arboriculturist

Just now, devon TWiG said:

Perrie Hale ....Honiton ..

Yes, emailed them today. Thanks

54 minutes ago, MrNick said:

Thorpe Trees

Thorpe Underwood
Ouseburn
York
YO26 9TA

Thanks for posting.

1 hour ago, Will C said:

Cheviot trees in Scotland deliver nation wide. There cell grown stuff is very good, a little more expensive than bare root but with the tube planter it’s bloody quick to plant hedges compared to bare root so you gain more on labour cost than you spend on plants. 

Ah thanks. I'll be busy on the phone with all the leads I'm getting.

1 hour ago, ESS said:

Johnsons of Whixley perhaps.

I'll call them tomorrow. Thanks

1 hour ago, monkeybusiness said:

Prees Heath Forest Nurseries - 01948 841353. 
I don’t know what their stock levels will be now though.

Thanks for the contact.

32 minutes ago, gary112 said:

Wyevale Transplants are very good near Ledbury

Agreed - however they are closing their bare root season early as they have almost run out and you have to wait  a minimum of a week before they will look at you email enquiry - will not accept phone enquiries. Thanks anyway.

These will be close to Somerset but I would always pay for carrier delivery as that works best for us. Thanks.

Our usual bare rooted hedging whips supplier has decided to wind things up. Having used him for years I have never needed to look elsewhere.

I need a few thousand and time is getting on.

Any recommendations of reliable wholesale suppliers would be most welcome. 

Oh and also green spirals and 90cm canes needed.

46 minutes ago, Woodworks said:

Sold along with MS 181

 

Nothing wrong with the Makita and it's great value but not enough oomf or staying power for the jobs I do. It made me see how far battery saws had come so took the leap to a top of line one. Also the MSA 220  made the  181 redundant. 

Fair enough.

Yes the Makita is a reasonable although the wheel chain tensioner is Mickey Mouse. For £126 I paid for the bare saw, already having batteries made it a good buy. Not very refined like a Stihl though.

Do you run the Stihl PM3 full chisel 3/8 chain on a 14" bar? I was thinking 12" bar may be better suited?

4 hours ago, Woodworks said:

Just bought an MSA 220 a week ago and it's simply brilliant!

Been hedge laying and got fed up with the on off nature of the work and a sore shoulder to boot. It's perfect for the hedge laying and snedding up the brash. 

Ok - but what happened to the MAKITA DUC353Z 35CM you bought ?

Categorically   -   WET BASIS  and a Meter that measures on a WET BASIS will cost you

circa. £300.

4 hours ago, Stere said:

My moiture meter was a £6.99 one off ebay.

 

Would be interesting to see the difference between its readings and the expensive ones.

 

Expensive ones have an inbuilt program for different wood species.

 

Extech MO230 Pocket Pin Moisture Psychrometer, Wood /Building Materials from Cole-Parmer United Kingdom

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Buy Extech MO230 Pocket Pin Moisture Psychrometer, Wood /Building Materials and more from our comprehensive...

 

Still measures on 'Dry basis' though.

10 hours ago, carbs for arbs said:

Some fantastic replies in here, so thanks to all.  And big thanks to @openspaceman for addressing my musings one by one.  

 

There's some other things I've been thinking which I'll write up when back from the night dog walk.

 

But aside from saying thanks, I was going to add that we don't have a microwave and I'm not sure I'll be allowed to cook a log in our newish range cooker for 24 hours! 

 

Back soon     

"You need to define accuracy. If the log has been drying the reason you split it is so the meter measures the wettest (worst case). Not having a meter I cannot experiment but I imagine one could get a feel for the average moisture content  by comparing an outside reading as well? "

Yes I agree, as you said -  "You need to define accuracy. " Mine was a general comment and was based on comparing pin test centre log with oven dry.

There is a correlation between the outside MC and centre MC which can give a reasonable overall MC of the log. But there are of course a lot of variables that effect this, species, time of year, hardwood, softwood, size of log, length of time drying.

I have developed my own data for this which works well as an indication of the MC of a batch of drying timber.

