Catweazle

According to The Times; Britain cuts down forests to keep ‘green’ power stations burning - Times Online the price of timber is to soar as UK imports need to ramp up to meet the needs of new wood-fired powerstations. If it's true then it might be time for firewood processors to start looking at signing some long-term supply deals with woodland owners. I know that the price of firewood has been going up steadily, but I assumed it was a blip caused by the high oil prices. Maybe it's going to be a longer effect.

Happy days ! I loved mine, nice to see that you're using it properly ps/ Don't forget the diff breathers or it will be a short honeymoon.

Desiderata Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

As my Dad always said, spare the rake spoil the child....

31 Tons, I don't need a rake though.

I was just wondering. I've seen some pictures on here of some great looking reductions and professional removals, and I was thinking that a folder with some pictures of previous work might give you the edge over the pikeys. Certainly, if I was looking for some tree work I would like to see examples.

A cheap stick welder is a lot more difficult to use than decent inverter kit. I use a Cemont 140 amp inverter, it's nice and light and about the size of a small "Hand luggage" suitcase. The difference between it and the cheap buzz-box welders is amazing, smoother arc and smoother welds. I'd go to a welding shop and buy a used and battered inverter over a new buzz-box.

Long term 2 acres is not enough, you need 5 even for dense coppice woodland. On the plus side, if it hasn't been cut for a long while you might have 150 tons standing on it, which will keep you going for a few years. Personally I would plan on getting some good fruit and nut trees in there, food is going to be in short supply in 10 years time.

Lovely little motors, extremely capable off-road but not good on it. Probably the best green lane car you can get because they're so narrow and light. If you are going to do the really muddy stuff there are a couple of simple mods worth doing. Fix rubber pipes to the diff breathers and run them inside the car, the reason for this is that in serious mud the diffs get very hot and if you then drive into cold water the sudden cooling sucks water / mud through the breather. Secondly, there is a breather on the bell housing which allows water / mud to get into the clutch - silicone a piece of plastic over it. Thirdly, get yourself a surgical latex glove and use it to waterproof the distributor. Five fingers means one for each HT lead and one for the feed from the coil. Cut a small hole in each fingertip and feed the cables through, then make good with tape and stretch the wrist over the distributor body. Put a blob of silicone grease in each HT cap then push them onto the plugs. I waterproofed the HT lead to cap joint with self-amalgamating tape. Next, make sure the battery is well fixed in, the metal strap is a bit puny and it's very close to the bonnet. Make sure that all your winches, straps and tools are well strapped down. You will roll it, and you don't want them flying around inside the car. Finally, remember to hose the mud out of the radiator regularly - they can be prone to overheat very quickly with a clogged radiator. Edit// I forgot, they rust through where the inner skin meets the rear wheel arches, expanding polyurethane foam holds them together and keeps the water out.

Common Inkcap ? Maybe.

Could everybody stop getting shot ! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPg_fj_SK_E]YouTube - Could everyone stop getting shot!?[/ame]

I had a letter then a visit from the Enviromental people. The letter came two days after I installed the stove, my idiot neighbour had reported it as making smoke, even though it hadn't actually been lit as we were told to leave it 48 hours for the heatproof silicone to set around the stovepipe. Idiot neighbour saw the stove arrive and the chimney liner go in, then the smoke from the smoketest canister and reported me. The enviromental officer came along, asked what I was burning, so I said Homefire smokeless fuel and dry wood. He asked to see the DEFRA exemption certificate for the stove, took a photo of it and I haven't heard a thing since. Stove is a Dunsley Yorkshire with back-boiler, it is approved to burn wood of 25% or less moisture in a smoke control area. It is an offence to make the dark smoke even if your stove is approved, except for an unforseeable malfunction or when lighting it. In practice I start the stove on dry Sweet Chestnut which makes no smoke at all after 5 minutes, it also burns very hot, when the stove is fully hot and there is a bed of glowing coals for any smoke to be pulled down through ( the Yorkshire burns downwards ) then I can put any old logs on it with no visible smoke. A nice lump of hornbeam works well.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI]YouTube - Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)[/ame]

You all probably know about these, but they're new to me; How to make a Swedish Log Candle | eHow.com Looks like a good idea, possibly even a moneyspinner at the local garden centre ?

