Luke Quenby

Well put Hama! It is easy to confuse the 2, but I reckon that's about as plain a piece of explanation as you'll find

Evening all, I've been asked by a customer to plant 40 meters of evergreen hedge. It mustn't be prickerly, laurel or leylandii. Looking for suggestions of species and places to buy (mail order or wholesale) looking for 5 foot high to start. Thanks in advance. tom -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- how about a Box hedge - Buxus sempervirens ??? Love to see the price for 40 metres of 5 foot high box! Photinia probably best bet for price and speed of growth, can be a bit boring though, depends on what the client wants. Yew another good one but for 5 foot high the price will be crazy, even if you go direct to some of the Dutch nurseries. Quite a few spikeless varieties of Holly about like 'Golden van Tol', or maybe persuade them to go for something like hornbeam, which will retain a good deal of the dead leaves in the winter, still providing a good screen. Try these guys to, very highly recomend Semi-mature tree supplier - Deepdale Trees, Independent Tree Nursery for trees, shrubs and hedging or Van den Berk Nurseries | Welcome Good luck

I've got a backing plate for my 4" grinder that accepts sanding discs, with a 36 grit on there it's amazing how much you can remove! Really handy for all the tighter work to, made a good job on the mantlepiece I did a few months back, is that what you use for the Oak table, if not, best fiver you'll spend!

Really cool stuff that Bart, especially the Oak table, how did you do it? Chainsaw carved then a load of sanding?! Nice pics mate

True enough BCF, I can only imagine how frustrating it can be for people in the emergency services, especially those who have served for a long time, not being able to do the job as they see fit. Unfortunate product of the times I'm afraid, but having said that and from my own personal point of view, the advances that have been made in agriculture and forestry over the last 20 years (particularly the former) are a welcome change in the majority. My father in law is watch commander at Liverpool airport, so I know all about the hoops they have jump through on a daily basis just to do their jobs. But the point I was making, or trying to, which I think quite a few on here have echoed is that we don't know the circumstances behind the situation. They were doing what they could with what few / incorrect resources they had avaialable, rightly or wrongly. We also work or are involved in an increadibly dangerous industry, and have all got our share of horror stories / near misses and opinions of others efforts and work practices to share out. Is all I'm saying and agreeing with is maybe it's very easy to sit here and watch a video (that hopefully wasn't shot by an arborist) of one of our emergency services attempting to do something that many of us with the correct tools and training do easily everyday in our working lives. I wouldn't like to think that the fire brigade would be knocking holes in my efforts to put out a house fire after someone had videod it and posted it on you tube. Regardless of health and saftey regs, and how much we agree with how far they have gone in helping or hindering efficiant and quick working practice, these guys are up there with the bravest. Just my opinion, but I to can't understand why they were doing it, when as others have said, most LA's have an emergency crew floating about in the area who could have dealt with the situation much easier, as from the video there was no apparant immediate danger to anyone or anything.

Totally agree. Yep, they made a bit of a pigs ear of it, wrong tools and techniques etc, but come on, these guys put their lives on the line everyday of the week.

Making the most of my wife being away, I've spent most of the day being highly productive in the shed! I milled some yew some time ago, before the bits I posted on another thread a few weeks back, and have been promising to make a mantlepiece for my wifes aunt for ages. So, here it is, the pics arn't that great I'm afraid. It's 4' long and 8" deep by 2". It took much sanding (really need a belt sander now!) and I finished it with 2 coats of antique oil, followed by 3 coats of finishing wax, with a light rub down between coats. Just hope it fits well now!

Used a forstner bit, they're 1 and a quarter inch. Took a while to drill out, but I don't have any auger bits. On the plus side, they do cut a nice clean hole. Auger bits and a belt sander are on the list of things I need!

Well, my first attempt! Started as a possible small stool, but kind of morphed into a coffee table by the time I had finished 'trimming up' the legs! The top is about 16" wide at it's widest point and it stands about 18" high, with the top being around 2" thick. I finished it using some Coulron Antique oil, which someone gave me a long time ago, and it has brought the colour of the wood out really nicely, but I was wondering what other finishes people use and why? Some people say danish oil is a really good one, but I would like to hear of other peoples methods and techniques for putting a really good finish on wood. Anyhow, as you can see from the pics, it's fairly 'rustic', but I'm happy enough with it

I took these picture at the Bedfordshire Steam fair in Old Warden last September of Dave Knott's rack bench set up, was running off a steam engine with pretty smart set up and an old crane moving the timber about. Really good to see the old machinery still working so well after all this time, and producing good timber

Good site that!

