Mobile-sawman.

Hi mate where are you?

mate of mine has one in his yard, its ex electricity board huge winch on the front, can swap between LHD and RHD.... doesnt look like its seen much action, in fact it looks new!

Give him a call if your interested: Caddy- 07970 771167. Just tell him you got number from Tom....

probably a few replies needed here...

"And then get slated for ringing up perfectly good millable timber"

Not at all... just just dont be thinking you have the crown jewels! theres a thread on here about "how much is my walnut tree worth- watch it, it speaks for itself.

Big J- I dont think its harsh at all! I buy timber by the ton, regardless of how good or bad it is- and have no problems finding suppliers as they know if they are fair with me I am fair with them, I take the good with the bad.

"What winds me up is after a day cutting trees , grass, driving diggers, hiring out diggers, dealing with workers and sub contracting road building, I have to come on here and read posts that have very little to do with the OP's thread.

If you can find someone local then you should get the best price for your tree or buy an Alaskan and mill onsite, watch a utube video for 10 minutes and you will have an idea of what to do ."

Hang on- I also cut trees (cs30 right up to cs42!) drive diggers, cut grass for a county council, JK control, hire out diggers (13t), sawmill, firewood processor, road sweeper, snow plough and gritter, deal with "workers" (9 staff) so I think we are on a parr.... but if you think watching a utube video for 10 mins will give you all the idea you need then crack on! just dont complain when all the timber you cut ends up like a bannana, or your sat in the hospital waiting for your fingers to be sewn back on!

And it has EVERYTHING to do with the OP's thread....

Re: Elm trunk price

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't really see what mobile's gripe is, in fact his post is nonsensical. All the OP is doing is offering raw material, the additional costs are the concern of the purchaser.

The OP says "few elms" so more than one trunk possibly

My gripe is- if your being paid to do a job, then you do that job. if you decide to expand your business and invest time and money into taking the process one step further, then good for you and you deserve to reap the rewards.

When you put tins and bottles into your recycling bin you dont ask the council "how much is this worth" - its worth millions, but took a lot of investment!

Whos being nonsensicle?

This allways really winds me up! I think a lot of people need to decide if they are tree surgeons or timber merchants/sawyers!

Surely you are being paid for your services to take down said tree and remove from site?

Therefore its worth the same as any other tree you take down- unless you want to invest heavily in a sawmill, yard, forklift, kiln etc...spend years learning the proper methods for cutting, building up a customer base, the knowledge to advise on best use of the timber, take the bad with the good etc etc....

So, short reply is- its worth £50t hardwood £35t softwood! If you want to spend money on fuel, oil etc- time ringing up and splitting, bagging, drying and storage, delivering to customers, then maybe you can get a bit more. But then you would be a firewood merchant. Pick a vocation, become good at it, and stick to it is my advice.....

I have a boxed pair of Hi Flex TRousers in XL.

 

Looking to trade for some decent spikes

You still got these? And what spikes are you after? I have around 15 pairs of kliens from a company buy out I did.... keep meaning to put them on fleebay!

PM me if interested..... Tom.

Whos to say the council has imposed the TPO? Any one of your neigbours could have applied for it to stop you "spoiling their view".....

Ask for a copy of the TPO application, and it should list the reasons for granting the TPO in the first place.

And yes... you are liable for the future upkeep of the tree....

Sorry, may not be what you wanted to hear.

As per the title really....

Had a customer come in the yard today wanting Larch or Fir for waney edge cladding, trouble is I have non in the yard....

anybody got any they want to get rid of? 10-12ft lengths upto 20" dia.

Lancs/Gtr manchester area.

PM or 07746 1309097. Thanks Tom.

Afternoon all.

Just had a phone call for a milling job 7 miles north of Leeds, which I just dont have the time to do and its a bit far for me.,.....

Any takers??

12 stems, oak, yew and siccy.

biggest is 1mtr D x 2.5mtr long.

sat in a yard, good access- tractor and trailer mounted hiab on site.

spec is planks and beams.

Any takers PM me or ring me on 07746 130997 and I will pass on fellas details.

Tom.

 

Yes I'm genuinely interested:thumbup1:

 

Whats the maximum size it will cut? what sort of quantities would it be realistic for a novice such as myself to cut?

 

I would start putting some of my better timber to one side (most of my timber is sold by the arctic load) and then hire your machine once I had enough to warrant the hire.

