wills-mill

It's interesting now that the high tech softwood only mills want timber to a very tight spec, so there seems to be a lot of oversized timber in small quantities that they physically can't process (even though they wouldn't want to). I think that's the sort of situations most people on this board will face- having a relatively small bunch of an 'odd' species of timber. Very time consuming to deal with- you really need to find an end product or an end user and then work out where and how they get their timber..... W

I think everyone got excited about timber prices with the global price squirting up over last year, but I would imagine things are dying on their arse right now If you are milling then I think it's reasonable to look at about £1.50 to maybe £2.50 per cubic ft for standing Oak with good access at what's usually called fencing grade, but is basically small timber frame building grade. The fact that the trees may be local to you and the owners are on your side can make it worth more (or more useful) to you than you imagine..... From a small mill's point of view, it's nice to sink money into a larger number of smaller trees than a smaller number of large trees. If you buy 4 big trees and one is a nightmare you have chucked a lot of money away instantly, but if you have one or two dodgy trees among 30 others it's not so bad Softwood- B Bob- found a price of £12.78 m/3. standing,but it wasnt clear if was softwood or broadleaved ??????? I would think that was standing softwood on a large scale. That works out as £0.36 per cubic ft (35 cu/ft to 1cu/m), so may even be for pulp or bars rather than sawlogs, you'd have to get confirmation from some of the softwood boys on here. For what it's worth I'd hazard that most chunky sawable softwood used round here (SE England) on mobile or estate mills would go for 80p to £1.50 per cubic ft depending on species, so nice Larch, Douglas and maybe Western Red at the top end. But it's quite a bespoke thing, and I'd rather pay more for having the convenience of wood available locally with room to mill alongside when an order comes in. I may be miles off the mark for other areas and people's experiences on a larger scale, but it'd be nice if more people piped up and chipped in. As someone else said, I can look at barley, pig and potato prices any day of the week. Presentation and timber sales- Having come into timber from an arb background, I understand that at no point in ALL arb courses are even the very basics of timber layout, handling, crosscutting and felling for timber quality discussed. As a mobile sawyer I regularly cut timber for people who have ruined the value of their own trees with careless cutting and storage. All I can do is make the best that can be made from the available trees. Sadly, it is primarily because the timber industry does not help itself in advertising or making available any information to the majority of people at the chopping edge.

Really? I've never managed to get one out of the dealers, I obviously don't get through enough saws They seem to hold them in the back office for special scrutiny......

I've seen an evil farm-made splitting maul- a lump of axe head welded onto the face of a massive sledgehammer. A farmer near me uses it for 2ft long pub logs, the whole place shakes as he throws it around

from this... 1987 to this... 1992 to this... 2004 from here http://www.tkbbblog.com/category/stihl-calendars

There's a lovely Bedford near me...... It started out as a civilian cement mixer lorry (so the PTO gear was already fitted). The guys that still own it bought it at 2 years old, shortened the chassis, made up a lovely light jib and forged all of the C hooks and ring dogs themselves. He told me some great stories about some of their jobs- loads of Elm through the 70's especially. I'll try to get some photos. W EDIT: I think the beauty of the old Brit kit is that it was designed and built for seriously large mature broadleaf trees and timber. The modern forestry contractors kit is designed around younger softwoods, and are much quicker, more efficient, ergonomic and easier to get around in- but they've not really got the grunt for big one off jobs.

They do make quite a mess when they go splat!

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nZq9OLLA0tI&feature=related]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nZq9OLLA0tI&feature=related[/ame] Nice looking machine, the end product looks much like what comes out of a Bilke firewood processor. I'd always wondered what you'd get if you launched brushwood into a Bilke "Bilke" the unlikely bastard lovechild of a washing machine and a pair of Felco secateurs...

Well done guys. Fantastic job

Tis good to see innovators at work (as a side issue- one of my local suppliers told me that it's impossible to CE certify a knot- therefore it's fine to sell someone cord for prussik loops or a hitch, but it isn't OK to pre-knot the item. Any ideas on that? )

Seen the cranes on fleabay good luck with them...... Nice looking setup

If you want an excellent chain try a UK firm called Almax. The links are extremely tough and large enough to be bolt cropper proof and are much more serious than 99% of motorcycle and farm machinery dealer chains.

I think the best thing to do is talk to your current insurers. There are some odd aspects as to what you're covered for- The first time we took wooden bits and bobs to a Farmers Market the organisers got the hump as despite stated cover for all the more lethal aspects of trees and timber we hadn't specifically got cover for markets. I don't think you'd need a new policy- best to ask the experts and see if you need cover tweaking.

Bloody right Could be anyone next time....

Cauliflower fungus loves Lebanon Cedar Edit: OK the third one isn't the Cauli fungus..... but you get my drift?

I'd run into that vid before.... arse clenchingly scarey cut n paste the link: uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BZbbJyJSHR4&feature=related

The other thing worth looking out for is a toe jack.... you only need to enlarge the saw cut to slip one in I've been semi seriously looking out for one last few months. You'd have to be careful on soft timber and biiig trees as the jack would probaby just chew into the wood.

If your Doug is as nobbly ('boney' round here) as Logo's one, I don't think you'll get any interest from sawyers. If it's tidier it's worth digging out timber frame builders round your way and seeing if they're keen, they might have a milling contact. It's fantastic building timber, very sound stuff for windows and doors as well as framing, also very good weatherboard.

Paramo for me. UK company, who don't do Gore Tex- they do their own very tough, waterproof and breathable kit. They don't advertise much, but the amount of Coastguard and Mountain Rescue types that use Paramo might tell you something. I've got one of their Velez smocks, it's a great shape and a lovely all round jacket. Edit: RRP is £160 but I've seen them at under £100

Shame, but very reasonable in the situation. Can't you leave the basal growth for a bit of walnut coppice? Richard, did you go to Myerscough College a few years back? driving a disgusting coloured Fiat as I remember?

Yup, it's got to be dry I can't quite work out why everyone gets so excited about massive chippers for fuel wood- a big tree's never going to be dry I suppose it's just all about the big toys

Go on then- find me an alternative

Mornin' all..... If anyone's coming to the South of England this week, come and say hello to everyone in wood corner:wave: I'm in the 'Farming and Wildlife' area doing a demo with the Wood-Mizer opposite Balcombe Estate Sawmill who've got a firewood processor on the go, and I know the local coppice and hedge laying posses will be there as well. Plumpton and Brinsbury Colleges and the AA will be there, not sure about Merrist Wood. Apologies for the ticket price in advance...... Is there a secret Arbtalk handshake yet??? How will I know who's an internet person?? Will

Gill and Punter supply a lot of jumps around the country and have guys out cutting birch full time. I 'think' they mainly use coppice or recut birch, but they might well be interested in loads from elsewhere. Proper old fashioned, don't have a web site, so here's the office

I've had some of those NASA logs.... right old rubbish. Anyone bake their logs in a polytunnel? Always seems like a good scheme to me