Related Stories

• New southside route out of Fermoy proposed to ease traffic congestion
  
  
• Rates can’t be suspended on unoccupied businesses, Fermoy mayor told
  
  
• Storms and icy conditions cause problems throughout North Cork over Christmas
  
  
• Council responds to Conna locals’ traffic safety concerns
  
  
• Opposing view on EirGrid pylons issue in Grid Link project voiced by Fine Gael councillor, Pa O’Driscoll
  
  
• Senior helpline gives winter tips for older people
  
  
• Focus on what you want to gain in 2014!
  
  
• Country & Irish night with the stars in The Firgrove, Mitchelstown
  
  
• University of Limerick launches scholarship in memory of Fermoy’s Stuart Mangan
  
  
• Councillors updated on Fermoy flood relief works
  
  
• Looking back at December 1992 in The Avondhu
  
  
• Mitchelstown young entrepreneurs spread some festive cheer
  
  

Mitchelstown CBS Second Year woodwork students on their recent visit to Glennon Brothers Sawmill in Fermoy.

Theory is part of every school subject, but sometimes going out to experience something and seeing it first-hand can make all the difference to students. This was clearly evident when the second year woodwork students from CBS Mitchelstown took a tour of Glennon Brothers sawmills in Fermoy recently. The trip was part of the students' course work and student Lorcan Finn gave The Avondhu a snapshot of what the day was like for them.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY

"We started our journey in the log yard. Seventy truck loads of logs enter the mill every day. The logs are dropped into a machine using a logger, which removes the butt flare caused by the tree growing in a taper shape. Images taken by a 3D scanner are then used to check if the logs are of a good quality. The excess taken off by the first machine is turned into sawdust and wood chippings.

"We then put on our ear protectors and went into the mill. We went to the control room, where computers help to get the most from every plank of wood. Logs were cut into rectangles, so they could be used to make planks of wood. 

"We were shown where saws are kept and repaired. Glennons can distinguish their wood from any other mill in Ireland by their use of a circular blade, which does not wobble. We entered a new shed, which is still under construction, designed for sorting the timber into stacks ready to be dried. The timber is then transferred to the large ovens (kilns) to be dried out until the moisture content is at about 18%, which takes up to five days. It is then wrapped together in big stacks, ready to be sold to the consumer," Lorcan explained.

This was a very worthwhile trip for the second year classes, and will really help with their understanding of how trees are made into timber suitable for use in floors, ceilings, etc.

blog comments powered by Disqus