Squaredy

20 minutes ago, Stihl123 said:

it was a brand new blade!

Oh.  I would try Stephen Cull again, he knows more than most about blades and problems with them.

On 08/08/2023 at 21:44, Stihl123 said:

On the sawmill, cutting some softwood and the blade seemed to be jamming in the log then riding the clutch, resulting in the clutch getting very hot. 

Thought blade was done so swapped it out, but still doing it. 

Did couple of cherry logs the other day, absolutely fine. They were down about 4 yrs before I milled. 

The softwood has been down about 8 months 

 

Any ideas please 

You say the blade was a ripper 37 (same as I use) but was it new or sharpened?  If the latter then I would question how well the blade is sharpened.  I have found that very few people sharpen them properly, including saw doctors.

5 hours ago, Ty Korrigan said:

Aside from a few select fungi and blackberries, I've not really bothered actively looking for wild foods though I'm considering giving pignuts a serious try.

A recent thread on a French gardening forum for Brits has a discussion on Japanese Knotweed with a few people advocating eating it.

A quick Google brings up endless articles and blogs on the health benefits of knotweed.

If it is really so nutritious, why is it not commonly sold in our Supermarkets? 

Anyone here regularly consume knotweed?

I understand it tastes much like Rhubarb so hardly likely to be a side dish with a main course.

                 Stuart

 

 

This world is full of things that grow wild that can be eaten.   I admit not many are as prolific as Jap Knotweed is in the UK.  But as well as the problems already mentioned, culture has much to do with it.  I don't see UK supermarkets selling many crickets or much horse meat either.

In the developed world we have mainly grown up with a very narrow set of tastes.  It must have been so different when we had to hunt and forage to survive.  Indeed scientists now say we became much shorter and didn't live as long when we switched from hunter gathering to farming.

20 minutes ago, Malus said:

@Whoppa Choppa it's on a reasonably steep bank below the farm. I assume there's a track down there but again I've not been to have a good look. Not too worried about winching, I've got a little tractor with a winch. But tbh with a small volume I was hoping to cherry pick some decent trees that are easy to get down and out. By RS do you mean resale? If so it's not really relevant, so long as I get the logs at a price that is a fair bit lower than the cost of having an 8 wheeler load delivered to the farm. 

 

@Squaredy I like your thinking but I doubt I'll get any money out of the neighbours!! I doubt NRW have issued a notice but I guess they would if they came to have a look at it, I'd rather not open that can of worms because I don't think the neighbours actually have any plans for the woods and wouldn't appreciate it.

 

So at £75/ton for larch sawlogs roadside would £50 a ton standing sound reasonable for something worth milling? I don't have much experience of buying timber tbh but last year I bought some windblown Douglas and spruce for £40/ton and was able to pick the trees/sections I wanted, some nice logs. 

 

Out of interest what's the minimum dia larch log you would consider worth milling for cladding? Ideally I'm after 8x1 or 6x1.

I regard milling logs in larch or DF or WRC to be maybe 12" diameter up to about 21".  

As for value of standing larch £50 per ton sounds very generous.  It all depends on how you value your time in felling and extracting of course, but unless you are using a harvester and a forwarder (which clearly you are not) then £25 per ton for felling, tidying up and extraction sounds way too low.

If you enjoy doing the work, and won't cost out your time then go ahead.  If you want to look at the hours it takes and feel it is justified financially then just buy a load from elsewhere once all the hard work is done.

12 hours ago, cakeass298 said:

Best I can get unfortunately 

That is not a great photo, but it seems to have the right features for oak.  Ideally get a super clean end on a piece like the picture below, then take a photo.

   You can achieve this type of finish with a scalpel of razor blade with a little care.

I think I can see oak's bold medullary rays in your picture but need a cleaner face if possible.

52 minutes ago, Malus said:

Hi 

 

I've been in brief discussion with the farm next door to my grandad's about buying some standing larch they have. I've only seen it from a distance as I've not had time to go and take a proper look/take measurements. My thoughts were to initially buy approx 5-10t and see how things go. I would be taking it to my grandad's farm next door to mill into dimensional timber and cladding for use on the farm. It might be that it's all too small and no good for me but I won't know until I've been to have a proper look.

