Squaredy

11 hours ago, GRob said:

Alot of the canopy shattered as would be expected, some large limbs cracked right in half. There's an old crack right in the heart aswell.

There's alot of discolouration as can be seen in the photo. 

I would take off a slice from the butt end and see if tree timber still has strength.  See how hard it is to cut.  Rotten ash is easy to spot, not sure about ash weakened through dieback.

8 minutes ago, GRob said:

Hi,

Is it worth milling up an old ash that had severe dieback? 

Thanks,

G

From felling the tree do you have a feel for whether the timber is sound?  

6 minutes ago, 5thelement said:

This war didn’t start two years ago or when Hamas where created in 1987. 

No indeed.  It goes back at least to the Roman Empire.  They indeed were (if I remember rightly) the ones who came up with the word Palestine (a corruption of the biblical Phillistines) in what was Judaea.  Yes the Israelites have been persecuted for thousands of years,

53 minutes ago, Steven P said:

 

All the borders are closed, which is why the residents cannot leave Gaza. Trapped.

 

Some aid can get in but that is it.

Mmmm well the people of the Gaza Strip are in a pickle then.  Maybe they should have considered this before they slaughtered Jews two years ago and plastered it all over social media.
 

OK, I know there are innocent people caught up in all this, but we should all be wary of blindly accepting what Hamas tell us.  When they state that the majority of the casualties are women and children it reminds me of that stupid British politician who said that most of the small boat crossings from France to the UK are women and children.

And don’t get me started on the Hamas offshoot called UNRWA.

8 minutes ago, Steven P said:

 

Exactly, why won't the Israelis let them film it.

Last time I checked Israel doesn’t completely surround the Gaza Strip.  Couldn’t Hamas invite journalists in through Egypt?

23 minutes ago, Steven P said:

 

Even BBC news can show that - and they arn't allowed to film in Gaza, can't have been a taxing inquiry. Plain as plain can be that genocide has been happening.

If genocide is occurring why won’t they allow foreign journalists to witness it?

2 hours ago, Ringo said:

 

Thanks great info. If i were to put them in a kiln/make my own would it make a difference if i cut them down to rough sizes first? Mostly as I've only got a small garden and I dont think it would go down very well if i filled it with a kiln big enough for the full slabs.

Yes absolutely;  cut them down to a little over size before kilning.  Expect some end splitting and cupping.  Make sure everything has extra thickness and length so you can machine it to exact size when doing the build.

2 hours ago, AHPP said:

I was talking about a (big) biomass chipper. Crane fed.

 

 

Nice machine.  Not relevant for the scale of my operation though.  

We have had arguments on AT in the past about free speech.  If anyone still thinks it exists in the UK perhaps they haven’t heard about Graham Linehan.  I am rubbish at pasting links, but a quick google will uncover the facts.

What he was arrested earlier this month for writing on X is this: “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act.  Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”

Even the establishment seem to have realised this should never have resulted in his arrest, and he is now suing the MET police.  Initially his bail conditions even prohibited him from using X; but this has now been challenged.  The police actually thought this was within their power though!

On 14/09/2025 at 11:34, AHPP said:

 

The stuff in the photo would chip in about three minutes. The problem is what is the bloke and chipper going to do for the rest of the day.

Twenty minutes to fill a lorry if the supply is there. 

 

Someone local with a tractor trailed Heiziohack rather than a lorry based monster MIGHT want it but it’s still not much. Won’t cost much to ask (do check whether anyone’s biomass setup is taxvictim funded and show them the door if it is) but I suspect you’re going to be doing it yourself.

 

What are you doing with it at the moment?

I’ve never used a chipper personally, but I suspect the hundred or so lengths in each bundle might take a other longer than three minutes, and you would need about thirty bundles to fill a walking for lorry.

What I do with it at present is sell it as bundles, but there is not quite enough demand so I keep dropping the price.  If someone has a couple I only charge £15 per ton.  If it comes to it I will just have a bonfire.

