morten

The documentation for the health problems caused by benzene is overwhelming. Try reading CDC | Facts About Benzene

I pour Aspen and Chain Oil into a STIHL combi-can from 25 litre/20 litre canisters, so I am using a spout similar to the FillPartner. The links you provided, gave me a "403 Forbidden" response, but I assume you are talking about Aspen Fuel :: Aspen Fill Partner

I actually provided you with three links to support my claim, one of which is a scientific research study made by Department of Chemical Environmental Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. What documentation do you have for your claims?

I would claim that the 25 litre container is easier to pour from and less spillage/contamination, when using one of these...

I would challenge that assertion. Do you have any evidence/documentation to support it? I would claim that the fumes from a two stroke engine in the immediate vicinity to you is WAY more toxic than other air pollutants. The exhaust gasses contain a large proportion of unburnt fuels (as well as benzene and aromatic hydrocarbons). Aspen alkylate petrol Read about what alkylate is, why it is better for your health, engine, the environment, and what you can use it for Volatile hydrocarbons in exhaust from alkylate-based petrol

I made the switch (Aspen to MotoMix) yesterday, and didn't notice any difference at all. Smell is the same, or at least I wasn't able to tell the difference.

Just depends how much you value your own health...

As others have already pointed out, to limit discs cracking, you need to do two things: 1. Choose a wood species where the shrinkage is small, and without too much difference between the tangential and radial shrinkage rates. 2. Slow down the drying process, to get an even moisture level throughout the log. This avoids the cells of the outermost areas drying out (thereby shrinking) before the centre, causing cracking. Moisture is transported much faster through end grain than across it, so treating/covering the end grain is a good idea. But don't cover it too well, as you might quickly get discoloration from mould. Wax is generally used. Look up some shrinking rate tables and other resources: - Wood Shrinkage Table - Shrinkage

Go sign the petition, if you havn't already http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/73719-sign-petition-abolish-road-fuel-duty-alkylate-petrol-cheaper-fuel.html

Aspen and MotoMix is about the same price here in Denmark. I mostly try to buy my Aspen in Sweden where I often work, as Alkylate fuel has no fuel duty, and is about 35% cheaper, when filled from the Aspen pumping stations which are available at many Husqvarna dealers.

I just ran out of Aspen 2T petrol, that I have been running my saws on exclusively for more than 5 years, but as my usual supplier (in Denmark) was sold out, I went to my local STIHL dealer, and bought a 25 liter can of STIHL MotoMix, which is a similar oil mixed alkylate fuel (although the color is different). I have heard that it smells differently to Aspen, though, and look forward to trying out "the STIHL smell"

Thanks

Only if you accept a safety factor of 1. But the industry practice is to use a safety factor of 5 for rigging

Hi. Anybody have an ID on this tree?

I would have a few problems using polypropylene ropes. 1. They are horribly dynamic, i.e. they stretch a lot when loaded. 2. They weigh a lot and take up a lot of space (for a given strength). 3. Even if you choose a 22 mm diameter polypropylene rope, you will have a SWL of less than 950 kg and weigh 8.4 kg/20 m), given a safety factor of 5 (which, I believe is the norm in this type of situation). With my Tirfor TU16, I would need a 30 mm polypropylene rope. I am currently using a 3/8" (10 mm) AMSTEEL-BLUE (DYNEEMA) which weighs next to nothing (1.1 kg/20 m) and takes up no room. It has an average breaking strength of 8,900 kg, giving a SWL of 1.780 kg (safety factor 5).

In an Alaskan mill, you will loose a lot more than 2 inches effective cutting width. You will loose something like 6 inches on a sprocket nose bar!

Unless you leave the crown on after ring barking it is not going to dry any faster than if you fell it, as you need the leaves to "evacuate" the moisture from the wood. So either ring bark during spring/summer and leave the crown on, or fell during winter. Others may disagree, of course

Possibly. Can't imagine how it would look, but try making one, and put up pictures I am sure my bracket can be improved, although I have not had the need to do so, or any ideas how. But I would really like to see alternatives!