 

One concern I have is that a lot of the stand is dead, I assume it's phytophtora. I know there are regs to follow but seeing as the logs will be moved about 300m I'm not too bothered. But are the logs going to be worth felling and milling? Has anyone milled any standing dead larch? 

 

What would be a fair price to offer for the standing wood? 

 

Thanks for the help

 

Sam

 

Maybe this should be flipped on its head. 

Perhaps you should be paid to fell and extract.  The value of decent milling larch is around £75 per ton roadside.  Infected larch that may be too small and bendy for milling I would say will only have a value for chip.  Given the location this will be very low as transport costs to Kent or Yorkshire would be high.

This may not help you much, but the actual value of what you describe may be next to nothing even when felled and taken to roadside.  

It is also worth asking if NRW have served a notice on the landowner to fell.

1 hour ago, cakeass298 said:

Hi all. Found a few large pieces of black driftwood (my wife thought it was burnt). Cut into it and black throughout with dark brown grain tinges. Hard to cut on the saw. Surface in bad shape but interior solid. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My immediate reaction was bog oak.  A close-up of the end grain may help.

1 hour ago, GarethM said:

Didn't they wish them good luck in English in the great escape ?.

Yes.  As it happens I watched it yesterday.

1 hour ago, trigger_andy said:

He uses it without extraction and lets the young lad clean up after. 🤣 He has used it so little these last few years anyway. 
 

He’s built a box for extraction for the thicknesser and to be honest that’s where I’d use it the most anyway. 
 

I’ve a guy wanting the oak shavings and we’ll do a deal for fresh smoked salmon! 😊

Ah nice one!  I get mushrooms in exchange for some of my sawdust!

11 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

Good point regarding transportation! Ill need to be there when its moved then. My mates roped Jewsons into moving it for us.

 

Yeh, I have an extractor that I bought for my Log Cabin Log Molder. Its a twin bag 3ph machine so should be up to the job

Looking at the machine it is difficult to see where the extraction pipes will go.  As it is a surface planer and a thicknesser it will need two extraction hoses, and I would say they will need to be re-arranged when you go from surface planing to thicknessing.  This will be the most difficult aspect of setup I would say.

 Is it currently used without extraction?

5 hours ago, Doug Tait said:

 

I've only driven hers on the drive so haven't experienced it myself but she's had a few frights on the road.

We have a Kia e-Niro and luckily it is just one button to switch off the lane assist.

 Sadly though if you are using cruise control it is always on, but I am used to ignoring it.

 For me the worst thing is trying to change radio station while driving.  Touch screens should not be allowed in cars.  Not for the driver anyway.  I much prefer my little van with its actual preset buttons.

2 hours ago, GarethM said:

It's also the same Welsh government that continues to refuse to solve the M4 bottleneck, owns a failing airport that forces people to drive to Bristol.

 

And had their hand in the top of the valley race track, so how is any of that good for the children?.

Oh my goodness, there could be a whole forum about the incompetence of the Welsh government.  The only organisations that could rival them are local authorities.

1 hour ago, trigger_andy said:

Buying this off of a mate today. I’ve used it for years and it’s a cracking bit of kit. 
 

Getting it delivered for £1500. Seems like a good price?

 

Probably about right if you know it is good.  Large old three phase machinery has quite a low value as it is too big for most DIY types and too old for many professionals.

10 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

I hate the term but thinking outside of the box could they mean that the carbon required to produce the appliance eventually be nullified by burning a carbon neutral product? If the appliance produced 5t of carbon from

conception to delivery and was burning carbon positive fuel such as coal over its expected lifespan and that coal produced an average of 20t of carbon then designing the stove to efficiently burn biofuel ie, a carbon neutral product then over the stoves lifespan it’s effectively a carbon neutral or even a carbon negative product.  
 

Another possibility is the manufacturer has offset the carbon footprint of the appliance to negate the carbon footprint of manufacturing and with the burning of carbon neutral biofuel the carbon footprint will not increase. In this fecked up world that could make it a carbon neutral product. 🤷‍♂️

Probably something like that.  I believe formula one motorsport claims to be carbon neutral as well.  I like @Stubby s oxometer line; I might just borrow that, as I have my doubts about F1 being an eco sport…

2 hours ago, topchippyles said:

Brilliant finish from broad deserved that ending to a great career. 

Great finish in the end.  I bet the atmosphere in the England team is way better than the Australian team tonight.  They retain the ashes, but we all know England were the better side in the end and dominated three out of the five matches.

