Big J

You are better off cutting through and through than square edging them. Square edging limits your customer's interest and you can end up cutting good timber away, leaving less to work with when you have drying defects to contend with. If you are wanting to do any extra cutting, cutting the heart out is always advantageous, though time consuming with a chainsaw mill. You really need a vertical (mini) mill to do it. Jonathan

I'm presently borrowing Stephen Blair's 72 inch monster, and chatting to Rob about options. I'm never going back to single head milling, and will post photos as soon as my bloody neighbour sends me them!

Not generally necessary, though a good non reactive wood like poplar is ideal. Most softwood, provided it's not too sappy is fine. Good effort Jmill. Few points to help for the next time: * On setting up the ladder for the first cut, easiest thing is to drill holes in the rungs and use good quality (as good as you can get, as they won't snap and will stand repeated drilling) screws to hold it to the log. Put blocks under the rungs at the top of the log so that the top rail of the ladder is ideally the same distance from the heart at both the butt and the top. This ensures you are cutting at the same plane throughout the log. Especially important on Oak, to ensure even medullary rays. * You need more stickers. I use 18x30mm sticks every 18 inches, with stickers on the ends being very important. Here is a picture to illustrate this. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/bob280784/Untitled.jpg Make sure that the stickers line up exactly from layer to layer. The weight of the boards needs to travel down a perfectly straight line to ensure minimal movement. * When wedging, put in one wedge at the start of the cut once you are a quarter to a third the way in. There is no further need for wedges until you are very nearly done, at which point you stick in one per side, just behind the saw. There is very little chance of it binding - I was cutting 55" wide chestnut boards the other day, 12ft long with that number of wedges. Otherwise, keep up the good work and enjoy it! Jonathan

That is a very nice stick. * Awaits the arrival of delabodge *

If it's been down for a while, it's not so bad. I had assumed that it was fresh felled. Pulpwood is just low grade softwood. Scottish Woodlands fell all over Scotland, so should be able to sort you something out. Jonathan

It would be 5% if just being used for domestic consumption. Seems like far too much really. I was quoted in October for pulp wood by Scottish Woodlands at £28 a tonne roadside. Haulage is usually less than £10.

Sorry for the confusion - I wasn't saying that you couldn't use the 565 full stop, but it would be very very slow. I can't find any product information on the saw - about 4hp I assume? The problem with chainsaw milling is that the cut rate goes up exponentially with power. An MS880 is 8.7hp, and will cut around 4 times quicker than a saw with half the power. My discovery this week was that two MS880s (well 088s, same saw but a touch older) cut about 4 times as quickly as one (2-2.5ft per minute in 45-55" wide sweet chestnut). Give that poplar is a fairly low demand tree species for sawn timber, perhaps you might make better money from it utilising it as firewood?

You need a bigger saw than a Husqvarna 565. Stihl MS660/Husky 395xp as a minimum. Frankly, the 120cc saws are still a bit underpowered, so I say go the whole hog and get an MS880/3120XP!

