Mike Dempsey

Forget the horse chesnut for wood working. It is crap and not worth the effort. Cut it for firewood. I have been using the alaskan mill now for 10 years and I am a cabinet maker so I only mill timber for myself. HC is not a timber I would use for cabinet making and as yet I have not seen it in any sawmill for cabinet making.

Mike

Evening all

I have just listed a Mattson incremental tree borer No. 3 on ebay, item no

120646643091 if any one might be looing for one.

Thanks

Mike

Hi

I have been using an alskan mill for about 8 years or so. I used to air dry all my timber for about 2 years or so outside until I moved workshops and lost my free outdoor storage area.

I came across the Sauno kiln about 18 months ago and bought the smaller one.

Building it out of the foam sheets was a bit of a nightmare because it is so fragile and crumbly and we ended up encasing it with fibreglass to a depth of about 5mm or so and strengthening the roof because this is where the door is chucked when the kiln is open.

Drying is a fine art in itself, but with a bit of practice, and careful monitoring I can dry up to 60mm beech in about 5 weeks or so down to 10%mc which isnt bad at all. Most of my timber is now cut to 100/1500mm square edged planks as you can get more in a kiln this way and it is easier to stack. The kiln has been designed to allow up to 8' planks to be put in and about 1m wide boards at the most. It is a bit of a bugger to fill especially on my own and can be a bit back breaking at the thicker sizes of timber.

The only steaming done is at the start when I add extra water and turn the temp up to 70 deg centegrade for five days and the turn it down to 40 deg and open up both vents to allow the moisture to escape. I have thought about putting a vent in the outside wall and running a pipe directly to that from the kiln vent so any moisture will vent outside. At the moment I run a dehumidifier for a few hours a day.

As a cabinet-maker with about 15 years experience I know when I am using crap timber and I can testify to the quality of my timber and so can the other cabinet makers who I have sold some to. So far I have kiln dried yew, oak, beech, silver birch, ash, sycamore, douglas fir, plum, and probably a few others.

I purchased mine from Classic Hand Tools and have good service from them. They were going to start a forum for users of the Sauno but havent started it. This would have been handy for all the questions that needed answered!

So, in my opinion, you only have to steam if you are on a tight schedule and trying to dry your timber as quick as possible as you would be in a commercial yard.

Ps. I know the big softwood timber yards dry their timber in 4 days. Thats probably why there is so much stress and warping in it when you buy it as well as the fact they only dry it down to 15%

The horsey people dont like walnut sawdust/shavings as I believe it is poisonous for horses, according to my sister in law who is one of those horsey people!

Mike

Yes

The winch went to a local guy and the landy is heading about 400 miles south to southampton. Sorry

Mike

Hi

I have just been out in the pouring rain to double-check. On the plate it is stamped 12T which is shear pin torque limit and I presume to mean 12 tons. It is definetly hydraulic and not electric as my mate says you could run it all day unlike his 5T electric winch on his new Santana which overheats very quickly and stops The cable looks like it is 12mm thick although I havent got my digi calipers to measure it. My mate who owned it prior to me said the cable length is either 30m or 50m long. It was used by a power company in the highlands of Scotland to pull up fallen power cables in the winter. It is a Superwinch winch which was supplied when they were in Tavistock and the steel bumper is 10mm thick steel-ideal if you get hit in the front!

Mike

pictures of landy as promised

Mike

Ex power company Specialist Vehicle Defender 2.5 diesel. Has a 12 tonne hydraulic winch on front which is worth well over a £1000 and can work all day, every day, unlike the electric winches along with towbar on front and on back. We have used it for hauling logs for milling out of a pile. Can take 3.5 tonnes in back.l A turbo was fitted several years ago. Paintwork could do with being tidied up. odd wee dent here and there. New hinges fitted to drivers door and I have hinges for passenger door but not fitted them. 21 years old, quite young for a landy!. Taxed till Sept and Mot till Nov. Have V5 docs for vehicle.

I am based in Glenrothes, KY74QN

Any questions phone Mike on 07769703520

£2500 ono

cannot upload photos just now but will try again later

Hi

Although I dont post here often I have been a lurker for a couple of years.

I mainly use my big saw for milling and I managed to persuade my 15 year old son today to leave his beloved computer behind and come out logging. I an wanting to build a fence from DF and started on a log about 8' long by 2' dia.

I was half way down the first top plank when I heard a loud bang and the ignition lead was loose on the spark plug. I reattached it making sure it was tightly on and carried on milling. This bang happened again about another 12" down the plank with the ignition lead being loose again. Not sure of why this was happening or what caused it I gave up and thought I would post a question here. I dont want to damage the saw as they are expensive enough without bashing on and perhaps having an expensive repair job. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

Mike

Hi runnach

I am based in Glenrothes and have a chainsaw with milling attachment. I also have a kiln and dry my own timber. I am a cabinet maker/woodturner and use mainly beech, oak, elm, ash and silver birch. If you dont have any luck on your side of the Forth you could give me a phone on 07769703520 any time.

Mike