 

For me it would be to produce timber for my own use, fencing, sheds, etc.

Home at last, what a day!!

Maximum cut is 700mm, I generaly stay around the 600mm (2ft) mark.

(anything bigger I break down with chain mill beforehand)

As for quantities- it depends on what you are cutting into realy- for posts/planks I normally allow 30 mins or so per log at 8-10ft long.

On another note....what timber do you get hold of? I would be more than happy to do a deal where I take part (or even full) payment in timber if that suited both of us.......

Your not a million miles from me... my yard is in Ramsbottom near bury. I would come over for a visit/brew and have a proper chit chat if your deffo interested.........

This sounds like an excellent service!!

 

I would certainly be interested.

SOLD! I will book you in, put the kettle on!

A few more points being raised- good.

Blades cost me £16.50 each to buy at the mo, resharp is around £10.

Each blade has an average life of 2000 board ft, depending on what you are cutting.

As for timber value- I recently cut a 22" stem into 2" slabs (8ft long) and they went for a bar top london at £80 per slab! so, worth a hell of a lot more as timber! also, I hate to see good timber go for firewood. ( I just sell the offcuts as firewood)

Cutting into slabs is also a lot quicker than ringing/splitting/waiting to dry!

It theoretically sounds like a win win really - if you are in a position to be without the machine for a week at a time then in some ways I say go for it.

My reservation (as a potential customer) is what the cost for a week's hire would be - I imagine that you could mill an enormous volume of timber in that time. If I were in a situation where I had a week's worth of milling in one go I would personally be seriously looking at buying my own mill. The hire cost would need to be very cheap (and therefore not in your favour) to warrant me renting a mill for a week.

When I first read the thread title my thoughts were 'This guy is crazy'. I don't think that now, but I'm unsure if it is the right thing for you to be doing. I know that the machine is dead money when sat in the yard, but there is a chance that hiring it out the way you propose (which in itself I don't disagree with) will limit your market too much, or will return too little money to be worth bothering with.

 

 

Ok. We are now down to the "nitty gritty!...

 

My current deal with the couple of clients has been:

 

Monday morning, travel from my yard to hirers premises. set up mizer and spend the rest of the day as a tutorial/questions answer type day.

 

once I am happy that they have the basics I will leave the machine with them.

 

I am always on the other end of the phone if they need any assistance.

 

I collect the saw on the following Saturday. Hirer is free to use the machine 24hrs a day in between if they so wish!

 

The couple of clients I have at the mo have bought there own blades and provide fuel.

 

I supply all consumables (bearings, belts etc)

 

Cost has been £500 inclusive for the wk, including the days tutorial, delivery and collection.

 

Now, to some this may seem a lot.... but to put it in perspective, the saw was out last wk to a client that cuts reclaimed pitch pine beams into floorboards. He managed to cut over 40 GRANDS WORTH of boards in that time! (1000 cubic ft at £40 cube)

 

My other client cuts stems- oak, beech, ash etc... and he can achieve a good yield but green timber is approx half the value of the antique stuff. (I sell slabs at £20 cube)

 

I know they are cutting this amount because i do the same thing- cut both reclaimed timber and green timber..I have a yard full of both (I also have a static mill and other processing machinary, planers, moulders etc)

 

I think both of them prefer to just hire in the mill as needed, without having to find the money to buy one, mantain it and then have it sat unemployed taking up space while waiting for stocks to build up.

 

works for me and them.... but would it work for others?

Some good feedback so far... To answer a few of the points raised:

I only hire it to people with "hired in plant insurance"

I always check identity of hirer (passport etc)

Transport: I deliver and collect- I set the mizer up at hirers premises and then remove the road axle and take with me so it cant be used "mobile" - I also have a tracker on it so I can make sure it stays put!

Min hire period at the mo is 1 wk Mon-Sat.

Damage: There isnt realy a lot you could damage to be honest- hitting the log dogs is the most common, which damages the blade- but the clients I already hire to supply their own blades....

Hiring out with subby: already thought of that- but then the cost would be back up to "machine and operator" rates. (I am trying to convince more arbs to mill rather than log)

All food for thought though.... Maybe I just need a couple more clients who want it on the same basis as my existing ones....

You would have to go with it the first time at least and then decide if you could trust em to use it without you.

