English Oak Boards

English oak: sawn timber for joinery and furniture

REQUEST A QUOTE

Buying English Oak boards

If you’re a furniture maker or joiner looking for locally-grown oak boards, you’re in the right place. As we run our own sawmills, we have a full overview of the entire process, from buying the logs through to kiln drying and grading the planks. This means you can be sure of the highest standards at every step.

Want to choose your own sawn timber oak boards? Great. Come along to our yard. No online purchasing forms. No hassle. Just friendly people and big stocks of oak boards for you to view. All we ask is that you make an appointment first, so we can prepare your wood and organise a team for you. Whether you’re a professional or DIY, we’ll help you find the right timber for your project.

Google Reviews

Jonathan A.

I've purchased various products from Vastern including cladding, character boards, planned timber and huge oak slabs. Everyone is extremely helpful and professional, especially Wolf who's helped me out many times to find exactly the timber I needed. They always have a large range of character boards in stock and the quality of timber is always exceptional.

Chris S.

I went to Vastern to get a burr oak waney edge board. Their customer service was excellent, I was given a lot of help and advice to pick out the very board that met my needs to make my river table. I went back to get some planed oak for the legs/base. Thoroughly recommended!
Edit Oct 2024: Visited again to get some planed oak boards for a custom lounge light. Customer service and the personal touch was still top notch!

J A.

Was really impressed with the service at vasterns, knowledgeable, patient and thorough, my client bought three, 1st grade oak waney edge boards and Wolf was on hand to help guide us to the right choice. Top guy, top gear. Was patient and aloud us time to make decisions and think about our options.

No pressure, no rush. Recommended.

Look forward to getting stuck in to them.
Thanks

David G.

Since opening our workshop Murray & Gould Ltd in 2022, Vasterns Timber has become our first choice timber merchant. It certainly helps being local, which got us through the door the first time around, but it’s the service and quality of products that keeps us going back.
It’s so easy to make an appointment giving details of what timber and dimensions you wish to select.
The timber is made accessible and ready by the time of the appointment which saves so much time. You are taken through the process by ‘Wolf’, who is happy to help however he can to find the timber boards that you require. He’s incredibly patient and helpful so you don’t feel at all rushed or pressured to select unsatisfactory boards, as is often the case elsewhere.
The prices have been good every time we’ve been and very fair on any ‘character’ in the boards.
If they have, or can source, the species we need, then they are our first port of call. Having been shown round the whole site by Wolf, we have a great picture of the huge stock that is available and the variations within them.
David Gould
Murray & Gould Ltd

Cyrus

My first time at Vastern's following a recomendation and my word what an epic and positive experience. Totally customer focused. I had a small (under £220) need for a window seat and they could not have been more helpful. I am difficult to please and this place exceeded my expectations. Thought they would be too big an operation for my little DIY project but not at all. "Wolf" (not kidding) moved 3 towers of sawn wood just for me to get to the right bit, and that was after changing my mind from oak, to ash to oak and back to ash again. Patient and helpful and the price was reasonable too. A perfect experience.

Jamie F.

Great selection and service as always. I can always count on Wolf to help me find the perfect boards for my furniture pieces.

Robert F.

As an amateur furniture maker I have been buying small or very small volumes of sawn boards from Vasterns for nearly 20 years. Mainly oak or sweet chestnut - I still have a little bit of cherry left from a purchase over 10 years ago. I have been delighted with the service over the years, their willingness to disturb their routine to dig out a couple of 2" boards of prime Oak ( today's request) and to turn over boards to find the right one. A first rate service and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Here is my recently finished sideboard in sweet chestnut.

Thanks Wolf!

Stephen P.

I'm an amateur and wanted to clad my daughter's ugly extension. Vastern's prices were excellent but it was their service that was outstanding. They spent time helping us choose what we wanted. When we scrimped too hard and ordered short, they were quick to help us out. And a final request for two soffit boards was met with equal kindness. These people are terrific, I recommend them.

Ioan F.

I recently had an excellent experience with Vastern Timber for purchasing some amazing ash boards !

The range of wood options is impressive, and the quality is unmatched.
A special shoutout to Wolf for his exceptional assistance—he was not only helpful and knowledgeable but also incredibly polite and professional. He made the whole process a breeze.

I highly recommend Vastern Timber for top-notch products and outstanding service. Thanks again, Wolf!

Sam W.

Always a great experience at Vastern. Prices are reasonable considering the quality is so good, and the staff are all very helpful & knowledgeable, even dealing with small quantity orders. Special shout out to Wolf, he's bloody brilliant. Always happy to help dig to the bottom of a pile to find the perfect boards for the job, and he's got a proper interest in timber and woodworking.

Mat H.

Had a really lovey experience up at Vastern a few months back.

I’ve been a cabinet maker for 15 years based in Chichester, have almost always just sourced timber very locally, unfortunately one of the main sawmills locally to me is no longer really taking the time to support smaller businesses. As a maker is imperative to at I get to hand select boards to find the best timber for my clients.

