Squaredy

That really is very similar to the Lucas mill isn’t it?  Does anybody know if it is just a Lucas mill rebadged or if it really is a different machine?

9 hours ago, difflock said:

Not ours, the daughters kitchen, no idea how to identify them, since they are so tiny as to be almost invisible, but the are causing the daughter serious stress, and she has already emptied cupboards and thoroughly cleaned several times.

Suggestions please.

P.S.

She has loads of house plants, and dogs, if that is any odds.

Marcus

 

Send off some samples to the natural history museum in London, entomology section.  They will tell you what they are and then you can look up what they feed on and find out about their lifecycle.

Once you have the right information you should have a fighting chance of eliminating them!  

1 hour ago, topchippyles said:

Not usually a big cricket fan gav but there is something special about the ashes. I bet you and the lad had a super time any plans for the next 2 tests if you can get a ticket. 

We are going to day four at the oval.  So I am really hoping we win the next test and then the last one could be an amazing finale!

1 hour ago, topchippyles said:

Anyone else following the cricket its turning into a fantastic series. Nail biting to watch or listen to on the radio. 

I was wondering if any other arbtalkers would admit to being cricket lovers!

Amazing win today.  Took my little boy to the last day at Edgbaston and Lords (first and second tests) and we both had a wonderful time despite the losses.  Now the series is really going to go stratospheric.  If we can win again at Old Trafford the final at the Oval will be incredible.  There is just something about the way England and Australia play together that is gripping. 

Anyone who says cricket is boring has never tried it!

3 hours ago, Chigala said:

I had multiple 7-8' green giants planted 3 weeks ago. A few of them have some die off on some branches and browning in spots on the leaves/needles (pics below). I have upped their watering as a result. Is this normal new planting stress that will abate or cause for concern? Some of the trees have no browning whatsoever, so it makes me think it is not normal. I'm worried that I'm already losing them??

 

Will they bounce back with adequate watering? Is there something else I should be doing to help them?

 

Thank you in advance for all help! 

 

 

It isn’t answering your question I know but is ‘green giants’ what you call leylandii trees on your side of the pond?

If it is elm a cluster of them will probably appear around it from the root system if they haven’t already.

Oak logs won’t dry until they are milled.  The ends will dry and maybe split a little but many of the end shakes will be there regardless of time since felling.  If you want the sapwood to be sound mill then within a year of felling.  Otherwise don’t worry.

 And yes it is wise to mill oak after the warm weather has passed to minimise surface checking as the boards dry.

Some people will do anything to try and con someone out of money.  I suggest you take plenty of photos of the tree now (if you have not already) in case it suddenly suffers further mysterious damage which you could get the blame for.

I also suggest you ask him to put in writing to you how exactly he believes you have caused a tree £10,000 worth of damage.  I hardly think you are the first person to accidentally damage a tree, and it seems unlikely to me that every tree that gets a little scrape from a passing car or whatever results in large damage claims. 

I think the tree owner has been watching too much american TV.

Yes redwood is durable outdoors.  The sapwood not so much of course, but similar to cedar I would say.  I don’t have personal experience of dawn redwood but as it is closely related I would bet it is similar.

I realise there are many different eucalyptus varieties but it is planted the world over in the most arid conditions (Atakama desert for example) as its ability to find water where almost none exists is legendary.  Indeed it is regarded in some areas as a major pest as it sucks up the water so well that little else survives. 

I travelled extensively in Peru years ago and Eucalypts were everywhere - for firewood of course.

29 minutes ago, LiT said:

Hi, hoping someone may be able to please advise.

 

I've been looking online but am getting conflicting answers (autumn/winter when dormant v Pruning in summer helps to avoid infection, as the fungal spores are airborne between September and May)

 

We have a beast of a poplar in the garden which is lovely, but we're looking to cut one of the large lower braches to even the tree out + allow our neighbours a little more sunlight.

 

We've had some landscape gardners knock on the door and said they could sort for £500 and that this time of year (June) is the perfect time to do the job.

