Squaredy

It looks as if the diameter of the tree could be rather important. The easy and accurate way to measure this is with a cloth tape (tailor's type) and measure the circumference and then divide by 3.14. Then you will KNOW if any of the trees are over 150mm diameter. I don't know but imagine it would be "breast height" which would be about 1.3 metres above ground.

I think it is well known that the UK is simply a place where conifers grow very fast, I remember reading years ago that outside of its natural range Sequoia grows faster in the UK than anywhere in the world. And of course fast growth does not generally equal quality timber. And of course as has so often been said UK forests are so often neglected. I know an estate near here (an estate that made its money from Coal mining in the industrial revolution) which owns several thousand acres, much of it is planted with conifers, and none has been managed this century. The owner simply has the view that there is no money in it, and focuses on the various properties he lets instead. So the hundreds of thousands of trees he had planted in the seventies and eighties are over-crowded, weak and knotty.

I just showed this to my boys, and they are laughing at me cos I thought it was real!

Is it a myth? I never mill Spruce so can't really comment, but I know UK grown Western Red Cedar is inferior to American grown.

Aaaahhhh I see I have missed the fact that the Sequoia milled and clad on the school was from a different poster than the original post. Apologies if I confused everyone!

Great result! Especially as you only posted the question 18 hours ago. I wish my workers could work at that rate....Fell, mill and fix in less than a day!

Sequoia timber (assuming it is Sequolia Giganteum not Sequoia Sempervirens) is very soft timber and a bit brittle. It is also very durable and stable and dries very quickly. I would say that if you get it slabbed the slabs should sell really well as outdoor furniture such as table tops, bar tops etc. I would value the timber at about £30 per cubic foot plus VAT once milled and dried if it is free from splits etc. Do be careful with your internet research as a lot of references to Redwood or Sequoia will actually be referring to Coastal Redwood which is a far superior timber.

If any logs are large enough and straight enough for milling (say a foot diameter and more) then they may be of interest to a sawmill and are worth more. Sweet Chestnut may be worth £110 per ton when felled and stacked at roadside (but only if decent quality) and Ash and Sycamore are worth around £70 or £80 per ton. A lot depends on quality of the logs which means how straight and free of knots the stems that are felled are, and if there are other faults like shakes. Also of course accessibility is critical - felling the trees may be easy, but they need to be economically moved to a track or roadside where a timber lorry can collect them. If you haven't already, you should talk to forestry workers to assess all this, as no matter how valuable the logs if they cannot be extracted then forget it!

I mainly buy hardwoods so rarely come across this term, and when I do it is not abbreviated. As a general rule I am offered a parcel of sawlogs, and usually then I get a log list giving measurements of every log. Just occasionally I buy hardwood logs by weight and as long as they are sawlog size I am not too fussy about top diameter. Length is more important to me - ideally multiples of eight foot or 2.5 metres saves me waste and handling. And of course quality - no-one likes knotty or shaky logs for milling.

Ah well if TDUB is top diameter under bark then I would say approx 200mm as a minimum. I would also need to know what lengths the logs are and see a pic or two to assess quality. I do not expect perfection, but I need to see I am not buying rubbish either!

No idea what TDUB means sorry!

If he can arrange haulage to South Wales I would pay a decent price for two loads of Alder and I would mill it.

Mmmmm I know kit is vital but so frustrating as well.

So it is - my mistake. I would say such an arrangement is a whole can of worms on its own. A lot depends on how well the drive was set up all those years ago and how much wear is in the pulleys and bearings etc. And what is the arrangement for stopping it? Do you have to go and switch the engine off or is there a clutch? Actually looking at the pics again surely it is a re-saw not a sawmill? Those rollers are meant to re-saw square edged boards and beams etc, not for logs to roll along. It might be good for re-sawing beams from your Lucas Mill into boards, but I wouldn't fancy pushing a log through that blade! If it had a sliding carriage that would be different.

