Squaredy

Don’t forget there are at least three species of Larch grown in the UK. The best of these is European Larch but even this as an untreated post will struggle to last 10 years. The others may last four to five years. Don’t put your faith in Larch as fenceposts. Outdoor structures off the ground yes but not posts.

Do you not trust your Stihl one? Unless you spend hundreds of pounds you won't get a professional one. Most important thing is to check the middle of the log - ie split it again and check the freshly split face. And if you want to test the Stihl meter find pieces of wood with a known moisture content like freshly cut unseasoned Oak (off the scale - 90%+) and a piece of furniture in a dry warm house (about 10 or 12%) etc.

I am currently sat at home waiting for a builder to arrive. He just rang me to say he will be late - turns out the satnav led him up the garden path and will now result in him being very late. When I speak to people who are wanting to visit my yard I have to tell them to ignore the satnav. If they do follow satnav it will take them down little back lanes quite unsuited to even the smallest car. A couple of years ago I was returning to my site from a place I had never been and I trusted the satnav. I ended up in a farm yard so I asked the nice farmer if the road used to go through. “Yes”, he said “Before they built the dual carriageway in the seventies.” Is the mapping really that inaccurate? Or are they programmed by anarchists who want us all to drive around all day getting no-where? Or is it because I live in Wales.....?

Good question and really an accountant needs to answer this. The short answer is this could be very dodgy. If HMRC think you are in effect splitting one business so you can have your cake and eat it they could land you with a big bill for back tax.

In my experience wood turners will love this. They prefer dry but often will buy green if cheap. You could find out if there is a wood turning club nearby. If there is you could maybe go to one of their meetings.

Yeah it is crazy isn’t it? As another poster has mentioned cost of transport is a lot to do with it. DERV is quite rightly heavily taxed as vehicles using it wreck our planet and health. Aviation fuel and even worse bunker oil (diesel so polluting you cannot use it on land in most of the world) are so cheap it means we merrily import and export thousands of tons of stuff instead of using local resources. I am not against global trade as such but we need to use it more wisely.

In all seriousness is that a teaspoon or a dessert spoon or a serving spoon?

So you learned you don’t like office work.... I seem to remember it was also a week off school. I would have done a week of anything for that!

That is a good one. Can’t believe anyone makes a spoon nearly as big as that football.

Ah great, no doubt it will make an already complex set of rules even more unfathomable. Just what contractors need.

I am not condoning the man as you worked hard and he deceived you. But even this unpleasant experience taught you something you would never have learned in a classroom. So £5 was not the only thing you gained....

My favourite has to be Alder. Not the wet wood, but when it is fully dried and being machined, it has a gorgeous sweet smell - like a sweet shop. Ash is nearly as nice mind. Again when dry.

There was a series of TV documentaries made some years ago. We sent nuclear subs to the area secretly as a precaution. It was meant to be secret to avoid escalating the situation whilst the two sides were still talking. Sadly sending the subs was leaked to the press and the only outcome then was war. The leak was traced directly to number 10. As a matter of fact I am not generally anti Thatcher. Well no more than most of the other politicians that lie to us as a matter of routine.

You have got me curious I must read up more about World War One. Any suggested good books? By the way I think the Falklands war was also very avoidable. Thing is it appears Mrs Thatcher didn’t want to avoid it.

I have not yet had work experience kids but I had a an autistic guy help once a fortnight for a year or so. It is easy to underestimate how much time it takes to supervise and train someone new and young. I think £30 a day is quite generous for a kid who works hard; for kids who can't be bothered I would not give them anything except a bad report at the end of it. I did work experience when I was 15 and I certainly got nothing, except a fascinating insight into the world of work. Made me want to leave school and start work even more.... I did talk to the local prison a while back about taking prisoners and giving them work experience and they were very positive about it, but I think they are just so bogged down with red tape they can't arrange anything at the moment. I always think it is good when local businesses try and help out youngsters or others in need, but make no mistake it is not an easy or cheap source of good labour!

