Squaredy

On 12/10/2018 at 12:24, Ilnumero said:

I have to sell my mill.

 

It's a Norwood Lumbermate 2000 with lots of expensive extras including extended bed, trailer package, log winching kit, quick clamps, the largest motor available, about 20 bands for various timbers.

 

It's all in perfect working order and good condition. Priced new, it's about at least 16k worth of gear. 

 

I'm thinking about 6500. 

 

What do you guys think? Yes, I know the buyers amongst you are going to say it's too dear, but I think my price is about right for what it is.

I would look at the current offerings from Norwood.  If you do this you may realise you are unlikely to get £6500 for a mill that has been out of production for quite a few years now.  I know someone near me trying to sell a Lumbermate 2000 for about £3500 and had no interest.  I know yours has extras but a buyer may not need these. 

Have a look at completed listings on ebay and you will see what they actually sell for.

I am not looking to buy one by the way, so I have no axe to grind.  Good luck with the sale anyway.

5 hours ago, Craig Johnson said:

its very low value firewood and not much different to arbwaste, £20-30 ton

Yes agreed but depends on species also.  If you are lucky to have lots of Ash in the mix maybe a bit more than if it is oak or softwoods.  Big J put a post on here recently offering free Ash for firewood as it was awkward bendy stuff, so a lot depends on exactly what is on offer.

Post a few pics and you may get a few more views.

53 minutes ago, swinny said:

Just get a piece of flexy exhaust pipe to take fumes away and over the roof! Dont want all them fumes under roof and coming at you fella

Yes totally we have that in hand.

Trying to keep our old girl out of the rain.  Been meaning to make a lid for her for a while.  I got reminded the other day when loads of water poured out of the starter motor.  Dunno how it seeps in but it does.  Hopefully most of the rain will be kept off now.

she just runs our Jappa processor so no need for going on road etc.

1 hour ago, Al Cormack said:

 

This machine is for sale not too far from me. Thought it might be handy to keep the yard tidy and move trunks about.

 

 

Anyone know anything about them?

 

Cheers

 

It is one of the very first telehandlers so very old.  I also operate an old telehandler but a Sanderson.  I am guessing it will all be old school mechanics not electronics which is good when it goes wrong.

What you need to think about is who will service and repair it.  And will it need a safety inspection.  

If if you are not really experienced with machines like this get someone who is to look at it with you.  Especially with 4 wheel drive lots of moving parts and hydraulics to maintain.

And yes a telehandler is great for shifting logs around.

18 minutes ago, Taff855 said:

I was in the same situation a couple of years ago.... You spend all the time splitting with an axe then stacking then moving..... I then progressed to a 14t petrol splitter and then last year realised it still takes forever.

 

I can't buy straight lengths in as it leaves min profit and most of the wood I come by is ARB waste so I decided to build my own processor.

 

I got a large single axle trailer, an old twin cylinder Lister diesel engine, a 30 inch tct blade,and a couple of rams and a pump..... Lots of head scratching lots of welder burns but now my processer lives and cuts me a couple of  hundred tonnes a year....

 

All in it has cost me about 1k to build and it's how I wanted it and in the way I do things.... It won't win any beauty contest but it works and is safe and cuts all the logs I need.

 

Since having the processor done it works out that what I used to cut and split in a month can be done in just over a week....

That sounds awesome.  Have you got pics of your home made processor... or is it a carefully guarded secret?

2 minutes ago, Woodworks said:

Tax fossil fuels to the hilt IMO. They are finite and polluting so the sooner the alternatives look inviting the better.

6 minutes ago, Woodworks said:

Tax fossil fuels to the hilt IMO. They are finite and polluting so the sooner the alternatives look inviting the better.

I was wondering if anyone would comment that maybe high petrol and diesel prices actually will benefit us all in the long run.  Well said woodworks.

50 minutes ago, Bustergasket said:

Have to say i have gone full circle on this, over the last 20 years each house we have fixed up i have put log burners in, always been happy, however last few years iam loving the open fires, and am seriously thinking of pulling the CBD severn out and going large open fire, chimney is 6 foot wide and 4 foot deep, thinking logs would be 3 ft long sensible diameter , slow burn and not as much heat as stove, it’s not needed as a primary heat source as we have the biomass, so it’s a toy thing really

 

I also have a love of open fires. 