21 hours ago, AHPP said:

Yes but his pile of scabs is going to be like a pack of crisps to an elephant. 

Nice analogy!  And realistically are they going to pay someone to feed the chipper all day?  And to fill a lorry it would take a day I would say.  This picture gives a better idea of what the bundles are like.  Even though it is about a ton of timber per bundle there is not much chunky stuff.

17 hours ago, 5thelement said:

No market for Biomass?

There may be but I don't have a chipper or the space to keep it until it was a lorry load.  I don't think I could send it for biomass as it is because it is in loose bundles.

57 minutes ago, AHPP said:

That makes sense. My main message was process it straight off the mill rather than look at long lengths for a while, trying to puzzle unrealised value out of them. 

It is a puzzle for sure. 

Also remember this is totally unseasoned timber so once processed into manageable lengths I then have to keep it in IBC cages for a year or more, properly covered and with good airflow.  And then finally I have a product which is brilliant for getting a fire going, but not so good for maintaining a nice slow burn.  Not enough chunky stuff.  So the bottom line is the amount of time and covered space it takes to process, dry and sell it is just not viable.

On 10/09/2025 at 07:04, Ringo said:

I think its unlikely they will get dry enough just from being air dried, I live in Glasgow its pretty damp and the slabs are to be used in a kitchen so they need to be properly dry.

 

@Stubby It is a concern that the moisture would go into the slab yeah, I've no experience with drying floors so was hoping someone could tell me one way or the other. I assumed (hoped!) its harder to get moisture into the timber than out so it wouldn't be too big a problem though

You will need to get them in to a similar environment to the final installation and leave them there for (depending on the thickness) maybe a few months, or even a year.  From what you have said there would be no point in putting them in the house they will be used in whilst the build finishes.

If this is not feasible I think you need to consider kiln drying.  Ash is better behaved than oak, but if you can't acclimitise them thoroughly you should expect some movement (twisted doors) and if you are making them into work surfaces a bit of pulling away from the wall and maybe cupping.

You can make your own kiln with a suitable insulated box, heaters, fans and a couple of dehumidifiers.

7 hours ago, Oldfeller said:

As it happens a refugee boat crisis did start when Maggie was in charge (from Vietnam).  But as soon as we started deporting them to a third country the flow stopped.  

1 hour ago, Steven P said:

As for "don't work"... explain how they don't work - NHS generally works though there are specific cases - always will be - where it didn't work. In politics I think in all my life the politicians campaign on "fix the NHS" - so either the last many years have been led by incompetent health ministers or "fix the NHS" is just another cheap opposition politician line trying to get votes.

I mainly judge by my personal experiences.  I have spent entire nights in our local A&E with my elderly mother, being ignored, while she spews her guts out.  One occasion she went to the hospital on her own and it was left to other patients and their friends/relatives to help her as she struggled with acute pain.  Yes sometimes the NHS works great, I am aware of that, but in my area it is a lottery to say the least.  If I or any of my family need emergency help now we will either go to Bristol or Cardiff as the service in the local hospitals is just so poor.

It may be better for you if you are in England - don't forget that in Wales we have had muppets managing the health services for 25 years or so.  My dad was let down badly by his GP and then when he had a fall at home he could not summon help and when the neighbours raised the alarm it was too late.  If his GP had actually seen him instead of just giving him repeat prescription month after month he might still be here.  My wife had a terrible battle with our local GP to get her mum assessed for dementia.  Finally after eighteen months she got referred, and the memory clinic said there would have been more help available for her Alzheimer's if they had seen her earlier.  I could go on, but in my area health services are terrible and don't work. 

