Stereo

As far as I know there are quite a few native UK spiders who can bite, contrary to common belief. None of them fatal in 99% of cases. I think even the big old brown house spiders we get so many of can give you a nip if they want (giant funnel web or something?). I think they are one of the fastest spiders in the world as well. We have loads in our house and they don't bother me.

We use sage 1 for invoicing and payroll. We are not arb but the principle is the same and it's excellent software. Not sure if it can do quotes and convert to an invoice.

Except he turned up in a Landie. If he really 'lived the life' he would have a Fred Flintsone car.

Did you buy this as an individual or a business? It makes a huge difference. If it was a b2b sale you will not get any consumer rights as such although you can argue other matters through the courts etc.

I must say, now that we have 3 stoves going, one all year, efficiency has become more important to me. I'm looking at havings some kind of portable conveyor into a trailer / truck which has a crate or bag in it so as we cut the coppice it gets logged there and then to final size and is conveyed into the vessel it will stay in until burning. Then chugged back to base and from then on can be handled with the bobcat.

I leave our alder out in a similar way. Cut to 1m logs then split in 4 (or whatever) billets. Alder splits easilly in 1m lengths with a maul. Then I use some lumpy old rubbish logs as bases on the corners and build a sort of cage structure with the billets. I don't bother covering the top but do make sure the bark is facing upwards. Left in the sun, this will season perfectly in 6 months. Then onto the horse or chopsaw to cut into logs.

If the customer was smart he would be 'modifying' the quotes he has got. So the serial under cutter does the work for even less. Anyway, times are tough and it's human nature to compete. People out there are struggling to eat and clothe their kids so I don't think we can blame people for being willing to put in a day's graft for £50 can we? If they have nothing else to do? At least they are not sponging off the state, hopefully. I know it's a massive bummer but it's a sign of the times. I've been skint and I know what it's like. So skint I couldn't afford to eat back in the last reccession. I would take any work just to get a decent meal. I didn't have kids then either. I don't really know what the answer is other than finding a balance you can live with and lowering your expectations for a year or 4. You can look to branch out (sic) into gardening and so on but then of course you are stepping on someone elses toes.....

If it's anything like our council the tree officer is some bloke who didn't really want the job. Find out when he's on holiday and then do some 'experiments'.

I've got a 345e and ringed up an oak butt the other day which was at least 30" across. Used a 20" bar. It didn't struggle at all. I could surely have done it faster with a more powerful saw but it did the job with no problems. The key is to not try and make the saw do things it can't. Apply moderate pressure (even just he weight of the saw) and let the saw do the work. Forcing it is just going to make the motor struggle and put everything under strain which means you get more heat and more wear.

You don't want to be forcing any tool through the work. Let the tool do the job and only apply the force required to keep it in place. Trying to make tools do things they can't will cause problems and you don't want this with a hand saw, never mind something which can de-limb you in half a second. From what you say, it sounds like the chain is not sharp. Is it new? Have you hit any metal / stone with it?

I use a little Clarke Logbuster 7 and it's fine really for home use. I put it up on a pile of pallets which saves bending. It will do stuff that I can't do with the maul.

I must say we out-classed the lot of them. Mr Bean, James Bond, The Queen and Pink Floyd. China can't buy that stuff for any amount of dollars.

Don't ever take advantage when your boss is not on site. Work like he / she was there. This is my pet hate as an employer.

The madness of crowds obviously relates most relevantly to people's behavoir around money. Many think that a totally contrarian approach is best. This is not true. The crowd will be sort of right but not totally. You want to be 10-20% off the crowd so you can run with them but not go against them.

Don't assume that because your child Is academically good that they should go into banking or accountancy. they may not WANT to. I was a farmers boy who found myself doing Maths stats at a level and sitting the entrance exam to read history at Oxford. I was pushed this way. Away from the hard life my parents endured. They meant well. Now I've got to 40 really regret that I was pushed away from a 'real life'.

Huskys are smashing saws at the mo. all apart from those damn filler caps. I need a tool every time to get them off. I was advised on here not to tighten them so much and that is the answer but I am a halfwit and forget this when filling up.

What you mean it burns too fast or too slow? I would have thought it would kind of smoulder. I'm trying to think of a way to compress it into something. I thought about carpet tubes. Ram it in and then saw them up! Probably loads of chemicals in the card though.

Horse flies are rampant down here in the SW. I guess they had a bumper breeding season with the warm damp weather. I hate the things. A few of our fields are no go areas at the moment as you just get swarmed by them. I get a reaction when they catch me so I have to be careful. The flip side is that nothing gives me more satisfaction than murdering them.

Of all the 3rd party brokers, Transglobal are the best in my opinion. They don't have the Yodel / Herpes cheapo options and mostly use TNT / UPS but they are a great company to deal with. We send all our worlwide stuff through them with very few problems.

I'm putting a cheap wood stove of some kind in our shed / office for this winter. I've been wondering about all the brash we create, particularly as we grow a lot of hazel coppice on the farm which seems to have lots of top to it. We've got piles of brash everywhere and end up burning it in heaps which is OK but obviously potential heat that could be indoors. So I was wondering about getting it all chipped up and then using it as a fuel. I know there are dedicated chip boilers but it's just space heating we need really. I was wondering what occurs if you bung a shovel load in the stove, maybe mixed with logs to create spacing? I would imagine even on it's own a pile of chip would burn well with the bottom vents open on a stove? Or does it not last long enough? Anyone do this?

Another pic.

Oh no. In rock is my fave album of all time.

I go to bed about 1 or 2. Get up at 7. No probs. If I go to bed earlier it's my old friend insomnia. I just can't get to sleep. Before anyone says it's habit I used to have a job which meant getting up at 4.30 every morning for 4 years. I never, ever got used to it. I was constantly knackered. Couldn't get to sleep until about 1 even if I was tired out. What suits me at the mo is what I do. A kip at 5pm is ideal but usually not possible. We are all wired differently and I'm a little sick of the early nighters and their condescending superiority complex to be honest. I've had it all my life. Ooh, I'm in bed by 9 and up by 5 with the lark. Whatever. Good for you. If I'm in bed by 9 I'm bored until 1am and then knackered at 5.

We've got many sycamores in our 5 acre wood and today I noticed that on many of them the leaves appear burned on certain limbs mainly lower in the tree. Many trees are affected young and old. Hope the pic comes out ok. Any ideas?

That's pretty cool. Can you give me a rough idea of the cost excluding saw to get the kit you have and what size logs are you limited to.