 

 

The deal I struck with one client was that I delivered the mizer on Monday morning, set it up and then spent the rest of the day with them showing them how to use it... (They supplied their own blades as well as they have it regular.) I then collected the following Saturday morning.

This system works well for both of us....

 

 

Cheers for the input so far......

Evening all... As the title suggest, I am thinking of starting to hire out my woodmizer for like minded arb type peeps so that they can mill stocks of timber they may have in the yard, maybe to try a mill before they go and buy one or even if they just fancy "having a go" with a new toy....

This is due to the fact that if I have other work on the go, then the mizer is just sat in the workshop not earning its keep. Also, for people like your good selves the cost of a mill and operator could be a little off putting and negate the benefits of milling timber rather than just logging it for firewood (criminal in my opinion!) I would love to see more trees put to good use!

I already have a couple of clients who hire it without operator, but I know and trust them to look after my machine.

so, my question is- good idea or bad idea? do you think people would wreck the mizer or treat it as there own?

I am asking your opinion because YOU would be the type of people I would be aiming it at......

TOM.

That is not a bad suggestion at all! Thanks for that!

Thank you kind sir.....

forgot to mention, I had to weld some brackets to the side of the wagon that would accept lift out "safety rails" (just 2nd hand padestrian barrier) to comply with H&S regs if I was going on a "big boys" site.....

I will post some picks if I can dig any out...... The mizers been bolted to the floor for some time now as im more static milling...(should really think about a name change!)

Because of a few issues:

 

* Overall train length cannot exceed 18m. The choice of 7.5t vehicles that are less than 6.6m overall length is limited.

 

* Would need to sit C1+E licence - that is a week of lost earnings and about a £1000 for the course and test.

 

* Need O licence - several hundred pounds as I understand it

 

* Need MOT

 

* Need Tax

 

* Need regular VOSA inspections, as well as documented 12 weekly servicing (as I understand it)

 

* No 4WD, and the short wheel base of the Unimog is appealing.

 

* Potential to mount crane on Unimog to assist with sawmill loading when out on contract.

 

I did start with a Mercedes Vario 814d in mind, but the advantages of a Unimog started to stack up. I am open to any suggestion that gets me out on the road with my mill economically.

Ive not read all the pages so dont know if this has been suggested, but you could do what I did with my woodmizer....

I got hold of a 7.5t ex scaffold waggon with Hiab,(extra long and low) and mounted the mizer on the back (bolted down) The vehicle was then classed as "permenantly mounted machine" and didnt require an O.L or the usual stuff that goes with it (servicing etc and normal pre 97 DL) etc) and I had the Hiab to load the logs on to the saw with! Vosa did stop me once or twice but had to agree that it was in fact a machine.... I even had a oak stem on once and just said it was for a demo......

What do you want lime for, not great for milling is it? Do you sell it?

I sell plenty of lime.... its ideal for carving!

I mill it into either 5" or 6" thick slabs and sell it as rocking horse blanks!

2" thick boards for the runners.... thinner stuff goes to folk who carve scenes into it. Also good for house name plaques, turning, sculptures etc......

Because its a "blonde" timber it can be stained to almost any colour too!

PM sent for both tip site and wood.... not sure if your getting message though as nothing showing up in my sent box......

Tom. (07746 130997)

Anybody in Lancashire got an LT40 or similar?

Just had a phone call for some milling work but I just dont have the time....

Anybody interested PM me and I will forward the chaps details.

Tom.

I have to admit that when I think of the things that float down rivers, scrap metal isn't high on the list!

 

Doesn't it tend to sink and stay where it's thrown in?

You would be amazed at what I have seen flow past me.... Full trees, boulders the size of cars, park benches etc.... (had a dead sheep last wk!)

The power of nature is truly awesome!

It's not right that anybody should cross your land

(without permission) or take anything that belongs to you.

Can you clarify if you have got your scrap laying in the river? You say that you own this part of the river. Is this correct ?

 

I'm no expert but I'd say the river doesn't do well with metal laying in it, the impact of any metal corroding is cumulative on any of the wildlife, and in fact illegal. The river "land" is owned by the landowners but as a resource it belongs to us all and we pay through the nose to have it kept free of such contamination through funding of the environment agency as the regulator and also in the charges we pay for our water bills.