Yes I missed out the detail, but this case brought it all to a head a few months ago. Was it effectively disguised employment ? Yes of course it was, and yes Mark I remember IR 35 well. I was a self employed contractor when it first came out, and so I asked my accountant about it. He had never heard of it. He did a bit of homework and then advised me I was indeed in "Disguised employment". A couple of years later I changed accountant and was duly advised that I was most certainly not in "Disguised employment". Frankly it was a mess with very complicated rules that even the professionals argued about (reminds me of the detailed and complicated discussions on Arbtalk about rules on trailer towing). The government need to establish simple rules around employment that give realistic but fair options and clarity for employees and employers. Not everyone wants to be an employee - surely they should be given a simple alternative? Or should they?

Well the problem started when a greedy plumber decided to take his employer to court suing for full employee's rights even though he was a subbie.....and ended when the court agreed with him. Sorry you probably know this anyway.

It isn’t complicated is it? Process the order quickly or if there is going to be a delay tell the customer. I have never used Northern Arb but I think from their largely defensive response I will make sure I never do. How dare they object to you expressing your concerns on a forum! They will be telling you next not to tell your mates if you ever have bad service from them. Sorry guys but it is up to you to give good service not your customers’ responsibility to keep quiet about your shortcomings.

EMC is equilibrium moisture content. Most parts of the UK will be more damp than most parts of the USA sadly.

I agree there are advantages to being employed, but there are some very real benefits to being a subbie as well. I think it is very sad that it seems to get such a bad press these days. When I left school at 16 I soon got a normal PAYE job (not tree work but that is beside the point), and I progressed reasonably as I worked hard and tried to improve myself, but after 10 years I was in a job I hated and was not liked by my employer - in summary it was no longer going well. Despite having a mortgage I quit with no proper plan of how I would manage. Within a couple of months I had my first contract, and couldn't believe how much better it was than being an employee. I was doing exactly the same job, but I was treated with far more respect, my responsibilities were clear and targets were achievable, management were really helpful and encouraging. Did I miss the paid holiday or sick pay? Not at all - I had plenty of time off, and earned at least as much overall. Lack of job security? I loved the flexibility and the opportunity to change to something slightly different. Did I ever struggle to find work - not really as I got a good reputation and worked hard. There are two sides to every coin - PAYE is not the best scenario for everyone.

I haven't got my invoices with me at home, but I am sure I only pay around £21 per blade when you buy 10 from Stephen Cull. Mind you I buy inch and a quarter not inch and three eighths maybe this is the reason? I have never used EPS to purchase blades but I used to use them for sharpening. They were very convenient collecting and delivering in their own van, but I am afraid the blades were not well sharpened. In fact I would say there are very few places that really know how to sharpen these blades properly, and I would say Stephen Cull is one of them

Yeah I get my blades from Stephen Cull also. Very good and not expensive. I would put a thumbs up emoji in here but I have no idea how to!

There are two main types of kiln: heat vent and dehumidifier. Both are costly to run. The former loses a lot of heat so only works if you have cheap heat. The latter loses less heat but uses loads of electricity which is very expensive. It makes a huge difference what stock you intend to dry. If it is already well air dried a small kiln may work well. If it is very freshly cut then unless it is all ash it may cost more to kiln than it is worth. Ash is the exception because it is always fairly dry even when just felled.

A dehumidifier will work but for any decent amount of logs it will need to be very large and therefore cost a fortune to run. A poly tunnel is hard to beat. Ends partly open. That way you get lots of free heat. I would strongly suggest trying to use solar energy. If you google solar kiln you will find loads of good info.

You are right of course, but isn't the law crazy? It may never happen, but in theory a young woman could be taken on for arb work, and within a few months of starting she could go on sick leave (bearing in mind a pregnant woman cannot safely lift brash or logs, or anything really physical) and then after maybe 7 months of sick leave have six or nine months maternity leave, and this may well be repeated a year or two later. With the best will in the world if you are a very small business maybe taking on your only employee or perhaps your second you would be a fool not to consider the possibilities. And as has just been pointed out, the obvious alternative of treating her as a subbie has now been made effectively impossible. Of course for slightly larger firms it is different, there may be other duties that could be offered and they may be better placed to take the hit, but for a tiny business existing on a knife-edge it could be very scary.