If anyone has any experience of any type of woodworking with wood from a fallen tree could they contact me please as I am after some advice.

My mum took a woodwork class, and learnt such a lot! She made some super little tables, stools etc and also did some carving. It was through the local Art Institute, as an evening course. But I can't advise on it myself, sorry.

Let us know what you want to achieve, and we may be able to help.

My husband works with wood, instruments and furniture. What sort of information do you want?
He has some quarter-sawn maple and cherry that has been seasoning in the garage for the last 4 years..we have wood that is 4mm thick stored in the library. I have another friend who uses a chainsaw to sculpt fallen trees.
What sort of tree and what do you plan on doing with it?

It's an apple tree and I was thinking of trying to turn the trunk into a planter of some sort, and take a couple of the branches and rub them down and polish them up as a sort of modern sculpture idea, but I don't know how long I need to let the wood season for. The tree was dead, and what was left of the roots just rotted off in the rain and over it came. We've taken off some of the branches with a chainsaw and the wood inside is good and solid. It seems a shame not to try and do something with it.

Speaking with experience removing standing and fallen trees, Apples are notorious core rot victims. Two inches of good exterior wood can surround a foot of rotten pulp. That two inches would have been enough to support good growth in branches (but not ehough to hold up the weight of the rotted pulp). The rot of the core could have begun long ago through an untreated pruning (To protect apple saw wounds from rot they should be coated with sterile bees wax or asphalt paint) The wood rots fairly quickly so even if you have some you could trust as structurally safe to maintain as a planter, the moisture and soil would exacerbate the decaying mold growth.
Try taking a core sample in a place you'd expect to place a drainage hole if you go to the planter use. Use a 1 inch boring bit on an bit extender and an auger drill and watch the condition of the material that is drawn out. That will tell you how much good wood remains in the trunk. I worked an orchard crew in my training days that would open up the cores, clean out the rot and back fill the cavity with cement to help keep the structure strong enough to hold the weight of fruit. A post fall treatment I have used many times is to cut off the bole with a foot or two of the trunk and turn the root bole upside down and carve a mushroom head into it with a chainsaw. But if enough of the roots are remaining you could grow Ivy on them and hang planters from/under the roots (Reminiscent of apples).
If any usable wood remains of at least an inch thichness, it would have to be dried out for years like Jabeberwok's husband is doing. Apple can make some nice veneers.

The lady next door had two trees taken down that were still solid inside. A local carver turned one into a golden retriever and the other into an arcing dolphin. People still stop in front of her house to see them. Mostly he used a chainsaw then smaller power and hand tools to finish them.

I sometimes build benches/chairs/arbours (normally made from willow or alder because the branches bend well without snapping if they're kept soaking wet). And yes, I'm well aware I missed the hippie era by a few years and have been making up for that ever since lol

But apple could work too for this purpose (assuming all of it is not as dead as a doornail). Not sure about planters though. My apple tree is 25 years old and it would have to be a tall skinny planter lol. Might as well saw it off well above the height you want your piece to end up at and see what you've got. Mehaul is quite correct about core rot being very common, but you never know til you open it up. Not cutting it toooo far down allows you some creative license as far as carving/sculpting goes.

If all else fails, apple not only smells great in a woodburning fireplace, but is a perfect wood for "smokers" or other ways of cooking meats, particularly fish and pork grilling. Yes I have recipes : )))

Havn't go tot the main trunk yet but all the branches we have taken off so far have been completely solid. Some of them are quite interesting shapes and I think would turn into a modern sculpture for the garden quite well rubbed down and polished up or varnished. The tree was dead as a doornail. It died about 6 years ago and we took off all the very long branches and made it what we thought was safe. Definitely wouldn't be tall and skinny, tree was over 100 years old and the trunk has a 10ft diameter.

Do a core sampling and see how far you can drill in before coming into punky drill chips. Of course on the coldest day of next winter, you could split it with mauls and wedges and see what's in the middle. That would leave two 5 foot high planters (radius length) I did once split a five foot diameter, twenty foot long maple tree that way. Set the wedges into a slot cut near the base/root end vertically and hammered away. The splitting force travels the length of the grain with the ice. It pops all at once. The sound you will never forget!

Thanks for all the advice. Given me a lot to think about. I'll let you know how we get on with it.

oooo mehaul. maple chips. lovely for salmon

When the Dutch Elm Disease killed off the Elms in Gloucester, the city hired arborists to take them down. The city had the logs put outside the Department of Public Works Barn. Any one could take what they wanted of all the logs there but no one was going for one log that was 8 ft diam and twenty feet long. I made a deal with the superintendent that if I was able to take a foot off the butt end, the rest of the log would be mine. Deal! I stood on top and sunk my chainsaw all the way in (That was two feet deep and made a cutaround the perimeter. I then took my pinch bar (a six ft long chisel point thirty pound tool), some wedges and cracked out a ring of Elm wood 8ft in diameter that had a hole in the middle 4 ft in diameter. The remaining 4 ft butt sticking out could easily be cut off. I got over 5 cords of Elm from that log. Elm is about the hottest burning wood you can find. My house was toasty that winter. And part of the beauty was I got to leave the wood in place on the log at the city yard until I needed it!

wow Mehaul you are very crafty.!

his mind is very crafty too ~~~