The section of river that I own (approx 3rd of a mile) is the slowest part of the the river (shallowest) and therefore anything that gets washed downstream gets lodged. This is where the PC was coming from...I.E it wasnt MY scrap so to speak... I havnt put ANYTHING in the river, in fact quite the opposite! I have spent countless hours walking up and down picking up plastic bags, bottles etc....

As posted, the EA come in once a year to dredge the river bed, and I allow them access for the very reasons that you are talking about....

I understand where the original poster in this thread is coming from but if there is scrap lying around; then it will attract undesirable elements as long as prices for scrap remain good. That's the way it is; why not round up the scrap in the river and weigh it in yourself or get a scrapyard to drop a skip off or invite a known "scrap gatherer" type (everyone knows one!) to drag the river if you don't like getting wet . If it is worth the nomads going for it then it would be worth it for you; just so there is nothing lying about they might keep away. Alternatively they might go for the good stuff but that's life.

The scrap in question has only just become visable, as the water level in the river has dropped due to the recent dry spell. Apart from this, I allow the Environment Agency access to the river bed (my yard is the only way in) once a year to dredge the river. They normaly remove everything, inc scrap metal and tons of pebbles..... you would be amazed at what can get washed down the river while its in full flow!

First of all I will set the scene...... my yard is on the banks of a river, with a small parking area to the front that isnt fenced off (parking for customers) but the yard area is fenced and gated.

I got to the yard this morning and there was a huge pile of scrap metal on my carpark! I then find that 3 "nomadic type scrap collectors" have decided that its perfectly ok to climb over my fence, walk through my yard and help themselves to any scrap metal that has been washed down the river (this section of which I own!)

So.... I ring the police, and in all fairness within 5mins there are 2 vans and a car on scene, and the "nomads" are put in the back of the van. After 20mins or so, one police officer comes over to me and say "err, we cant do anything because nothing has been stolen! I was gobsmacked to say the least!

He explained that as the scrap had been washed down river, it didnt actually belong to anybody, and that if I had indeed put it there, I.E claimed that it was mine, I would be guilty of environmental offences of dumping in a waterway!

Getting a tad annoyed, I say I want them done for trespass- still no joy as the PC says "they might have walked up the river! even though its all on CCTV!

In the end I gave up, but gave the PC a stern warning that if the "nomads" came back, then the police would have a hell of a lot more to deal with and they had better bring an ambulance with them!

So my point is.... If you catch somebody in your yard, dont bother with the police....... they seem to be to lazy even when handed everything on a plate!

Just had a phone call that made me smile....but also think! It was along the lines of:

Hi, I believe you do mobile milling with your woodmizer?

Me: Yes, what do you have?

One large sycamore, approx 20ft x 2ft diameter, and around 10 standing oaks, approx 18ft stem x 14" diameter that are almost impossible to get to.

Me: Thats not a problem, we can pull them out of the woods. What are you using the timber for?

Im going to sell it because I need to raise some money.

Me: Ok then, we need to weigh up if the value of the timber will outweigh the cost of felling/processing. Woodmizer and operator starts at £250 per day, then the cost of the felling and extracting.

Oohh, thats good! I should make about £9k from it then!

Me: Excuse me???

Well, ive been told that each tree is worth at least £1000, maybe more!

Me:..................speachless!!!

Hence the question: are we all sitting on millions in tree stems?? I have two woodlands totaling over 20 acres..... I must be worth a mint! Maybe when I sell green oak at £20- 30 cube its WAY to cheap??

The £65 is the policy excess that Simonsnr had to stump up when his £500 windscreen was replaced. The vehicle insurance co have covered the windscreen cost, less the excess, leaving Simonsnr with a bill of £65. It is this £65 that Simonsnr should not have to pay.

Re-read the posts..... the £65 is the costs for the small claims (county) court.

A costing for the excess has not been mentioned, nor has he indicated if he has actually claimed on his windscreen policy!

My advice would be DO NOT claim on a windscreen policy, as it pushes your insurance up the year after! I know its not supposed to affect your insurance, but believe me it does! You are seen as a "higher risk" to the insurance company and they spank you for it. I proved this just two wks ago when I came to insure my new truck- when I mentioned that I had a windscreen claim, my policy jumped up by over £100!

All that besides..... Its the principle involved... weather its £500, £65 or 65p, they should be held to account!