Amazing series though, and both teams fought brilliantly.

7 minutes ago, carbs for arbs said:

Hi all

 

We're looking to have a wood stove installed.  It will go into the corner of a room, at 45 degrees to the walls.  Both walls are external, cavity, with plastered block / brick on the inside.  

 

One installer has said so long as the two back corners are 100mm minimum from the walls, there won't be a problem with blowing the plaster.  

But another has said it is best to follow the stove guidelines for distances to combustibles (even though the wall isn't combustible; but to prevent blowing) - which in our case would be 400mm.  

 

Quite a difference!  Would anyone mind sharing your thoughts on which sounds most realistic?  

 

Many thanks

400mm sounds ridiculous.  I would say very few stoves are 400mm from solid walls.  If the wall and the plaster are sound they shouldn't mind a bit of heat.

I don't know what the regulations are but if everyone had to install their stove 400mm from solid walls all stoves would be in the middle of the room.

On 29/07/2023 at 21:08, topchippyles said:

Are you still going tomorrow gav if so you are in for a cracking days cricket. 

Yeah we were there.  Missed the first hour due to our great public transport system.  Missed the last three hours due to our great weather!  And what we did see was actually ineffective bowling.  My boy and I still had a good day though - did an open top bus tour in the rain.

The BBC website says the rain came at the right time for England.  Today could be a great finish again.  Australia will certainly go for it, but we will still believe we can get the wickets.

4 hours ago, Dilz said:

Milling to me is a hobby that's starting to get out of hand

..is it necessary to kiln dry slabs and cookies / ovals after they have been air dried for a while before use?  Is it possible / right to sell just air dried stuff?  

 

There is a market for air dried timber.  For some uses it is not ideal, for other uses it is perfect.  As long as you are clear with your customers about what they are buying that is the main thing.

That really is very similar to the Lucas mill isn’t it?  Does anybody know if it is just a Lucas mill rebadged or if it really is a different machine?

9 hours ago, difflock said:

Not ours, the daughters kitchen, no idea how to identify them, since they are so tiny as to be almost invisible, but the are causing the daughter serious stress, and she has already emptied cupboards and thoroughly cleaned several times.

Suggestions please.

P.S.

She has loads of house plants, and dogs, if that is any odds.

Marcus

 

Send off some samples to the natural history museum in London, entomology section.  They will tell you what they are and then you can look up what they feed on and find out about their lifecycle.

Once you have the right information you should have a fighting chance of eliminating them!  

1 hour ago, topchippyles said:

Not usually a big cricket fan gav but there is something special about the ashes. I bet you and the lad had a super time any plans for the next 2 tests if you can get a ticket. 

We are going to day four at the oval.  So I am really hoping we win the next test and then the last one could be an amazing finale!

1 hour ago, topchippyles said:

Anyone else following the cricket its turning into a fantastic series. Nail biting to watch or listen to on the radio. 

I was wondering if any other arbtalkers would admit to being cricket lovers!

Amazing win today.  Took my little boy to the last day at Edgbaston and Lords (first and second tests) and we both had a wonderful time despite the losses.  Now the series is really going to go stratospheric.  If we can win again at Old Trafford the final at the Oval will be incredible.  There is just something about the way England and Australia play together that is gripping. 

Anyone who says cricket is boring has never tried it!

3 hours ago, Chigala said:

I had multiple 7-8' green giants planted 3 weeks ago. A few of them have some die off on some branches and browning in spots on the leaves/needles (pics below). I have upped their watering as a result. Is this normal new planting stress that will abate or cause for concern? Some of the trees have no browning whatsoever, so it makes me think it is not normal. I'm worried that I'm already losing them??

 

Will they bounce back with adequate watering? Is there something else I should be doing to help them?

 

Thank you in advance for all help! 

 

 

It isn’t answering your question I know but is ‘green giants’ what you call leylandii trees on your side of the pond?

If it is elm a cluster of them will probably appear around it from the root system if they haven’t already.

Oak logs won’t dry until they are milled.  The ends will dry and maybe split a little but many of the end shakes will be there regardless of time since felling.  If you want the sapwood to be sound mill then within a year of felling.  Otherwise don’t worry.

 And yes it is wise to mill oak after the warm weather has passed to minimise surface checking as the boards dry.