Also bear in mind that there are many alternative funding systems available.  NHS Wales has a budget of £9 billion.  The best part of one billion of that goes on free prescriptions.  This is partly a waste of money, and if they followed the model in England (where it is means tested) they might be able to afford one or two more nurses in my local A&E (it works out the Newport area spends £53 million on free prescriptions - if even a tenth of them had to be paid for that could potentially pay for an extra 40 nurses and thirty nursing assistants).  Why do we in Wales give everyone free prescriptions?  And that is just one example of terrible waste - I bet there are more... 

As for the BBC, I think they make a lot of good programmes, and I love listening to the cricket on the BBC radio.  But what I object to is having no choice but to fund them.  I think they have a very strong political agenda.  So do many other organisations - but I choose not to fund them if I don't agree with their point.  Why am I forced to pay for the BBC?  If the funding model changed to subscription then as long as lots of people like the output they would still be well funded.  

1 hour ago, Steven P said:

.. Farage in power will lead to a sell off of the NHS, will lead to censorship of the press, will lead to a higher national debt... and from that an increased tax burden on us all for many years to come,

About time the NHS was shaken up, so let’s hope something like this happens.  I deeply resent having to fund the NHS and the BBC (amongst others).  They don’t work and the reason there are no real choices (with health anyway) is the very fact that we are all forced to fund them.

As for higher national debt, press censorship and incompetence, how would you describe the current and previous government?!  The only reason that Farage is flying in the polls is the huge unrest with the current system brought about by our two main parties.

As was mentioned above you probably need to sell the timber standing.  Of course this will only work if there is good access, and good tracks, or if it is not too steep for a harvester and forwarder.

Have you estimated the total volume?  It will have to be above a certain level to be viable.

You could speak to Roger at Mendip Forestry.  He knows what he is doing with regards to harvesting and marketing and covers your area.

Also you could put some photos up here and then us Arbtalkers can tell you that the access is no good, or the trees are no good, or that there is some other technical problem which means you will have to pay someone to remove them for you....

10 hours ago, sandspider said:

@Squaredy Is this something you can do? Cheers.

Yes I could do this, though I am low on larch right now.  I should have some in a few weeks if that helps.  I would charge you £43 each.  You might find it cheaper to use imported oak, though I could be out of date with this, but you used to be able to pick up French sleepers for around £25 I think.  There used to be people who specialised in sleepers, one near Hereford if I remember rightly.

Hope this helps.

8 hours ago, sandspider said:

Would a ton bundle fit in the boot of an estate car? And is it all barky, or is there a reasonable amount of solid wood? Would it be lots of conifer, or mixed all sorts? Thanks

It would need probably three or four trips with an estate car, and every piece would need to be cross cut to go in the car.  Many pieces are eight feet long but many are twelve.  Plenty of bark but also plenty of timber.  And yes mixed species.  I cut about 70% hardwoods, but each bundle will vary.

My business is a sawmill.  We find very little demand for our waste.  As has been said a lot of it is rather thin.  It is all unseasoned and in long lengths, so needs a lot of processing and drying for a year.  Most people just can’t be bothered.  Even at £25 per ton bundle we can’t get rid of it all.

If I were prepared to deliver I might get more takers, but at that price it is just not worth it.  
 

So lots of good potential firewood, but not enough people willing to put in the effort to convert and dry.

Government subsidised restaurants.  This is the latest idea to get disfunctional people to eat well apparently.  Being rolled out from next year.

 Let me see if I can get this link to work:

https://www.thecaterer.com/news/government-to-pilot-state-subsidised-restaurants

Whatever next?  Government sponsored relationships?   

Every time I come to the Scillies I love the Elms everywhere.  Today though I was totally blown away by the Monterey Pines.  This is my 12 year old with one, and a remarkable rope swing that has been set up on another.

Well I am not much of a gardener, and only nature can take the credit for these; but the wild strawberries on my site this year are laden with fruit.  My dogs were loving these today (right level for miniature dachshunds!).  This lot were growing just behind my office.

1 hour ago, Steve Bullman said:

I couldn’t not screenshot this video when i saw it 

 

 

This one is totally lost on me.  Maybe someone can explain...?