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Big J

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Everything posted by Big J

  1. Big J
    Lifting going quite well generally. Bench up to 115kg before I stopped benching as it was aggravating my bicep tendons. Push press 92.5kg. Bodyweight 117kg. I've been quite diligently doing a 20 rep squat routine with 2 sets of 20 reps, every four days with lower volume leg work inbetween. Started at 60kg, now on 87.5kg and hoping to be able to grind out 2x20x100kg before changing to a different routine. Took a brief interlude from that today and got a single at 140kg for a pb. Nice to have three plates a side on again. Onward and upward!
  2. Big J
    I must admit I did only skim the original post and didn't clock that there were 60 trusses to do. It would be madness to do it with an Alaskan. Dimensioned timber is slow with a chainsaw mill, and on a job of that size, the sawdust saved by bandsawmilling it would more than pay for the extraction and milling cost.
  3. Big J
    If I were you I would get the timber extracted and milled. It will work out cheaper. Speak to Mark Council at Logie Sawmill - he has a large capacity Trakmet sawmill (same as me) and an Alstor too for extraction, if the logs are under a tonne. A sound guy and fairly local to you I think.
  4. Big J
    Exactly the same as yesterday. Miserably grey, stiff easterly, drizzle and 4-5c.
  5. Big J
    Miserable here today after a few reasonably nice days. High of only 5c, with stiff easterly and drizzle for much of the day. Hit about 12c at the weekend, which was nice. To warm up though.
  6. Big J
    I got a response from the estate and they have decided not to go ahead with my proposal. Their main reasons were: * They felt £15 a tonne was too low. They only mechanically harvest now (even crappy hardwood) and want £20 a tonne * They've knackered so much of the shoot on this side of the main road that they've had to promise the syndicate not to undertake anymore felling without 6 months notice unless it's an emergency. Nevermind. It would have been nice to do, and the one bit of forestry work done on the estate in the past 5 years that wasn't in the style of "Shock and Awe"
  7. Big J
    Yep, had lime with coloured heartwood. Quite common once it gets to a certain size. Hard to sell though
  8. Big J
    All these options are OK for short term or occasional solutions, but if you are regularly going to have logs that are oversized for your mill, just get a bigger mill. Halving logs is brutally hard work. Shaving logs when on the mill also very nasty. Getting an appropriately large mill and whizzing through them is a doddle.
  9. Big J
    Hybrid poplar. Often planted as shelter belts as they grow at a tremendous rate. It's not a bad timber when milled. Moves a lot if used as cladding and shrinks more than any timber I've ever seen. I used a whole load of it to build a mezzanine within my largest barn (used as blade sharpening area). I put 30cm wide planks down as floorboards (green, and fitted flush) and by the time they dried, there were 15mm gaps between each board. Use it for unexposed, rough structural stuff, but I wouldn't bother planking it for any kind of decorative or furniture type purpose. It is very fibrous, won't take a fine finish and discolours easily when drying. Otherwise, I rate it as an outstanding firewood. Perfect compromise between hard and softwood. Lights easily, with a bright flame and good heat, but puts down a decent bed of embers too. It also dries very quickly, and would be sub 20% by July if split now.
  10. Big J
    It just doesn't seem that expensive considering a 12ft Ifor Williams tipper with the same options is nearly £5k plus VAT.
  11. Big J
    I wonder how much weight it would save not to have the cage sides on it? I'd never be in a position to fill past the top of the dropsides as I'd be way overweight. Might save a bit of cost too.
  12. Big J
    Either way, it's got an empty weight of 1100kg, which makes is a little impractically heavy if you don't have a 3500kg tow capacity.
  13. Big J
    Very interesting. Winter was very consistently cold here near Edinburgh. Monthly average temperatures were as follows: November: 3.89c December: 2.26c January: 2.1c February: 1.78c March: 2.9c As such not much showing signs of life. Daffodils are starting to flower here and there, some growth on some of my pond plants, but that's it. Grass hasn't grown at all yet, and all trees bare.
  14. Big J
    Very good advice regarding the tri axle Matthew. I am leaning that way.
  15. Big J
    The forwarder will just fit on my old trailer, but will overhand a fair bit at both ends. Not ideal, but would do in a fix. Still looking for trailers - it's a tough one.
  16. Big J
    Absolutely! You could double the GVW to 7000kg and still overload it!
  17. Big J
    I've committed to buying the Sprinter. Really quite excited as I was resigned to having to be without a van in order to get 4x4. Just need to get a suitable trailer now.
  18. Big J
    I haven't Richard, but I shall now If money were no object, this would be my (and I suspect most people's) trailer of choice: https://www.ahrens-ullmann.de/epages/61364809.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61364809/Products/"AG6766N %2B BHHE10017 %2B GA515x209" If only I could justify spending £7k on a trailer. It does everything!
  19. Big J
    Spoke to SV Tech and with the installation of an appropriately rated tow bar, the sprinter is good for 2800kg. Replating the vehicle with a fresh VIN plate costs £260, so quite straightforward. I think 3500kg is possible, but I don't need it and can't be bothered with the hassle.
  20. Big J
    Interesting though it is, the possibility of extending the towing capacity past 3500kg, it's not for me. Too much hassle, paperwork and cost. Just not something I need. I'll speak to SV Tech as soon as I get to work today.
  21. Big J
    Very true. I think the chap took the notion of uprated tow bar to an unnecessary level, but it's nice to have redundant strength.
  22. Big J
    I had wondered about that! That's very interesting as I would never need to travel with a loaded van and heavy trailer. I'd estimate that my train weight with fully fueled van, 18.5st of me, tools in the back and loaded trailer would be 5100kg max. I haven't had a look at the tow bars yet, but the vendor of the van (wind turbine engineer) has a 5000kg rated tow bar lined up for it.
  23. Big J
    Saw that, but would prefer the newer model with the cruise control. That's really important to me, and I'd also like a bit more power for towing everyday. I shall certainly speak to SVTech in the morning
  24. Big J
    Checked with Mercedes UK today and that specific vehicle is plated at 5500kg GVW with a 2000kg towing capacity. It's never towed, so I presume the lower GVW was all they ever needed.
  25. Big J
    That's really useful information! More than I got from an hour on the phone today! Thanks for that, and I'll call SVTech tomorrow.

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