Trees, tools, vehicles

[coppicer]

Hire an avant with a tree shear and log grab!!

Had never heard of Avant until today - great little toy! Bit overkill for my sporadic/low volume demand pattern though.

[Jay]

Certainly is the tree shear is great. We used it when reducing hedges made the job so easy. Carry the whole top straight to the chipper!

 

 

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[normandylumberjack]

A very interesting thread this is.

Have you thought about cutting the timber into billets? these are 1m lengths, that can be split with an axe, and neatly stacked to season close to where they are felled.

 

This would allow you to cut asap without the worry of extraction costs for while. Here on the continent it is a common way to deal with firewood on a low budget. You can move the timber in the back of a pick up (old s3 landy?)

in the link box of a tractor (aids traction a little) or hire in a dumper truck for a day.

 

Once back to your sheds, you can cut on a saw horse, or a saw bench, the best of which have a conveyor to minimise handling.

 

Tractor, link box and saw bench would be my choice, a fordson major shouldn't cost a lot and can power all sorts of kit.

[ArthurBottlesworth]

Couple of keepers around here have litle suzukis and love them

Say they will go anywhere

I believe they were designed by Land Rover for suzuki

 

Sod it just go for what will be most fun!

[the village idiot]

 

Sod it just go for what will be most fun!

 

Brilliant:thumbup:

[Coletti]

This is mine and it definitely goes anywhere haha. Sadly doesn't get used though as no mot atm and had to replace it with a larger vehicle as it wasn't quite up to towing all the time

[coppicer]

A very interesting thread this is.

Have you thought about cutting the timber into billets?

You can move the timber in the back of a pick up (old s3 landy?)

in the link box of a tractor (aids traction a little) or hire in a dumper truck for a day.

No, I hadn't thought of billets. It may be a useful approach once the trees are a little bigger? I took a stroll through the coppice yesterday (translation: I pushed myself through a mesh of dead brambles while cursing profusely) and while there are some large trees, most are still in the 4-5 inch range. I think any cutting I do this year would be quite limited, but who knows what next year will bring. I think I'll end up with a lot of ash about an inch thick and a couple of metres long; perhaps as you suggest I could store these on site and worry about how to cut and use them later.

 

The Landy pro/con debate rages fiercely in my circle. I would never buy a new Land Rover. Every survey ever done shows that they're at the bottom of the heap for reliability. Every marque has defective vehicles, but Land Rover just has so many more than everybody else. Having said that I think there's a lot to be said for buying an older Defender that has been well looked after and that has benefited from some sympathetic upgrades. 110/90/Defender parts are cheap and plentiful, there's tons of accumulated mechanical know-how in the UK and the user forums are great. Best of all, you can bang into things and crunch over stuff without worrying about the cosmetics! The problem is that a well-sorted Defender 90 with a passable interior, solid bulkhead, chassis, rear crossmember and lowish miles is unlikely to be found for under 5-6,000 quid. There are lots on Ebay for less than that, but very few are convincing. 5k is way above my budget.

 

Series 3 is cheaper but probably a step too far in the direction of outright masochism. I like the little things like power steering and enough sound proofing to permit conversation. Wouldn't consider a Disco or Freelander.

 

Tractor, link box and saw bench would be my choice, a fordson major shouldn't cost a lot and can power all sorts of kit.

It looks like Fordson Majors have been well and truly discovered by collectors! Nothing on Ebay under 2k that isn't basically a project. But the principle is sound isn't it. Small tractor, link box, PTO-powered equipment...

[the village idiot]

I waste week's of my life researching and pondering which machine would be best to help with all my woody tasks. I am often seduced by various specialist vehicles, but when common sense kicks back in I always come back to the tractor. In terms of versatility and keeping your options open in uncertain times, you can't beat the humble tractor.

[cornish wood burner]

I waste week's of my life researching and pondering which machine would be best to help with all my woody tasks. I am often seduced by various specialist vehicles, but when common sense kicks back in I always come back to the tractor. In terms of versatility and keeping your options open in uncertain times, you can't beat the humble tractor.

Coming from farming stock I would agree with the above. Who knows what you might want to drive in the future.

As a thought provoking exercise, I am doing a similar thing to you but I am keeping my copse clear with a ride on lawn mower. I have a ball hitch on the back and I bring close to half a ton of wood to the road on a home made trailer. Old ride-ons are as cheap as chips and if the ground is flat and good it is amazing what they pull. Great for getting between the trees.

[coppicer]

I have a ball hitch on the back and I bring close to half a ton of wood to the road on a home made trailer.

Brilliant I was thinking this - a relative may have one surplus to requirements - but a friend talked me out of it saying that lawn tractors have no articulation and wouldn't be suitable for rough ground. I mean, he's right, but maybe it's flat enough?? Must have another chat with relative!