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Mates got a Browns I use sometimes think his was about £600 + vat but was few years back, good machines and strong built

Thanks guys

 

Cheers stubby

What bar do you prefer running on the 372? I was thinking 20"

Used to run mine on a 24" when I had it handled it no problem even on timber bigger than the bar

Put it in small bags and sell it to a pet shop

Mine has'nt been used in anger in a while, always planned to get a few more to make it more worthwhile, usually set it up on the yard somewhere when I'm cutting logs means its handy for anything to small for the log pile and also I can keep an eye on it whilst doing something else

Have posted this on here before elsewhere but if you look closely you can just see a little owl, pic was off my phone so not the best, the ash in the pic was struck by lightning about 20 years ago, saw it happen as I was in the kitchen having a brew at the time

Right pics of my charcoal burner, this is as simple as you get really, 45 gallon drum with a lift off lid, drill 4 holes in the base about 1 inch diameter (its upside down in pic to show holes) stand it on 3-4 bricks, surround the base with earth leaving a hole for air to draw through, light a small fire in the base, using kindling or charcoal, once burnig hot add in the wood for charcoaling ideally about 3inch diameter at the biggest, biggest wood in first progressively getting smaller to the top, I usually go down to about inch to inch and half, once its burning hot and even, check this by spitting on the drum not scientific but a good indicator it will sizzle if nice and hot all round, put the lid on and prop up on one side with a small log, wear some welding gloves and be aware this can sometimes make it flare! once the dense white smoke reduces to a blue/clear haze shut the lid down and bang it on firmly and close off the air gap at the base with soil and firm down, if any smoke is escaping round the base seal with soil until it stops, job done, leave for 24 hours to burnout completely before opening, from lighting to shutting down should take 5-6 hrs sometimes less depending on type of wood and dryness

Been off googling, this thread has rekindled (pardon the pun) my interest in improving the woodland at the farm with short rotaion coppice, the woodland trust also lists lime as a suitable coppice tree, also wondered about eucalytus http://http://www.primabio.co.uk/Biomass/fuelwood_eucalyptus did have a small quantity from one I reduced for a customer last year, burnt well with good stedy heat, also found this interesting, planting willow in rows and pollarding above grazing height as in agroforestry allowing two uses from the same ground and no need for mechanical or chemical vegetation control once established Willow Firewood Facts

More to add to my reading list.

Field maple and lime though. Yuck to both! Rough, covered in twigs, everything elbow shaped (unless they grow much nicer as coppice poles than they do as trees).

 

That was my thought when I read it too, agree with sycamore but it it will probably end up everywhere, on the plus side though its readily available all you need do is collect up some seedlings and pot them on

Have just had a look at Farm Woodland Management, by John Blythe etc, in there it reccomends a first cutting at 5-7cm diameter to initiate the coppice stump, it also lists field maple and lime as good coppice trees, with regard to the poplar and willow, I have been wondering the same as I have some poplars that are about 10 years old and vary between 4-6 inch dbh and I am considering felling some of them this year for the same reason, ease of processing and extraction due to thier location

Earlier day today, weather been crap so been catching up with firewood at the yard and also forgot I'm playing taxi's for the other half tonight so had to be back earlier, few years ago I had got myself to the point where I could comfortably work 4 days a week which gave me a day midweek for pricing and maintenance, maybe do some firewood deliveries on a saturday and all would be good, then last 2-3 years works been very up and down due to various circumstances so now if theres work there I'm taking it which meant earlier this year I did 7 days a week for 7 weeks on the bounce, but I've always been one for doing, can't sit about for long I get fidgety

You could use Sitka spruce for the windbreak/screening fast growing and still usueable as firewood although it won't coppice it is a quick way to establish an effective windbreak, alot depends on soil type you can get very varied growth rate, but ash,alder,hazel, sycamore and silver birch are generally less fussy and will grow anywhere

Fire was lit again last night seems to get to about 8ish and then suddenly drops cold here, always has been a wierd house for getting the temperature right

Lunch breaks! What are they.

haha yep at least 2 days this week I've wondered why I bothered making snap

8am -9pm sat,sun, mon and tues, 8am-8pm yesterday and 8am -7pm today, working for a mate who's going a way fro a week so he's trying to get jobs finished, once it gets to haymaking time 7-9 or ten or 11 pm will be normal for a few weeks

When I was at college it was a standing joke that the horticultural dept had 25 k worth of grass cutting equipment and the gamekeeping dept had one scythe between 16 of us, don't use mine much now, quickest way with a strimmer would be to get one of those triple nylon blade heads they will swathe through long grass easy as pie and leaves it full length so you can collect after

Blowing well here today cold enough to see your breath and sleet/hail and rain showers all day

I have used oak woodchip from the local sawmill as bedding in the lambing shed last few years, saves a fortune on straw as 6-8 inch layer lasts all winter and saves on foot problems with oak being natural anti bacterial, only downside is I have to put it in a seperate muck pile as it takes a long time to compost properly

Didnt use to be any warnings on Grazon 90 either, it now says can cause nausea, headaches and depression of the central nervous system and to wear respirator mask, explains why we used to be ill for a week after using it years ago when there were'nt any warnings on it

Or better still get one with the lift off lid, if I remember I will take some pics of mine tomorrow

Its supposed to be coming compulsory from 2015 to hold a ticket to purchase herbicides, however reading further into it the other day it is apparently more a suggestion that retailers do the right thing and not actually legally binding, and there a sites online where you can quite easily buy whatever herbicides you need legally without a ticket

Hi folks, we have a corsican pine that needs removing on a job at Crich in Derbyshire, may also be a large ash to reduce as well either at same time or as a seperate job, so looking for a climber to take it down must be insured and have own kit, myself and the lad who's job it is will groundie, pic below of the tree, think its about 30-40ft, just to make it interesting theres a heating oil tank at the base of it as well as a garden shed, a dog kennel and a stone wall to avoid, if interested please pm me think we are looking at week after next or week after that, can meet up there to look at it first, we are working there tomorrow and then will be back there week after next, thanks Ed

I've always dumped lleylandii on the bonfire but ended up with soem coming in with a load of timber I bought in off a site clearance last year, so have kept it and burns well so anymore that comes in will now be going on the firewood pile

Happy birthday Jon mate have a good 'un

Aprrox 14-16" ash with about 15-20 degree forward lean, felled off the far bank of a ditch back onto the field, saved my back as no bending as stood in the ditch

Gone from dry and sunny this morn to showery this aft and now lashing it down