muldonach

Sorry - not anti police at all in fact I have both friends and relations in the force and have been glad of assistance on a couple of occasions. Mainly to do with RTA's where no third party was involved "if it was away by the morning we don't need to do any paperwork" (for the avoidance of doubt the officers concerned were neither friends nor relations). I have also had the experience of being browbeaten by policemen trying to get me to admit to things I did not do. With as you put it "a known scrote" in the car I would have expected that TWOC would occur to the officers concerned and they would have eliminated that possibility before they let the vehicle go, so it was always pretty clear. If someone breaks into a vehicle and removes the contents to cause injury they have committed not one crime but two and the fault lies with the perpetrator, and yes I do know that there are specific rules for firearms. I have little doubt that most policemen try at least to act with common sense and discretion, and acknowledge that they often acting under orders from above which allow them little discretion, but the officers concerned in this case, and their sargeant have in my opinion been a bit OTT. Cheers mac

I think I would be tempted to just take her number and lose it! Alternatively and more positively if she is not out of your way or you are going by let her have a look at what she gets for the money. Suspect the answer will be about 3-400 but I ain't counting them! Cheers Mac

I would not run my figures on 50t per day - Alstor quote 20-50 cubic metres per day. The FC did a technical evaluation on the machine (2001) http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/ODW906.pdf/$FILE/ODW906.pdf but the machine will have moved on a bit since then one would hope. I'd certainly be interested to hear some more details of what Charlie is doing with the machine, what kind of timber and ground he is working on and how far he is moving the timber. Any chance of some pics Charlie? Cheers mac

We forward small diameter timber with a quad and a forwarding trailer - no crane so has to be reasonably small timber. Needs a reasonably powerful quad (500cc copes fine for us) and good tires, we also pick our days for forwarding and avoid wet and soft ground. Quad is easy to get, forwarding trailer is expensive for what you get but works well and tows very easy, be careful of slopes and don't push your luck. Definitely no plaything and quite good over long distances - some of our drags at the moment are 1km so it is good to be able to open the quad up a bit. Never used one with a crane but could be tempted, suspect would need a more powerful quad again. A 4x4 road vehicle is imo not a good option, fine if you just want to shift a couple of sticks after that forget it - you would be far better off with a small conventional tractor fitted with a small winch. I have done some skidding in the summer with a MF 35 and found it pretty good (good ground and short distances). We have used the landy on occasion and don't rate it - too many bits to catch underneath, pull brake pipes off etc, Small tractors are always easy to sell if they are runners. A tracked dumper with a timber loadbed and a crane would be an excellent package I would have thought but have never used one myself, would certainly like to try. From using diggers I would reckon steel tracks are greatly to be preferred but interested to hear what the people using them think. Cheers mac

As others have said if you find prolonged effort knackering it is probably a breathing issue. Getting a stuck axe head out can be a real pain but over the years we have garnered the following tips:- Don't use a maul on hardwoods - use a forged head axe with a profile halfway between maul and felling axe - Muller is the brand we use but I gues there are others. If the head sticks throw the axe head up in the air with the block stuck on, at the top of the swing turn it over so that the axe head comes down on the chopping block with the stuck block on top, it will either split or fly off - bit difficult if you are using a tyre. If that does not work or the block is too big to throw up on the axe head then pick up a split block and throw it on to the end of the shaft as if you were throwing it at the mother-in-laws head, the sudden shock will generally knock the axe out. cheers mac

Presumably when they stopped the car they would check the registration, insurance and MOT were valid, the car not listed as stolen and the driver authorised and insured to drive? Would that not involve checking the identity of the driver and in this case ascertaining that the driver was related to the registered keeper? I did not read the OP as indicating that the police seized the saws because they thought they might have been stolen. If they had thought that and made some enquiries on that basis then there could be few complaints. Frankly the way I read it they seized the kit for no particular reason and their sargeant decided to play hard-ass with an apparently law abiding citizen who has already had his working day disrupted. If the second scenario is anywhere near correct then they can hardly expect a pat on the back for a job well done. Cheers mac

Strictly speaking you are correct if the snatch block is used to double up the winch. However the Factor of Safety on the block is at least 4 and the rated line pull of the winch relates to first layer only. 2 is normally the proof load factor - i.e. for routine testing the block is subjected to twice its marked SWL and then thoroughly examined Crosby Catalog - Tackle Block Warning, Use & Maintenance Information. gives guidance on the factors of multiplication for line pull and various angles, it does not relate to igland blocks but the advice is generic I would have no qualms about using a 5t block with a 3.5t winch but again recommend regular, recorded inspection. Cheers mac

If you are not and never lifing anything with it then it does not need to be inspected and certified as lifting equipment. 6 monthly inspection is for man-riding equipment as far as I understand it. From a practical point of view there are safety implications in the use of a snatch block, so regular, recorded inspection is not that bad an idea. A 5 ton block is good to hang a 5 ton weight on one side with the wire running back to the winch below - it is more than adequate for use with a 3.5ton winch. Cheers mac

Strange how you never see this kind of thing on the "fly on the wall" TV shows unbelievable! Cheers mac

I think I would want to discuss this with my local councillor and maybe drop my MP a line. There has to be better things for the cops to do and as others have said a couple of phone calls could have sorted this out easy enough. The attitude from the sargeant is laughable. Cheers mac

