Squaredy

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.

Some people will do anything to try and con someone out of money.  I suggest you take plenty of photos of the tree now (if you have not already) in case it suddenly suffers further mysterious damage which you could get the blame for.

I also suggest you ask him to put in writing to you how exactly he believes you have caused a tree £10,000 worth of damage.  I hardly think you are the first person to accidentally damage a tree, and it seems unlikely to me that every tree that gets a little scrape from a passing car or whatever results in large damage claims. 

I think the tree owner has been watching too much american TV.

Yes redwood is durable outdoors.  The sapwood not so much of course, but similar to cedar I would say.  I don’t have personal experience of dawn redwood but as it is closely related I would bet it is similar.

I realise there are many different eucalyptus varieties but it is planted the world over in the most arid conditions (Atakama desert for example) as its ability to find water where almost none exists is legendary.  Indeed it is regarded in some areas as a major pest as it sucks up the water so well that little else survives. 

I travelled extensively in Peru years ago and Eucalypts were everywhere - for firewood of course.

29 minutes ago, LiT said:

Hi, hoping someone may be able to please advise.

 

I've been looking online but am getting conflicting answers (autumn/winter when dormant v Pruning in summer helps to avoid infection, as the fungal spores are airborne between September and May)

 

We have a beast of a poplar in the garden which is lovely, but we're looking to cut one of the large lower braches to even the tree out + allow our neighbours a little more sunlight.

 

We've had some landscape gardners knock on the door and said they could sort for £500 and that this time of year (June) is the perfect time to do the job.

 

I'd always thought that you had to wait until winter when the tree was asleep.

 

Could someone please advise, as I don't want the tree to become infected, and am not sure if the guys who knocked on the door are telling the truth or just after a quick buck.

 

Many thanks,

 

 

£500 for chopping that one branch off????  Ten minutes with a pole saw by the looks of it!

23 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Here’s the thing.

In order to move the wood it needs to be stacked across the trailer so when I tip it it rolls out, so has to be approx 1.7 mètres length (not much use for milling)

If I put it length ways it’s difficult, though not impossible, to tip out. 

I use the trailer to transport the machine so if the Avant is on site I can’t use it to unload back at base.

 

You have made me think about the possibilities though, so fair play.

 

I understand the problem.  As a miller I always buy cedar of Lebanon and the other true cedars as they are a miller’s dream.  Quick to dry, durable, beautiful and stable.  
 

And though I agree longer pieces would be even better, you should find a good market for 1.7m boards.  When I buy a 3.7m log, I generally chop it into a 2.5m and 1.2m piece prior to milling.

3 minutes ago, Barti said:

I think it is a sycamore yeah , around 7/8 metres 

Mmmm, certainly it will need constant maintenance to stop it being a problem.  Sorry that doesn’t really answer your question.  Hopefully another member will know the answer.

16 minutes ago, Barti said:

Yeah it’s near my house, in falling distance. It’s nowhere near my neighbours house.  It also blocks light from about 1- 5 for half the garden. 

Might it be worth getting a positive ID on the tree and trying to explain to the neighbour that this tree is really not suitable to be close to a house and it will grow and grow and grow?

 How many metres is it from your house?

What a shame this tree was allowed to ever become a tree.  It clearly is in the wrong place and should have been pulled up as soon as it sprouted from a seed.  It looks like a sycamore, so will get bigger and bigger and bigger.  It will become more and more of a problem.  Maybe if the fence were not there it might be attractive as part of the boundary, but with a fence it just looks like a problem.  

Is it near to any buildings, or just the fence?

2 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

This large and rather awkward cedar met it’s maker this week.

Electric line, buildings, and most irritatingly, a underground ancient rain water collector just in front of the only felling zone. No rigging pics because you sort of get caught up in the moment, but a few others.

We had to fell the stick across the aforementioned tank, but use logs to ‘span’ it to avoid its collapse.

Slight back lean on the stem, but Dave put it where it was needed, no drama.

Slightly underpriced but happy clients anyway.

IMG_2956.MOV

Will you be milling any of the better sections?

21 minutes ago, Big J said:

 

Agreed. Just a bit harder to organise as you need to know what you're doing. The lakes vary from large to enormous. If you're not well equipped, and with a boat, you're unlikely to catch so much. That makes it a bit more difficult to offer as a holiday option.

 

Yes I can see it must be difficult to know where to start without extensive local knowledge!

2 minutes ago, Big J said:

 

That particular lake is actually a carp fishing syndicate. Only to about 36-38lb, but it's well cared for.

 

All the other lakes hold fish. All species really, but pike, perch and zander are the most popular species. They grow quite large here too as the pressure is low. 

 

 

Only cycling past today, I'm afraid. It was also 4 degrees!

Sounds heavenly.  I think your holidays would appeal to fisher-types as well as bicyclists and wild swimmers.