Straight oak wanted mid Wales

[ESS]

Joe Court over in Surrey is amongst oak a lot of the time, if there are lorries your way going South east, he is cutting oak at the moment.

 

[Stere]

Would seasoning the posts for a few yrs  make them last  longer than using them green in the ground? (Extra hassle & cost though)

 

Many of of the old upland fence lines in Snowdonia  are oak posts (fairly thin & rectangular in shape) some fences going on for miles across mountain tops and probably many decades old atleast

 

All new fencing iv'e seen is softwood and only last about 10yrs

[Rough Hewn]

Yep oak/s.c will last 20+ years in mud if properly seasoned.
[emoji106]

[steve collins]

I doubt you will find any fencing grade oak in kent/ sussex area as sandwich are hoovering it up at moment as the price is strong. If you do be prepared for a high price! 

[topchippyles]

Where in mid wales are you as i have some oak here and know for quite a fair bit more down around abergavenny way 

[mendiplogs]

Where in mid wales are you as i have some oak here and know for quite a fair bit more down around abergavenny way 

HI ALL I’m still looking for large hard wood BUTTS thanks pm Jon

[gdh]

52 minutes ago, topchippyles said:

Where in mid wales are you as i have some oak here and know for quite a fair bit more down around abergavenny way 

I'm a few miles outside Llandovery. I've sent a pm. 

Edited June 16, 2019 by gdh

[gdh]

2 hours ago, steve collins said:

I doubt you will find any fencing grade oak in kent/ sussex area as sandwich are hoovering it up at moment as the price is strong. If you do be prepared for a high price! 

Yeah, I'm hoping for something closer. Most years we get enough out of the firewood stacks and our own woodland so it's relatively cheap but this year we've mostly got ash, beech, alder and red oak.

 

We actually got wood fairly easily this year in the end and prices seem to have stabilised locally but I'll be surprised if I average £65 delivered for fencing stuff.

[Matthew Storrs]

18 hours ago, gdh said:

Yep, just use them bare. We always staple into the split side and side up the strainers to make sure we're in the heartwood and get 15+ years out of them. 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions for suppliers. 

How do you go about splitting the stakes? Have you got a log splitter that has a long enough stroke? Do you think a cone splitter on a digger would be able to do a tidy enough job of it? I usually buy in split chestnut from Dorset way- but there can be a long wait and wonder if there is any merit in splitting your own...

[Matthew Storrs]

8 hours ago, Rough Hewn said:

Yep oak/s.c will last 20+ years in mud if properly seasoned.

Interestingly I have had sweet chestnut snap off in 5 years- o believe it’s down to too much sapwood within the post- this rots off quick anyway but if there isn’t much heartwood left after this it doesn’t take much to snap it..

 

the trouble is sometimes the stakes can be too skinny. A good lump is needed for durability IMO

Edited June 16, 2019 by Matthew Storrs