Squaredy

If you use logic and maths you can estimate the squared off 20 inch log at around 16 inch by 16 inch (or nearly) which if there were no faults or taper or bend in the log would give 14 boards each 12ft long. Reality kicks in and you may get about 10 to 12 boards per log which equals 120 to 144ft or 37 to 44 metres. Hence to get 500 metres you need between 10 and 13 logs. I did it in my head earlier and was a bit optimistic sorry. In reality a 20 inch log is quite small and you won't get many 8 inch wide boards from it, even if you are lucky enough to have no faults. What actually happens is you put the log on the mill and find it is not straight, so you lose a fair proportion due to this. Then you find some central shake, which ruins a couple of boards. Maybe some have large knots which will be a problem for some uses. I think the conversion tables you refer to are more applicable to straight softwood with no serious flaws. You might be better off milling your Oak to useful sizes and then looking for buyers who simply have to buy whole boards - you will still get some faults and waste however. And finding buyers can be very very time consuming, and half of them will want a different size/quality from what you have.

I have never come across the tables you refer to but my own calculation suggests 7 logs of the size you quote But depending on the quality you need this could be way out. I would suggest 7 logs is the minimum and the maximum could be way more. There will be knots, shake in the centre maybe rotten knots etc. Milling to order with Oak can be a stressful and wasteful business.

Also there are different woodworm species. The ones that like Oak logs usually die when milled and dried. Generally Oak is not their favoured wood. If you are worried you can get woodworm killers but I think they will die off anyway as the wood dries.

Margaret Thatcher also colluded with Ronald Reagan to cover up the truth behind the Lockerbie bombing. 30 years on the true culprits (who were well known almost from the start) have never been brought to justice and an innocent man went to prison and the wrong country was blamed. (It is all on Wikipedia if you care to look). I do think she was right to stand up to the unions however, and right to buy was of benefit to millions - though not allowing the councils to build new council houses with the money raised was scandalous and is one of the reasons we now have housing shortages. I have not voted in the poll as there was good and bad about her, like most of the other politicians out there.

No you need black walnut for kindling.

Mainly carving but can be used for many indoor projects where strength and hardness are not important.

The owner of the trees has not provided better pics as requested so it may forever remain a mystery. I was hoping to buy them but I was not convinced they were cedars at all hence the question. If I hear any more I will update this thread.

I operate one of the few sawmills that actively buys Lime for milling. We are only small but need at least a couple of lorry loads per year. I pay around £70 per cubic metre. Needs to be fairly local to me of course (south east wales) with good access.

Yes it was a three phase machine that I wanted to run on the mains so I converted it by swapping the original motor for a single phase one. It worked great and I only retired it in Jan due to the rest of the machine being knackered. The frustrating thing is that a motor like this uses no more power than an electric kettle once running. It is the startup that is the killer.

Yeah, much more enlightening than the article. I don't cut trees down (only up) and it amazes me how some people can't see beyond their eyelids.

I have for years run a 5 hp saw from single phase supply. It was on its own MCB from the dist board but luckily the saw was very near. How much HP do you need, and what type of saw?

Thank you Les, I have spoken to Steve and he is going to pop in and assess it when he is down my way next.

Thank you Steve that is very interesting.

Thank you that would be great if I can have the number.

Not really Newport, nearer to Usk really.

Thank you that would be great. It is a White PR 30" thicknesser.

Hi Topchippyles, thanks for your input. Yes I would certainly like the contact details for the guys near Llangorse. I know the two Steves at Ross, if it is Greenfields machinery - not sure they are up to the job of stripping down and rebuilding however.

Thank you for that, they are not too far away. I will certainly consider them.

Ah yes I have heard of them and TWS are not that far. Thank you for the suggestion.

Yes it is 3 phase, and I also do not have three phase, but I run this off a genny. Thanks for the suggestion re Axminster, but I think they are more on the light side rather than industrial.

I have a large old thicknesser that I use quite a lot in my workshop and it is becoming noisy and it looks like it needs new gears and maybe bearings. A new one is going to be around £15,000 which is out of the question and second hand is a bit unlikely as they do come up occasionally but they may well also need rebuilding. I have spoken to DaltonsWadkin who can overhaul it for me, but I wondered if anyone had any other firm they could recommend for overhauling this type of woodworking machinery. I don't think it is anything complicated that needs doing, but I think I would rather hand the machine over to a firm who have knowledge of woodworking machines, not just a general engineering firm. There are plenty of machines available with a width of up to 2 feet, but this machine will plane 30 inches (750mm) and I do often use this width. Suggestions very welcome.

I am no arborist but I can advise you on this one. You will need an expert qualified arborist to do a proper survey and probably a surveyor or even engineer to assess the foundations and likely impact. You could even ask the insurance company who they think can assess the likely impact - after all they have a strong interest in avoiding damage to the property. You will not get a conclusive answer on this or any other internet forum.

Thanks for the input so far. I am trying to get better pictures, which I will post of course.

I agree it isn't typical Cedar shape, but this could be explained by the fact it was clearly grown in a wood. And if you zoom in on the foliage it does look more Cedar like than Spruce. I will ask for better photos showing foliage. As the trees are now felled it should be simple to get some good close-up pics of the leaves and cones.

Can anyone help identify these two Cedars? The one near the building I did think may be Atlantic Cedar, but the other one has a form I am really not familiar with. I am guessing it normally grows a bit more bush like and has been drawn up by the forest hence the odd shape. I know the further tree in the first photo is a Yew it is just the other two I am trying to get a more positive ID on. Any help gratefully received.