Hi Alec, if it was all like that I'd have every longbow maker in the land on my case!! In this batch, there are no bits that are probably quite good enough, but I have 4 more to take down over the next few weeks and if there are any suitable bits I'll be sure to give you a shout. Cheers, Luke

A long way! Huddersfield, at a guess, 150 - 180 miles, About 3 miles from the A1 though, very easy to get to, sg18 9hq postcode if that helps......

Hi all, have attached a few pictures of some of the yew I don't want / can't do much with! There is one piece may be interest to chainsaw carvers, about 6' long and 18 - 22" wide, lots of spurs and stems off of it. Then there are a few cuts from the butt, around 12 - 24" wide and a selection of lengths 3 - 9' long, 3 - 8" wide. The pictures arn't the greatest, and the 'heap' of lengths I need to sort through a bit as I want about half of the bits in there, but if anyone thinks they can put any of it to good use, free to a good home! Located in Old Warden, near Biggleswade, Beds. No immediate hurry on moving it, but pm me or reply ito this thread if your interested. Cheers, Luke

WoodLots Sure most of you on here look on this regularly, but seems a good source for large loads of cordwood / standing wood etc. And a good informative site as well for all sorts of woodland related stuff

Cool stuff, really nice grain on the Larch and the Ash bench is smart. Bears look pretty good too! Nice work!

Well smart Matt! Would like to get stuck into that myself!! Where about's was that, looks familiar? You still working in Old Warden at the moment?

Well, I've certainly got a fair heap of it! And more to come. Lot's of bits 2 - 8" wide, 2 - 10' long, and a couple of bits that are almost perfect right angles / elbows. Going to take some serious lathing and milling to get through it all!

Their all 1.5" thick, apart from the 'fused' bit which is 3". Tbh, I wasn't sure whether to leave them a while before milling, or mill when green, but figured if I mill them now, get some weight on them while drying they will hopefully come out well in a year or so..... May ratchet them down to, just to make extra sure, they were pretty wet when cutting. I think like anything, loads of people use loads of different ways, some good for some, some not so good for others. I've been meaning to get stuck into these trees for a while, and certainly didn't want to waste anything, so if I get some nice planks out of it, I'll be happy!

Certainly is!

Yep, your probably right Tommer, but that's all I have access to, plus no means of transport and it's in a pretty awkward place to get to. But one day I'll have a pro set up!! Got a couple more to take down in the week and will hopefully get some more nice bits out of them, well happy with the Alaskan though, only about the fourth time I've used it so still a bit of a learning curve, but am happy enough with what it's done.

A few pics of some yew I milled today, was cut 2 weeks ago, and milled it with a 660 and an Alskan on a 24" bar. Got some amazing grain / shapes going through it, now just have to be patient before I use it!

Definitely! Especially if your using a Parmiter or something like that, with the ground being so hard, will be very easy to damage posts above & below ground, which will lead to them failing pretty quickly with small cracks etc.to let wet in. Also hard on the machinery and not always so straight forward to get them straight and true if your fighting 'concrete' soil. I had to replace 3 strainers the other day, all machined in when the ground was fairly dry, all failed after 4 years, probably due to underground damage. Dug them in by hand, had to crow bar the first 12" out, and it wasn't until I was just over 2' down that soil became more easy to dig! So dry out there at the mo. Having said that, posts don't last as long, I think they have taken the arsenic or cyanide (can't remember which) out of the treating process, which is a good thing, but has reduced the life of a softwood post loads. Have you /or your client considered Sweet Chestnut? Lasts for ages and supports the small / green wood & coppice workers......Just a thought. Reckon your about right with the pricing, £4.50+ per m minimum, but as others have said, depends on straining style and wire used etc. Best wire I have ever used was Tornado, easy to work with, no kinks etc if straining by hand and looks the business. Lasts for ages to, worth paying the extra per roll in my opinion. Good luck!