Laburnum Tea Lights

Had a lovely morning in the workshop turning a couple of branches of Laburnum into Tea lights. Christmas is coming. I know, autumn is only just here but in business one needs to think ahead!

This Laburnum came from trimming around the electricity wires.  Keeping them clear is essential work.  They are only branches so the trees will still be growing.

I’ve had them for years so they are very dry which is important for the tea-lights because a large bulk of wood is still left. If it was turned green/fresh it could crack or shrink badly.

The sapwood has a little spalting in it. Spalting is where fungus has got into the wood when it was wet. It creates interesting lines and patterns as you can see, especially the front one on the left.

I grouped these Laburnum Tea lights slightly apart in this photo as the two groups are from different branches. Note how much darker the heartwood is in the branch on the left. It is one of the wonderful things about working with wood. Every piece really is different. Grown in the same place, been growing a similar amount of time, sawn down the same time and yet they are different.