Damn - just when you think everything is working out :(

The Old Hyde said:
That certainly is a huge setback.
Click to expand...
Yes, massive :( Dean's driving the van to our supplier right now. It's about 1 hours drive away, so I hope he gets there in time. He's armed with a few thousand $, & he's going to try to fill the van with the very best boards. By this time tomorrow, the price will have quadrupled, & nobody will have stocks. English ash will have gone from a fairly economical domestic species to a freakin' rare "exotic" in 48 hours - triple bugger!!!!!

National emergency declared as disease which killed 90% of Danish ash trees is found to have spread to British countryside
Ash dieback has been discovered at countryside sites in East Anglia
Ash trees make up 30 per cent of the UK's wooded landscape
Forestry Commission declares national emergency quarantine
Government will ban ash imports on Monday and introduce tight restrictions on movements of the tree around the country
By DAMIEN GAYLE

PUBLISHED: 09:33, 25 October 2012 | UPDATED: 13:42, 25 October 2012
 
Have you got a big stockpile of this wood already?

Edit: you beat me to it.

Get away with what you can.. And choose another wood and stand by it as a first choice, perhaps don't advertise this misfortune too much.
 
Andy, best of luck!
Using domestic wood enhances the British handmade appeal of Guru and I really hope this will not set you guys back. Being a Dane I apologize if the disease came from Denmark -(

thx

jorn
 
Dre25 said:
Have you got a big stockpile of this wood already?

Edit: you beat me to it.

Get away with what you can.. And choose another wood and stand by it as a first choice, perhaps don't advertise this misfortune too much.
Click to expand...
We're on it right now - update later. If we can get a van full, a non serial numbered english ash Guru kit could become a very rare instrument. Let's hope that's not the case, as the implication for our countryside is terrible.

There are other woods we can use, and some have almost identical sonic properties as english ash, but non have the full range of properties, especially suitability for steam bending. Whatever way we cut this, it'll mean increased costs.

jornthedrummer said:
Andy, best of luck!
Using domestic wood enhances the British handmade appeal of Guru and I really hope this will not set you guys back. Being a Dane I apologize if the disease came from Denmark -(

thx

jorn
Click to expand...
Thanks for your kind thoughts Jorn, & yes, we are quite patriotic about using a domestic species that's largely overlooked by the drum companies. I'm sorry to confirm, yes, the fungus did come from Denmark :(
 
I'm a tree hugger so a loss anywhere in the world concerns me.

Here in the U.S. we had 3 presidential debates and 1 vice presidential debate and not a word was uttered regarding the environment. Not even the disastrous month-long BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that will have decimated sea life for about 100+ years. (Oh yeah right, the prez said everything 'ok' and to begin eating seafood from the Gulf again... um, no thanks..)
 
Ugh, feel bad for you, sorry to hear.

Typical Daily Mail, crisis, crisis, emergency will robinson.......
 
BacteriumFendYoke said:
Time to switch to sycamore?
Click to expand...
Maybe Duncan, I quite like sycamore. Certainly a candidate. Dean is filling his van to the roof as we speak. It seems that the wood supplier hasn't been listening to today's news. I'm hoping we can keep it under the radar until we have to pay for it in around 1 hour from now. of course, I could be panicking over nothing, but that's not how I'm reading the news items. Import ban doesn't affect supply of English ash of course, but it sure as hell drives the price right up. However, a movement ban (albeit, probably only in log form) will mean that nothing's coming out of the forests, so stocks will dry up in short order.

I'm crossing my fingers that Dean makes it out of the timber yard with his haul of bootie :) We sure had to raid the piggy bank at short notice :(

HMNY said:
Ugh, feel bad for you, sorry to hear.

Typical Daily Mail, crisis, crisis, emergency will robinson.......
Click to expand...
Yes, the sensationalism doesn't help, but the same vibe was repeated on the BBC news at lunchtime today. This country's forests were decimated in the 70's by Dutch elm disease, & there's a real sense of deja vu about this latest disease.
 
Unless I'm mistaken, the import ban is on saplings, not boards? I don't know that processed lumber carries the disease. Of course, if the domestic trees start dieing off, that won't be particularly good for pricing and availability no matter what.
 
Soupy said:
Unless I'm mistaken, the import ban is on saplings, not boards? I don't know that processed lumber carries the disease. Of course, if the domestic trees start dieing off, that won't be particularly good for pricing and availability no matter what.
Click to expand...
You might be right, but I'm pretty sure it will extend to lumber in log form (as the fungus inhabits the bark), & we already know the internal movement ban will include ash in logged form. That essentially means the sources dry up to the saw mills. Importing in boards is so much more expensive than domestic production, so the price will rise anyhow, & of course, it's not English ash.
 
keep it simple said:
Maybe Duncan, I quite like sycamore. Certainly a candidate. Dean is filling his van to the roof as we speak. It seems that the wood supplier hasn't been listening to today's news. I'm hoping we can keep it under the radar until we have to pay for it in around 1 hour from now. of course, I could be panicking over nothing, but that's not how I'm reading the news items. Import ban doesn't affect supply of English ash of course, but it sure as hell drives the price right up. However, a movement ban (albeit, probably only in log form) will mean that nothing's coming out of the forests, so stocks will dry up in short order.

