Squaredy

Well that was five years ago and the OP hasn't bothered to prompt for an answer!

Here are a couple of pics of the whole tree in case anyone is interested. In the first picture it is the pathetic looking tree dead centre. The second pic shows how one sided the tree is due to other trees next to it that I have now removed. My hope is it will now start to thrive as it has some light and space.

Well thank you everybody most interesting. Assuming it is dawn redwood I am mystified how it ended up in the middle of a 3000 acre conifer plantation. But of course seeds do move by various means. Maybe there is one in a garden somewhere nearby.

I think I found a self sown dawn redwood today whilst preparing to take down some dead larch on my site today. I have not seen dawn redwood before, but my AI seems confident in the identity. Anybody confirm or deny this from these pictures? it is only a ten metre tree struggling due to much larger trees around it, but I gave it some more light and am hopeful it will do really well now, as it is in a great location to become an impressive tree one day (if the squirrels allow).

It won’t go on a timber lorry as it is mainly cut short. A firewood producer won’t want it for the same reason. It will be quite tricky to sell like that. Of course you could sell it as is but you will be getting rock bottom prices and dealing with many people coming with little trailers and pick ups and taking quite small amounts. Not easy to see a way forward really.

Surely it all depends on what the logs are like. Twisty knotty horse chestnut or any sort of willow is of value probably only as biomass. Processor size ash, sycamore, birch, alder with not too many knots should find a buyer for firewood…if they have not been down long. I would potentially buy milling logs, if there are straight sections without many knots and over a foot diameter. I would pay at least £60 per ton and maybe over £100 per ton for good lengths. Can you post some pictures?

I have just noticed you have implied the trees are not felled yet. In which case you will have no way of knowing if they have ring shake. Some photos of the standing treees will be useful, but the most important issue will not be known until the logs are felled.

I buy sawlogs and could be interested. As Rapalaman has said location is crucial. Also the form of the logs and their length is important. Are the logs knotty or very tapered? Maybe most important of all is whether they have ring shake. Large chestnut logs often do and this will severely affect their value. I would suggest putting up some photos here including the butt ends of the logs and you will receive a variety of opinions on their value. Finally, is there good access for a large timber lorry?

So from today it now costs £30,000 per year to employ a person over 21 for 40 hours per week. Imagine running a small pub with say four full time workers. That is a minimum wage bill of £330 per day, every day. Never mind all the other costs. No wonder this type of business is disappearing. People say AI will cost jobs. I would say minimum wage is a bigger job destroyer. I remember so well leaving school at 16 with no skills and a handful of O levels and no prospects, and looking back I was very lucky there were loads of low paid jobs around where employers were willing to give me a chance. I can’t imagine there are so many options for a youngster in that position now. Minimum wage = fewer options for workers. Not only current government’s fault, but successive governments.

Such a shame the grammar schools have mainly gone. They provided a ladder for those at the very bottom to reach the very top. But socialism declared them divisive so now most people can only access their local comp. And of course the areas with genuinely good comprehensive schools also happen to have very expensive housing.

Hi I had forgotten all about this thread. My plans evolved and in the end I used my Covid bounce back loan to buy a used Peterson dedicated wide slabber. Here it is tackling a cedar log of about 1.5m diameter. As long as we make sure the chain and bar are well fettled it works well.

If that is just a normal birch tree it is still in its childhood. In which case it is way too close to the house. If you are worried now, what about in 20 years when it is approaching maturity? I am sure 10 experts will give you 11 different opinions but why take the risk? If it isn't protected thank your lucky starts for this, and replace it with something appropriate for the location. Chalk bedrock as you say is not going to swell or shrink with moisture or lack of it. But in some areas the chalk is capped by clay, which will. The photo does not show clay, but what is under the foundations?

And hopefully you got an email from Octopus today informing you that the cheap off-peak electricity is going down shortly to 5p per unit. Looks like our government have finally done something sensible as the reduction is apparently due to green levies etc being transferred to general taxation. Or is it; as this means taxes will go up. Or borrowing will go up. Or public services will be cut.

Mmmm a lot. That is why we put the pallets there to cushion the rail. Incredibly that log has been in my yard for about 7 years and other than the sapwood it is still sound.

Most of what I do is far too boring to post here, but maybe some of you might like this. Just about maxing out the forklift and the mill today. 346ca574-2396-4aeb-a9fb-9e1cea6d1770.mov