muldonach

I make it 625 to lift 50kg. Remember the tension provides lift from both directions.

I make it 738 to lift 50Kg (allowing 9kg for wire weight) Whatever - it is asking a lot of a 6mm wire - there is a misunderstanding or mis-interpretation somewhere

Cheers

mac

I think you are getting confused between the weight and the tension in the wire. The wire tension generates an upward vector to lift the 30kg. It also exerts a pull between the two anchors. The combination of these two is the wire tension which is what we should be concerned with. The OP didnt want to anchor 30 ft up a tree so typically we are talking around the 400kg of tension to generate an upward force of 30kg with a reasonable sag. If we add in the extra stresses due to movement etc then your cable is probably between its SWL and MBL. Not a good idea for a new cable let alone a secondhand one.

I am similarly intruiged by the figures - a 1:25 sag indicates a pretty high cable tension to me - if anything CWB figures are low so would be interested to see the figures you have for a 50Kg weight suspended halfway across a 50m span with total 1m sag?

Even if the figures are acceptable a 6mm wire will not last long at all in this application.

It is an interesting discussion since I have a similar problem involving soft rather than steep ground.

Without wishing to raise difficulties one issue that will arise is the effort of lifting the timber high enough to get it on to the travelling block while having the cableway high enough to ensure the load does not bottom out partway down.

Cheers

mac

And here lays the problem, "logistics" . £15 a ton would only be for a relatively short haul. You cant start to haul chip the length and breadth of the country when its value is so low. The whole chip supply and demand chain would benefit if perhaps the rail companies could step in and transport this straight into the power stations. They are better placed for moving bulk around the country than trucks.

 

Bob

The statement is correct as far as it goes - rail is more efficient than road haulage by a factor of between 10 and 30 if memory serves correct, what is missing is the sidings and transhipment yards needed to load the wagons - not to mention the scarcity of rail tracks in critical areas.

Sadly the bit in italics is just wrong - there are few if any bulk handling facilities available for rail freight whereas wagon loading is easy.

Coastal shipping is probably a more economic option but gets difficult unless there is return cargo available

Cheers

mac

Don't know , everyone seems worried about how long we can last before we run out

There was no mention in the bit I read about any percentage from the uk

How much will it cost to get a tonne of chip from the good old USA to teeside , it will be built right on the rivers edge not far from the current biomass plant , which I was told from a farmer who I chip for not more than 5 miles from the biomass powewr plant told me they have a massive amount of timber in stock and it is starting to rot .

Maybe this is why stobbarts have slowed down buying chip in

About the same as putting it in a wagon and moving it 100 miles, bulk shipping is a very efficient way of moving homogenous cargo

Cheers

mac

I don't think Joubert should be vilified. IMO the tmo was more to blame.

It was the tmo that petty much forced his hand to bin a scot for 10min for the non existent intentional slap down.

From the field position of Joubert when he awarded that final penalty, it would've looked certain that it came off a scot. Even if not asked the tmo should have quickly reviewed that vital decision and sent him a word in his ear.

I fully agree - the ref made an honest call base on what he saw. However he is performing on a world stage and only a world class performance will do. World Rugby has said that he was wrong in his ruling but that he was correct not to consult the TMO. That imo is garbage, firstly if a penalty is awarded then foul play is involved and secondly the protocol needs to be changed before another poor soul makes a clown of himself before the world.

Also interesting to note no citation for late charge on hogg

Very sorry to see Scotland go out in such a way. Completely robbed!

However they can hold their heads high as they played so well and can now progress with a greater confidence.

 

So many crucial bad decisions against the Scots. If it had been an English referee I hate to think what might have happened!

I don't think we were robbed since the aussie's beat us on the try count. Scotland played well and were much more competitive than expected.no referee gets it totally correct but several decisions were unfortunate and questionable.

What doesn''t kill you makes you stronger. Just sign the online petition to ban craig Joubert from scotland!

Not aware of gearbox issues but dependent on engine type they have a habit of dropping a big end and putting a conrod out through the block :thumbdown:

There is a known fix where the big ends are opened up and checked - new shells and bolts fitted - stitch in time and all that

If you do go ahead and buy it we have a donor vehicle for spares - less engine

Cheers

mac

Well we are another outfit with a dog in 560XPG colours - not done 100hrs and has had more than the price of the saw in parts for one reason or another.

Oh and Husqvarna really need to take a look at their dealers - it was in one for 6 weeks and came back "no fault found" - one missing screw on carb cover and another loose, ignition module loose and damaged.

Put it into another dealer and they took 10 weeks to reset to factory setting after changing the ignition module, revved it up and "its flooding - needs a new carb"

Took it home and put it into an oak stump for a few minutes since when it has been ok until the exhaust bolts worked loose and one stripped its threads in the block so just been helicoiled

Also broken chain brake handle in between times

but apart from that its been fine:thumbup:

It sits alongside a stihl 038 which was bought second hand 25 years ago and in that tiime I think I may have changed the spark plug and definitely put a new fuel hose in.

cheers

mac

Hi all just wondering if the willow species Goat willow is a good wood for coppicing and fuel burn. Visited a friends site today and is full with Goat willow,around 8 acres of the wood most trees have around 6-8 limbs averaging 6" diameter. Not sure how this species will regrow but should be quick.