While it may be different in England I am led to believe that in Scotland at least the police are under no obligation to issue receipts for items or evidence seized. Cheers mac

Actually I'm not - I'm talking about a GD85 which is slightly longer, wider and higher than the tipper 1.55cu to top of sides and 0.6 cu in the pile - takes 2 well filled bags and a good slack armful or two to top it off. And yes the OP did say it was a tipper:blushing: cheers mac

Any of the big harvesting companies - Scottish Woodlands, UPM-Tillhill or Euroforest - should be able to help you out. Also worth a call to your local FC office - ours will sell firewood at roadside and you arrange haulage - used to get I think 4 weeks to shift it after you bought it - don't expect they would have too much hardwood but you never know. Got plenty at this end but think Nairn would be a bit OTT haulage wise Cheers mac

By the sound of things the mrs won't be stoking the fires either:goodnight:

http://http://www.lycetts.co.uk/Insurance_Services/Commercial/tree_surgery_arboricultural__and_forestry_insurance/forestry_and_arboricutural_plant__machinery/index.php Google - Forest Machine Insurance

2.15 heaped up in the centre 3.5 with mesh sides but no extended tail door cheers mac

My tip would be not to clean the glass at all - our hunter stove has been in the living room for 19 years now and I don't think its ever had the glass cleaned by any method other than opening the air inlet up and giving it a good blast for 10 minutes. Looks fine to me!

Phone the big harvesting outfits - UPM Tilhill, Scottish Woodlands, Euroforest - they will all be able to help at one time or another I wager. We have good supplies of timber to bring to market but haulage to Nairn would be a killer I fear Cheers mac

http://http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/firewood-forum/34661-what-standing-timber-worth.html have a search through the forums - been covered a few times already - unless you already have experience and access to machinery be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. If you are new to the game then try to arrange a deal where you have a trial on a small area and see how you and the owner get along and how your working methods pan out in practice. Access is always (in my experience) the biggest issue, getting the timber on the ground is easy, getting it onto the road costs money! Cheers mac

Don't go and nock on the door, phone him up and as others have said tell him you have considered the matter and do not want an unhappy customer, if he is not happy with the logs you will collect them and give him a full refund. I would under no circumstances try to charge a handling fee or offer any discount - if you are happy you have given him value for money then stick to your guns - he either takes the logs at your normal price or you take them back. There is no way he can bad mouth you if you make that offer. We had a chancer like this years ago but I had sussed him out on the phone and arranged delivery for when he was at home. When I pulled up with the trailer he launched into his spiel about getting a better deal last year. My response was - "well give them a ring mate - I only brought this load in to show you what you get, if you don't want 'em I'll drop them off at the next customer on the list" and headed for the landy. Wife came out of the house bollocked *£!" out of him and told me to get them in the shed and bring another couple of loads please! Take the logs back, give him his money back and move on - life's too short to worry about that kind of nonsense Cheers mac

At £40 per cube processing I don't believe you would get too many repeat customers, we did it a few years back at £30 per hour all in (man, boy processor, tractor and chainsaws etc etc). As mentioned on other threads we do get £60 per cu mtr bag but that covers all stages from growing tree to delivered firewood so it is hardly for doing nothing. We have a guy up the road selling 1.2m bags of softwood at £40 if you collect and another couple of guys at similar prices so opportunity to get the price up is limited. I tend to sell the firewood we produce from thinnings or windblow that we need or want to clear anyway rather than looking to scale it up. Cheers mac

when somebody sells you one get a free welder thrown in with it - a hydraulic splitter will on real tough stuff follow the grain until either:- The log gives:001_smile: The tractor hydraulics lift the relief valve:sneaky2: or The splitter fails:blushing: which has happenned to us 3 times at least - we have now learned to be cautious as to what we try to force through cheers mac

Your original statement was that a man supplying a processor and charging £160/day would be left with £30 was it not? We have already put some figures on the costs of running the processor as for fuel the Valtra in my avatar will run flat out all day for £30 and will happily drive a processor ticking over at 540 output in the 1000 pto range for half of that. £20 of petrol will get you 3 gallons in my language which will take you a fair old distance, round this neck of the woods most people travel in there own time. Vehicle insurance, tax and servicing? = £5/day Vehicle depreciation = you can make it any figure you want - ballpark figure £10/day I suspect that the chap in question will be left with about £90/100 per day which would be a very reasonable wage round here for a paid employee, a little on the low side for a guy providing his own plant. As for charging £20 to fill a cubic metre bag with a processor - good on you if you can get it but I certainly would not pay that rate. cheers mac

Wood Species - Weight at various Moisture Contents how long is a ball of string - it varies with species as well - the link will give you density although in some cases in lb/cu ft so you will need to convert. %age of air will vary according to the size you split the logs down to I think - the more even they are the better they will stow. The only easy way you will get a worthwhile answer is to fill a known volume - either bag or trailer - and take it over a weighbridge. The weight of the timber in the trailer and the density quoted in the table will tell you how much timber is in the container and the rest is air - I would guestimate at 50%. There are a couple of other experiments you could do but probably more time and trouble than they are worth. cheers mac

No mate - he is in NZ wearing a red shirt with no 3 on the back:thumbup: