Prizes

IRISH BOG OAK Bog Oak is a rare timber, which is excavated from deep underground, usually as a by-product of turf cutting, or land drainage. The wood varies in age, usually between 2,000 and 6,000 years old, (the Queens University in Belfast have recorded 4000-bog oak and other ancient oak timbers that spans 7000 yrs). The wood has been preserved due to the unique conditions of the turf bogs, which waterlog the wood and keep it free from sunlight and oxygen, which would cause it to decay. The chemistry of the bog also reacts with the wood and transforms its colour. When the wood is brought to the surface it petrifies becoming a deep black and almost steel hard. The Bog lands of Ireland and County Fermanagh, (where this Bog Oak originates) are a vast treasure trove for a unique material more ancient than the Pyramids of Egypt that has been naturally preserved for thousands of years. One of the most valuable and scarce commodities that exist in the workshop is Bog oak. This timber is inextricably linked with Irish history and is one of the more majestic woods used in turning.