Hi Brock,
I was once told by old man Venables (suppliers of oak timber to York Minster) that "the only thing free on a tree is the rustle of the leaves".
What he meant by this was that everyhting has its use. In their case the logs were debarked prior to conversion and this was then sold as a soft kiddies playground cover and also used as a compost to produce brambling worms that are so eagerly sought by fishermen. The slabwood was then used to generate steam in a boiler which drove a steam engine that generated the power needed to run the saw.
Sadly this company is no more with their sawmill having been dismantled and shipped to Lithuania.
Regards
Ken Hume
