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I tend to find that if you have been with any insurance company a while, rather than reward your loyalty, they tend to abuse it and annually ratchet up the premiums. It's only when you do a little shopping around does the extent of how much they are charging over the odds come to light. But you're right; even when you catch them profiteering straight out of your pocket they will still want to keep you as a customer (it costs them alot to aquire new customers). There may be a case to stay with them if they eat lots of humble pie and significantly better the best deal you found. But if they just offer to match the best price you found, they can sod off.

Here here. If they had a better deal on offer then why was it not on offer in the first place.

As I can't vote for my trusty Bearcat I thought a piccie of how us one man band "gardeners" struggle along...

Went yesterday. The weather held off and we had a great day with something for everyone. A credit to the organisers - Well Done!

I don't need the hassle (or downtime) so that was useful input. Thanks. Have you got any make / model that you would go for next time?

Has anyone any first hand experience of these machines. They look OK, feedback is good but how do they perform? Any problems?

I agree that as long as you explain to customers what they are getting it is a up to you if you want to sell it green. We only sell a fixed amount of seasoned firewood every year - locals know it is good stuff so it is usually all gone by end of Jan (mid Dec last year). The thing is that if our customers run out then they trying to find stuff just about when everyone else getting to the bottom of the pile. So many times they have ended up with a bag of freshly cut leylandii at top dollar that they are a bit more thoughtfull with their ordering next year. I think 80% of this years supply already has names on it. Might start taking deposits!

Having washed and killed a two week old phone this weekend I thought I would see if anything tougher was out there rather just buying the cheapest again and again and again. I found this Sonim XP3 Enduro in Yellow - An ideal mobile phone for Builders and Construction Workers I don't suppose it will travel through the chipper any better than anything else but it might survive wet pockets and the washer. I wondered but if anyone else had given it a try?

Looks like it is from July 2006. See http://www.aie.org.uk/download/Arb%20Arisings%20Final%20Report%20.pdf

I have asked for more info. The day is still getting finalised but the outline looks like: Event Description The event is intended for SMEs, farmers and other rural enterprises that could benefit from either exploiting their own resources to self-supply fuel for their use, or who are thinking of entering the wood fuel supply chain. The aim of the Event is to deliver basic information that will give those attending an honest idea of the positives and negatives of managing woodland and harvesting it for fuel: Costs, time and equipment needed, etc… There will also be information about boiler choice for those planning to process and use the fuel themselves, and fuel standards and contracts for those planning to supply others with fuel. Those attending will be signposted to further courses for training in woodland management for fuel, or other training courses that are relevant. Who should attend? • All those with an interest in the woodfuel supply chain • Those considering the use of woodfuel for energy, including private individuals, farmers, developers • Forest owners/managers, Estate Managers • Foresters and Timber processors

An interesting event has just been posted on Carbon neutral fuel 23rd June 2009: Woodfuel Supply Chain Free Event at Harper Adams University College focussing on managing small woodlands to create a sustainable source of woodfuel. The event will look at economics of both self-supply and supplying other customers with wood fuel in chip or log form.

I agree with Chris - Charge a day rate and let him sell the timber (to you or anyone else). You get fair pay for the work and he gets a fair price for the wood. Everyone happy

We have been considering the commercial viability of a pallet processor but are struggling to get the sums to work at the moment. See Pallet Shredding Machinery Video Demonstration As for Mr Eds machine - we have previously floated the idea of a using a simple conversion of a set of hydraulic "Jaws of Life" to strip and crop material down to 1". Mr Eds is a far simpler solution to the same problem. The only draw back I can see would be the product length for open fires and wood burners. For wood boilers, the end product would be very attractive if priced right.

Approx £20k new but deals can be struck (still far too much!). The quick hitch front end allows a swap for forks or a bucket in seconds so it is a great little machine for around the yard but really earns its keep on the jobs where a proper machine can't get in and manpower is unavailable/unwilling. On those days it is invaluable.

We have used the 403 for extracting bundles of logs upto 2m lengths but it really comes into its own shifting stuff through restricted access. Good for shifting brash too.

The reason many field hedges seem to be brutally 'knocked back' at this time of year is that if the land has been put into DEFRA Stewardship scheme then hedges can only be cut every 3 or 5 years. When its time comes around, taking that much growth of in one season is unavoidably unsightly and, no matter how diligent you are at cleaning up, it is a nightmare for cyclists. To my mind a flail cut hedge can look stunning with uniform profiles that could never be achieved by hand and a very fine finish can be achieved on those hedges that are allowed to be cut regularly. All the species you list would be suitable - apart from laurel which doesn't like its leaves damaged at all (hedgecutter or flail). If you have the time and patience, Laurel should be cut with secatuers stem by stem.

We had a similar visit last year - "Dutch" guy in big (but old) rhd BMW with UK plates supposedly rushing to catch the ferry home. He also did not want to take his chainsaws back which was not a surprise looking at the state of them. I pointed out that the only ferrys that leave from this part of the country went to Ireland and the IoM and so he really had better get a move on. With a markedly different accent and a good dose of classic anglo saxon he drove off into the sunset.

Worth a listen whilst it is still on iplayer... BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - Costing the Earth, A Burning Solution

It does not matter if it is a pile of asbestos or leylandii that has been fly tipped it is still costly in time, money or both to remove it. Only yesterday we had two transit loads of woodchip tipped in a field gate by some kind sole. As usual it is the idiots giving everyone a bad name but it does need sorting out.

David, Transport costs are such a killer for me so the best I can offer is that if you can't sell it I will shift the lot for free.

'Dowty' fittings were the older type - about 1.25 inches diameter. The appliance end has a threaded fitting with four alloy lugs on it. The newer "quick fit" links are like a bigger version of an airline and are supposed to make life easier by just pushing together but can be an absolute pig if there is any residual pressure in either side of the hydraulics. Either way, you can get an adapter made up for a couple of quid so it is not a show stopper whatever mix of fittings you end up with.

...... or making briquettes in a low tech home made press

1) Clean tidy well sign written vehicle... If people see you out and about they will remember your name. 2) Cheap and cheerful website so people can find your telephone number when they need you. If you have chosen a memorable trading name then any of the search engines will deliver the goods 24 x 7 x 365. Flyers can be a cost effective short term boost if things are slack but not really a long term fix. I would certainly not waste money on any newspaper or magazine advertising - very very expensive and people cannot find your number once it is in the bin.

David, Could you give me a price for 10 tonnes delivered to Hesketh Bank. Ta.

We have had a small Villager for 10+ years and also a new Morso pictured left. (I had the log rack made to measure at the local smithy). The Morso is just a fantastic bit of kit and really knocks some serious heat out. There is hardly any ash at all and it burns far less wood than the much smaller Villager. It is amazingly efficient. Follow the links for a good list of manufacturers of wood stoves and wood boilers