Christmas came early this year for some of the woodworking groups on the Peninsula.

The tree part, at least.

On Dec. 10, members from the Splinter Group and Jefferson Land Trust arrived at Valley View Forest in Chimacum to take part in the felling of two trees. An alder and a western maple were cut down, with bunches of timber stockpiled and shared among participating woodworking groups.

The fresh, local wood will be used to craft exquisite pieces in the Splinter Group’s upcoming 2022 Woodworking Show, and will also be used by multiple groups and others for individual projects.

The timber was divided between woodworking organizations around the area including: the Splinter Group, Seattle Spoon Carvers Club, Strait Turners, and other local wood artisans.

The tree felling “was pretty spectacular,” said Tim Lawson of the Splinter Group. “We had things pretty under control.”

Although December might seem like an odd time to fell two massive trees, there’s a specific reason why the groups decided on the date.

“The major reasons for doing it at this time of year is, one, when we dropped the trees [there was] no foliage and no extra weight as the trees came down,” Lawson said. “Also doing it at this time the sap is going down and things like bark are much better.”

Additionally, the wood isn’t as wet or heavy as it would be during other times of the year.

The feller, Pavel Mcglave, scaled the massive trees and cut each branch and section until both trees were taken out.

After inspecting the alder and western maple, the group discovered two different results between the trees. Lawson gushed over the quality of timber from the alder tree.

“The alder was one of the biggest I’ve ever seen and … probably the best I’ve ever seen,” Lawson said. “It ticked the boxes on all the scores.”

Sadly, it was not the same for the western maple.

“The western maple, unfortunately, there was a crack running down about the lower 40 to 45 feet of the tree right through the logs,” he said. “One of the things that happens with the tree is, you never know whats going to be inside it.”

Regardless of the mixed result, both timber products will be used for numerous projects among the woodworking groups. Before that, the wood must be kilned or air-dried.

The kilned wood, under the supervision of miller Cody Wayland, will take around six months until it’s ready to be used. Air-dried wood will take a year or two before it can be used.

“Cody Wayland really knows what he’s doing,” Lawson said. “The material that Cody kilns will be ready in mid-April, which gives us about five months to get that material into the hands of woodworkers so they can make things for the [Woodworkers] Show next year.”

Many of the woodworkers involved are already pondering ideas of what to do with the superb timber.

Steve Habersetzer of the Splinter Group is already planning a design with the alder in mind.

“He makes a Western-style Windsor chair and he thinks the alder would make the perfect stock,” said Lawson, sitting on his own Windsor chair during the interview.

Many other woodworkers and groups are eyeing up the quality lumber, and considering ideas of what kind of creations they could display in the 2022 Woodworkers Show.

“The Seattle Spoon Club is excited by the generosity of the Splinter Group in the sharing of the Valley View Forest maple and alder they recently felled. We are distributing the wood to our members — many have expressed interest in creating spoons, bowls, brushes, and other treen,” Elizabeth Weber said. “The timing of this was perfect. Our hope is to collect enough wooden ware from our members so that we can come together as a group at the Port Townsend Woodworkers Show in 2022.”

Beyond the show, some of the groups will use some of the lower quality wood for training and practice purposes.

“The turners in our group love working with locally sourced woods. Particularly when the wood has a cultural tie-in to the area,” said Valerie Henschel of the Strait Turners. “Some of the smaller diameter branches will be used for practice wood/training for beginner turners. We have several mentors who work with beginners, helping them gain both skill and confidence. They use up quite a bit of wood that would otherwise be tossed onto a fire. And the lathe shavings go for garden mulch and animal bedding.”

Although the 2022 Woodworkers Show is far away, the groups involved are excited to utilize the quality local wood to showcase the amazing woodworkers and artisans on the Peninsula.