 

I'd always thought that you had to wait until winter when the tree was asleep.

 

Could someone please advise, as I don't want the tree to become infected, and am not sure if the guys who knocked on the door are telling the truth or just after a quick buck.

 

Many thanks,

 

 

£500 for chopping that one branch off????  Ten minutes with a pole saw by the looks of it!

23 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Here’s the thing.

In order to move the wood it needs to be stacked across the trailer so when I tip it it rolls out, so has to be approx 1.7 mètres length (not much use for milling)

If I put it length ways it’s difficult, though not impossible, to tip out. 

I use the trailer to transport the machine so if the Avant is on site I can’t use it to unload back at base.

 

You have made me think about the possibilities though, so fair play.

 

I understand the problem.  As a miller I always buy cedar of Lebanon and the other true cedars as they are a miller’s dream.  Quick to dry, durable, beautiful and stable.  
 

And though I agree longer pieces would be even better, you should find a good market for 1.7m boards.  When I buy a 3.7m log, I generally chop it into a 2.5m and 1.2m piece prior to milling.

3 minutes ago, Barti said:

I think it is a sycamore yeah , around 7/8 metres 

Mmmm, certainly it will need constant maintenance to stop it being a problem.  Sorry that doesn’t really answer your question.  Hopefully another member will know the answer.

16 minutes ago, Barti said:

Yeah it’s near my house, in falling distance. It’s nowhere near my neighbours house.  It also blocks light from about 1- 5 for half the garden. 

Might it be worth getting a positive ID on the tree and trying to explain to the neighbour that this tree is really not suitable to be close to a house and it will grow and grow and grow?

 How many metres is it from your house?

What a shame this tree was allowed to ever become a tree.  It clearly is in the wrong place and should have been pulled up as soon as it sprouted from a seed.  It looks like a sycamore, so will get bigger and bigger and bigger.  It will become more and more of a problem.  Maybe if the fence were not there it might be attractive as part of the boundary, but with a fence it just looks like a problem.  

Is it near to any buildings, or just the fence?

2 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

This large and rather awkward cedar met it’s maker this week.

Electric line, buildings, and most irritatingly, a underground ancient rain water collector just in front of the only felling zone. No rigging pics because you sort of get caught up in the moment, but a few others.

We had to fell the stick across the aforementioned tank, but use logs to ‘span’ it to avoid its collapse.

Slight back lean on the stem, but Dave put it where it was needed, no drama.

Slightly underpriced but happy clients anyway.

IMG_2956.MOV

Will you be milling any of the better sections?

21 minutes ago, Big J said:

 

Agreed. Just a bit harder to organise as you need to know what you're doing. The lakes vary from large to enormous. If you're not well equipped, and with a boat, you're unlikely to catch so much. That makes it a bit more difficult to offer as a holiday option.

 

Yes I can see it must be difficult to know where to start without extensive local knowledge!

2 minutes ago, Big J said:

 

That particular lake is actually a carp fishing syndicate. Only to about 36-38lb, but it's well cared for.

 

All the other lakes hold fish. All species really, but pike, perch and zander are the most popular species. They grow quite large here too as the pressure is low. 

 

 

Only cycling past today, I'm afraid. It was also 4 degrees!

Sounds heavenly.  I think your holidays would appeal to fisher-types as well as bicyclists and wild swimmers.

3 hours ago, Big J said:

A beautiful morning today. 05:00, sunrise over a lake just north of the village

 

Do the locals fish in the lakes?  If so what do they catch?

22 hours ago, coppice cutter said:

Also bear in mind that yellow-rattle is highly invasive and if you let it stray over a boundary in to neighbouring managed grassland you will have an extremely irate neighbouring farmer to deal with.

I understand the point you are making.  However I hope no farmer would get irate at such an invasion.  If an area of farmland is so sterile that it is vulnerable to some yellow rattle coming over the border then maybe there is a problem with the way it is being farmed.  
 

