He is constantly on the look-out for
interesting features revealed in the timber-sawing process. The veneers are sawn one-eighth of an inch thick in the workshop, steam-ironed before use and are generally laid on a ground of solid timber of the same species.

Writing bureaux fall-fronts, where they are veneered, will have a counter-veneer on the underside to balance the stresses often produced by veneering.

Light inlays of maple and holly and dark ones of bog-oak and walnut come from the same trees.

Ian Laval has always worked single-handed. All the designs are his
own. They lean on tradition; not
consciously copying or reproducing
but interpreting old functions and delicate proportions in a  more current setting.

All of them make a frame in which to
display the exciting shapes and colours of natural wood.

His pieces are made one at a time, using traditional hand tools after accurate preparation of timber stock has been done by machine.

Dovetails, for instance, are always hand-cut -- including the secret dovetails in the carcases of writing desks, one of the most demanding and time-consuming joints in traditional woodwork.

A great deal of time is spent selecting and matching pieces of wood for each new project.

Where oak is darkened, it is achieved solely by fuming with ammonia gas, an old and largely forgotten process in which the gas reacts chemically with tannin in the oak, turning the wood a rich nut-brown when a finish is applied.

Apart from this fuming process,
Ian Laval relies solely on his timber's
natural colours and does not use
artificial stains.

For surface finishes he uses mainly old-fashioned raw linseed oil or tung oil mixed with a little natural turpentine as a base polish. Although it takes time, it hardens and oxidises to the most durable protective coat on which a surface maintenance finish of beeswax, carnauba wax and turpentine is applied.ed.