arboriculturist

Andy at Kill. said once the next log has pushed the bits out under the wedge pressure has remained in the height adjustment cylinder and it automatically lowers itself immediately - or maybe that thought is perceived as the wedge lowers itself anyway when the clamp measures the next log to be cut as required.

Great info - thanks for the offer. Unfortunately my sister Liz has moved away as she had 2 strokes which you will be aware of - she really back to normal now though, except getting older of course, or I would have been over to see you.

That's a good list. Everything breaks occasionally, just a massive processor blade return spring went under 12 mths old - £ 130, everything goes wrong occasionally and definitively wears out! It's looking like my £30/ m3 margin looks fairly accurate. Not forgetting the 5% vat that has to be adsorbed per m3, where small suppliers don't. It all goes with the territory, so have to take it on the chin. Diesel price increase is a killer though when you are running flat out for days on end and the increased delivery fuel costs. We rarely deliver unless the truck is full or very local. Offer incentives to take full vehicle load, people like a saving. I would be interested to hear Ash's, Alcydyons and Charlesgraves view on production costs, as I think they are high volume producers.

The 480 automatic knife height option is just under 4K now and there are 3 or 4 others with it now. I'm thinking is it really worth it? We have a 360 feeding the log deck and grade the stack onto bearers according to size already, so is it worth it. Andy at Kilworth said yesterday that it scores on the log taper, which I had completely forgotten about. Spending that amount the extra is not that significant - saying that it's approx £24K now. gdh, you are a high volume producer - I am thinking it's a must even though extremely expensive for what it is. Do you agree it's worth the investment?

As long as we live there will always be someone selling for less and customers come and go. All you can do is produce the best product you can, promote it and offer a reliable service. We have always focused on the top end of the market like Woodworks and others, it's worked well. Sometimes people request lower cost and they have softwood.

Cost breakdown are a starting point, but they never reflect the true costs of running a business. Your accounting spreadsheets are the accurate method of course. Never had more than 1.75m per tonne and someone on the forum a while back said an average delivery is 1 hour. If you pay staff you may only make £30 /100. As we all know to make a decent living you have to forego all those holidays, fast cars, nights out to build a well oiled, super efficient operation - then and only then can you enjoy the fruits of your spoils (or something like that). Prices go up on everything. For example haulage to haul IBC's has gone up 30% in 12 months. Those that produce 50 or 60 metres from their Arb. arisings can afford to remain static, but they are so small they can't supply the demand. More and more people are dropping out of Firewood for all the reasons we know, so there is the opportunity to capitalise on the existing market if you have the passion. We have nothing here left to process, it's not out there in the South West, saying that I have been promised some loads from a couple of sources which is light at the end of the tunnel. A haulier said to me a while back - buy it when you can as it wont be there for long and I am in total agreement with that.

I know what you mean - £ 100 is a handy figure. However I remember going from 85 to £ 90, which was a handier figure than £85. Perhaps it should be £ 110. gdh has been raising his prices by £ 5 for years with little effect - after all £ 5 is only 5%. There is absolutely knowone in your area that sells at the same quality as you. Nothing ventured - nothing gained ! It's a personal choice of course.

Andy says the hydraulic blower needs 30l/min flow rate and the 35 only has 20 so that's a bit of a non-starter Where would you buy the Rotatech chains and what bars are best to use? The 480 has the highest rated ram of any processor I know of in this class which is probably why it flys through the knarly Oak. They have developed a 600mm model now and have 3 out on trial. Only fitted a 30 tonne ram though, which is causing issues so mods are required. You won't like the price tag!

If you have been left with dry Firewood at the end of March then keep your prices the same, if you run out put them up. Ours has been at 110 for more than a year. Forget about those who undervalue the product, most likely it's not the consistent quality that you achieve. Put your car in the garage and see what you get for £105 Together we stand, divided we fall !

Thanks for that - at around £400 each I can understand why you got just the pair ! If I change planning to buy the Hydraulic extraction fan also. Did you fit the Tajfun screener to the end of your conveyor?

gdh - Spoke to Andy at Kilworth today, he knows you of course. Did you buy the 4/6 way knife and the 12 way only and don't you need the 16 way with the size timber you have.?