I really dislike all this prejudice against the Royal family. A lot of it strikes me as green eyed envy. I for one would far rather the life that I had now than the life of servitude that the upper echelons of the Royal Family have to endure. The Queen's working day, quoted from Yahoo answers: "Give me strength! So again! The Queen's working day begins like many people's - at her desk. After scanning the daily British newspapers, The Queen reviews her correspondence. Every day, 200-300 (and sometimes many more) letters from the public arrive. The Queen chooses a selection to read herself and tells members of her staff how she would like them to be answered. This enables Her Majesty personally to see a typical cross-section of her daily correspondence. Virtually every letter is answered by staff in her Private Secretary's office or by a lady-in-waiting. The Queen will then see, separately, two of her Private Secretaries with the daily quota of official papers and documents. This process takes upwards of an hour. Every day of every year, wherever she is, The Queen receives from government ministers, and from her representatives in the Commonwealth and foreign countries, information in the form of policy papers, Cabinet documents, telegrams, letters and other State papers. These are sent up to her by the Private Secretaries in the famous 'red boxes'. All of these papers have to be read and, where necessary, approved and signed. A series of official meetings or 'audiences' will often follow. The Queen will see a number of important people. These include overseas ambassadors and high commissioners, newly appointed British ambassadors, senior members of the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces on their appointment and retirement, and English bishops and judges on their appointment. Each meeting usually lasts 10 to 20 minutes, and usually The Queen and her visitor meet alone. The Queen may also meet a number of people who have won prizes or awards in a variety of fields such as literature or science, to present them individually with their prize. If there is an Investiture - a ceremony for the presentation of honours and decorations - it begins at 11.00am and lasts just over an hour. The Queen usually meets around 100 people at each Investiture to present Orders, decorations and medals. The Queen will often lunch privately. Every few months, she and The Duke of Edinburgh will invite a dozen guests from a wide variety of backgrounds to an informal lunch. Occasionally, the guest list may consist of far fewer people, such as a newly appointed or retiring Governor-General and their guest. If The Queen is spending the morning on engagements away from her desk and other commitments, she will visit up to three venues before lunch, either alone or jointly with The Duke of Edinburgh. On a regional visit, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh lunch with a wide variety of people in places ranging from town halls to hospitals In the afternoons, The Queen often goes out on public engagements. Such visits require meticulous planning beforehand to meet the hosts' requirements. And The Queen prepares for each visit by briefing herself on whom she will be meeting and what she will be seeing and doing. Royal engagements are carefully selected by The Queen from a large number of invitations sent to her each year, often by the Lord-Lieutenants (The Queen's representatives in counties throughout the United Kingdom). This helps to ensure the widest possible spread and to make effective use of The Queen's time. If the engagement is outside London, her journeys are often by air using a helicopter or an RAF aircraft. The Queen carries out around 430 engagements (including audiences) a year, to meet people, open events and buildings, unveil plaques and make speeches. Such engagements can include visits to schools, hospitals, factories, military units, art galleries, sheltered accommodation for elderly people, hostels for the homeless, local community schemes in inner city areas, and other British and Commonwealth organisations. The Queen regularly goes out for the whole day to a particular region or city. If the visit is a busy one, or if it lasts more than a day, then The Queen will travel overnight on the Royal Train. The Duke of Edinburgh will often accompany The Queen on such visits; when this happens, they will carry out some engagements jointly and others separately to ensure that the maximum number of people and organisations can be visited. The Queen may end the afternoon seeing a number of Government ministers in a meeting of the Privy Council. The Queen's working day does not stop at the end of the afternoon. Early evening may see a meeting with the Prime Minister. The Queen has a weekly meeting alone with the Prime Minister, when they are both in London (in addition to other meetings throughout the year). This usually takes place on Wednesdays at 6.30 pm. No written record is made of such meetings; neither The Queen nor the Prime Minister talk about what is discussed between them, as communications between The Queen and the Prime Minister always remain confidential. At about 7.30 pm a report of the day's parliamentary proceedings, written by one of the Government's Whips, arrives. The Queen always reads this the same evening. On some evenings, The Queen may attend a film première, a variety of concert performances in aid of a charitable cause, or a reception linked to organisations of which she is Patron. The Queen also regularly hosts official receptions at Buckingham Palace (usually with other members of the Royal Family), such as those for the Diplomatic Corps and The Queen's Award for Industry. Her Majesty may also hold receptions ahead of overseas visits. In 2007, prior to attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh gave a reception at Buckingham Palace for Commonwealth Africans living and working in the United Kingdom. Other receptions mark the work of particular groups in the community, such as those recently given for members of the British design and music worlds. The Queen has numerous private interests, which can coincide with her public work, to complete her working day. Her Majesty also attends the Derby and the Summer Race Meeting at Ascot, a Royal occasion. As a keen owner and breeder of racehorses, she often sees her horses run at other meetings. As owner of private estates at Balmoral and Sandringham, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh oversees the management of the estates which are run on a commercial basis. She takes a close interest in all aspects of estate life, particularly in the tenant farmers and employees who live and work on the estates. Through her public and private work, The Queen is well-briefed and well-known. She has met many more people from all walks of life both in this country and overseas than her predecessors. This takes time and effort. Often, one of the last lights on in the Palace at night is The Queen finishing her 'red box' of official papers. And this woman is in her mid 80’s PLEASE stop picking on her!"

The Queen gets a £44bn valuation for family 'Firm’ - Telegraph What the royal family costs us - MoneyWeek Royal economics: The price of an enchanting anachronism | The Economist Does the monarchy pay its way? – Business 360 - CNN.com Blogs U.K. depends far more on the magic of the Royal Family than it admits | canada.com From the first page of results when googling 'economic benefits of royal family'

Welcome to the forum Stu. The first thing that I would say is get the biggest saw that you can afford. I wouldn't ever recommend anything smaller than a Stihl MS880 for milling unless you are only going to mill very occasionally. The lack of power will drive you nuts. After years of milling with a single power head (Stihl 088), I've just discovered twin powerhead milling and I'd never go back. There is no substitute for power. You can get a Stihl MS880 without bar or chain from FR Jones for exactly a grand including VAT and my 50" chainsaw milling set up (mill, bar, 3 chains) will be up for sale very shortly. Jonathan

With a title like the one on this thread, I was expecting something completely different!

