Low impact forestry services in Devon and the South West

[Big J]

6 minutes ago, skyhuck said:

Its weird. I read peoples posts on here and think I get an idea about a person, but its just an illusion.

 

I thought you were moving to Germany John (because of Brexit) and that you hated warm weather . Clearly I was very wrong.

 

Hope your move goes well and things work out, good luck 

Chickened out of Germany. Still very unhappy about Brexit, but it's worse in Scotland (politically) as Scotland didn't vote for it and 40-45% of the population here wants to leave the UK. Simpler in Devon. 

 

Our desire to leave Scotland was more of a desire to leave the place than go somewhere else, if that makes sense. 

 

Regarding the weather, I love summer heat even if it's sometimes a challenge to work in. Germany would have been much warmer. My uncle near Luxembourg had about 3 weeks of daily highs in the high thirties last year.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2018 by Big J

[Rough Hewn]

Devon is great, never more than 30 odd miles to a beach. Dartmoor, wildest place in England. Cream teas and pasties from next door.
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[john k]

Any news on when the machine’s going to be here? Looking forward to seeing it in action!

Are you planning to be the UK agent for them?

[Big J]

No plans for being an agent, no. I just prefer working machines rather than trying to sell them.

 

The forwarder arrives on Sunday morning in Hull, and it's out to work on Monday!

Edited July 12, 2018 by Big J

[roys]

Good luck Big J, only met you the once up here but it was a pleasure and I am sure your strong work ethic will see you through.

[Big J]

Thanks Roys!

 

And the processor arrives on Wednesday, though I won't have the chance to use it until mid August I think. 

[Big J]

An incredibly long day with 600 miles of driving, but the machine is home:

 

My daughter doing a sterling job of modeling it. 

 

It's larger than I remember. That's a 16ft triaxle for scale. I've take off the tipping back and it's back on the trailer ready for forestry forwarding tomorrow. Will report back.

[Stubby]

Looking good BJ . ! ?

[arboriculturist]

Are you not considering setting up a mill down in Devon - or are you fed up with 'run of the mill' work ?

[Big J]

4 hours ago, arboriculturist said:

Are you not considering setting up a mill down in Devon - or are you fed up with 'run of the mill' work ?

Haha!

 

No, I've milled enough timber to last me a lifetime. I'll get a little manual bandsaw mill for my own personal use, but I'd rather be in the forest doing the felling and extraction.

(I'll add some photos shortly)

 

Had a good first stint in the woods with the forwarder. 22 hours stretched across 4 days (only one full day, as busy elsewhere) but got around 100 tonnes of 3m chip wood out of a reasonable site. I was extracting line thinnings, but some of the racks were quite long, and having been felled by chainsaw course candidates, the presentation was sketchy. Generally doing a load every 25 minutes once I got up to speed, and each load was 2.5 tonnes, or just over (at an educated guess). 

 

I would have been there longer, but I need tracks for the hilly side of the site. Traction is a real issue with these small machines when running over brash. The tyres just spin on the branches, and it's made worse once the branches lose their bark. The cambium is like a greased snake. 

 

Cannot wait to get started on my own sites with the processor and forwarder working together. The presentation will be miles better with the processor, meaning I won't have to track over brash. I went to see a prospective stand of spruce this afternoon that can only be described as a dream for the machines. A gently sloping site, 30 year old (never thinned) overdrawn spruce. Nothing oversized for the machines, and 2.5 trees to the tonne. Each rack taken out is a lorry load and there were 16 to come out. Just have to get my foot in the door.....!