Stavemill professions #1 – To cube is to win!

Cubing logs* is the first step in the stave mill process. This is where future barrels are shaped.

Logs are trucked directly from the forest to the Group’s staveyards. In Murlin, in Varzy (Nièvre Merrain), in Saint-Martin-du-Puy (Ateliers du chêne) or at Tonnelleries Merranderies Réunies in Charente… One by one, the logging truck places the wood in the yard, according to its origin. Each log is identified with a bar-coded card. A traceability number that can be traced all the way back to the yard where the stavewood matures.

Here, wood from the Centre-Loire region, and further afield, from the Allier, Bertranges and Tronçais regions. Logs are selected by origin. No rest for the brave. The logs have to be received in all weathers, come rain, snow or shine. Under the sun too, and that’s not the easiest thing, as Tonio, who has been working in the Murlin yard for over 30 years, points out… At Maison Charlois, the historic stave mill where it all began, Tonio is at the caliper. Meter in hand, he scans every inch of every log. With the tape measure, he measures its length; with the caliper, its diameter. He estimates the quantity of stavewood in each piece. This data is recorded on a pad, along with the log’s traceability number. He watches for the slightest defect. In a way, he’s the one who dictates what happens during the day in the stave mill. He checks to see if the log is straight. He checks for knots, pimples and defects. A job in which eye and touch are essential. With a spray of paint, the cuber will divide the log into logs of 95, 100, 105 or 110 centimeters, depending on the desired stave length. For the finest logs, up to ten logs can be counted. Stave-wood quality, used to make barrels for wines and spirits. The other parts of the log will be used for lumber, sleepers or external uses, such as fuel for urban heating systems.

Photograph 1 © Christophe Deschanel

Photographs 2 and 3 © Stéphane Ebel

*A log is a harvested tree trunk that has been stripped of its branches and foliage, but which hasn’t yet been cut into quarters, planks, beams or other sawn products. It’s the raw tree trunk as it is after removal from the forest, before any industrial or artisanal processing.