Squaredy

Some of the Caerleon carvings are Chris Wood, he has his workshop in Caerleon. He is one of the best in the UK.

Could be Adam Humphreys, he is Usk based. Well, he used to be.

I don’t get the metal leg thing at all. I think they all look horrible. Just my opinion!

We need some close up photos showing the grain then we can tell you easily.

If you don't mind my suggesting, maybe push this problem back to the landowner? Their land and their logs, so if they feel they are worth good money maybe they should find the buyer? That way you can just focus on your bit - ie felling and extracting.

Cut to the required size, but allow as you say 5mm for planing. Maybe you should allow 10mm for planing even. Larch will move a bit, WRC not so much, but for the long pieces you might find they bow when drying so could need 8 to 10mm planing off each face if you are unlucky.

This is what Wikipedia says about Lawson Cypress (or Port Orford Cedar as it is known in the US). The wood is light yet has great strength and rot resistance, and is particularly highly valued in east Asia, with large amounts being exported to Japan where it is in high demand for making coffins, and for shrines and temples.[7] Its lumber is also known for its highly fragrant ginger aroma. Due to the straightness of its grain, it is also one of the preferred woods for the manufacture of arrow shafts. It is also considered an acceptable, though not ideal, wood for construction of aircraft.[8] However, it is considered more than acceptable for use in stringed instruments. Its fine grain, good strength and tonal quality are highly regarded for soundboards in guitar making.[9] Of course when it is an overgrown garden tree it will be knotty, but when it is forest grown it is one of the best softwoods. Far superior to Larch, Western Red Cedar or Douglas Fir. Even Leylandii is fantastic timber if forest grown.

All the cypresses are quality timber as long as they are not too knotty. Remember that western red cedar is really cypress.

I need to replace the idler chain wheel on my Peterson Dedicated Wide Slabber. This is what it looks like and to give an idea of size it is exactly 2 inches overall diameter. Last time I asked ArbTalk members for help with a part I had a great response and got the part locally and quickly. The Peterson agent in the UK has stopped doing Peterson parts completely and have referred me to Peterson in NZ. I am sure this part is available in the UK for other uses I just need help working out where to look. The description in the Peterson parts manual is as follows: ""Speed Roller Nose Double Bearing 4340 Hardened for std ClipOns (not JP) 2020", but I can't get any useful m,atches from that. Any suggestions gratefully received. Thank you in advance.

You will need around 100 linear metres of shiplap (125mm wide with a coverage of 112mm) which from my local timber merchant (Mon Timber) is £2.20 per linear metre. That works out at £220 (plus VAT I guess). Might be worth just asking someone on Arbtalk to mill you feather edge. As an unseasoned product this should be around £15 to £20 per square metre.

Constant battle to reach 20 degrees in our rather cold living room. 21 degrees is lovely. By morning after a chilly night it is down to 13. I need better insulation. Only a radiator in the room, heated by the back boiler in our woodburner. Sometimes tempted to install a second woodburner in the room, but improved insulation is probably all that is needed.

Assuming your measurements are correct, that is 15 IBC containers full of polystyrene and vermiculite. What a nightmare to have to deal with. Even tipping it on a commercial basis is fraught with problems. How much of that will just blow around as it is being handled by the waste disposal station? How many millions of bits of contamination will eventually end up in the landscape from this one job? Almost impossible to avoid. This problem sort of highlights how important it is for the full life cycle cost of materials (including disposal) to be built into the initial price. If it had been, the guy who installed it years ago might have chosen a less problematic material. How many millions of houses have cavity wall insulation made up of loose polystyrene beads? Imagine the mess when any of these houses are demolished.....!

Nothing rubbish about Alder - great for floorboards as long as it is not a cricket pavilion or dance floor.

Alder for clogs. I would mill it up, but I have no idea what uses you might have for it. It is an attractive timber for indoor use. I think it is ideal as kitchen cupboards or coffee table/dining table. It could also be used as panelling in a room - it would be excellent as insulation and sound deadening as it is a very light timber. What it is not good for is outdoor use, unless it is only temporary. I know someone who used to use it for housebuilding - pressure treated.

Surely this is a question for a structural engineer? Yes trees do take moisture out of soil but those buildings need to be looked at by a qualified engineer or three not tree experts on a forum. That flank wall is clearly a much later addition so clearly built to different standards and using different methods, and maybe not compatible with the older wall next to it. I think this is quite a complex problem, and may be affected by trees and vegetation, but the fundamental problem needs to be assessed by an engineer on site.

Ah thanks Mr Slack, I will give you a tinkle.

I buy Poplar by the lorry load for milling, and of course I would pay more than biomass prices for decent clean 5m or 2.5m logs. I don't need huge quantities but one or two lorry loads would be good. I am in South East Wales - you didn't say where the estate is.

Yeah, I yearn for the bright lights of Rassau.....

Mmmmm I don't get out much.

If the scales are accurate, and the dimensions given correct, then that is almost a fully dry piece of Elm. Good fun, let's have some more!

Weight of partly seasoned Elm would be about 50lb per cubic foot. Based on the dimensions we have been given it is 16.33 cubic feet (as stated earlier). 16.33 X 50 = 816lbs divide by 2.2 = 371kg.

Very nice indeed. I like the nails showing like that - not trendy any more perhaps, but a very honest way of doing it, and at least you know where the nails are, unlike glueing or secret nailing.

Why not use a workshop heater - plenty of those about. Pot belly type, or shavings type seem popular.

I would put a carbon monoxide detector in the room which is affected most. Shared chimneys can be deadly if they leak. If you are getting carbon monoxide from next door that would be very easy to sort out with the help of environmental health.

I am not sure that would solve the problem either. I have never used that machine, but I suspect the boards would have to be pretty straight before moulding. I am not being negative but when you mill an 18ft board in Oak and then leave it to dry, by the time it is thoroughly dry it will be a long way from straight. It is always a challenge then to straighten it at that length. Of course to an extent you can straighten the boards as you fit them by bending, but only a bit.