I'm crossing my fingers that Dean makes it out of the timber yard with his haul of bootie :) We sure had to raid the piggy bank at short notice :(

Yes, the sensationalism doesn't help, but the same vibe was repeated on the BBC news at lunchtime today. This country's forests were decimated in the 70's by Dutch elm disease, & there's a real sense of deja vu about this latest disease.
Click to expand...

If this is even on a third of the scale of Dutch Elm Disease then there is reason to worry. I'm twenty-four and have spent a lot of my life in the countryside yet I'm not even sure I've ever seen a single natural Elm tree. Maybe once but I certainly can't be sure. Ash trees are a huge part of the scope of the UK's forests and decimation could seriously effect the appearance of our countryside, just as Dutch Elm Disease did many years ago.

I think looking at Sycamore could be a very serious option. I said it jovially but you know how serious I am. I've seen it used in high-end English guitars (Patrick Eggle) and know it has some sonic properties similar to Ash so it could be a viable alternative.

Also Andy, I'm quite happy to go and get some stock for you down this end if there are any wood yards you know. Provided I can get things into my car and you can transfer me any money it would need in advance, I'm quite happy to make a day of it tomorrow if necessary. Absolutely serious.
 
BacteriumFendYoke said:
If this is even on a third of the scale of Dutch Elm Disease then there is reason to worry. I'm twenty-four and have spent a lot of my life in the countryside yet I'm not even sure I've ever seen a single natural Elm tree. Maybe once but I certainly can't be sure. Ash trees are a huge part of the scope of the UK's forests and decimation could seriously effect the appearance of our countryside, just as Dutch Elm Disease did many years ago.

I think looking at Sycamore could be a very serious option. I said it jovially but you know how serious I am. I've seen it used in high-end English guitars (Patrick Eggle) and know it has some sonic properties similar to Ash so it could be a viable alternative.

Also Andy, I'm quite happy to go and get some stock for you down this end if there are any wood yards you know. Provided I can get things into my car and you can transfer me any money it would need in advance, I'm quite happy to make a day of it tomorrow if necessary. Absolutely serious.
Click to expand...
Thanks Duncan, I really appreciate your kind offer of help, but selecting the right boards is something best left to Dean. He's looking for certain characteristics that make a board suitable for steam bending, as well as a combination of good appearance & tone testing. He's just sorted through & tested about 400 x 4Metre boards to get 16 good ones!

Situation temporarily alleviated. Dean's secured enough ash to build about 10 kits. What will happen going forward though, is anyone's guess.

I remember the demise of English elm. Terrible, an absolute ravaging of our landscape. A big hit on ash would drastically alter the area I live in, although the greater percentage of older trees here are oak.
 
keep it simple said:
...Dean is filling his van to the roof as we speak. It seems that the wood supplier hasn't been listening to today's news. I'm hoping we can keep it under the radar until we have to pay for it in around 1 hour from now...
Click to expand...

Best of luck to you! That's a great move.
 
keep it simple said:
Thanks Duncan, I really appreciate your kind offer of help, but selecting the right boards is something best left to Dean. He's looking for certain characteristics that make a board suitable for steam bending, as well as a combination of good appearance & tone testing. He's just sorted through & tested about 400 x 4Metre boards to get 16 good ones!

Situation temporarily alleviated. Dean's secured enough ash to build about 10 kits. What will happen going forward though, is anyone's guess.

I remember the demise of English elm. Terrible, an absolute ravaging of our landscape. A big hit on ash would drastically alter the area I live in, although the greater percentage of older trees here are oak.
Click to expand...

That's absolutely fair enough! I didn't realise just how selective Dean would be and then I thought about it for a moment and realised how stupid I was! D'oh!

Hopefully you'll have found enough to get going. In the meantime it's going to be a struggle but I know how worthwhile an enterprise it is.
 
Uggg... Industrial strength uggggg....

I speak on behalf of all of us at DW - you have our unwavering moral support. Wish there was more we could do to help.

It doesn't help much with the situation at hand, but we are indeed all rooting for you!
 
dmacc said:
Uggg... Industrial strength uggggg....

I speak on behalf of all of us at DW - you have our unwavering moral support. Wish there was more we could do to help.

It doesn't help much with the situation at hand, but we are indeed all rooting for you!
Click to expand...
Thank you. That means a lot :) Rooting - was that deliberate :)

DrumEatDrum said:
Terrible news Andy. :-(
Click to expand...
Certainly not good, especially for our lovely ash trees :(

Anon La Ply said:
Frustrating that you can't get hold of the wood from dead trees ... fingers crossed that things can work out okay in some way!
Click to expand...
Can still get hold of it Grea, but for how long? At this stage, I have no idea. But worry knot, after our "drop everything & drive" dash today, we've got enough for a short while ;) ;) ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top