Big J

Really sorry to hear that. She looks a beautiful dog and 13 is no age to go for a collie.

I've felled a lot of dead elms from the ground, though never climbed them. They always seem to rot from the bottom up in my experience, quite often being hollow. Jonathan

Wouldn't change we live short of a lottery win! Live on a country estate just outside Edinburgh - this is our back garden and view: The estate itself is about 2000 acres with about 20 houses on it. Very peaceful and secluded, even with the occasional tourist and walker.

Very interesting responses so far guys! Seems that for the most part, opinion is that softwoods are perfectly acceptable as wood fuel. Jonathan

PM sent. Cheers!

Generally speaking, the public when requesting firewood for stoves and fires only want hardwood logs. I've started burning Larch (free and bone dry) and Spruce (bone dry and offcuts from work) on my stove at home and couldn't be happier with it. The larch in particular burns with a ferocious heat and the Spruce is ideal for slightly chilly evenings as it burns cleanly, but with a more gentle heat. The question is I suppose, why is it that the public are so insistent on hardwood and has anyone had much success in marketing softwoods? Jonathan

Funnily enough, protein intake it relatively unimportant in comparison to eating enough. Assuming you are busy with arb work, you will be eating a lot. If you are eating a lot, the protein will take care of itself (unless you're subsisting on Sherbet Refreshers!). I'm pretty damn skinny at the moment, but even at 99kg bw, I have to eat 6000 kcal a day to sustain my weight and work at full speed. It also seems to be that of the three big lifts (squat, bench and dealift) that bench press is most affected by increases in bodyweight. A few kilos gained will usually put a similar amount on your bench.

DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Be aware not to press too frequently or too heavy too frequently. Many people are inclined to focus on the bench and neglect some of the supporting lifts. You'll mainly feel it in your wrists and tendons in your rotator cuff if you are overdoing it. Wrists are a particular one for arb workers due to vibes from saws. I'm back in the gym for the next few months whilst we get a fresh felling licence organised. Funnily enough, 3 months of no gym and just forestry and the only lift not to increase has been the bench!

Regarding this whole situation and the control of 'pest species' I think that we first and foremost have a moral duty of care to ensure the minimisation of suffering. Whatever the individuals views are regarding the animal's right to life etc, it is completely unacceptable to justify suffering on the basis that the animal is a pest. It is sadistic and cruel and sets a terrible example.

Very nicely done - good quality ash there. What's the ash being used for?

There are a lot of theories on big benching, including partial range stuff (board work), upper back work and tricep work. I always found that close grip benching (though not too close - just inside shoulder width, ensuring elbows stay tucked into your sides) gave me the biggest gains.

Just this evening bought a Mercedes 308D tipper - very excited!! Picking it up on Sunday and pictures will follow. Jonathan

Highly recommend Chris White also - he did my basic chainsaw course and is a top guy to boot.

Thanks for all of the replies! I think the primary reason for not wanting an internal back boiler system is that we don't want to drag all of the timber inside. We have a fairly rubbish Villager stove at present that came with the house and it was on more or less constantly from December through to the end of February. All in all we burned just under 10 cubic metres over the winter, avoiding putting on the oil fired heating where possible. It's a large wheel barrow a day which can get tiresome when you're knackered from work. We are also thinking long term about approaching the estate about converting the loft space into a further three rooms, bringing the house to about 170 square metres. Regarding free timber, I realise that there is no such thing, but from a large garden clearance (the chap living there previously seemed to have aspirations of creating plantation woodland!) I've had 10 cubic metres of mostly cherry and willow, which I was paid to fell and process. I am aware that 10 cube isn't anywhere near a full years timber, but I do get quite a few off cuts from my milling too. Perge boilers seem to be fairly extensively used in France - would a smaller (say less than 20kw) model be suitable for a house of our size? Thanks for all the comments, replies and advice. A log boiler is a big step up from a simple stove and if it is something that we can go ahead with, we want to make sure that we get it exactly right. Jonathan

For some time we have had the desire to install wood fired central heating on account of the fact that I generally have access to quite a lot of free timber. More recently, we have swung away from a back boiler and towards a log boiler in an outhouse. Primary reasons for it are the increased efficiency and not having to haul all the wood through the house. The set up cost doesn't seem to be too much more and I was hoping to glean a little advice from anyone who has one/has experience of one. When installing, did you manage to get a grant for the installation? How often are you stoking the fire and how automated is the system? Do you have any figures for how much wood you're putting in for your size of house? Our house is an old, stone built end terrace farm workers cottage. About 110 square metres floor area, single story and not especially well insulated. I think the single largest issue we will have is that it is a rented property (we live on the estate for whom I subcontract) which adds complications for grant application. Also, I have to persuade the factor that it's a good idea (though that should be possible given that the estate is a fairly large firewood producer). Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

"Y'all goin on Youtube, all y'all"

I think we have a winner, if not for the the fell, but definitely for the soundtrack! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=169Z_pv5Xns]YouTube - Tree falling on truck[/ame] Jonathan

@ Auntie Sharon joke - very good indeed!!

Good to hear! You would think being involved in the business of arboriculture that they might have access to a camera and perhaps be able to use it on some of their jobs.....? I complete agreement regarding the person being in the wrong is the thief, not the person assuming common decency in his/her fellow man/woman. Jonathan

If you would like, I can speak to the forester on the Dalmeny Estate regarding nets. They have ample and it is very well seasoned. They have a large supply also.

How anyone can sell leylandii for firewood astonishes me. I took a bit off the burning stack on the estate about 12 months ago (12 inch plus rounds) and split and stacked it. Probably in the region of 2 cubic metres. It doesn't burn well and it constantly oozes resin, meaning you need to lather your hands in Swarfega each time you stock the fire. That said, if anyone can ever make a decent product from the stuff, they would be millionaires in no time. Back on topic, it's remarkable how much the price of firewood varies up and down the country. I only sell a bit (30 cube a year, tops) but generally get about £60 a cube. Lot of firewood available up here though. Jonathan

A neighbouring furniture maker is a big fan of sequioa. Reckon it might be worth a trip down with the Alaskan to mill some of it (obviously assuming I can come to an arrangement with the owners of the tree)? Cracking fell there - it does make you wonder how the hell people in the pre chainsaw age managed to fell sequioas with diameters of 3-4 cars! Jonathan

This whole Velvet campaign makes me chuckle - a complete marketing gimmick if ever I heard one. 3 trees for every one used is a fairly poor ratio - the estate for whom I sub contract plant approx 18 for every one felled. 3 doesn't even begin to cover planting failure and thinning to final crop. Whatever dupes the public though, eh?!