Bog oak is exactly what it says, oak that has come from a bog, in this case the Fens in East Anglia. What so amazing is that it's been preserved and the trees last grew 5 - 6,000 years ago!
The timber is coloured from dark brown to black and is very dense.
It polishes up beautifully.
Here is a single plank 13 metres (43') long.
And here are the planks loaded into the longest kiln I've ever seen. The planks give off an enormous amount of water during the drying process and the cells in the wood collapse which is why the wood ends up so dense when dry.
Some of these planks are destined for an incredible project shown in the pictures above and in the maquette below. It's being held by Hamish Low, co owner of Adamson and Low, who make fantastic furniture mainly from the bog oak they recover. See website
http://www.adamsonandlow.com/
There is an enormous amount of wastage with bog oak and the best chance of yielding reasonable boards is to cut the logs on the quarter. Shown below is an example of the cutting process which requires the log to be turned many times.
This is why quarter sawn timber of all species is rarely stocked by timber merchants due to the increased conversion cost and wastage. However approximately 20% of wood cut through and through ends up being quarter sawn (the middle boards), so if you can find a self selection timber yard you can always find some.