I drove about 2 hours to get up to Vastern and was not disappointed. Wolf who is in charge of the yard and showing customers around was brilliant, very patient with a rather picky customer :) picked through plenty of boards to find just the right ones, thanks again wolf. I will 100% be using them again soon for more projects.

I also have never been to such an honest wood yard, there was a small miscalculation on the bill, I had no idea as was very happy with the end price compared with south coast prices, Wolf literally came running out to inform me and sort out the refund. Well worth the drive. Customer thrilled with the kitchen and end result which is the main thing in the end.

Matt Hibbert
Mathibbertdesigns.co.uk

Scott S.

I had been meaning to visit Vastern's for years and the opportunity came up with a commission for which I wanted to use some first quality home grown oak and some ash. First impressions were good with a lovely tidy yard and plenty of beautifully stacked timber air-drying. Selecting out the oak, Wolf couldn't have been more helpful, responding to my requests to search for particular grain. Nothing was too much trouble for him, even when I spotted a promising board at the bottom of a pack of GIB ash, and he even put some air in my tyres for the journey back to Cornwall! All round exemplary service. Thank you.

Kierstan L.

We have just installed Brimstone poplar cladding on our new extension and are absolutely delighted with it. It's a beautiful finish, full of character and interest. We're already enjoying watching it change gradually as it seasons. We are so pleased we chose Vastern - a local, independent supplier with a strong emphasis on sustainability and locally grown timber and responsibly managed woodland. Right from our first visit, and the brilliant display boards in the car park showing cladding as it matures in all different aspects (ie North facing, South facing etc) and the beautiful showroom, we knew we had found something special. The team have been hugely helpful in outlining options, explaining technical aspects and advising on choices and the customer service has been excellent.

giles4060

Went to Vastern to collect some waney edge boards for our table making business. Met Wolf who was really helpful. Took the time to show us there stock and even invited us back the next day to view the larger slabs they had in their storage shed. Great service. Will be back for sure.

Neil G.

Ordered and fitted some lovely Elm floorboards supplied by Vastern about 14 years ago at the recommendation of Simon Lunt of Boniti. Recently we had a flood that ruined a handful of these. Replacing them could have been a pain, as usually these are only supplied in large lots - as per my original purchase. Wolf from Vastern said he would look to see if there were any unprepared boards in the yard that I could buy and then cut and adjust the thickness for myself, which he did and found there were. So I was already delighted. And then, having researched hiring a thickener to take the boards from 28mm down to 20mm myself Wolf kindly offered to cut and reduce the thickness of the boards specially for me. Not only did this save me a lot of hassle, Wolf sorted all this out for me at a pro rata price roughly equivalent to that available to those buying £1,500 plus orders. For which I am hugely grateful. Beautiful timber, beautiful people!

Caroline H.

Vasterns held a great selection of oak boards and we were able to choose the ideal length and width for our project. We received good help and guidance in our search for the best wood to use and how to care for it. We would highly recommend Vasterns for quality and variety of wood.

david P.

A great sawmill with quality british timbers.
We buy large quantities of english ash and it's easy to find loads of flat boards.

Freddie D.

A really good experience picking up some oak boards which were easy to find in the well ordered barn. Wolf and Dee were both friendly and helpful and it makes a huge difference to a small studio like mine. They also seem to care about the long term health and biodiversity of British woodland which for me is fundamental. I look forward to going back. Thankyou, Fred

Glenn R.

Great staff especially Wolf who was at hand at all times helping us go through the timber. Huge selection of kiln dried and air dried UK timber. Lots of interesting boards to look through too. I highly recommend a visit 😀

Ashley H.

This place is Fantastic. The selection and quality of the wood is outstanding and so is the service. I wanted advice on which wood to use to make chopping boards. The chap who helped me has done the same his self which gave me more confidence when buying. I wish I could remember but I’ll be for more anyway.
Excellent

Maylinne C N.

We visited Vastern Timber this week and had a great experience. The selection of timbers, shapes and sizes is amazing, and we ended up with buying what we needed, and more! Wolf was very patient as we were going through boards to pick just the right one - thank you so much for your help. Out timber was also cut for us which made it easy to pack into the car. We are delighted with the quality of wood, it is simply beautiful, and good pricing. It's a bit of a drive for us but this is the only place that always delivers the highest quality timber for any project. Highly recommended!

Patrick

I recently ordered around 500 metres of green oak feather board, 100 metres of Larch and sawn oak timbers. All of the timber was as it should be and the machining on the feather board was excellent. All the staff I dealt with were friendly and knowledgable and a big thanks to Andy the driver who helped me unload it all when my Labour didn’t arrive!
How a trade supplier should be.

Brian M.

I requested quotes from a few suppliers for green oak boards and Vastern were the only ones to respond with anything that made sense and at a good price. Robin calculated the quantities perfectly for the cladding and the order arrived as arranged. The quality was brilliant, virtually no waste, all straight and flat. The final result is much better than I thought I could achieve with green oak.

Buy Timber Boards

Find stunning Oak Planks and more!