As firewood it will be fine - it is almost impossible to kill a willow by cutting it and it sounds like you have a reasonable crop to start with.

There are two problems with willow in my experience:-

1. The dann stuff just will not grow straight but forks all over the place

2. It loves wet feet - 8 acres of willow sounds like a good recipe for getting bogged to me but if you have good access it will be fine.

Cheers

mac

I think your spot on their, never used a stove before so its a learning curve. Thinking a 4-5kw stove, living room is 3.5m x 5.9m x 2.7 high with the second room very similar size. Bedrooms 3.5m x 4.5m

A 4-5Kw roomheater should give you a nice feature in the living room and if you fit (as you should) thermostatic valves to the radiators on your oil system it will allow you to throttle down the living room radiator(s) as necessary to let the stove do a bit and ease off on the oil.

It will do the square root of nowt for the rest of the house unless you provide some effective form of heat transfer - otherwise known as radiators and a pump. You can couple a boiler stove into your oil central heating system but the probability is you will need to argue with your pumber to get him convinced to do it and there are safety considerations - the design has to be correct and fail safe. this is covered on other threads on this forum.

I personally would fit a bigger stove of about 8kw and if you do connect to the CH then 14kW - but you will not, imo, save any money unless you can get free timber, RHI or the price of oil rises considerably (or some combination of these factors)

There is nothing wrong with just having a roomheater in the living room - important in my experience to get any draughts sorted out, make sure the chimney installation is good and make provision for external access into the chimney.

Enjoy

mac

Probably partial heating. The cottage were buying has electric heating (has 2 rooms downstairs 2 upstairs. small extension with bathroom kitchen in it).

Going for Oil for primary heat/hot water but putting multi fuel burner in, in the hope we can ease off the oil and heat the cottage via the stove. leave a door open so it permeates through the house and up through the floor boards (wishful thinking)

If you wish to use solid fuel to economize on oil then you really need to connect it into the same transfer mechanism as the oil heating. Attempting to economize on oil by running a Roomheater with the (room) doors open is unlikely to be satisfactory, tends to result in a living room you cannot live in and bedrooms which are a bit chilly.

Frankly at today's oil prices it is unlikely to be economic either.

Your description sounds more like a lounge fire which will be lit evenings and weekends, and nothing wrong with that, 3-4 cube should last a long time.

Cheers

Mac

I'm near Girvan.

Plan was buy seasoned wood this year then stack/dry unseasoned for the

coming years. But unsure how much wood would you use in a year??

I have an enclosed stove and some space

Are you using the timber for total, partial or just background heating??

We heat a large 4 bed house with nothing but wood - good insulation, secondary glazing etc and use about 20m3 per year

From there on down your needs should be less than that.

We can supply any amount of firewood you need seasoned or unseasoned, soft or hardwood.

Cheers

mac

Hi all

What's the best value way of buying logs. Some companies sell by the Builders bag (bulk bag)softwood KD (kiln dried) £65-£75 Hardwood KD £90-£105, (roughly 0.9m3 per bag) though one company in the s/w Scotland sells hardwood logs 1m3 bag for £70 softwood for £60 1m3, another delivers loose trailer loads from 2 to 10 cubic metre loads from £140-£700. Palleted birch KD 1m3 £160 2m3 £250 or a S/W Scot company 1.6m3 pallet £110 Softwood £95

 

Products Archive - Southwest Firewood

Buy Logs Online | Firewood Delivery Scotland | Wood Logs Lanarkshire

Kiln dried firewood, logs, kindling, log stores and rock salt Scotland, UK | Reliable logs every time | Clydesdale Logs | Kiln Dried Firewood

Birch Hardwood Logs For Sale | Wood Pellets | Renfrewshire | Glasgow | Dundee

Kiln Dried Logs | Gartlove Logs

Seasoned Softwood | Gartlove Logs

 

Also the Forestry commission do supply permits to collect timber for a price and time limited

 

Any thoughts

The best way to buy logs is whichever option is most economical for your set of circumstances

If you are physically fit with plenty of storage space and an enclosed stove setup then buy unseasoned logs regardless of spices, stack them yourself and air dry them.

If you are short of storage space you will need seasoned logs.

If you have an open fire then you will want to avoid softwood

Find a supplier who offers the product you need and then work out the most economical route for you, reduce all the options to a price per cubic metre on your drive or in your shed.

If, as seems likely you are in SW Scotland then delivery will be an important part of the equation.

Looking for a site for to do my CS32 training, I can get a trainer but we are struggling for a site.

 

Here is the spec of what I ideally need.

If you have a site capable of accommodating the felling of up to x10 trees, with an effective diameter at felling height over 380mm (15") either conifer or broad-leaved, or both, of which some can be made to hang up in neighbouring trees, our instructor could deliver an event at your site.

 

In north England or south Scotland would be ideal.

Cheers

No problem at all - site with felling licence in place and felling ongoing when do you want to do it?

