santacruz

There is no choice but to take what's available. The new saws are what they are, I find them reliable. I use stihl and had one of the first 261s it lasted as long as I expected, and now have an mtronic 261 which is actually a really nice saw. Heavy forestry use they only last about a year, so you just have to go with what the manufacturers offer at the time. It's annoying when the models change as I build up a number of saws kept for parts.

It's almost certainly alder. The first picture my thoughts were pine by the way the chip has come loose. Then the next pictures I thought alder. The final picture of the bark confirms that it is alder.

It does look like the best mechanical aid, but it is still kind of pointless as a file costs £1 is quicker and better. If you think a brand new chain is the quickest and smoothest a chain can get then it may suit you. Stick with the file and after time you will be amazed at how quick and smooth cutting you can make your chains.

I think it depends on location. In our area lots of people burn what ever is cheapest. In a more urban area people who have natural gas as well as a log burner may still buy logs because they like to have a fire going. It is almost impossible to estimate the size of the UK market due to all the variables and the often informal nature of the supply system.

The market has shrunk in my mainly rural area alot with the cheap price of oil. Customers burn what ever is cheapest and at the moment its oil. It's also been very warm and sales are down around 50% on last year at a guess.

I was asked to file a land registratiom. Didn't understand a word of it, so didn't bother. That was about 6 months ago and haven't heard a thing since. I think if you dont make to much noise you can fly under the radar with these people.

I tried full chisel on my climbing saw but found that it tended to catch and pull chunks out of my pants when the saw was clipped up in my harness.

I think its a combination of oil price being very low, people have windblown stuff from the storms last year and they have stuff left over from the mild winter last year.

Log sales are down on this time last year. I think it is down to mild weather and the low price of heating oil. In my area a lot of people are on oil and they will use the cheapest heat be it oil or logs. Logs have to compete on price with other forms of energy, and I have estimated that at my prices when oil drops below 55p then it is better value than logs, not to mention miles more convenient.

Flippin eck. If you carry 20Kg at a time then that's 1000 trips. And if say each lift then carry and drop takes 2 mins then you have 33.3 hours of carrying logs ahead of you on that job. Time to sort out some serious man power.

I now do very little work with my saw probably a galon a month, I use stihls blue oil what ever its called, only because they didnt have the regular red stuff. It mentioned it had a fuel stabilizer in it. Do you think it will give the fuel a shelf life of over a month.

None of the handlers I have used have a trailer brake. Therefore no road work.

You need to calculate your total costs per day to operate including what you want for yourself as a day rate taking into account risk etc. Then work out how many tons you will do every day. This gives you your price per ton at roadside. If you are not marketing the stuff then that is your price. For a standing price you need to estimate the product mix, although with the price of chip wood for biomass it is often best on small pieces to 9ft the lot. Get a rough idea of the value of each product. Calculate the average value of each ton and subtract your roadside price from this. It is wise to take into account the extra risk in marketing the stuff your self. The key parts are working out how many tons per day. You must walk every inch of the job as finding something like a water pipe or badger set after you start can right balls you up. Also look out for key things like wagon access inc overhanging branches road condition etc, you may think it looks ok for a wagon and a wagon driver may come and start hauling but if it is at all awkward chances are if he can fill his day with easier work you wont see him again. Just look at every angle befor you price it as forestry is hard enough without accidently under pricing.

I may have been a bit rubish at sowing, but I found it a bit of a waste of time and on elasticy type pants like hi flexs wet suit glue was much better. No need even for a patch just glue the two edges together and its stronger than the original, no more nails is also quite good.

I feel any saw will handle any bar. Your engine has x amount of power which can therefore remove x amount of wood in a given time period. Just sharpen the chain accordingly. On a big bar you will have lots of cutters in contact with the wood so you need to remove smaller chips and on a small bar less cutters and therefore you can ask them to remove bigger chips. Saves you having loads of different sizes saws with different bars and also from carrying around a big saw when you only need the big bar occasionally.