I would say though if you want a cosy room a large open fire is a really bad idea.  The Victorians worked out that the ideal width of an open fire is 16 inches.  Any wider and it just gets less and less efficient. 

A six foot wide open fire will be great at extracting huge volumes of air from the room and keeping it cool and draughty.  But it may look really nice. 

If you want an open fire the best type is probably a Baxi Burnall, which is about 20-30% efficient.  I was brought up in a house with one of these and it was lovely and could get the room cosy, though not to the extent a woodburner can sadly.  They are still available though I wonder for how much longer.

11 hours ago, donnk said:

so they are in series, you could just undo 1 link between battery 4 and 5 this would give you a 24v and a 12v.

 

on the 24v use https://www.ctek.com/products/professional/mxt-14

on the 12v use https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/xs-0-8

 

these are top end chargers that will condition and not just charge.

Yes of course I could charge them like this.  In fact I have been doing them in pairs with a 12 volt charger for a couple of days.  It is quite a faff.  So I need a simple plug in system so we can charge them easily every night.

As I said I have now ordered one which will remain permanently connected and mounted on the vehicle.  So at the end of each day we simply plug it into the mains.  

Look into price of wide blades and sharpening.  I remember seeing a 4 inch wide blade struggling on two foot diameter Larch yet I know similar logs cut with a 32mm wide blade with no problem.  

Yet wide blade cost £120 each and £30 to sharpen.

29 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Tbh I looked at this thread and thought too many questions, you’ve been in business a good while and you still are unaware of some employment law issues?

 

Mick Dempsey has got a point.  You need to look into it properly if you employ someone.

And yes you can ask them to do anything (within reason) but you are responsible for making sure they are fully trained, supervised, and that everything is risk assessed.  It is true with fewer than five employees you do not need written risk assessments but you still need to consider all the risks.

And of course you need to be able to DEMONSTRATE that your employee is properly trained and supervised, so that is where the course certificates come in.

1 minute ago, eggsarascal said:

I've tried that, all I can find is flexi. Unless you know different?

Exhaust pipe?  I would guess some of it is 60mm so you may be able to scrounge some from a scrap bin at an exhaust place?

1 hour ago, donnk said:

i expect they are 6 or 12 volt batteries wired up in serial/parallel so maybe could use a ctek

You are right it is six batteries at six volts each and 225 AH.  But what is a ctek? 

40 minutes ago, PeteB said:

eBay?

Always the first place I look.  Just a couple on there but nothing worth the money.  I have now ordered one which I hope will be right.  

This is will be fourth time lucky.  First one went pop after a year or so ( only cost £15) next one a proper industrial forklift charger but turned out to be 24 volt not 36, then got one via eBay sent from America which went pop after 6 weeks and cost £160.  

So so cross fingers I have got it right this time.  The manufacturer of the truck will sell me one for just over a grand...

8 minutes ago, Ratman said:

Not sure on your brand but if its manufactured in the last couple of years then it will look to burn aggressive all time. All modern stoves burn at a faster rate than older ones, its due to new regs / rules. Mine burns on the “high” side even when shut fully down. I have contemplated taking the bar out and welding some plates over the vent holes to throttle air flow down... just haven’t got round to it yet. Will try upload a short vid of my fire running tonight in full shut down mode. But like i say it appears to be the norm with modern stoves.

Well I never knew that.  My  Morso Dove at home is nice and controllable.  I guess they are trying to minimise emissions.

2 minutes ago, Stubby said:

No idea what make its but , Has it got a vent on the back  for use in a smokeless zone ? If so might want closing a bit or all the way . Failing that is the door seal ok ?

Can’t find a vent at the back. Door seal seems good.

4 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

This log burner seems to have just two settings - super high or extra high.  Anybody recognise it and suggest how we can turn it down!?!?  

 

This is not my stove at home but in a holiday chalet I am staying in with family.  I brought some of the wood I always burn on my Morso Dove which is really dry and it is just crazy hot.  I have found a couple of levers but they have little effect.  Any ideas?

