nepia

No expert here but apple and hawthorn are favourites. I think you tuck a berry under the bark but on which part of the tree - if it matters - I have no idea.

Er - that could be me again! I pop down to Tiverton every now and then; Paignton's not that far. Jon

I'm fortunate enough not to suffer myself but I have several relatives by marriage who have it. My father-in-law was chairman of the Dyslexia Institute for some years and condition's certainly more common than most would know, hence the OP's question I guess. I get the impression that diagnosis is the key: I've seen the transformation in one child where diagnosis wasn't as early as it could have been to understand this; he's now at a school specialising in teaching such kids and is a different person to the undiagnosed, frustrated, bullied and failing child that he used to be. Get it in the open: it can be dealt with these days.

I wonder what the saws were like that left such clean cuts 5,000 years ago.

I'm balking complete tollocks: I ditched the inflatables long ago - got the foam filled yellow things now. I'm losing it I think...

Bookers, Salfords: £27.80 for 20L in Nov (inc. VAT)

Aspen!

Are there enough members living with la Boche to make their inclusion as a separate entity worthwhile?

Not a clue of the factory set pressure but I keep mine at about 10lbs I guess; enough to move the trolley on tarmac but soft enough to minimise wheel ruts on softer ground.

Rapeseed oil; nothing but the best. ~£1 per L.

Seconded. 2012 felt like I spent half my time working laurel - lots of good firewood from it. rayzor, if you can stack your green wood outside in a breezy spot but under a lid it'll dry much faster than in a garage, honest. It's not the heat that dries it, it's the airflow: the last few weeks have done months' worth of seasoning to my woodpile, stacked as billets under a tarp.

Oh dear! I'm 53 and still like looking at the girlies so you must be 103!

Have brought this to the attention of a turners' club secretary for you but I wouldn't hold your breath! Jon

Greetings Andrew. You have much to offer us here so I too look forward to your input,. I only wish recent events hadn't somewhat taken the shine off your meeting the Talk but onwards and upwards as they say. I'll be just north of Pulborough next Monday/Tuesday; do I need a flak jacket?! Jon

I have 5-ton and 3-ton Griphoists: I've used the smaller one twice, once to try a large shrub stump and within seconds snapped a shear pin! I know it sounds a bit agricultural but I now live by the mantra that a big winch can do small work but a small winch is harder pushed to perform big work; I use the big 'un for everything and just live with the weight of the body.

That's good: I have it good authority that a guideline of 14 hours per week is used by HMRC; no, I have nothing in writing and it didn't come from them but if you think about it that's just under two working days so HMRC seem to be saying 'if you use someone for two 8-hour days a week we may consider them employed.' I work for someone 1 or 2 days a week and we have agreed for just this reason that I am on 7-hour days. I couldn't find again what I was looking for but from memory HMRC's own pointers in the employed/self employed question include - does the person work for others? (Thanks felix) - does he use his own tools? - does he submit invoices? - can the person cease working for you at any time? - does the person have his own transport? There are 7 pointers HMRC use; the list is not exhaustive and a yes/no to any one pointer does not dictate that the individual is or is not employed; they are pointers, no more. Hope this helps. Trawling the dread HMRC's website may be of benefit to you, if not for now then for the future because as your business grows (hopefully) you are more likely to need to know this subject. Good luck to you.

As above on the matter you're asking about - its his lookout, not yours - but on a different note how much are you using him? I ask because if HMRC get to think you're his main source of income and that he's working for you sufficiently they will view him as employed by you, not self-employed; invoices will not deflect them. If you become employer there are all sorts of things that kick in - Annual Leave entitlement, Sickness Management, NI, employee training, employer's liability... I ask this as the impression given by your post, rightly or wrongly, is that your groundie does a substantial amount of work for you. This may help HM Revenue & Customs: Employed or self-employed

jimbowuk, a factor in these discussions that doesn't get mentioned a lot is the weight of the machine. You may not worry about it but when I was mini chipper hunting it rowed some out of the equation for me.

Re the photo: yes, you are near the Forest aren't you - I see silver sand!

Contact your own insurance co. and let them know the score, especially the fact that you're willing to pay from your own pocket for a perfectly good repair. Worth a go.

No point unless you're going to do it at least every couple of years; soil rapidly reverts to type, especially sandy soil as it can't bind chemicals as soil with finer particles (clay at the far end of the spectrum) can. Unless you're on extremely acid soil (Ashdown Forest? - no fishing for your top secret location there then) the trees will cope. They may not find conditions ideal but they'll cope. Wikipedia on Field Maple states that it is 'more commonly found on alkaline soils than on acidic soils'.

That's a different way of going about it to the birch one that was described to me. In that instance the wood needed to be very green as it was being almost shaved to extreme thinness, then strapped over a former to create the drum body shape. Such a process would explain the need for dripping wood.

I was expecting that reply. A miller near here asked me last year for some 'dripping birch' for drum bodies so I understand that you want it green - really, really green. Would it be better to wait for summer? If so perhaps your client could be persuaded that way in the name of a superior product. Jon

I was gutted to read John Burgess' post Andrew. We've met a coupe of times but you won't remember me from Adam. This is a real kick in the teeth; so sorry to hear it. I'm sure a man of your experience will survive but it's not much reward for a lifetime's work is it. I wish you all the best and in the unlikely event that a one man band such as myself can help out in any way Sussex/Surrey/Kent/S London are just ask. Jon

Got some rings of Norway Maple that might suit but they were cut 18 months ago and have been standing in the open since.