Big J

Well that was a bit underwhelming...... 😕

In order to get the form to print out to fill in manually, you have to email them to get them to send you one. Why can't you just download one instead (just like before)? I could have finished it by now but instead I have to wait for some desk jockey to send me a form that I used to be able to get instantly. For instance, on the mapping section, it asks you to select compartments to be felled from a generic OS map with no compartments listed. You can't submit a compartment map of your own as a pdf because it won't accept pdfs. Arghh! 😣

In an effort to bring their process for applying for felling licences into the 21st century, the Commission seems to have moved to an online format, with the option of having the paper form emailed to you to fill in manually and return to them. I'm a bit of a technological Luddite when it comes to this sort of thing and despite my best efforts, want to kill the computer after 30 minutes of trying to do the online forms. It's asking for obscure file types, asking me to select compartments on maps that don't exist and is generally not user-friendly. Has anyone else had the displeasure of completing one of these awful online forms yet?

A lot of them are pretty much stone dead here. Spring is about 3-4 weeks ahead down here compared to the North East.

So many trees around here in East/Mid Devon with barely any growth on them this spring. Variable within stands and rows, but the demise is self-evident and severe. If you're not allowing them to grow too tall then they aren't going to be a safety issue so I'd perhaps just continue on as you have been.

The way this joke has been dissected and discussed is like getting your end away for the very first time and then having to sit through a 3 hour lecture on the dangers of STDs and becoming a parent! 😄

Probably put it to beam. The brown rot streaks would prove troublesome with boards.

Chestnut might be an issue unless heavily protected as the extremely high tannin content will mean it will react strongly with anything ferrous left on it. So for instance, if you left a tin on the worktop overnight (maybe the tin was wet underneath) you'd potentially have a lovely blue ring stained into the work surface. Redwood would be much too soft. It would mark quickly. Sycamore is a good timber for a worktop. Non reactive and stable.

Outstanding figure there

Better to do as the left side of that log. Stand the quarter up and resaw so that every board has a 45 degree beveled edge. This is the kind of figure I'd expect from QS oak. I knew I had the photo somewhere but it took me a while to find it!

When we did quartersawn, it was as the left hand side of the log. Presumably that is what you are doing? The reason I ask is that the medullary rays are extremely weak for QS oak. Just odd.

If you are chainsawmilling, I wouldn't go thinner than 41mm just for waste, but otherwise yes. I can't quite see from the photos but are you true quarter sawing it?

Thereabouts. When very fresh felled and uplifted quickly. Otherwise closer to 1.2m3 per tonne.

Easiest on tonnage. There is no 100% accurate way of measuring volume on a lorry as you cannot be certain of air space. Every lorry has a weigh link and any lorry can run over a weigh bridge.

Ah, no worries. If it's handleable for the little forwarder (600kg max log size practically and no steep climbing with loads) it's quite doable. Otherwise, Pontrilas are paying around £80/t delivered in at present. That's 3.7s and 4.9s down to 16cm TDUB. Bit of a premium on top of that for 6.2s and 7.4s but not really enough to warrant the extra hassle. Pontrilas will also take some fairly rough logs without complaint, as well as roughly snedded as they debark everything.