Squaredy

I remember some years ago seeing vast numbers of plastic bags blowing from the Cardiff landfill (Lamby Way if anyone is interested) and into the Rhymney river estuary. I photographed it and wrote to Cardiff Council telling them, but I am sure it happens a lot. This particular landfill site is in a very exposed spot right next to an estuary. With the best will in the world, every day thousands upon thousands of little bits of plastic are going to get tipped there, and if it is blowing a gale many will end up in the sea. I have just checked and this particular site was closed last year thankfully. Now all Cardiff's waste is incinerated, so look out everybody East of Cardiff who likes to breathe clean air! We in the developed world are not so innocent.

Anyone breathing in plastic today? Well apparently we all are. I am referring to the revelation in the recent BBC TV programs that even inside our homes the air is full of tiny plastic particles. Not seen the programs? They were called "War on Plastic" and were very well presented by Hugh Fernley-Wasisname and Anita Rani. They did talk about the plastic in our oceans as highlighted by the Blue Planet documentaries last year, but they showed that pollution in the seas is only part of the story. Please watch if you care about our planet. I thought I was well informed of the plastic problem, but I was still taken aback by some of the images of what happens to our so-called recycling and waste. If you watch the program and are still happy buying plastic products you are very different to me. And never again will I allow my children to have a Macdonalds Happy Meal toy.

Mick Dempsey is being a little unfair but he is not totally wrong. It does have a value but you have to find a specialist small scale miller who is willing to mill oversize stems with possible nails etc, like me or Rough Hewn. Let us know where the stem is and proper dimensions so volume can be calculated and I will give you a value. We need diameter at each end and length. If you are near South East Wales I might even be interested. It would be a shame for it to be chopped up for firewood. Cedar of Leb is not even great firewood, but would be very stable amazing wide slabs, although probably with some annoying shakes.

Don’t forget some types of grit are very dangerous and must be treated with great caution. Sand is best avoided unless you want silicosis. Hopefully you knew this anyway. What type of grit do you have?

I am looking forward to safer driving too. Tesla cars all have driverless capability, the world just needs to catch up. After more than a century of letting humans be at the wheel one thing we do know is they are unsafe, unpredictable, unreliable, in fact down right dangerous. High time we let a computer take charge.

How is it going to be charged? This is rather important as if it is firewood size there is lots of room for different calculations. For this reason it is more usually sold by the ton. How seasoned is it? I would estimate three quarters of a ton per cubic metre in which case £33 per cubic metre is OK and if dry then less drying for you to do.

How is it going to be charged? This is rather important as if it is firewood size there is lots of room for different calculations. For this reason it is more usually sold by the ton. How seasoned is it? I would estimate three quarters of a ton per cubic metre in which case £33 per cubic metre is OK and if dry then less drying for you to do.

Very nice indeed. Western Red Cedar ends?

Clive Francis of Abergavenny is a good guy, you will find him on t’internet. Or Ben Daniels also knows his stuff. I would start with them, but I know more if you need them.

I live in Newport. I am not an expert but I could recommend a couple of local people who would be able to give you competent advice. I can PM you names if you like.

Ah yes that is a very attractive use of sawdust. My main problem is wet sawdust though and whenever I have looked into it in the past, machines like that always state feedstock must be dry. So then you have the extra process of somehow drying tons of sawdust. My conclusions have always been that for a very small sawmill like mine I simply do not produce the material to justify the investment needed. I maybe produce 50 tons sawdust per year, so when dry I guess this could make around 35 tons of pellets or briquettes, which I then need to bag up, store in the dry, find customers for, etc. I say bring on the compost toilets....that is a market I would love to supply, but just not big enough yet.

It is a waste product. Value is zero. It is unprocessed, unseasoned, mixed species, mixed sizes varied splitability. Yes it could be processed, dried and delivered to customers but if that is not your business then just give it away. Very sensible. Even if he set a nominal price say £10 per car load how much time would that take to deal with all the customers and enquiries? I wish I could do the same for sawdust.....!

Yeah I think so.

Well if that first Oak is 40 inches diameter then that entrance is twenty feet wide or more!

I think you will find it is irrelevant as you are unlikely to find genuinely seasoned sleepers. Some people advertise things like “air dried 1 to 5 years” but this usually means nearly green. As has already been said sapwood will rot quickly and the chances are Oak cut to sleeper size will have a fair bit of sapwood. But once this has rotted away the heartwood will last maybe 10 to 15 years in ground contact.

Yes I did wonder. Helpfully there was a third photo I didn't post, which maybe he thinks eliminates any doubt....here it is showing the claimed 40 inch diameter I guess..........!

Maybe he was using one of those timber merchant's measures......? Must get hold of one of them.

I have spoken to a man near Warrington who has two large Oak trees that are being felled and he wants to sell the stems. They look pretty straight and have apparently got excellent access. He has given measurements of 120 inches girth, but not said at what height this was taken. He has also been told there is 30 tons of usable timber there, in just the main trunks. I do not believe either of these figures, but they do look like pretty good usable stems, although who knows they could be full of nails... For what it is worth I think there is no more than 5 tons of milling Oak here, but maybe the photos are misleading? If anyone is interested in having them, please PM me and I will pass on his contact details. I do not know how much he is expecting someone to pay for them - that would be up to you to negotiate. One main stem is apparently 10 metres long and the other 12. Again I am sceptical but I have only seen the photos here, so it is a little difficult to judge and I have never had dealings with the owner before.

Look at blade cost both to buy and re-sharpen. If the horizontal bandmill uses inch and a quarter blades these will cost less than a fifth of four inch stenner blades. Cutting speed may be less but maybe not that much. Also setting up a large wide bandsaw could be an expensive headache. If it is not right it will eat blades and never cut true. He may be willing to help set it up but that is no guarantee of success. If you buy a new bandmill you should find it all works well and if not there will be comeback and hopefully support.

I also am no expert but it seems unlikely the problems with the building are caused by the tree. Roots would not spread that far and a modern build would have deep foundations. Photos might help.

A problem for the future? It is a huge problem already. Drax has converted one of its burners to biomass and ships bring the fuel in from the USA. This was meant to be all low grade brash and waste, but sadly investigations have shown some of it is from virgin old growth forests. And this is classed as carbon neutral by the UK and EU.

With the weather round our way recently this might be possible, especially if they were from a nice high stack and exposed to cross winds. To check why not cut a piece to an exact cubic foot and weigh it (remember your GCSE maths to calculate the volume of a cylinder?) and compare the weight to figures you find on the internet (about 28lb per cubic foot from memory). Or even easier chop a small piece - say the size of a brick and weigh it, then dry it in an oven overnight and weigh it again. In theory there is more maths needed, but the bottom line is if the weight drops a little it was pretty dry; if the weight drops a lot it was pretty wet! Or just have a small fire and see how well it burns...

You need to be straight with him. He needs to know how you feel. He needs to realise that you pay him to do what you need him to do, not most of it, but all of it. If he is a decent lad he will take the ticking off and learn from it. Sadly there seem to be lots of youngsters out there who are unwilling or unable to learn from their employers. Hopefully your lad is not this type, but you must highlight clearly where his shortcomings are and the standards you expect of him. I used to give a lift to an employee every day, and it was way more hassle than I expected. I could never be late in to work even though it is my business. Even worse I could never be early! Same problem at the end of the day. And it was really annoying if ever I had to wait for him. Just not worth it, and he was actually on my route. Good luck.

Petrol?

Clear Cuprinol soaks in well and can be painted over. Always test a piece of scrap before you do the whole thing if you are unsure.