We are in Galloway and about 110miles from carlisle

may be interested in joining your course

10 big hairy spruce trees tipped into soft spot in road after cleaning drains and installling pipes, snedded to leave the brash there and the timber snaked away with a digger up the banking, cross cut to 3.7m logs and stacked.

Last calf of the year arrived fit and well - mum and son doing fine thanks:thumbup:

Long term Forest Plan sent off to printers to get hard copies for signing:thumbup:

load of firewood delivered to round off the day

Sat with laptop and a glass of wine:thumbup:

Downside - missus had third course of chemotherapy today and not feeling too bright on it:thumbdown:

Brace him in front of his workforce and preferably a client

Maybe because you hit the hardened end of maul with hardened sledge? We had it drilled into us at school woodwork lessons not to hit two hammers together for this very reason!

Agreed - not a good idea to hammer on the head of a maul,

If we get a stuck head we tend to throw the whole thing into the air i.e. lift the log off the ground with the maul, invert it at the top of the throw and bring the top of the maul head down onto the splitting block - the log will either split or fly off.

If the log is too big then pick up another log and throw it onto the end of the maul shaft

cheers

mac

The farmer where I rent a yard has a huge 2 year old seasoned ash that fell down in a storm. He's happy for me to ring and process it into firewood but wants some money for it. It will produce about 30m3 of firewood. How much should I give him? Or how shall I work out a fair price? Ideas?

If you know it will produce 30cu mt of firewood :-

What can you sell that for? or alternatively how much would you have to pay for it delivered to your door?

How long will it take you to convert the fallen tree into processed firewood? Put an hourly rate on that time and deduct from above

What other costs will you have? Fuel, oil, trasport etc - quantify them and deduct from above

The figure you have arrived at is the maximum you can pay and make a decent return - the proportion of that that you initially offer is up to you

Cheers

mac

It's a perfectly reasonable price for processor sized cord delivered.

I am starting to clear some small areas of bracken and wondered what would be the best method of removal... Pulling it up or slashing it?

 

Do not want to spray.

 

Any other idea's?

If you don't want to spray and the area is too small to justify a bracken breaker then use a scythe or brushcutter - however you need to cut twice in a season and you will need to cut for several years before you make much impression and even then you are simply pushing it back a bit - if you stop the maintenance then the bracken will recolonise.

Even so a machine does not get tired. Splitting firewood with an axe or maul is strenuous work no matter how fit you are do a couple of hours and you will not keep up with a splitter. At first you will be quicker but as time passes you will soon slow up. Plus it's hard on the body.

Bit of a broad brushstroke that - if you are splitting straight grained timber it is not difficult for an axe to beat a splitter although there are a number of variables either way.

A good axe is a must, a tyre helps considerably and most important is having the sense to throw the tough stuff into a separate pile. We regularly chose an axe or maul over a tractor driven splitter, I've never used a domestic type splitter but have seen them used and they are not quick.

Cheers

mac

I do agree it's frustrating for local firms having been on both sides of the coin, but In all fairness private jobs for us are very few and far between, we imo do about 1 a month, I've seen the costings and there's no profit made jus cost covering. I don't know where this rumour has come from as I've heard nothing like that, were generally too busy with highways/parks/street trees/council housing/callouts/woodland to be over run with private stuff...as u said Joe no animosity just respect towards other gangs from me...we jus do our job 😃

Council firms who are in part paid by businesses operating in the area should not be competing with those businesses.....it is as simple as that.

cheers

mac

Careful now Marcus - next thing you will be stopping up the ditches to re-wet the moss!!

Seriously however there are few things more rewarding long term than watching and helping a wood to regenerate.

cheers

mac

Which specific rope should I be looking at? Can anyone point me to a link? thanks for the help btw.

::Teufelberger:Fiber Ropes

I had a look on the website at the sirius bullrope you mentioned - its stretch characteristics are not stated that I can see but as I understand it for aerial use you guys normally use nylon based ropes with a lot of stretch?

These are not ideally suited for winching etc as I originally indicated and as others have amplified. I do not in any way disagree with thier comments but to be frank in my field (marine) we rarely use anything but polyprop. When a 76mm polyprop does go it can be spectacular and life threatening but they do give a bit of warning before they go.

I personally would ideally use dyneema cordage in this application but:-

1. It is not cheap

2. It very poorly resists abrasion so you MUST look after the outer sheath

If you do find yourself using a rope with significant stretch then provide some line of fire protection such as an offset snatch block to direct a whiplash away from you.

The main thing really is to use a properly sized bit of cordage which is unlikely to part in the first place, to look after it in use and retire it in good time. and don't surge it ubnder tension!

Cheers

mac

Will a kernmantle rigging rope - e.g. sirius bullrope, work with a petrol powered portable capstan winch? Assuming it's the correct diameter - or would it melt it?

 

Cheers.

 

TTS

You can use any rope at all with a capstan although the lower the stretch characteristic the better.

The only way to generate heat in the system is to surge the line under tension, and if you do that then the heat is generated irrespective of the rope construction.

Cheers

mac