dave28

Thanks everyone, some useful info. Marko's pics are more useful than the ones in the Riko leaflet, Cheers.

Thinking about buying a splitter this year and Riko looks like a good bet.Wondered if anybody has any thoughts about vertical vs horizontal and tractor hydraulics (Fordson Major) vs pto pump.I want to split longer length billets, any body had any experience of splitting longer lengths on a short stroke splitter with adjustable table height (Riko A12V/1000).I'm guessing that some stuff will split right through and come apart but knottier and stringier stuff is just going to get stuck, any thoughts on this much appreciated.Thanks.

I have the chance to make use of a Woodmizer to mill around 20 ton of mid size Douglas Fir and Larch butts, would appreciate any product ideas from any of you that are milling on a regular basis.Thanks.

Have just come by an old 24 inch inserted tooth saw blade which I've fitted to a belt driven cast iron saw bench. I had a couple of these saws a few years ago that I used for ripping and pointing stakes and had a larger one in a rack saw. I was always told not to use these type of saws for crosscutting. This 24inch saw runs well and sounds good, it rips well and seems to crosscut without any obvious problems. As well as using it for ripping I'd like to use it for crosscutting logs as it cuts very well and is much easier to sharpen than a normal plate blade. Wondered if anyone has any experience of crosscutting with these saws.Thanks.

Thanks everybody, some real sound ideas here. Don't know about the D6 but an old County crawler would be handy for burning up. I'm new to this site and am well surprised at how much knowledge is on tap. This site is on the Heritage Coast and right next to some camping and caravan sites so although it doesn't need to be stock proof the owner will certainly need it to be grockle proof! I've got a power pole pruner and like the idea of cutting some of em of high and then laying,should stop the grocks from trampling through gaps, I doubt there is money for fencing off. Seen a reference somewhere about leaving "live stakes" to hold the whole lot steady in windy areas,anyone think that's a good idea.

This guys name rhymes with tree canker.

Have been asked if I'm interested in laying some very overgrown hedge (field maple, ash, elm, quick and black thorn). Some of the maple and ash have got up to around 20 ft and I expect to high prune a leave a few to grow on. Ideally it could do with being cut off and then the regrowth laid but I've seen a bit of this sort of hedge laid very quickly by simply cutting and laying the long lengths and then trimming the sides with a saw. This is nothing like the very fine midland style staked and bound hedges seen in competition work but I know that the customer won't pay for a proper job and it probably would end up getting massacred by the farm staff if the price is too high. It's a very exposed coastal site so guess it will need to be tied in. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

I'd be glad to see conifer softwood become more accepted as fuel for woodburning stoves,if only because I have access to around 150 acres of the stuff which when offered as standing thinnings makes the owner next to sweet FA. If I were buying as a retail customer I would expect to pay less for it than hardwood otherwise I'd probably keep phoning around. As a log supplier I would be able to offer softwood cheaper if I buy it at around a quarter of the price of hardwood even if it might take the same amount of work to process. It's probably worth mentioning that not all softwood burns the same. I've been burning it myself mixed into the hardwood for the last 30 years and have found Douglas fir to be the best with spruce and pine still good although the pine does seem to soak up any wet that it gets near to. You could expect a solicitors letter if you sold somebody Larch to burn on an open fire as it spits like hell. I guess it would be fair to say that it does put out less heat than hardwood but then you don't always need that much heat anyway. I was always under the impression that the Scandinavian stoves were built with softwood in mind as there isn't much else to burn, I'd have no hesitation in selling any dry softwood to anyone that wants to use it in an enclosed stove. The sooner some "authority" states the definitive view on this one the better for all of us as surely there are not enough plantation hardwoods available to keep up with this new demand. One last thing,can anyone tell me how well softwood thinnings will go through a processor? I would guess quite well but I've never had the chance to use one. Thanks for reading.

Thanks for all the replies, think I'll get my ads out tomorrow.

Just wondering if this ongoing cold weather has helped out with an improvement in log sales, heard that trade was generally a bit quieter than normal. I've got some year old billets ready that I was going to retail later this year and thought it might be worth a quick ad in the village shop.

Recently quoted £45 ton for very green beech in Dorset, that's for an artic load delivered,plus vat at top rate. The seller, ( a forestry company), estimated around 1 cubic metre to the ton so I guess that makes the ash and oak good value, And yes, it is a brilliant site.

Very interested, have P M'd you. I'm in Weymouth area.Thanks.