Big J
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Everything posted by Big J
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My favourite one was (and one I'll use with my kids when I have them) used in lieu of sympathy: "It won't hurt when the pain's gone"
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Agreed. Several years back I nearly lost my licence (new driver so only 6 points available on my clean licence) due to an insurance technicality (drivers covered 3rd party if over 25 and I was a couple of months short - teach me to read the fine print). It's only by chance that I had quite a few good character references and my lawyer knew the procurator fiscal that the charges were dropped. Now that's an honest mistake that could happen to anyone (driving without insurance is an absolute offense, meaning that there are no excuses. You insurance company could cancel on you without your knowledge and you can still get done) and they go after you like there is no tomorrow. These thieving scum make a living out of destroying honest, hard working people's livings. They should all be locked up and sterilised.
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You're on! These days, given the abundance of quite good quality trees, I generally won't touch anything that has more than a smattering of rot with a barge pole. That said, I will make an exception for a very good Elm or just about any Walnut (don't often find them here). The thing is (and it's something that I was told when I started out but didn't take so much notice of), it takes just as much time and effort to mill, stack, dry, kiln dry and handle a crap log as it does a good one. A good one will fly out the door whereas a bad one will sit there for ages until you drop the price enough to make it attractive to someone. Perhaps why I'm just going to focus on Oak and Elm, and secondarily extremely good quality Beech and Ash from now on. Maximum return on work!
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A pair of horse, hiding in a lasagne. One said to the other - "They'll never Findus in here!".
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Another thing that would worry me is that it's quite heavily buttressed, which again indicates rot in the heart. Compound that with the vigorous epicormic growth around the primary area of pruning and I reckon we're talking firewood here.
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Didn't go see it in the end as I became inundated with large, good quality Oak locally. Thanks for your efforts though - much appreciated! That is definitely Ash there Si - I would stake my sawmill on it!
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Unlikely. I reckon it is at best going to be 50% rotten, worst completely hollow. So many historical pruning wounds. Would happily be proved wrong though, and would be keen to see photos when it's down.
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Delmhorst J 2000 with hammer probe. I got mine from Rob D here on Arbtalk.
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550xp. Of the four 50cc class saws I've used extensively (MS260, MS261, 346XP and 550XP) it is by far and away the best. You are never left wanting for power in sub 18 inch diameter felling work.
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That might well be true! I am a very friendly giant though!
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Very good first effort - excellent quality milling. You stickering is good, but just requires a little modification. I am guessing that the boards are about 9.5ft long judging by the pallets. You want to have at least 7 stickers on a board that length, with the end stickers right at the very ends of the boards. You will get more movement there than anywhere else, and a well positioned sticker at the end of the stack will do a lot to prevent end shake. Here are some boards I cut last year as an example: Otherwise, keep up the good work and keep the pictures coming. Jonathan
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Mantle pieces - cutting lots this week if anyone has any requests...
Big J replied to Big J's topic in Milling Forum
I suppose that it is the environment into which they are installed. Scotland is a good bit damper than down south. Either way, I'll just pop them into the barn to dry. I've got a batch of 2.25 inch oak in there at present that was cut last April that is down at 29% already. Mantle pieces shouldn't take that much longer I suppose. -
Delmhost with the hammer probe. £300 or thereabouts, but well worth the investment. I've never had anyone dispute a measurement and it seems to be very consistent.
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My recommendation would be for a Husqvarna 560XP. The MS460 is indeed a very good saw, but I think that it is overkill for what you need. Especially given that you have been managing with an MS250 up to now. I started out with a 250 (which fell to pieces very quickly indeed) and progressed to a 260. After that I went down the Husky route and via a 346XP (lovely saw) I'm not on a 550XP (an even lovelier saw). In real terms, the 550XP is going to cut at least twice as quickly as the MS250. However, given that you are going to be cutting larger timber than I routinely tackle with my 550XP, go for the 560XP on an 18-20 inch bar. Another reason for it is that it's a much newer generation saw, producing far fewer fumes, using less fuel and with far less vibration.
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Mantle pieces - cutting lots this week if anyone has any requests...
Big J replied to Big J's topic in Milling Forum
No, not kiln dried, fresh sawn. Will crack and distort a little when installed, but most people seem to regard that as a plus. I would offer to kiln dry, but for that thickness of timber, it's very hard indeed to achieve that much of a reduction in MC. Air drying is more effective. -
I've never really done mantle pieces up until now, but I have a few shorter sections of Oak and a short section of Ash to cut. Lengths are 4-5ft and there will be mantles at 6x3, 8x3, 6x4, 8x4, 10x4, 8x5, 10x5, 8x6, 10x6 and 12x6 if anyone needs one. Price will be in the region of £20-25 a cubic foot depending on quality and species. Pretty easy to ship the lighter ones around the country for peanuts, though I might have to get imaginative for economically moving the heavier ones.
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I had one when I started out hardwood thinning. It lasted about a month. Wouldn't oil properly and then started throwing AV rubber bushes. Quite high vibrations too. I'd say just get a pro saw.
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Very good quality milling there. Lovely Ash too. Thanks for posting the pictures!
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Nice sawmilling but you need to sort your PPE out. I will occasionally mill without chainsaw trousers (at my yard only) as the mill is clamped at both ends. I wouldn't mini mill without them though. Helmet/ear protection and ear defenders are a real must. For the sake of £20 for a set of goggles and a good set of ear defenders (I won't mill in a standard forestry lid - only SNR30 + ear defenders) it's not worth the risk. Even with goggles, sawdust sometimes slips past (one minor injuries clinic visit last year). Quite separately is the insurance issue. No one is going to pay out on insurance claims if it can be demonstrated that reasonable precautions haven't been taken, even if the claim does doesn't relate to it.
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Out of curiousity, does anyone have any experience milling with the biggest Makita (Dolmar), the DCS9010? I seem to remember that it was regarded as being almost indestructible, but it's also reasonably heavy for it's power output. It's £150 cheaper than an MS660, but a touch less power, and £100 cheaper than the 395XP but more powerful. Supposedly (according to arboristsite.com thread) very tunable too. I just like left field choices sometimes!
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I am yet to try one, but I have only heard good things about the Sugihara bars that Rob D is peddling. As soon as I wear one of my bars out, I'll be ordering one.
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Glad you are happy with it Clive! I must say that I take my hat off to you - I honestly don't know how you get so much done in a working day/week. What sort of time does it take you to put one of the benches together?
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I don't dispute that at all, only that it's a superior method of drying firewood. Firewood stored in a barn with good airflow will dry far quicker than outside.
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Looking at the specs online, it was my understanding that dependent on the type of hitch, a MAM of up to 15000kg was allowed (though perhaps not legal here). Only up to 3500kg trailer on a ball hitch though. Big thing for me is space in cab. Sat in a 5tonne Iveco the other day and it was tiny. Not sure about low range Dean. If my old 308D was anything to go by, first was so low that you would pull away in 2nd 95% of the time.
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Been looking into a Mercedes Vario to tow a bigger mill lately and this lovely yellow, 4x4, crew cab chassis cab keeps standing out to me: 2002 Mercedes Benz 814 4x4 Double Twin Chassis Cab 4wd Unimog PTO Fitted | eBay Would be superb as an arb truck with a tipping back and pto driven chipper on it. I do love Mercedes'