All this said, basically time and airflow is your friend when it comes to lowering the MC of timber, as has been pointed out by many many times.

Most people by now know how long they need to store their timber and under what conditions to achieve sub. 20% MC.

55 minutes ago, Paul in the woods said:

You're missing the point. The new regs means sellers of <2 cubic meters of logs must sell under 20%. After a bit of research that's wet basis. Most, if not all, cheap meters use dry basis. 25% dry basis = 20% wet basis.

 

So, if you deliver your logs at the legal limit of 20% wet and some know it all whips out their cheap meter it'll say 25% and they'll start complaining etc, etc.

There is no shortcut, which is why I decided that the price of the correct meter is just another business expense to be absorbed.

We all know that splitting a log in 1/2 and just testing the middle of a log is an inaccurate way of assessing the true MC of a piece of timber, but that is what we are all told to do and know one is interested to hear otherwise.

For those who oven dry test, my point is clearly reinforced.

I find it easier just to tow the line sometimes and this is sadly one of those occasions.

Approaching £300 to buy a MM that can be programmed to measure wwb - bearing in mind you will be lucky to find any supplier whatsoever in the UK that has a clue what you are talking about.

Don't bother contacting Woodsure.

A 35X has as you know land and engine drive. It also has the 2 stage clutch - 1st for PTO and then wheels engage.

45 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

Depends on the spec.

’Hat rack back to previous’ - no problem.

’0.75m crown reduction as specified by TO’ - problem. MEWP or walk away.

 

Reductions done entirely with pole saws and/or pole pruners always look shit.

The finished product always depends on the length of branch length removed and the operative. I would never advocate use of pole pruners from ground, but a reduction of 1.5m from our tallest steps working off level ground with the Jamesons, I think few would notice a difference in method, if the brief was for 1.5m.

It looks more like an overgrown shrub -  I don't think any tree surgeon would consider hiring a platform and I would think it could be done with the Jamesons fairly well.

Yes good idea, Yandles not far - thanks.

So basically if you are serious about milling slabs it sounds like you you need a setup like in Jewson's timber yard to maximise floor space and optimise storage area.

Basically RSJ stantion racking similar to this, but far heavier steel, that can be accessed with the forklift, holds a lot of stickered products and is very accessible.

10 levels each side, I would think when full that would hold a serious stock of highly valuable slabs!

18 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

 

I would not bother with joiners.  They are very well supplied with Idigbo, American Ash/Oak, and a myriad of other high quality kiln dried timbers in multiple thicknesses and long lengths and for lowish prices.

 

A unique furniture maker on the other hand might appreciate what you can offer, or indeed a multitude of amateurs making items for their own or their friends use.

Priceless  info. Thanks for those wise words and what you say rings true what you know about the Joinery sector.

You have set me on the right road for sure.

We get some unusual lumps of timber in all shapes and sizes and I loath to convert some of it into firewood.

Got a 30" dia 2.5m length of Cherry just arrived - perhaps set it to one side for now.

15 hours ago, Rough Hewn said:

There’s always a market if you can find it.
Google is your friend.

I have generally asked local joiners I know, but perhaps a good strategy is to Google further afield regional joiners and furniture makers with your stock list and some photos? Thanks.

Rough Hewn and Squaredy will be advising shortly I suspect - they will say it as it is 😀

Got 4 gun barrel straight 2.5m x 18" lengths of Ash sawlogs here.

Knowone ever seems interested in buying slabs of Ash but they are so good that I am considering milling then all at 55mm, stickering up for 18 months and seeing if anyone is interested when the country has settled down.

Any comments appreciated.

I oven dry to get the definitive MC of air dried logs.

It is possible to ' keep logs at 20% at this time of year' depending on your region and topography of the site where you store.

Basically a far larger earlier investment in timber, a much longer lead time, timber dried to below 20% considerably earlier than you have ever done before, good air circulation throughout Autumn / winter and meticulous process management from start to finish.

By no stretch of the imagination is this an easy task and never a 100% guarantee of success.

IMO you will always be sailing close to the wind, however hard you work at things, just need to remain positive.