Excellent! Some nice looking pieces there. I am however going to petition that you change your screen name to C-delabodge from now on.....

Given that London has 13% of UK population and 22% of UK GDP, perhaps they have a point?

I would normally discount for a whole log. I don't usually sell green timber by the board either. The price I quoted above would be on the basis of selling the whole log. Jonathan

That was very much tongue in cheek. You are a new member, I should point out that my tongue is often in my cheek, but I am never deliberately offensive or inflammatory. I apologise for any offense caused

The hoppus measurement allows for a certain amount of wastage allowing for defects. With the new bandsawmill (having a slightly larger capacity), I barely pruduce any off cuts these days - I convert 95% (or more sometimes) of the log into boards and sawdust. Given that the hoppus measure is approximately 78% of the log, there is your allowance. Either way, if you are desperately concerned about defects, you can always offer a different hoppus price. I would hope that this log doesn't end up as firewood. And well said Martin.

Good to hear! Plenty more of it.....

Me personally, £14 to £16 a cubic foot. I've a log that is about that quality going out next week at £14.

The price I quoted is the fresh price. I've got about 30 cubic foot of similar grade beech in the vacuum kiln at the moment for a customer and it's going out at £26 a cube, so 34 cube would be worth £884. Not that many hours work to produce that. Lgl - I made a conscious decision this year to ignore market rate. It's resulted in a drop in my prices, and whilst it's taken a couple of months to twig with customers, I am now very busy. I'm aiming to offer a fair price to suppliers, and sell for a price I can make a reasonable buck on to customers. Just because something is a given species doesn't increase the costs on my end. I think that customers have respect for simple mathematics like that, and the honesty that accompanies it. I wouldn't like to be accused of profiteering and my main aim is to increase utilisation of British timber. The beech stem in question might not be worth £3 a hoppus to you, but it would be to me. Many of the sawmillers on here cannot justify or afford a full wagon load of timber, especially if it is one species. For most of us, being able to collect one stem is ideal, as it means that not to much capital is tied up at any one time. For me, if a good tree comes up on the radar, I start to market it to my customers before I am in possession of it. We're generally not commercial suppliers to folk like upholstery manufacturers, so we don't operate as such. Either way, I still think it's worth £120!

You have an addiction Clive. You and cedar are like Nigella and cocaine!

70cm is 27.5". 27.5 x 3.142 = 86.4 86.4 / 4 = 21.6 (quarter girth) 21.6 x 21.6 = 466.56 (quarter girth squared) 466.56 x 126 (3.2m in inches) = 58786.56 58786.56 / 1728 (cubic inches in a cubic foot) = 34.02 hoppus foot (cubic foot by the hoppus measure). The rest of you are a bunch of tight bastards! I could sell that off the saw at £14 a cube at the very least, and it would take me two hours to collect it (assuming it was reasonably local) and saw it. 34 x £11 profit is £374, so a reasonable rate of return. Jonathan

34 cubic foot in that stem. Towards the lower end of the quality spectrum for beech - straight enough but the occluded bark at the butt end isn't ideal. Nevertheless, it looks like it might have some nice flaming and it is ideal size for your average Woodmizer type sawmill. It's worth about £120 loaded, in my opinion. Jonathan

Not interested in doing firewood on a large scale - it's not my area of expertise, sawmilling pays better, I'm not set up for it in terms of machinery and I find firewood tedious after a while! I recall being at a large sawmill in Germany on a tour. They were selling good sized kiln dried (8%) beech off cuts for about 55 euros a cubic metre. It can be done economically on a large scale. I just feel that in order to get away from the famously nit picky and usually misinformed customers, we need to offer firewood as an affordable alternative to fossil fuels. This is going to require more than just action on the part of the firewood processors, but I reckon it's the right thing to do. Go to rural areas on the continent and firewood is the first choice fuel. That is not just because it's more abundant. Jonathan

£60 a tonne delivered in is worst case scenario. Around here cordwood is about £40-42 a tonne and delivery would cost me £7-8, so £50 delivered in. Unless it was Beech, I would expect to always get at least 2CM per tonne. The poplar is very wet when fresh, and I consistently get 2.5CM per tonne. I do agree though, firewood works well as a side business (which it very much is for me), but the larger producers should be able to take advantage of the economies of scale. What sort of production rates do folk see with the larger processors? Additionally, and I think that this is a crucial thing - the customers need to be educated. They need to understand that any species makes good firewood provided it is dry. Infact a mixed species batch is nearly always superior due to the different burning characteristics of different tree species. With softwood cord delivered in at £35 a tonne, it would work out more economically too, both for producer and user. Jonathan