DEMOLITION TO TABLE
1. The Demolition Site
The demolition site is an exciting place, sometimes too exciting.
One time we were buying timber from the strip out of the old Powerhouse building in Kingston and ended up also buying a 40 year old relic of an industrial air compressor. It is still sitting unused in the back of the shed. It was a case of demolition fever.
Timbers need to be assessed carefully, without demolition fever. For example:
Moisture under the building can cause nails to rust making them impossible to get out.
Larger sections can split internally as they season.
Floor boards can be ruined by polyurethane finishes or by being glued down.
Thor’s Hammer has good ongoing relationships with the better demolition companies who sort materials and reduce waste. Together we make sure as much timber as possible is recycled from every site.
If all goes well timber is packed and loaded onto the semi trailer and 24 tons of good hardwood arrives at The Hammer.
2. De-Nailing, Metal Detecting & Grading
The timbers come back to our yard at Mildura Street in Canberra. We have built a de-nailing line for processing the timbers. Conveyors and rollers are used to minimise manual handling and sort waste. It’s a bit of a crazy contraption. You know that game mousetrap?
The timber is metal detected twice before it is passed as clean. If we miss a nail a saw or planer blade can be ruined.
3. Dressing
Recycled Australian hardwoods are dense, dry and hard. There is usually significant amounts of dirt in the outside grain. Heavy duty machinery is needed to plane the old timbers.
We have heavy duty machinery.
4. Filling
Old timbers have surface checking, old nail holes and cracks which need to be filled to make the timber durable and easy to clean when made into furniture.
We use a clear, long lasting epoxy resin glue for our filling. It takes on the colour of the timber which surrounds it, and holds very strongly to the timber.
The epoxy resin we use is produced using 29% bio-carbon from the waste stream of other industrial processes.
5. Making - Joinery
We believe in building to last so we always use mechanical joining techniques. We do not just rely on glues.
Timbers to be laminated into table tops are edge profiled to fit together. Table legs and rails are mortise and tenoned.
Our joiners and cabinetmakers have skills which are becoming rare in these days of MDF and plastic laminates.
6. Finishing with Natural Oils
Thor’s Hammer uses the Osmo finishes from Germany for all our furniture. These are high quality finishes made from natural oils and waxes. The Osmo finishes are flexible and adjust to the natural movement of the timber.
The surface can easily be maintained with a simple wax spray, and if necessary re-coated in the home without needing to sand back to bare timber. Osmo applies best with a roller. No spraying, no pollution in the air, no spray booth required.
And for us the best thing is these finishes are non toxic, approved food safe and safe for children’s toys.
7. Table… Or
This was one journey a piece of demolition timber can go on when it comes into our yard. There are lots of others:
Old posts are wire brushed to clean off the dirt but leave the character and patina.
Wharf piers and telegraph poles are sawn into big square posts.
The dirt is cleaned out of the tongue and groove of old floorboards, and they are tallied and packed ready to be laid in a new home.
Roof timbers are selected for density and durability, and the timber is made into decking and cladding.