Thanks Luke, I'll give them a call and have a chat.

My converted dumper truck is short, wide and stable. It's articulated both ways, for steering and it can twist to allow the front or rear axles to ride over stumps even though it has no moving suspension. Maybe you could borrow something similar.

Sweet Chestnut and Hornbeam. Snap, Crackle and Pop to start with, then a long burn from the Hornbeam.

I hadn't seen that before, thanks. They seem to sell at a bit more than I was expecting, worth doing by hand at those prices - assuming I can actually sell at near those prices. The idea of the forklift type jig is good - with a chain and sprockets I can double the effective length of the ram, or even quadruple it with a 4 sprocket setup. I don't think splitting force will be an issue, sweet chestnut splits very easily when green. If I end up with scrap wood through the splitter it's not a problem - I'll just stick it into the charcoal kiln.

Quickthorn - thanks for that, it shows splitting by hand though which is a bit slow. I need something like a "powered froe" . A machine that pushes the log through whilst I steer the froe by hand would be better than nothing. Garth - I will be splitting longer wood too, for post and rail fence. How did your friends machine work ? Was it similar to a long conventional log-splitter ? I wonder if the blade(s) will have to be spring mounted so that they can follow the grain to an extent, splitting rather than cutting. As far as I can google nobody sells one of these machines but I can't believe that all that paling is split by hand.

Has anyone seen / made a splitter for palings ? They need to be up to 6ft long and an 8" log would need to be split into 6 segments, preferably in one operation. I'm thinking it will be like a normal firewood splitter but with a much longer ram or possibly some kind of feed "wheels" like a harvester head. I guess it would also have some kind of guide near the blades, to keep the log from wandering off course, and probably thin blades so as not to damage the wood too much. Ideas appreciated, Thanks.

It's always a salesman that tells you that.

I've just started burning Sweet Chestnut that I cut and split last Feb / March . It spits and pops, so no good for an open fire, but in my stove it burns hot and bright and more importantly (I'm in a smoke control area) it burns really cleanly, no smoke at all after 5 minutes to warm the flue. It also leaves hardly any ash and splits very easily to make kindling. Apart from the popping and spitting the only problem is that I can't get it to last all night so once it's got a good bed of hot embers going I put a big wedge of Hornbeam on it or a shovel full of Anthracite. I've also been burning Silver Birch which lights easily and burns too quickly, not great. Lastly, that old rhyme about "Ash green or Ash dry" is cobblers, green Ash doesn't burn well at all, it smokes, tars up the stove window and leaves the inside of the stove covered in soot. A dry fill of Sweet Chestnut leaves the inside of the stove white and clean.

Can you cut some holes big enough to get a hydraulic bottle jack into it ? Even quite small ones will give you 10 tons splitting force. What about drilling some holes big enough to get 2 scaffold poles in then putting a jack between them ?

I have a home-build loader, bought from a farm where they used it to stack strawbales, it started life as a dumper truck and now has lifting forks and a lifting arm instead of a bucket. It's got a Lister diesel producing a massive 8.2 horsepower and 4 wheel drive. It's articulated so turns on a sixpence and despite the low power it will go anywhere, slowly. If you have the time you can easily make one for yourself for less than £1k.

You can buy a tidy P38 RangeRover 4.6HSE / Vogue for about £2k . Rebuild the suspension compressor £29, download free EAS ( electronic air suspension ) software and buy appropriate cable £6 , reset suspension to whatever heights you like and your rebuilt compressor will handle it. Fit a decent new battery £90 , this will solve all the annoying gremlins in the fault reporting system. Remove the connector under the engine for the crank position sensor, solder the wires and waterproof with self-amalgamating tape £0.50 . Fit 16" wheels ( new from Landrover dealer £22 each ) and BF Goodridge Mud Terrains £400 . For less than £3k you have 225bhp, permanent 4WD, traction control, 3.5 ton towing and all the luxury you would expect from a car that cost £50k new. What have you got to lose ? £3k tops, about the depreciation you'd see on the average new car when you drive it out of the showroom.