Big J

I wasn't suggesting buying that one, only indicating what to buy!

Awful accident - all the best for a speedy recovery.

Best tool for removing sawdust from sawn boards is a floor scraper. Once tried, you'll never go back to a brush: Heavy Duty Floor Scraper I use diesel as a lubricant, but I don't have a Woodmizer (my bandwheels are crowned, rather than using rubber v belt pulleys). You'll use a hell of a lot less diesel, and the saw dust is drier as a consequence.

I'll certainly take it - could you PM me your number and I'll get in touch.

What sort of sizes are the trees?

Sadly there is no such vehicle that will do everything. Best to get a couple of vehicles that do their respective jobs well rather than trying to pack it all into one. If I had a vehicle for every job I could do with one for, I'd have about 6!

I don't like hourly rates at the yard, as it goes a lot quicker with labour helping. Had about 320 hoppus of mostly Corsican pine, Douglas, Larch and Cherry through the mill in 10 hours - all 24 logs pressure washed first. That's about as fast I can go really. I do have crap, underset bands at the moment though, so could perhaps have done 400 hf with new blades.

Quite right. Day rate has to be commensurate with output. I charge a tonnage rate on timber I contract cut in my yard. I'm more expensive per cube than larger mills down south, but they can churn out 2000 cube in a day, and I'm lucky to do 250.

Outside of my areas a bit really. Depends how big the larch are I suppose!

That's a rough deal - glad to hear that you pulled through and you're on the mend!

Sink his boat, the cheeky sod.

I've got 40 cubic metres to cut next month, which is being sold as a job lot leaving my yard at about £310/cubic metre. At that price a 6x1 board would be £1.16 a metre plus VAT. Smaller quantities retailed rather than wholesaled would be more expensive, though I don't know how much more. My price is for fresh sawn also.

I've got a wagon load of random, forest grown white woods coming in next month which I would like to move on quickly. So I'm offering pallet/lorry loads of ash/sycamore/lime mixes for super cheap prices. It's ideal for all sorts of applications and I'm pretty sure you'll struggle to find it cheaper. Prices are dependent on quantity: 0-50 HF (hoppus foot) - £12/HF 50-100 HF - £10/HF 100-200 HF - £9.50/HF 200 HF plus - £9/HF All plus VAT and delivery. I'd include a proportional mix of species. If memory serves, it's 50% sycamore (winter felled), 25% ash and 25% lime. Thickness cut according to your specifications. If it's all 25mm, the price would need to be a touch higher. If you are a prolific maker of bread boards etc, this could be a very cheap way to build up stock. It's good quality timber from a relatively well sheltered forest stand. Separately, lots of run of the mill (some straight, some pippy) elm available from the end of month: 0-50 HF - £14/HF 50-100 HF - £13/HF 100-200 HF - £12/HF 200 HF plus - £11/HF Happy to do full lorry loads. No real limit on quantity available at this end.

Very sad to hear.

You're very kind I've loads of elm at the moment, but nothing a metre wide. Widest boards are about 65cm and 2 inches thick. Stacks of it, kiln dried.

Seconded.

I don't mobile mill, but I'd be £400 plus VAT if I did. That's the going rate (£50/hr) around here for LT40s with experienced operators.

Fresh sawn, £7.50-11 a cubic foot (£265-386 a cubic metre) depending on grade and cutting required (ie, through sawn or dimensioned). Delivery from here (near Edinburgh) would be by artic load and a touch over £1 a cubic foot (just over £35 a cubic metre). All plus VAT. Have access to a lot of very good and old European larch.

My thoughts exactly. There is nothing wrong with expecting the offending party to pay for a (as near as) like for like replacement.

I wish! The only reason we didn't go away anywhere over that 6 week period was constant bloody work. I think 3 days off in 7 weeks!

Honestly not! I know that there are a lot of different sub species of poplar, but I had some hybrid poplar from Tom D which milled up OK (bit stringy) but split easily for firewood and dried to below 20% MC in less than 5 months (big bits too). Very easy to light from newspaper (no kindling ever required) and would just last overnight in my large stove. The hardwood mix from the field is a pain by itself due to the colossal ember buildup. As ever, a mix is ideal, but the Oak really does seem to be poor.

Perhaps your oak grows more quickly than here. I've never found oak to be anything other than a disappointing PITA. Genuinely, my favourite firewood is poplar, mixed with the standard hardwood mix from the field. Incredible heat off the poplar, good embers and even the firewood customers love it.

Fire never goes out unless we're away for two or more days. Had it on for 6 weeks solidly over Christmas

I haven't, but it's a hell of a lot drier than the hardwood mix from the field behind the house that was only felled 8 months ago. I would expect the oak is mid twenties and the hardwood mix is mid thirties. I have plenty of dry firewood at the yard, but it's laziness that means I'm burning wetter firewood as it's from the field behind the house (all 31 cubic metres of it! )

Whilst the sapwood is indeed soft, the heartwood is completely sound. Calorific reduction might have occurred in the sapwood, but not the heartwood.