Stereo

Pity he hasn't enabled the best offer thing. I have £30 in my pocket although it will br gone by tomorrow when I get to the co-op wine counter.

Yes, I guess I would. My instinct is always to leave it to Mummumy Nature in these situations.

Hmm, confirmed my feelings really. These beasts have been here longer than I have. They are 'mine' and they are not in view of anyone so no TPO issues etc. However, they will probably still be standing proud when I'm acting as fertilizer for their nephews. The issue I have is that they 'blank out' a large area of forest floor and nothing is going on there. They do drop huge limbs (thankfully not on anyone yet) and we do harvest these for firewood and let a bit of it lie. Underneath is a large patch of ancient hazel coppice which is going nowhere due to the cover. I'd like to ressurect this but these big old fellas mean it would be difficult. I guess I will leave them be until they look dangerous. On the one hand I see them as a crop to be harvested with the benefit that the coppice below could be re-generated. On the other, I'm not sure if I have the right to knock them over. They are bigger and older than me and probably much better looking.

Woodchopper, I'm on about Alder, which is the topic of this post and I stand my my original post. I'm aware of the witch / elder connection but that's not what I was on about.

I'm not saying it's worthless, just that most people vastly over-estimate the worth of their businesses. I also have experience, having run many businesses over the last 20 years. Yes, a yard full of wood, a customer base and a lease in place has some worth, just not as much as many people think. The irony with business valuations is that the multiples increase as the business grows. eg. a business which nets one man £25k a year is worth probably only it's assets at maybe 80% value plus some goodwill. A business which nets a £500k profit may be worth many multiples of that amount. I would not assume that you can talk about multiples of anything for a one man band. You can certainly talk about the value of a customer list, a lease of a good property, a mailing list or whatever but that's about it. I'm not trying to be a killjoy it's just that the mythical £20k value that most people put on any old business is just that. A myth.

Lets say there were a pair of beech trees, say5' in diameter and maye 80 foot tall. They are out of the way and have started to drop limbs. Nobody appreciates these trees apart from me, the owner(though they are amazing to behold). What's the view of this. If they are felled is that it? Will the stumps coppice? Is it just plain wrong to down such a wonderful creation? Or is it pragmatic and practical and a source of fuel from a tree which has probably grown all it is going to? I'm torn between the 2. For 1 I love to look at them standing like sentries, guarding the wood. On the other hand I see a year's worth of heating for my house and a whole load of sunlight cast on the forest floor to encourage new growth.

Buy me a pint instead. It will make me feel much better.

i think you mean elder if you burn elder you invite the devil inthe house Alnus glutinosa is known as the common alder, the European alder, the black alder or simply the alder, and is best suited to wet conditions. Commonly found by rivers and lakes, the alder is also at home in marshes with its roots fully submerged underwater. While it can survive on higher, drier ground, it favours the wetlands and can be found in abundance in the Norfolk Broads of East Anglia. As you might expect, alder timber makes an excellent building material, especially where water is involved. Historically, boats, jetties and underwater supports have all been made of wood from the alder. Indeed, the supports of the Rialto Bridge in Venice are made of alder, as are many buildings in Amsterdam, built on the river Amstel. As well as supporting people Alnus glutinosa lends a helping hand to wildlife. In secluded areas female otters are known to build their nests, known as holts, in the roots of alders. As the entrance to the holt is underwater, the young cubs are generally protected from danger. The alder can grow to 35m (80ft) in ideal conditions and in the past was coppiced, or cut back to promote new growth, every 10-15 years. However, some ancient civilisations considered the tree to be a natural embodiment of evil because when the wood is cut it quickly turns a reddish colour as if bleeding. In Ireland the tree was so revered that cutting one down was a criminal offence, while in Norse mythology the first people were said to be made from ash and alder.

What you have to think about when valuing a business is how much work needs to go in to earn the income. If it is a full time job for one person for an average wage then the business is virtually worthless. Why not just get a job. Also, barriers to entry. What is to stop your buyer from starting from scratch and not paying you the premium? You have the customer list and I suspect that is about it. He / she could buy machinery any day of the week and it may be better than what you are offering (be honest). The key to building a business with worth is systems which work. It's something that Joe Bloggs can't just replicate with a bit of practice. The harsh fact is that most one man band businesses are worthless as they rely on that man to generate the profit, not the processes and systems of the company or business itself.

