use and timeframe will drive decisions around kiln dried or air dried, thickness, type of cut, profile, etc.

In case our preferred option of milling on site is not possible, we have spoken to local mills, arborists and the woodworking community and advise that there are enough suitable businesses locally to gather competitive quotes for milling and storing.

Building material

We anticipate some timber assessed as suitable for milling will be appropriate for desired art projects and for building projects and will have to be prioritised between the two.

Paper making and chipping

We identified paper (created from the trees removed from the site), as a potentially significant material for the production and delivery of art projects.

We initially researched the suitability of trees removed being incorporated into main stream paper production, as we were keen to explore ideas around book publishing, commissioning texts, students drawing pads, commissioning graphics for poster campaigns, University certificates… and the like.

The only commercial paper mill in Victoria is Australian Paper, based in Gippsland. Their requirements for the presentation of timber were too narrow and specialised to be able to accommodate this scale of project.

We turned our attention to bespoke paper makers and found local expertise producing rudimentary artisan papers using basic technologies.

We met with Louise Seymour, Director, Paperlab, who has a background in biomedicine. Through consultation with us she has recommended a methodology for the production of an innovative, rudimentary paper, using the wood and foliage of the trees, that enables large sheets of paper ready for printing and drawing on. This method will see paper being created from sawdust, leaves, chipped wood and paper sourced from the University’s recycle system. This blend of the old and new, wood and paper, leaves and texts, will result in a body of paper that is completely unique and bespoke.

This paper, would become the raw material and context for the works proposed in the project Time. Time would commission a series of works by some of Australia’s most respected visual artists, who will be asked to consider visions of the future in conversation with a number of the University’s most senior and respected academics.

Pulp for small scale paper making is typically created from : 50% sawdust, (created from milling) , 30% recycled paper and 20% wood chip. The trees assessed not suitable for milling, but suitable for chipping can be utilised in the process of bespoke paper making. The heartwood and sapwood are used to make the pulp for paper production as the bark contains less useful fibre.

The sawdust from milling and the chipping will be the key to the paper making and can be simply bagged on the milling / chipping site.

In summary the expertise and the materials are available locally to produce small runs of paper that would suit ideas identified for art projects, particularly the posters commissioned from artists for the Time project.