SEARCH HERE

English oak has held a very special place in the hearts of artisans for hundreds of years. Its strength, resistance to decay and sheer versatility is engrained in our national heritage. Although oak grows widely across Europe and North America, customers still cherish English oak for its beautiful grain and figure, which tend to be more decorative and unique than in oak from elsewhere.

At Vastern Timber, we’re dedicated to supporting local woodlands by processing and marketing locally grown wood. We firmly believe that the best way to protect our remaining forests is to ensure they have a value.

We select and store planking grade English oak butts at our Studley sawmill ready for sawing during the winter months. From experience, we know that cutting during these colder and wetter months reduces the chance of surface splitting (checking), a problem caused by rapid drying. We like to store each log for at least a year after felling to allow it time to relax and release tension.

In our experience, we find that patience pays off and the reward is flat, straight wood. Once cut, we air-dry the planks according to the time-honoured rule of one year per inch of thickness. It’s well worth the wait.

English oak boards

During the cutting process we divide the oak into a number of grades according to colour, knot content, and cutting format. We may also separate particularly large or long logs. Our grades are broadly based on the Forestry Commission produced document ‘Making the Grade. A guide to appearance grading UK grown hardwood timber’.

Pippy oak

Pippy oak is so described because of regular knot clusters or ‘cat’s paws’ across the board. These features are the consequence of sawing through small epicormic growths on the outside of the tree. Boards in this grade will include a distribution of pips, cat’s paws and small burrs

Brown oak

Brown oak is not a separate specie or a grade; it is instead the symptom of an attack by the Beefsteak fungus (Fistulina hepatica). The fungus affects standing oak trees by staining the wood a wonderful chocolate brown colour. Within our Brown oak stocks, most boards will be streaky, referred to as ‘Tiger brown’, while the most valuable will be a solid brown colour. In rare cases the boards can be solid brown and pippy at the same time.

Prime / First grade oak

Prime oak is the cream of the crop. The highest quality that we have to offer. The majority of the boards are free of any knots except occasional pin knots. Any isolated defects are measured out. The grain and the colour is reasonably even and consistent.

Call us to discuss your project

01793853281

CALL US

Waney edge, crown cut and quarter sawn oak boards

Most of our oak is produced as waney-edge boards (WE), otherwise known as ‘log sawn’ (LS) or ‘Through and Through’ (T/T). This means that the boards will have the wane or bark attached to one or two edges. Thicknesses from 20mm up to 54mm tend to be cut through the log producing crown, rift and quarter sawn boards. The thicker boards, from 65mm to 150mm, are billet cut resulting in only quarter and rift cut boards.

Crown cut boards will show the swirling patterns that result from cutting through the growth rings near their crest. On close inspection, these boards will also include small black flecks (medullary rays) which travel from the heart to the outside of the tree.

Quarter sawn boards with medullary rays running parallel to the direction of the cut exhibit beautiful sliver figuring – the result of the rays being sliced longitudinally. Quarter sawn boards are renowned for their stability although they can suffer from greater shrinkage during drying.

Know what you want?

REQUEST A QUOTE

Buying waney-edge timber

We sell our UK hardwoods as waney-edge boards, which means the sap, and sometimes the bark, is still attached. Some people call these live-edge planks. The boards will vary in width and length.

When measuring the planks we take an average width measurement, including half of the wane. Depending on the grade of plank that you’re buying, we may reduce the measure a bit for splits and large knots.

We have some standard grades for our UK hardwoods but we’re also happy for you to select a grade that suits your project. From squeaky clean to raw and rustic, we can normally find boards to match your design.

To make sure we have time to help you, please make an appointment before arriving at our yards to select your wood.

Calculating how much timber to buy

If you’re cutting a square-edge specification out of your waney-edge boards, you will waste as much as you use. It sounds horrendously wasteful but that’s how it is. To estimate how much to buy, work out the volume for each thickness in your specification and double it.

If you’re including the waney-edge in your design, it will be cheaper and far less wasteful too.

A final thought

It’s not an exaggeration to say that we’re passionate about promoting the use of British grown timber. Tom Barnes, our MD, is carrying on a 100 year family tradition of processing native wood.

He says: ‘It is a case of use it or lose it. Not just in terms of the woodland itself, but also the skills and jobs that exist in the woodland economy. Over 60% of our broadleaf woodlands are unmanaged, yet only 6% of the hardwood used in this country is grown here. We can and must do better!’

Resource Centre

Looking for a particular piece of information, asset or advice? Visit our Resource Centre to find an array of resources on all products. From videos and case studies to downloadable information such as product specifications, certifications and product measurements.

Snow Peak select English oak from Vastern Timber for European showroom

CASE STUDY

Windsor oak transformed into twin tables for the Crown Estate

CASE STUDY

The ‘Amity’ Seat, English Oak and a workshop tour

Take a look at our other products

Hardwood Flooring / Mouldings / Oak Beams / Timber Cladding

Contact Form

Download Guide

Request a quote

Please select a valid form.