I don’t see the local farmers in my area coming to apologise for all the rape plants that keep popping up in my village.  Never mind for the nitrate run-off that gets into the local river.

I am not a farmer, but I think I can safely say modern silage and haylage production methods are anathema to me.  Who really benefits from these methods?  We get cheaper meat no doubt.  Personally I’d rather eat less meat and pay twice the price for it knowing that it is raised in harmony with nature.

Sorry, thread derail I know!

9 hours ago, Billhook said:

I bought this generator new and have not used it for some time.  It has done no work and basically is as new.  I emptied the fuel and put in new fresh fuel.  Pull started and it fired up first time and ran smoothly as you can hear at the start of this clip.It will continue to run in this mode until the tank empties  It is rated at 2300 watts but as soon as I pulled the trigger on the 1150 watt De Walt saw it cuts out.  It then is very difficult to start again but eventually goes after fiddling around with the choke lever.

I took off the carb and found it to be like new inside, but I still blew it out.  Took out the screw on the fuel chamber and fuel pours out easily so there is no blockage there.  Took out the float and needle valve both spotless.  Electronic ignition seems to be ok  Any ideas??

 

 

Have you tried it with a different tool?  As was mentioned earlier maybe the circular saw is not soft start and therefore the initial surge is too much.  Odd that it struggled to run afterwards with no load, but will it run other tools or a heater?

24 minutes ago, Dilz said:

Using an alaskan mill a couple of years now on and off mostly as a hobby. For my own use I have milled shorter logs - 1.5m and less before  but only unusual stuff and for practice e.g pine / thuja  - got some 40cm wide white mulberry boards and even a magnolia stem which is  a really nice white colour. 

 

Got some 40 - 60cm diameter oak logs ranging from 3m to about 1.2- 1.5m from a dismantle - Is it worth the effort of milling the short logs - thinking of for smaller projects like stools / chairs / side tables they might be usable? otherwise I was thinking of saving them to start learning chainsaw carving on.   - Just concerned the shorter logs will be nothing left if they split when drying- which I have heard oak likes to do and have never milled oak before. 

 

Local carpenter is super keen on getting some milled oak  from me at the minute. 

 

Any tips advice much appreciated 

Certainly well worth milling. 

If a wide board splits you still have two usable narrower boards.  The ones most likely to split are the ones straight through the middle, which are probably best re-sawn down the pith anyway and you have two quarter sawn boards - which in oak is a bonus.

As you say for many craft and furniture uses you don't need long pieces.  But also even beams like lintels often shorter pieces are very useful.

My local Husqy/Stihl dealer will only look at kit they have supplied. 

I remember years ago before they brought in this rule I asked them to look at a saw - two weeks later they hadn't even had the time to look never mind fix it.  Never used them again.

2 hours ago, Ollie_M said:

hi all, just thought some people might find this interesting, i live on a farm and my dads a mechanic, i've been working on two strokes/engines in general for a couple of years now and finally took the plunge to start making use out of my knowledge rather than using it to spend money (dirtbikes cough cough).

Anyways, first saw that i'm flipping, a stihl 038 av super.
Bought for £80 as had been sat in a shed for years but had compression, spark and fuel so i bought it.
flushed all old fuel out and cleaned carb through, new sparkplug and some fresh fuel i got a pop after 3 pulls.
reset to factory settings as wouldnt start and it fired straight up, took some fettling to get the idle down and response times up but runs sweet now.
new 20" oregon versacut bar and chain went on along with a new break handle as old one was broken and dodgily repaired
Hoping to sell for around £300 looking at previous ebay sales.
will be going up on ebay in a couple weeks time as im about to leave for holiday.
 

Have you considered simply repairing other peoples saws?  My experience is that there are very few places that do that well so might be a good market?  
 

Indeed if you turn into a good competent mechanic I suspect you will spend most of your life turning down work and wishing there were more hours in the day…

11 hours ago, Gimlet said:

Anyone got any views on Henley stove? 

Apparently not.