Big J

Why thank you! By the way, can we buy Bish Bash back from you? This blinking Navara requires a backup vehicle!

I'm not really! It's lack of a reasonable alternative. It seems to be cutting well though, and I think that it's better to have a realistic idea of their limitations, rather than try to claim they are the bees knees! Thanks for the encouragement guys

I thought that it was about time that I advertised my sawmilling services on here At Robinson Sawmilling, we can offer a complete sawmilling service tackling just about any log you can find. We use a combination of an LT40 fully hydraulic woodmizer (lots of useful options on it, including full computer set works and debarker) and a capacious chainsaw mill, sporting a 50 inch bar allowing for a 43 inch cut. The upshot of this is that we can easily tackle any log up to 4ft diameter (load handling equipment such as a forklift is required) by halving it with the chainsaw mill (much quicker and neater than free hand cutting) and popping it on the woodmizer. Alternatively, we can just mill it fully with the chainsaw mill and whilst it is much slower and more wasteful with kerf, it will produce huge boards! We can travel to your site, anywhere in Scotland or Northern England (mileage charges apply beyond 15 miles), mill your timber, offer advice on drying or help with other sawmilling applications. The woodmizer is new to us, and an introductory rate applies as I get up to speed. However, I do have 55 tonnes of timber at my own yard to munch through before I'm happy to let myself loose on the world. As a business, we have been established 3 years, milled hundreds of tonnes of timber starting with a chainsaw mill and built ourselves up. This gradual progression means that nothing has been rushed and a sound knowledge of sawmilling and drying has been achieved. Rates for mobile milling are as follows: Woodmizer and operator day rate: £350 plus VAT (£280 for month of April) Mileage charge: £0.50 plus VAT a mile both ways beyond 15 miles Sharpening costs are covered in the day rate, but damage to bands is chargable at £20 plus VAT per band. Additional chainsaw milling is best done with the assistance of a second operator which is an additional £100 plus VAT, however productivity does increase with a second pair of hands. We can also mill your timber at our yard, which is just west of Edinburgh. The advantages are that we have space, a forklift and all kit on site. Productivity will be higher. We can air dry your timber on site and even kiln it as required. Please contact me for rates. My contact details are 07832 106156 or [email protected]. Our website is in chronic need of an update, but is Untitled Document Some pictures from the yard and chainsaw milling off site:

Thanks for the replies folks. Going to get it swept on Tuesday. Unlikely to be birds as it's almost never off. It's been running for about 2 and a half months now without a sweep, whilst we've been learning to use it, so it's probably tarred up a little quicker than usual. Jonathan

Quick Rayburn question. Just yesterday, the Rayburn has started smoking excessively from various points on the stove, and even one place on the flue (where it joints from single skin to double) mainly when you are lighting it. I suspect that the flue isn't drawing as well as it should - is it a simple case of sweeping the chimney, or is it something more sinister?

It's a tree shaped like a golf club - what a corker! Thanks for sharing that.

If the quality is good, it's a prime candidate for quarter sawing. Please don't chain mill it, as it could be worth a good deal of money to the right person. Find a local large mill, or get it to Helmdon sawmills in Northamptonshire. Steve might well buy it from you depending on quality. Two ten foot lengths would be the way to go, and I would expect you'd get around £1000 a length (£5 a hoppus) at the mill.

Very nice! Now that is what you call a feasting table!

Cherry is just about my very favourite timber to burn, with the possible exception of burr elm (I just burn both species to wind up wood turners!). Round wood cherry burns great, seasons quickly, leaves a lovely bed of embers and gives off a good heat. Jonathan

Wow! A lot less than I would have thought on the tonne. They really are lovely logs with almost no knots in - very clean 70-80 year old trees. I'll start on £30 a tonne and go from there. Thanks for all the help. Robert - bang on the money there, as ever. Beecraigs specials! Jonathan

Hi there, I managed to completely by fluke bump into the lady at West Lothian Council with whom I needed to have a chat about sawlogs. There are some very large Sitka butts from the January storms (7 + metres long 60-80cm diameter) available and she asked me to offer, but I really don't have a clue what the going rate is, being a hardwoods man usually. Would £40-45 a tonne secure them? Thanks in advance! Jonathan

I've got 130 cubic foot of top quality lime air drying. Didn't cost much and took only a day to mill at 3 to 4 inch thickness. Carver's delight, I'm told!

If you can stretch to it, go for a Wadkin like this: wadkin tradesman 12"planer/thicknesser 240v | eBay Regarding woodworking machinery, older nearly always seems to be better. Modern machines just don't have the volume of cast iron in them to be stable or robust enough. Jonathan

A furniture maker was talking to me the other day about quarter sawn plane, and that is was worth a considerable amount. I can't remember the name he used for the quarter sawn timber though. Would love to see some pictures if you get a moment.

No kidding! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bYLDAc9BuM]Bill Maher's Religulous: "Dr." Jeremiah Cummings - YouTube[/ame]

Hand arm vibration syndrome - no anti vibration system on that saw!

I'm getting HAVS just looking at that saw!

I think that unless you are only going to very infrequently mill, there is no such thing as an ideal small milling saw. You will always want for more power. Absolute minimum that I would go for is an MS660. It's a usable saw for day to day work (MS880 is too big for almost everything) and isn't a million miles away from the 880 on power. Even so, I find myself wishing my 088 was about twice the power!

Jesus Christ. It's one thing nicking tools because you think you need to to survive. It's quite something else to set light to the place - it makes me sick. To get you started with carving again, I just cut some lovely (massive) lime at the weekend. I'll pop a slab in post for you if you want. Jonathan

At least with Mormonism, you get to share your cell with many wives!

Mine seems to have the beginnings of a viral chest infection - boo!

I do agree in principle. It's interesting how as the human mind evolved before scientific understanding came about, that we conjured religion to explain the unexplainable. Now the science goes a good way to explaining most of what we seek to know, and that we have the luxury of free time to consider aspects of life beyond simple survival, we've come full circle back to the desire for spirituality to give life meaning beyond mere existence.

But why seek to attribute such pseudo-philosophical meaning to what is essentially a natural process. Nature exists as a brutal, merciless exercise of survival of the fittest. There is no greater meaning in it, there is no point to it. The simple and absolute goal of all species it to continue surviving. I do get a little frustrated with people constantly trying to find meaning or spiritual purpose in life. We are born. Life is short, cruel and random. We die. The very best you can do by yourself is to be kind, conscientious and do no harm to others. You don't need a higher reason to act that way. It's just being civilised and decent. Many religions would do well to aspire to that.