Fair enough, if you enjoy setting up old hefty machinery like this. I do very much like old hefty machinery, but I am also aware how expensive some of this kit is to work on. If the main motor is past its best what would the cost of re-winding a 25HP three phase motor be? Probably more than the cost of the entire mill. I am currently trying to get my large thicknesser working again. So far it has cost me about £5000, and still no good.

Well of course it depends how you value your time, but dismantling is going to be a day for two people. Assembly if you have the skills will likely take somewhere between a week and a month. It is certain that it will have some faults and wear and possibly damage so getting it all working right will maybe take much time also and who knows what work will be needed? A three phase diesel genny of that vintage could be a whole can of worms, and again could cost thousands on its own to get working right. I will be buying a Woodmizer LT15 wide fairly soon and it is going to cost £7300 or thereabouts. That will be completely new, with support and warranty, and minimal setup. Nothing will be worn or broken. Bit of a no-brainer if you ask me. And I haven't even mentioned the fuel cost - how much diesel will the Stenner drink in a day? More than a little petrol engine that a Woodmizer has that's for sure. And from next year you will not even be allowed to use red diesel to run it. This is why there are so many old Stenners like the one in the original post available and why they sell for so little.

These old Stenner's often come up and are usually cheap. For good reason. 1) Transport and installation will take a lot of time (if you have the right skills) and cost around £5,000 or even £10,000. Or more if you have no three phase electricity. 2) Maintenance of a machine of this type that could have 100,000 hours of use could cost a fortune. 3) Blades will cost £200 each to buy and more to sharpen than a Woodmizer blade costs to buy. 4) Once installed no chance of moving or changing things around if plans develop. Now that portable machines like Woodmizer are sub £10,000 I am afraid this Stenner is simply obsolete.

Once treated they should be fine.

Generally the woodworm you find in a log will die once the timber is dried. These are not the furniture beetle which likes dry timber. Also the fact that the holes are black shows the ones in the photo are old holes from years ago. I would put them to dry and keep a look out for any new holes, especially in may and June and use a chemical treatment if there is any sign of new activity. The chemical treatments will only kill the beatles as they emerge but this will then stop them laying new eggs.

It can go a bit grey in places if it dries in damp weather. Otherwise really good drying - so much more stable than other native hardwoods. Especially good as wide boards, so I would say those slabs look great. Grain is more subtle than Ash or Oak, but very beautiful nevertheless.

I used to run a kiln to dry logs. You need to heat the logs to 80 degrees centigrade for about three days. And you need to constantly vent the air and therefore heat new incoming cold air. It is a very inefficient process that requires s huge amount of energy and usually has no heat recovery. I suspect grain dries quickly with low heat. Logs need high heat for a long time as they are very good at retaining their moisture. I am not being negative but my guess is the grain drying floor would be a total non starter for logs. I don’t sell logs any more by the way.

I sell Larch cladding by the square metre, and sometimes Western Red Cedar and Dougie Fir. I charge £15 per square metre currently. This is equivalent to £22.50 per cubic foot or £795 per cubic metre. This is for rough sawn totally unseasoned timber. I think I am fairly pricey, but this is what I need to charge to make it viable for me.

Or is this the rule for specialist vehicles other than tractors...? I may have got my memories a little mixed...! Are tractors OK as long as they are farming?

As far as I am aware the majority of farmer's tractors running on the road are not allowed to use red, even if they are actively farming. A few years ago I invested in a specialist book on the subject written by the leading UK expert on the subject (who actually advises the police on the law) and as well as being excruciatingly complicated I remember that farmers are only allowed to use tractors on the road for a very short distance (1 mile from memory) whilst traveling between parcels of land they own or farm. Even agricultural contractors therefore are not allowed to use red. I think it is a case of the laws are simply ignored by both users and the authorities, and in any case would be almost impossible to enforce. Sadly the newly proposed laws are going to make this whole issue even more complicated.

Potentially it might be worth milling, but I would post a photo on ArbTalk and you will get more informed opinions.