Yep Place the ladder on the log, mount the bracket at the big diameter end, and finally mount the ladder at the small diameter end, lifting it up to align with the centre of the log. The ladder will stay perfectly parallel, as no forces is acting on it while mounting it (as opposed to placing screws through the rungs, where you might easily deflect the ladder, and need to carefully place wedges under the rungs to lign everything up.

One extra tip: If you find that the ladder flexes under the weight of the mill, simply put a small wedge in between a rung and the log, which will prevent any movement.

REPOST, as the pictures have disappeared from the initial post. I have been asked for more details on how to make the bracket I presented in this recent post Mounting a ladder as a guide bar for the Alaskan I'll summarize the benefits of using this bracket (and a H profile aluminium ladder): 1. Very quick to mount (four short screws) 2. No problem with twisting of the rail (ladder is inherently a very rigid construction) 3. Easy to align with center of the log 4. No risk of cutting into screws (this is a problem when mounting using screws through rungs) 5. Light weight (easier to move to the milling site) 6. Low cost (brackets can be made for a few quid), although you obviously need a ladder too Disadvantages: 1. The length of the log is limited by the length of the ladder 2. You tell me Anyway, here are some pictures The finished bracket The bracket that can be mounted onto a ladder and screwed onto the end of a log: Making the metal brackets A pair of new metal brackets being made up (both are "left handed"). These could still be mounted onto a board, by simply mounting them on either side of the board. Notice in IMG_3027 that the right-hand bracket has has its tongue lifted slightly to make is easier to mount onto the ladder. Bracket mounted onto ladder Bracket mounted onto a ladder, showing how it is fitted. Notice that the H-profile is wedged between the tongue and the wooden board, allowing the cutout in the metal bracket below the togue to be made as deep as to fit virtually any H-profile ladder. The actual fit between the brackets and the ladder is achieved when mounting the metal brackets to the board. I would suggest using a piece of plywood for the bracket rather than spruce, to prevent splitting of the wood. The height of the bracket-board is about 4". This is to allow one end of the guide rail to be raised to align the cut with the center of the log. If you wish to make a narrow first-cut, simply raise both ends of the bracket by a few inches. The setup in action

Welcome back to the industry! I would say that one of the biggest changes in the industry is not the equipment, but the marketing. The internet means that a lot (majority) of private customers will find an arborist by googling something like "felling trees edinburgh" (the public doesn't know what an arborist is), rather than look up classified in local newspapers and yellow pages. Similarly, with everyone having an email address, quotations and invoices can be sent via email, and payment via internet banking. So I would highly recommend that you get a simple website set up, and do some simple Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), so you will appear in appropriate search results. Website hosting and guides to SEO are available for free, although you might want someone to help you. You might also consider using Google Adwords to display adds in Google in response to appropriate search terms, and geographic area. You only pay when potential customers click on your ad, and you can choose how much you want to pay, or even a daily budget. Also, enable Google Analytics on your website, which will tell you all about who uses your website, where they live, what device they use (Phone, Tablet or PC), how many pages they read, and for how long, as well as how they got there (from links, searches or directly). Have fun

Out of the six Timer Frame books that I own, I would recommend two: [ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Timber-Framers-Workshop-Construction-Traditional/dp/188926900X]A Timber Framer's Workshop: Joinery, Design & Construction of Traditional Timber Frames[/ame] [ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Timber-Frame-Construction-Building-publishing/dp/0882663658]Timber Frame Construction: All About Post and Beam Building[/ame]

The reason 1:40 ratio was recommended by Stihl for the old saws (and others recommended 1:25 or 1:16) is that the oils at that time wasn't as good as the oils of today, which will work as well, or better, at 1:50 ratio.

The diameter is 40 inches, not 12 inches!