Sorry rubbish photo - lenses covered in sawdust this should be better.

This log burner seems to have just two settings - super high or extra high.  Anybody recognise it and suggest how we can turn it down!?!?  

This is not my stove at home but in a holiday chalet I am staying in with family.  I brought some of the wood I always burn on my Morso Dove which is really dry and it is just crazy hot.  I have found a couple of levers but they have little effect.  Any ideas?

With a big landowner you are never going to get the nod to pinch a few wind blown sticks.  

Stick to local small landowners like farmers so you can ask them then no-one gets upset and the police are left to collect statistics on real crooks.

I need a 36 volt charger for our little electric yard truck.  An old forklift charger would be ideal.  

It it is a long shot I know but you never know.

3 hours ago, Jackkk said:

Anybody help with what’s causing this? Already dropped a couple of large limbs.

 

Cheers.

 

If the tree is really well infected it can yield amazing timber - maybe as beautiful as burrs.

4 hours ago, se7enthdevil said:

timber is moderately durable to durable (not the sap) and if cut properly in 1" boards usually quartersawn then it is a very decorative timber as the species has fairly large rays.

I have not got personal experience of Turkey Oak though I have been offered them.  I have read on several websites that Turkey Oak is also known as Wainscot Oak as it has such dramatic medullary rays that it is highly prized when quarter-sawn.  The best known example of what I am talking about is the house of commons - the Oak panelling on the walls.  Can anyone enlighten me as to which Oak this is?  I am pretty certain it is not native but which one is it?

I love Holm Oak and this certainly has very strong rays, but of course rarely has a decent size stem.

19 hours ago, swinny said:

Hi there,

 

I'm wanting some advice on what is there to consider? What is there to look out for? Anything to consider when looking to take on a full time employee?

 

Is there any way to safe guard your business? Probation period to see if candidate is suitable?

 

What needs to be in an employment contract?

 

Pensions etc....

 

A few people have said its cheaper and easier having full time staff... ?

 

Am I Mad? lol

 

All info greatly appreciated

 

Cheers

It is all about the person you employ and what they will be like in a year or two or ten.  If you find out it is not working out for you it is a nightmare to get rid of them.  You will probably end up paying full redundancy unless you have really good evidence of gross misconduct, because it is simply too risky not to.  Luckily in the first few years redundancy payments are not very high.  The other thing is it is simply not very nice sacking someone - no matter what the reason.

You will have to give them minimum wage of course (bear in mind this is promised to hit £10 an hour for over twenty-fives pretty soon) and a pension which you will need to contribute to, and you will have to pay 12% or so employer's NI as well as what you deduct from their wage and hand over to HMRC.  They will be entitled to 28 days paid holiday as a legal minimum, maternity pay or paternity pay possibly.

If they are unwell (or claim to be) for more than four consecutive days you will have to pay them Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) which you used to be able to claim back from HMRC, but now you cannot.  So if they develop a long-term condition, or simply decide they are not happy with the job and go on the sick for any of those reasons which are impossible to prove or disprove (depression, unspecified back or neck problems) you will have to pay them up to six months for them to not work.

You don't have to have a written contract, as a contract will be deemed to exist anyway, but you might want one to set out clearly a few rules; but take care as if your contract is all about protecting you as an employer it could fall foul of the Unfair Contract Terms act.

All in all it is a bit of a minefield, which is why so many people are just employed on a part-time cash in hand basis.  If you need this person to work for you full time you may have little choice but to take them on the books.  But if the work is sporadic or part-time it might be a lot less hassle to treat them as a subby.  Even if you are having to pay 60% more per hour or per day this is probably better for you in the long run.

58 minutes ago, EdwardC said:

Employment laws aren't stupid. They're there to protect both parties.

Not sure what protection an employer gets....!

I saw some Lombardy pop being ringed up in my village a few months back.  I nearly asked if I could have them as the shape was stunning due to the fluting.  Would have made lovely table centre pieces - well maybe a bit big.  

Maybe even could have made lovely coffee table tops.