Squaredy

Sounds like we all need to build open sided timber drying sheds to provide nesting sites for them. I certainly get a few nesting in mine most years.

I think you need a skilled mechanic to take a look at it. There are quite a few possible causes from a leaky fuel line to failed electronic ignition, or dirty carb muck in the fuel etc etc. The guy who did the tune up perhaps doesn't have the in depth mechanical understanding to get to the bottom of it by the sound of it. I'm not saying you won't get a clue from an internet forum, but there is no substitute for a skilled person spending an hour or two or four working on it.

Woodmizer LT15 classic wide. Only been in use since about January, but so far I like it very much. Manual loading and log turning, but we have a forklift so that is no problem.

I started using windscreen washer fluid years ago after seeing it used by a mobile miller I knew. I then wondered about the health effects of breathing in a fine mist of it over the years, so I looked into it. What I read about it put me off that one, and would be the same for diesel, paraffin etc. We just use plain water these days. I will say my new mill cuts far more accurately than my old mill, and this is down to blade tensioning and robustness of the build. My Norwood was always a challenge to get the blade sitting just right, whereas my Woodmizer is just so much better quality in every respect; it wants to cut straight. Even when the blade is past its best it tends not to wander. I will say an awful lot is also to do with how well the blades are sharpened. We do our own now, but used to get very mixed results from some of the Saw Doctors we used. Stephen Cull was the only reliable one.

My grandmother on my Dad's side also was an Ivy.

Looks like you’ve worked it out now. If you don’t get my reply let me know and we can swap email addresses or phone numbers etc.

If you take it outside it will get ruined. It is made up of multiple pieces of oak glued, and would certainly not be weather resistant. A new finish might help a little but it will only delay the inevitable. Save it for indoors and buy something designed to take the weather.

PM sent.

There are markets for Poplar. What length are the logs? I could do with a lorry load if you can send them to South Wales.

Take care - it is not just the finish you need to consider. If there is any glue used for laminating or joints this is unlikely to cope with going outdoors. You could post some close up photos for the ArbTalk community to look at and advise you.

Mendip Forestry. Maybe try individual estates - they may not be hiring but they will give you pointers and contacts. Try Longleat for example.

Difficult to judge from the one photo of the thick end, but certainly ring shake, and if this goes all the way through this will cause problems. Best case scenario it will affect a few boards and be a shame, but not too serious. Worst case scenario the stem will be riddled with shake and give no decent slabs at all, and mainly yield firewood. Good luck if you do mill it - let us know how you get on.

The answer to all the used batteries is fairly simple - they need to be recycled and "mined" for the lithium which is needed to make more batteries. I totally agree that electric vehicles are far from perfect, but hopefully it is a step in the right direction. Car tyres are a huge problem that is not really even being talked about and of course is not addressed by electric propulsion.. I am talking about the plastic dust that is created by car tyres wearing out. That dust certainly is not collected and safely disposed of. What does not end up in the oceans stays in the land. Hopefully some bacteria exist or will evolve to break this down, but at the moment it is a huge unknown. And if you thought car tyres were made entirely of rubber (a natural material) try googling it. I calculate the UK's car tyre dust comes to around 90,000 tons per year.

Agreed the purchase cost is much higher, but not sure where you get the idea that insurance and running costs are more. My Kia EV is cheap to insure (in fact cheapest I have known for years) and it is generally accepted that electric vehicles have far fewer moving parts so maintenance is minimal. Granted the batteries will eventually fail, but only after a very long life.

My experience is that our EV is a bit pricey to lease (compared to the same model in petrol/diesel) but very cheap to run. Fuel usage is very low, tax and maintenance very low, just a high leasing cost. Of course, if you can generate your own electricity and use that to charge the batteries you will be even better off (but to do this you may have to plug in daily which is a bit of a pain). But good luck charging it in an unfamiliar area...

Very nice work indeed. Practical, clever, attractive and skillfully executed.

What a mess has been made of tax on fuel! It would be impossible for HMRC to properly police this so all it will do is cause a lot of confusion and resentment and pointless extra costs for countless companies. Why should cutting a huge lawn on a vast country estate use red diesel when a little guy with a small lawn has to use white (or petrol)? I know this probably should not be what will happen but we all know it will. They should have abolished fuel subsidies altogether (including agriculture) and instead subsidise other aspects of agriculture or sports or horticulture etc where it is justified. In other words only have white diesel. If farmers or others need subsidies (farms earn more from government payouts than from selling their produce) then give them the payout for really beneficial activity like reducing the carbon footprint of the food production, or looking after nature on the land. Having established that fossil fuel burning is so harmful why do we keep subsidising it? And yes it is subsidised: until the cost of the fuel actually covers the cost of the harm it causes. I.e. diesel and petrol cost needs to include the cost of clean up of disused oilfields for example. Also it should include the cost of re-capturing the carbon emissions caused by burning said fuel.

I did not suggest all employees are passengers.

Yes I totally get the confusion sorry. I was using the word "Employer" in a very general sense. In a similar way to when I employ a specialist to look at a blocked drain - I don't put them on the books as a member of my workforce - but I am still employing their services.

I have to admit that when I left permanent employment to become a freelancer in the nineties I missed the security not one bit. I was better treated by my "employers", properly equipped and trained for the job, and never had any expectation that I would be kept on beyond the immediate need. If you are a passenger and just want to get on the train and relax and never try your best I can see the attraction of a "secure" job. But if you have self-belief and always try to make yourself more and more useful and capable you will always be highly employable, and ready to move on when circumstances change. Most important I think is that the employer is honest with the employee. If things are not working out or needs have changed staff may have to go; but treat them properly, follow correct procedures and let them use their notice period to look for their next move. I don't believe employer's should feel duty bound to keep someone on for ever if they no longer need them.

Very impressive indeed. Surely your next job should be a large slab with a hairpin leg screwed to each corner? Just to keep ArbTalk traditions alive...

You might be better off trying to find a forestry firm in your area. But they will probably want to deliver you a lorry load (26 tons), or possibly a tractor trailer load (anywhere from a couple of tons to 12 tons). Don't expect them to deal in cords - we don't tend to use cord as a measurement in the UK.

I think you are saying you want to install a totally separate set of rads powered by your woodburner. In which case this is what I have done, and mine is a decent size stove and heats the whole house. I guess you can use whichever units you wish. You could fit it without a pump, as long as gravity will provide some circulation, but this will only work to a limited extent for rads above the woodburner. Maybe a few things to watch out for - you will need to allow for the system accidentally boiling and spec it out accordingly (expansion tank made of metal for example). You should probably get some expert advice. I would say that although my system works well in my situation a simple freestanding woodburner is a much simpler proposition than one with a back boiler. I am not saying don't do it, but find out lots first, and then decide if you wish to comply with all the rules and regs.

I am no expert but a 30hp DOL motor will have a massive load on startup. Electric motors can have a huge startup demand - easily six times running load maybe ten times. You really want a soft start of some sort for that size motor! Resistive loads on the other hand (heaters etc) do not have a high startup load. Ongoing load from a motor once up to speed can be very low on the other hand. I used to run a kiln that had two 3kw fans running 24/7. I calculated this would cost around £600 per month to run (simple maths: 6kw per hour X 24 hours and 30 days per month = 4320 units per month) but in fact bills barely noticeably more than normal.

I have seriously considered this. I have lots of waste wood and a fairly high need for electricity. Sadly I think the initial costs and ongoing maintenance would be just far too great. Wood gasification might be more realistic, but still huge up front costs and a lot of hassle compared to flicking a switch.