Big J

Tom, that photo of you made it into the Times today as well:

I'll give you a buzz about it tomorrow evening Steve.

Generally about 2ft diameter, forest grown, 95 year old stock. Ramrod straight, no branching, no colour or defect in heart. Jonathan

Completely forgot to follow up on the ash Ross - any good stems remaining?

I pay £3 a hoppus for top quality. I sometimes have to fell it myself for that, but I'd rather do that to ensure it's done well. Otherwise, £1-2 for lower grade. I'll have some outstanding quality beech start of February Steve.

God it was a bugger get the crates in. No pictures as by the time the telehandler showed up it was dark. This is now strictly a test run - if it works in principle, I'll build a most suitable kiln as loading this one is a cow! J

My favourite firewood is dry firewood, because it burns best! In seriousness, I've been splitting poplar of late and I've fallen in love. It's the easiest splitting timber I've ever had, and flies through the screw splitter. It might not be the best firewood as an end product, but there is a huge amount to be said for it being incredibly cheap, very easy to process and rapid drying. Jonathan

Is it pine you're using for them? If it's of any interest, I've got a stack of air dried poplar that could be used that is as cheap as chips. 1, 1.5 and 2 inch.

Beautiful. We do have a misguided culture in this country regarding housing. Sadly, planners would rather see millions of rabbit hutch style Barratt homes than something as crafted as this.

Going to try a run with firewood next week. It will be spruce and poplar going in (just what I have in offcuts at the moment). I've built some boxes at that better fill the space than the ones that I previously had, so will be able to get 10.5 cubic metres of firewood in there with plenty of space for air circulation. One thing that I am going to try that I've not done before is a higher temperature but only extracting for 16hrs a day (spread out evenly over 24hrs). The reason for this is that the energy requirement for increasing the temperature in the kiln goes up incrementally in a linear fashion whereas the moisture carried in the air as the temperature goes up goes up exponentially. For instance, 24hr/day extraction at 35c results in 140ltr a day extracted. 16hr/day extraction at 50c results in 265lts a day extracted. All for the same theoretical power draw. Anyway, I've calculated that to take 10.5 cube from fresh to 15% will take 13.5 days at a cost of about £13 a cubic metre in electricity. Sounds like quite a high cost, but I should be able to sell it at at least a £25 a cube premium over normal firewood without it clogging up my yard for a year whilst it air dries. I'll take some photos on Tuesday when it goes in. Jonathan

Sorted - the farm are going to take it for cattle bedding. Already have four builders bags just from last week.

The guys at Logmaster are looking quite seriously on how to get the most they can into a high cube container. The 30 inch band wheels are superb, but compared to 24s (which are still bigger than almost all the other mills on the market) they add a foot of width to the mill, which when towing is going to be difficult unless you have a very large tow vehicle. Don't forget that just once little clip of those band wheel housings by say, another vehicles wing mirror, could have serious consequences for the mill. Jonathan

With the toe boards, about £11k plus VAT. It is a big beast though, and Ed is presently redesigning the head rig so that it's less wide and less long. 24 inch band wheels instead of 30s. Just trying to make it a bit more UK friendly! Marcus - the exchange rate is fantastic at the moment. I'd be about £1500 better off if I'd ordered my mill now!

About £6500 plus VAT for the trailer package. Cuts 16ft as standard. Quite agree CSS - even fairly minor breakdowns can cost hundreds of pounds in lost income, before you even start to fix the issue! Farmerjohn - it's push through the log, yes. Jonathan

It's a very valid point. The beauty about the Logmasters is that all the parts are standard automotive parts. The only thing that I got them to send was a spare set of guide rollers. My old Woodmizer was another matter though, with each part custom manufactured and only available through WM.

Usually 5-10 resharpens at about £10 including VAT per resharpen. Band life depends on what you are cutting and what you hit. You would expect to be able to cut 50 cubic foot per band, which even at green hardwood prices is £700-1000 per band. Jonathan

I've not imported anything other than mine so far. The basic machine with the 14hp engine would be about £4700 plus VAT including all import costs. Bands are very cheap - £15-20 or thereabouts. Jonathan

They won't be back until next Monday on account of Thanksgiving.

I'm looking for about 5 interested parties so that I can order a container of Logmaster LM1's. Google them - they are nice mills and very good value for money. My LM2 is excellent. On poplar cladding today, doing 10ft cuts through 15 inches of wood in 15-20 seconds per cut. Jonathan

Very nice pictures there sir! For the timber that you are milling you need something compact but robust. Normal small band mills have very flimsy frames and won't suit the ground you are towing on. I've got a Logmaster LM2, which is an excellent hydraulic mill. It's far too big for your needs though. Give them a call (speak to Ed, remember the 6hr time difference) and ask about a heavy duty trailer frame for the LM1. Perhaps some larger wheels too to give you more ground clearance. With a winch to roll the log up some bunks, it could be a very useful little machine for your needs. Jonathan

Whilst they are both beautifully stacked logs, I'm not a fan of stacking in log form, as there is no oppositional stress for the boards above the heart to stop them cupping up. I prefer big heavy, wide stacks (mine are typically 8-10ft long boards, stacked 5ft wide and about 2-3ft high per pack). This does require a forklift to move them, but I find that I get less distortion from stacking like this.

Tis but a scratch - just a fleshwound!

I too own a Ryobi strimmer, don't know why, and also have a 'man drawer'. Very odd indeed!

The chap who does garden machinery down the road has a couple of Elliot Majors for sale that might well be spot on for your needs. I toyed with the idea of one for the couple of domestic jobs I do per year, but in the end I was just trying to justify a new machine I didn't need. He wants £1k each for them (he's selling them for a customer) but I think that there is room to negotiate. They are almost as new. Jonathan

Looking for a regular supplier of firewood for a friend in Uddingston, near Glasgow. He requires 2 cubic metres at a time, probably every 6 weeks or so for winter. Please can you PM me with contact details, what you can supply and prices. Many thanks! Jonathan