product review Timber - Various - HobbyMill.EU

[James H]

Timber - Various sheet and strip
HobbyMill.EU

see website for sheet and strip price

 

 

HobbyMill.EU are an Estonian-based company (Tallinn), operated by a guy with a very real passion for what he does, and both my communications with him and the timber samples sent, clearly show that. The material he saws and processes is sourced from quality EU-based suppliers. Timber as a natural product, can contain colour variation, imperfections etc. and because of any small flaw that may be present on the strip, for example, I'm told that where this happens, a small number of extra strips is usually added so the customer gets exactly what they need in usable material.

 

The same also goes for width. If you order a sheet that's 100mm wide, the chances are it will be slightly more than that, depending on the size of billet that it's being cut from. If there's 20mm (for example) width to produce 100mm wide sheet from then you will get the 120mm so as not to waste any material. 

 

Another note goes for the sides of the sheets being parallel. I have to say that mine are pretty darn good, but you may get a little variation. It really doesn't matter as long as the grain is true and the edges are nice and straight, and they are indeed that on my samples....which are taken from the general production in order to create a true reflection of material quality. 

 

All edges are nice and sharp and the ends are clean. There are some very faint machine marks in places, but I only really notice those on my photography and not really on the actual product, apart from the coloured hornbeam. In order to cut the timber, HobbyMill are using Byrnes tools etc.

 

The timbers sent to me for this article are:

 

• White Hornbeam - 4mm sheet, 4mm x 2mm strip, 4mm x 1mm strip
• Black Hornbeam - 3mm sheet, 3mm x 1.5mm strip
• Yellow Hornbeam - 4mm sheet, 4mm x 1mm strip
• Green Hornbeam - 4mm sheet, 4mm x 1mm strip
• Alaskan Yellow Cedar - 3mm sheet, 3mm x 2mm strip
• Castello Boxwood - 3mm sheet, 3mm x 1mm strip, 3mm x 2mm strip
• American Holly - 3mm sheet, 3mm x 2mm strip
• Swiss Pear (Light) - 4mm sheet, 4mm x 1mm strip, 2mm x 1mm strip
• Swiss Pear (Dark) - 3mm sheet, 3mm x 2mm strip, 3mm x 0.8mm strip

 

The wider sheets are 100mm wide x 500mm long, with the narrower ones being 50mm wide.

coloured hornbeam was added after this photo was taken

 

The package took around 8 days to arrive in the UK, from Estonia, via tracked mail. A rigid card box was used to pack the samples, and inside, the various sheets and strips were packed into sleeves and further protected by layers of bubblewrap film. Various strip packs were also bound with elastic too, and not so there was any deformation to the timber.

 

Pre-caulked planks?
HobbyMill also supply, to order, pre-caulked planks. You will need to enquire about those, but that would sure save some time when it comes to planking your deck!

 

 

White Hornbeam
This really is very nice indeed, with a very fine grain. A very nice timber for deck planking. Nothing fibrous here as the nice, tight grain makes for clean cutting and a sharp edge. A very good timber for deck planking.

 

 

 

American Holly
This is the palest of all the samples sent, and is very much creamy white in colour. The grain is almost invisible on first look too. Most definitely one of the nicest timbers I've seen.

 

 

Castello Boxwood
This timber is a very nice light yellow-brown in colour, and also uniform in appearance. Also a nice alternative to European box. You'll notice the very fine grain in these photos. 

 

 

Alaskan Yellow Cedar
This is a very popular timber, and indeed, Chuck uses this on his HMS Winchelsea project. The colour of this timber is just gorgeous, imparting that very pale yellow look, and sporting a nice, tight grain. I can see why Syren favours this in their work. 

 

 

 

Yellow Hornbeam
I'm told that these timbers are favoured by Russian master model shipwrights and not so common outside of that region. It's certainly vibrant and yes, the colour remains when you cut it. I'm told this is due to the dye process presumably done in a vacuum so that the dye penetrates deeply. Hornbeam is finely grained, so of course you have that property transfer to a coloured timber. 

 

 

 

Green Hornbeam

 

 

 

Black Hornbeam
One thing I couldn't capture here is how nice this timber is. The grain looks more prominent on these photos, but it's actually not like this in reality. It's also darker than shown here and more even looking. Black hornbeam is a very good substitute for ebony. It's easier to cut, the dust won't be as nasty as ebony, it's easier to bend, and finally, it will be easier to glue. 

 

 

 

Swiss Pear (Light)
Pear can vary a little in shade, and HobbyMill provide this in both light and dark types. You can see the difference from my photos, from a pale pinkish timber to a darker and more slightly grey look. Perhaps grey isn't the colour I'm looking for, but my eye sees that very slight tint in an overall darker pink tone. All pear is very fine in grain with very little in the way of any flaw in the sheets.

 

 

 

Swiss Pear (Dark)

 

 

 

 

Also available - Cutting discs for Byrnes saws
These aren't to be found on the HobbyMill.EU website, but if you enquire, you can order them for around €17 each. These are Czech made and definitely help those at this side of the pond where getting the original Byrnes blades can be a costly process due to import taxes etc. These are the same blades that are used to cut the timbers sold by HobbyMill. 

 

 

I have to say that it's been a pleasure dealing with HobbyMill.EU, and I'm sure @Wahka_est will be more than happy to answer any questions you have regarding his timbers and availability etc. Again, it's nice to deal with someone so passionate about their product. This really does seem to be a labour of love for him, and the product itself is definitely a testimony to his very exacting standards. 

 

If you're in the need of something for a project, definitely consider this company. I don't think you'll be at all disappointed.

 

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

I agree with your assessment James,  the Pearwood I ordered for my Sphinx build is of excellent quality, the transaction as smooth as the timber, and HobbyMill is now  my supplier of choice.

 

It's good to have a European supplier of quality timber.

 

B.E.

[Edwardkenway]

Having recently received some light pear and AYC sheets from here, I agree it's very good wood.

Also to repeat @Blue Ensign , it is good to have a supplier in Europe. 

I will use Hobbymill EU again.

Edited May 4, 2022 by Edwardkenway

[Wahka_est]

Hi,

 

Thank you for the review James and also warm words from everyone.

There has been a lot of positive feedback, i would say 99 % of all orders and im really happy to hear that. It only makes me want to do my milling even better.

 

I would like to add few things so its 100% clear (l like stuff to be like that ) :

1) Note that its not "paid or requested" review - not that anyone asked but i wanted to say it. Wood still was given free of charge.

James was so kind to contact me and ask if i would be interested in review of my wood as he has seen really positive comments on that. Offcouse i accepted the possibility.

James offered me a chance to read the review also before posting it but i wanted it to be honest so i declined. Now thats off the table just in case.'

2) There are slight "grey" dots/stripes on ends. Its "aluminium" stripe. I have added AL jig to saw but it creates slight mark that comes immediately off with water or sanding.

i dont take it off as most of strips will be sanded anyways. But that jig removes burn marks even from 10mm pear where it happened really often at start.

3) I always add faulty/not perfect pieces to order also and make 5-10% extra. Just in case i missed something or there is some other issue. '

 

If there are any questions and comments then im more than happy to answer.

 

Again, thank you all for your support and kind words.

 

I will try to surprise you hopefully next week or so with new pear color, really light, not steamed but dried naturally. Samples are on the way and lets see - hopes are high as i have seen one of our member using it in his build and it looks awesome.

 

With best regards,

Vahur

Hobbymill.EU