Big J

Is any of it worth milling? Could do with a load of 30-40cm 3.7s and 4.9s

I remember you mentioning that, and you can get them from this manufacturer (drehschemelanhaenger is the German word for them) but surely they must be impossible to reverse with the double articulation?

For the record, I'd pimp it up a bit with the Rollfix sides, 100km axles, spare wheel, height increased to 2.2m (I'm 2.03m tall myself) and increase to 3.5t gvw. Total for all of that is about £4370 including VAT (£3640 plus VAT).

Time has come for me to replace my trailer. It's a 12ft Ifor Williams, and only a year old, but it's too short for 16ft timber. I've trawled through the UK trailer manufacturers and there seems to be some sort of cartel going on where they all charge about the same for a 16ft trailer, which is just shy of £3000 plus VAT. I'm quite keen to get something that is a bit more versatile and recalled that when in Germany I'd see curtainside 3.5t trailers. For kiln dried stock (and firewood deliveries - I load crates to my trailer and hand unload) this would be very useful. Additionally, compared to a van, you have much more load space (16x6.5x6.5ft) and more weight capacity (up to 2.7t). So, anyone want to cast their eye on this and feed back? http://www.lehwald-marl.de/anhaenger-verkauf/zweiachser-hochlader-m-plane/eduard-506-x-20m-27t-19550r13.html I would be aiming to go over second half of September to collect, if I were to get one, and could very easily fit a 10x5 tipper within my trailer should anyone want one. They are much cheaper than Ifor Williams and the 3 way tipping could be useful. Jonathan

I picked one up when I was 10 and visiting friends in Epsom. Always had a love of reptiles and hadn't seen an adder before. A swift bite, followed by a swifter visit to the local hospital ensued. It was all quite funny (doctors and nurses rushing around me, calling London hospitals for advice) until I started to projectile vomit and blacked out. Stayed in overnight, monitored but no anti venom administered. Right hand swollen to 3 times normal size for about 6 weeks. Lots of pretty colours and unable to do any school work for the duration!

Not yet Martin - I'm swimming in Elm up here and haven't had the need.

I did see those photos Roseyweb, but whilst your elm is quite reasonable, it's a very different grade to the one Josh felled.

You aren't wrong. That is absolutely bloody criminal. Seriously though, what volume of elm work do you get? It might be worth a trip over.

I have one I don't use that you can have for £100. I avoid urban trees now, so there isn't much need for it.

Have you ever tried moving a 5 inch thick slab?!

I think they forgot about it completely, so should they bill me for it, I'll let you know. Otherwise, I'd count it as a freebie

Sleep has become much more precious! Sadly, I can't foresee a situation where I'd have a 5x5 off cut Steve - it's a big old lump!

Bet it still breaks at the first sign of hard work!

Despite having recently become a father (to a beautiful little girl we called Hanna just over three weeks ago), I've been quite unusually busy with work this July. I've just about finished prepping the 2nd large heat vent kiln, which involved partitioning it into 20ft of kiln and 7ft of band/fuel store. The kiln will be loaded up next week with a full load of beech and douglas fir. Just over 100 cubic foot (of the 185 cube) of the beech will be going for a floor, but should anyone want to put in any requests, it will come out of the kiln at £20 a cubic foot. This is prime grade, forest grown, completely white beech (which is actually quite a rarity in Scotland). It's ideal for flooring, carcassing, cabinet making and more. In addition to the beech, there will be around 130 cubic foot of douglas fir going in. I have no specific plan for this, but figured it would be useful to have a stock of joinery grade DF kicking around. This would be about £15 a cubic foot and is ideal for (amongst other things) windows, doors, skirtings etc. Also have a batch of 1.5" Elm in the other kiln at the moment that just went in last week. Various grades, some spalting (quite unusual) and priced £25-36 a cubic foot. Usual stock of green elm that can be cut to order, as well as oak, beech, bit of yew, sycamore, spruce, western hemlock and douglas fir in the yard. Jonathan

Haha! If only! I think I run a high volume, low margin kind of business! I do feel that timber can be overpriced sometimes in the UK, so I aim to keep things cheap and cheerful for the most part. I've had more softwood than usual this year, and I only really make £100-150 a tonne on that.

Just curious what sort of throughput other Arbtalkmillers are doing. I ended up with 5 separate deliveries or collections of timber yesterday, totaling 43 tonnes, so decided to sit down and work out how much I'd had delivered to the yard or milled on site this year. I was somewhat shocked when the figure I finished with was 230 tonnes! At this rate I'm milling 400 tonnes a year, which for one man with occasional labourers is lunacy!

£400 - £450 for a mobile bandsaw mill. I charge that for milling in the yard really, but then I get a lot more done having all my tools and forklift to hand.

It's nothing spectacular. Just imagine a 5ft 4 inch sycamore log, clean enough and about 30 inches in diameter!

Bring the timber to me - I'm reasonably quick, but not at the expense of accuracy. I'm between Edinburgh and Livingston. Jonathan

You and me both. Sycamore, chopping boards and craft fairs are a match made in heaven

Yew good enough for long bows is very rare. General quality yew is always pretty easy to shift though. I put two lengths into the last kiln load and both were sold when they went in. Whilst not that useful for general cabinet making, it's popular in the craft/hobby market. Jonathan

Clive 'Cedar' Winson strikes again. Is any cedar in the South of England safe from his addiction? Looks like a lovely stick - I'm quite jealous. I've been cutting dead elm this week and it's not been what I'd call pleasant work - with some of the lumps it's been like cutting steel reinforced concrete.

I'm incredibly sorry to read this. Having recently become a father, I cannot comprehend what you are going through. I wish you all the strength you can muster to get through this and I hope your granddaughter makes a full and swift recovery. Should you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask. Jonathan, Kathryn and Hanna

It's beech. The red flamed heart and spalting gives it away. My opinion anyway.

Makita DCS7901 on a 28" bar. 6.3hp and my favourite of all saws I've ever owned. Cheaper than a Stihl 362 and only a fraction heavier with a lot more power.