davetaz

Do you router by hand or have you a template you attach to router?? Router by hand after a quick outline in pencil. Trying some elm this week so will have a go at burning after routing

You could try Logosol owners in south Scotland Logosol.uk - Innovative wood processing products by Logosol!

What's the best way of burning the lettering without setting fire to it all?

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated It's placed outside the farmshop where I rent my yard. Shop is open 6 days a week. Customers can call in to get my details for bulk orders or buy my nets logs/kindling direct from shop (£3.50/net with 20% commission to shop) The farmshop owner has already asked for a sign to go over his shop door and new sign on the verge next to mine About an hour to put the frame together using elm, the oak boards were lying around ready planed, the routing took about half hour and then painted in with black paint (this may well flake off pretty soon but I needed the sign sharpish)

Hopefully my new sign should work

Might as well go for it then! Good luck with the business plan - are you writing it yourself ?, let us know how you get on

I told the customer just what you've said, I think the installer was trying to baffle her with science...... but she still bought my logs anyway:001_smile:

I invested just over £10k last spring in my firewood business as there was no financial assiatance available. But now there is through the RDPE. You may get up to 50% grant aid if accepted. We were told we needed a business plan but they preferred one of their people to write it and would cost us £1200 (grant of 40% available!!!). In our region (cheshire) they are "keen" to help people in sustainable fuel/forestry etc with capital purcahse for "specialised machinery" etc. I asked if they would take my recent investment as my 50% so they could help me fund a kindling machine, and what do you think said........ send in an expression of interest form....... write a business plan....... but we probably wont take your recent investment in to consideration, complete waste of time in my books. Grant schemes like this come from central government and europe in order to keep other people in jobs. With a £5million scheme I reckon only half will actually get delivered to the people it is aimed at, the rest is consumed by those people administering it Good luck with your new venture and hope it works out. Just don't expect too much help from people in authority

Mine are selling for £20 per barrow bag (0.2 cubic metres), which equates to £100 per cubic metre. But I deliver them to almost any part of the property as they are moved on a sack truck, easily tipped in to a shed or garage. Had one enquiry from a guy who lives in a terraced house, thought it was great that I could get them through the house and into the back yard, ordered 5 sacks straight away!

I reckon on maybe 4 hours if you were doing it non-stop. Always start off with green wood, by the time you've reduced them to something resembling a spoon aolt of the moisture has gone out of the wood and easy to finish with sandpaper. Best tip is take your time and remove small thin slices of wood. I start off by drawing the desired shape on a blank and then use a side axe to remove about 75% of the wood, perhaps use a draw knife with the wood in a shave-horse to remove a bit more and then move on to the crook knives. The two in my post on page four were my secong and third attempts, one using sycamore, the other is beech. Just wish i had time to make more....

good site, good price as well, agree with others Re delivery distances

What sort of weight in a load and how much delivered to Nantwich, I may be interested, cheers

selling firewood at £20 per sack (0.2 cubic metres per sack) and its going out steadily at the moment, although haven't done much advertising yet. Decided on this price as I've seen 0.5 cube builders bags at £50 locally. What you charging then?

I reckon you got it right earlier, if a lump of wood is 32% water then 68% isn't water (ie pure wood) therefore 68% x 8kg = 5.44kg is pure dry wood. To find out its weight witha mc of 11%, multiply 5.44kg by 111%, = 6.038kg

:001_smile:Brilliant thread, haven't laughed as much in ages, cheers everyone

This was felled in March I believe, split in April and May, is very wet to start with but dries pretty quick. I've been using it at home in logburner for hot water since July. No problems with it at all once it is dried/seasoned. We split into 3' billets as Ed mentioned and stack up to 6'-7' high with a cover on top to keep most of the rain off. Started to split some down in to kindling as well. Splits easily especially when green and produces nice straight billets which makes stacking so much easier. Saw it to size when ordered on HP Eagle Bench Saw

We use a Hakki Pilke Eagle with petrol engine, easily goes through timber up to 9" diameter and the cone splitter is handy for reducing down larger pieces. The only problem so far is the grill/sawdust vent under the blade, it can get clogged with stray bits of wood and the dust ends blowing back at you a bit, easy enough to clean out though

excellent carvings, definitely a natural carver

In a previous life as a nature reserve warden did filming for blue peter but it was never broadcast! Also filmed with Terry Nutkins for The Really Wild Show and Chris Baines for another kids TV programme. My wife also worked with these guys along with Sir David Attenborough, Sir Peter Scott (she was his PA/PR ofgficer for a few years) and Bill Oddie. Spent a day with Sir John Harvey Jones (The Trouble Shooter) and then sat next to him at dinner. Don't have a bad word to say about any of them - all really nice people. Bumped in to Duncan Ferguson (footballer, literally, stood on his foot) in my local. He used to live round the corner but got fed up of being nicked for allegedly assaulting burglars so moved away!!!

If you don't want it , I'll take it mate

all timber stacked like this, apart from odd bits thrown into large crates made from pallets

Easier to stack in billets

need to be careful of advertising anything by weight

Haven't used these guys yet but have spoken to them on phone Shropshire Forestry Contractors - Home Page - Timber Merchants for UK and World Wide Supply