timberbear

Correct, inside are two stone pig pens built from blocks which I'm going to remove. Behind the asbestos board is yorkshire boarding which I've now decided to replace with new timber leaving one inch gaps.

Well, Cardiff Council have just taken on two very good arbourists from the private sector. They pay well, all the kit is provided and the hours good. They now form part of a small but very good team, who have attracted some good extra staff who can compete with anyone in the private sector. The problem with local authorities is they can't invest in new heavy duty kit and are shackled buy all the rules and regs that come with such a big set up and have never been allowed to compete for outside work. But this is all changing. The days of shovel leaning is over. Monmouthshire council are winning contracts all over south Wales for grounds maintenance. A lot of old managers are gone and the new ones are employed to run there teams more on a business basis. Cardiff parks department have lost two million pounds in funding over the last few years, if making money keeps our council tax down and extra income keeps services ago then so be it.

I've been offered this old piggery to increase my firewood storage capacity for the next year. It measures six meters by fourteen. All I've got to do is tidy it up and empty all the rubbish in. I plan to take down the cement boards around the sides and replace the cladding with windbreaker or put new boarding up with one inch gaps. I'm going to remove the front door and windows and create a ten foot wide opening to enable me to get the processor in. I'll put pallets against the internal wall to aid circulation . I plan to process into one big pile in the next couple of weeks. Do you think it will dry or do you think that there will be not enough air flowing through. It's not costing me anything except the cost of a skip and some timber cladding, but will the wood (ash, syc and beech) dry quick enough.

I got the Logan with the flip up red filter.if your shooting in your shed/barn put a red bulb up and leave on for a few days. The rats get used to it, come out for the bait and bingo seven dead bit fat rats in an hour! I find the battery pack on my light a bit bulky especially when running around like Rambo after those pesky wabbits!

Forty! And still as fit as I was at twenty one. Apart from my arm has suddenly seized up!

Winching in progress

I regularly use a portable winch on the back of my compact or attached to a tree. It might be a balls ache skidding timber out all day. Constantly changing points and redirects but it's a good way of getting good timber out of steep sided woodlands which out causing a lot of damage. One winch operator and a good choker can easily shift 25t in a day.

40years young and still out climbing our younger members of staff, albeit I think my climbing days are coming to an end. Haven't been able to straighten my arm for the last three weeks and is extremely painful if I try, it's also got a funny swelling in between the two bones on the outside of the elbow. Got a full weeks climbing next week so I'll see how it goes.

Heading up to highlands tomorrow with landrover half full of logs after finding out what the local garage charges! Might even make a few quid!

About an inch in north cardiff, every Tom, dick and Harry out, horse riders reported this little tree down, said it was blocking there way! I suggest they get a horse that can jump!

What tractor show is on Jon? Is it local?

There's a draw string on the front.

Hi Ecotreecare, if I remember there 50cm by 82cm. Good size, been using the same size for years now.

Good to see you got some snow Jon, we have a bit here just over the bridge in Monmouthshire. Good to see your off for an early bath, keep warm!

Takes about twenty mins to do a pallet load.

Providing that you place the hooks the same distance apart as the width of the bag and pull the front out as you fill it's fine. Hooks are from an old Ikea rail. I think when my bagging machine gets home she'll feel redundant!

Well my usual bagging machine went shopping today so after selling all the bags I had left I had to come up with a new design. Suspended a timber from the beam of the store on two ratchet ties, set to bag height and away I go. Got to get some hooks then I'll do five bags at a time.

After twenty or so years in tree work, predominately woodland and arb work I finally gave in to my back and went to a chiropractor. After an hour of twisting and turning and being told I was totally out of alinement I was maniple-mated back into shape and was told I had to drink more! Apparently as you sleep your spine absorbs water so placing more fluid around your disks helping cushion them from wear and tear, or something like that! So I've taken her advice and just had six pints, which I don't recommend you do before using your saw, but I do feel much better and no longer walk like an ape. So work hard and drink lots!

I've put pallet forks, modified from an old pallet truck,on my compact and have set the linkage to lift as high as possible and reverse the pallet with the logs on. The only problem when using a pallet is you need to allow for an additional four inch lift, you can allow for this by making some basic ramps. I'm just about to order some folding pallet forks from up north which will save space and allow me to tow with the trailer attached. I'm quite lucky cause I've got ramps buit in under my trailer.

Mine was ex demo so saved about 2k. I'll find my receipt and pm you

Ben, bought one off Riko back in august. Great bit of kit. I opted for the road towable version with petrol engine and PTO. It's got the log lift which in all honesty I thought was a gimmick but it's grate when it comes to big timber. Being able to move the convayor from side to side is great. It's easy to shift around buy one person and is operated one handed. I've got some video I'll try and post. The other great thing is that you can use to split logs in without any blade or chain running. We regularly drop rings in to split.

Found this earlier might help anyone in the south west http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Firewood-cordwood-Artic-Hardwood-softwood-Bulk-buying-/320826146045?pt=UK_HG_FireplacesMantelpieces_RL&hash=item4ab2ba7cfd#ht_500wt_922

There great for killing larger trees and safer to use, another good thing is you can cover the plugs so no one knows your "killing trees". We used to ring bark and apply roundup, but this could only be done certain times of the year. The plugs are great on bigger stumps but when treating multiple smaller stumps we still treat with roundup. There great near water ESP when treating alder and willow. The plug contains a powder which dissolves into the tree, great where you got members of the public. They also save on mixing chemical so saves time and storage and transportation are easier. As far as treating standing trees this is only the second year we have used them, I found on some semi mature beech that only one side of the tree died which was great but they knock sycamore well and truly out. The only downside is eventually when all the stumps rot away the countryside will be littered with little White plugs!

The woodland is part of six hundred acres of SSSI and was clear felled during the last war with some coppice work being undertaken in the 60's. The woodland has a better woodland Wales grant, if you agree to leave the timber to waste the more grant you get. The trees are processed according to how and where they come down. The top is either stacked in very neat habitat piles or cut into the ground. Cutting the top and leaving spread over a large area prevents the local mountain bikers from trashing the understory regen and also protects the bluebell beds. The woodland is very steep and strewn with large boulders. The trunks are usually left in long lengths to prevent removal and to stop them rolling (this dosnt stop the stuff near roadside being cut up). Some timber is cut into manageable lengths and stacked. Several trees will be drilled and killed using eco-plugs to provide habitat for birds such as lesser spotted wood pecker. I'm lucky I'm into conservation and tree felling so I'm left to my own devises as long as I don't deviate to much from the management plans.

Price per ton?