Thanks for the feedback. We grade everything at present 4, 6 and 8 way to suit which knife is fitted, so just another 12 way stack then. Spending 5K on a Posch splitter may be money better spent changing to the 480. Never been keen on the Bar/ Chain combination but as you say it's not such an issue as people think. Would you stick with what is supplied as standard or can you recommend a better Bar/ Chain combination ? As you say, no point in getting the 480 without Auto height. Which dealer do you recommend? I can't remember what deck you use but I expect our Posch deck will couple up OK. ?

GDH - When you change your processor will you be going for the Tajfun 480 again or do you plan to go to the APF or similar to see what other machines may even be better? I have been looking at spending a chunk of money on a high spec Posch splitter because the processor only takes 360mm on 8 way and we get a fair amount of oversize roundwood which has to be cross cut. Maybe better to change to a 480. Does the 12 way on your make nice consistent logs? Do you do any hand splitting on the over 480mm roundwood? Thanks in advance. ?

I have never seen one in operation in real life but the videos look impressive. What is the new price, any idea? A lot of people are going for a Tajfun 480 which is a lot less money of course.

Yes, that was a good machine. They have a couple of upgraded Turbo models that give a faster cycle time. I would prefer not to use a table splitter at all, buy as we always have some oversize roundwood we seem to spend days on the splitter. I've asked Posch if they will fit a larger capacity pump in the factory to increase cycle speed needs to be 300mm/sec splitting and return speed.

If you don't mind me asking why are you selling?

Unless he is giving you a Quote for each job he is on, which means he is taking a financial risk, he is 100% an Employee - No if's. buts or maybe's - part time makes no difference.

If you sell a top quality consistent product - perfectly split Firewood that stacks nicely you need to retail at a price that allows you to supply just that. Don't try to compete with those who sell irregular Arb Arisings as they are selling a completely different product. Always advertise your prices and you will thin out those who are basing their decision to buy on price. As roundwood becomes scarcer the price will rise and there will be far less suppliers in the business, let alone new startups. The days of phoning up for a load of roundwood and expecting a delivery 2 or 3 weeks later are unfortunately for many - long gone

For this area with his limited experience that's a reasonable rate. After all who else is there he is going to work for! With new outfits appearing and everyone else trying to undercut others to get the work he will not find many vacancies. Nevertheless, raise by 5-10% if that's possible. As Steve say's they may well end up leaving otherwise, possibly to the building trade where rates are higher.

We have done the same and it's made no difference. Just look at how our overheads have risen in the last 12 months, fuel, electricity, oil, Roundwood - everything's gone up as do staff wages. You should be offering 50/50 as well - the won't be any Hardwood left to sell in a minute !

Wait till you get to South Devon, even a friend from Tavistock cringes. Its what you get used to - if the holidaymakers were capable to stop in the wide places, life would have so much more pleasantness in it.

Ex. demos are usually a good deal. What is the cycle time on 10" rings?

Well it's a step in the right direction! I'm so short of timber here that I have been racking my brains for suitable woodland that could be managed with your 'Low Impact' machinery and give an attractive return to the Landowner. All the local independent Contractors are being outbid by the big boys on anything worthwhile and all the hand cutters are selling to them also - unfortunately virtually none of it is available to the Firewood suppliers as it's mainly being hauled hundreds of miles for Biofuel in inefficient power stations. Just emailed a fellow with a mixed hard/soft stand who wanted to sell the Wood to me - don't really want it but I will certainly take all the timber! All a nice size for you and I can get an 8 wheeler and drag roadside a couple of fields away He's had one of the national boys there on another stand and they left it devastated. Being a well qualified person from a Forestry management background he is no fool. Fingers crossed on this one and i'm on the case looking for potential 'Low impact' sites that don't suit the local independent Contractors, as they must not be forgotten.

They are contracted to supply a set monthly volume and at times to do this anything goes - any shortfall and the penalties are harsh. That is why availability is no existent. The long protracted wet spell was the nail in the coffin as the little timber there was all had to go to the contract consumers and they have been playing catch-up ever since.

The thing is, they pay a contract price on tonnage and will take whatever timber shows up on the lorries, size, species, soft, hard makes no difference. Flatbeds running in and out of there all day like Ants.