By the way, I coppice it and am nearly ready to harvest a load which we felled a few years ago. If you have boggy land it makes amazing coppice. Grows like a weed. I reckon 2m a year at least once established.

I think they used to avoid it as it 'bleeds' when cut and they used to think an evil spirit lived in the tree and it was bad luck to cut it. All I can say is that those evil spirits burn pretty well. The key with alder is to keep it dry. You can dry it quickly but a weekend out in the rain and it will soak up the seven seas of ryhe and rot to pieces in seconds. A great firewood but needs to be split and stacked in the dry and not let out again before burning.

Interesting about blood group. They swarm to me and love a drop of the red stuff, often leaving me in serious pain. I think I'm A positive. If I'm in the woods in the summer, especially if it's humid I have to wrap up well with gloves etc. or they are all over me.

Well worth it Jon. I haven't been for a few years but might take all the kids along this year. It's a great day out.

We felled a huge poplar a few years back. I ringed and split it and dumped it in the barn for a few years. It was superb firewood. BUT. Halfway through we had to move it outside during the winter in dumpies and the rain got on it (my fault). It went overnight from great fuel to soaking rubbish. This stuff will soak up moisture like nothing else. So, keep it as dry as possible and it will dry fast and burn well. Don't leave it out in the rain.

If you are going to do this yourself (which of course you should not) then just make sure you read and fully understand the regulations. Particlularly concerning clearance to combustibles etc. Putting it all together is fairly simple but for god's sake don't burn your house down to save a few quid. Your insurance will be void if you do a DIY install and it goes wrong I believe.

We get loads here (South Devon). They nest in our house every year as it's a bar conversion which has not been re-pointed outside. I have to say we have never been stung but I do deal with any nests in the house as I have 3 young boys who play in the garden and that doesn't warrant thinking about. It maybe unfair on the beasties but there you go. I have found them to be totally passive when I have encountered them and not aggressive at all (which makes me feel worse for zapping them). Last year I was up on the roof sweeping down the flue and clearing the capping when they all came out of a hole to say hello. Really quite difficult to not panic and fall to my death at that point but I managed to resolve myself to climbing down the ladder carefully, ignoring any stings. I didn't get even one though, I think they just wanted to see what I was up to. A very mis-understood creature I think and I wonder if I should persecute them so harshly.

Here boy. Come here. Put your ear here and see if you can hear what is here.

OP, how did you pay for this machine? That really is the crucial question although if it's a scam you will have been encouraged to pay by cash or some such.

I write this as a bloke who has a wood of my own, a couple saws and some safety gear and heats my house with wood as far as I can, hopefully fully at some point. At the mo I run a standard woodburner and an Esse W23 which does cooking, ambient heat and adds heat to the heat store tank. The gas bill is still nearly a grand a year though. I was thinking that loads of people, especially those with Audi's and BMW's on the drive are having stoves installed. They have the money. Chaps on here sell them logs and yet all I hear is how there is no money in logs. Now this is not an attack of any kind. I have the utmost respect for anyone who works hard for a living (as I do in a different way). But, I was thinking. Here's all these guys who are happy to spew a few grand over anything which takes their fancy but the people who are supplying the fuel for their ultimate lifestyle accessory are pleading poverty. How can this be? It got me wondering what the answer is. Or what the question is. My view is this. You guys take some arb waste or cord or whatever and make it into logs. You dry it to 25 odd percent, load it into the hilux and dump it on their drive for £80 or whatever. From this you don't make much and yet it's a lot of hard work. Is there a better way of supplying wood fuel to your customers? Would 10% more input yield 100% more income? What if the logs were cleaned of moss / ivy etc and stacked at the customer's premises? I dunno, just a thought. Most people who supply services to bankers and accountants charge plenty. I like nothing better than to see these lovely people pay transfer a little wealth to us commoners. Is there a debate in how log sellers can 'add value' to their product? To not be the smelly farmer who turns up in a rusty truck and dumps logs on the drive but actually be a proper pro service? I speak as a smelly farmer with a 91 Hilux who doesn't sell logs. I suspect many of you will come back with the argument that there is always some plank who will do a transit load for fifty quid but this is the same in any industry and in any industry there are some people who get the top deals at the top money all the time.

Ask a motor trader. When I was one we had a challenge up at the auction to blind guess the mileage to the nearest 10k on various motors. 95% of the time we were right. The rest were clocked.

And he commented about my girlfriend (she 16, me 18), 'er 'angs on to 'e like a bleddy limpit'. I'm 40 this year and we are still married so he got something right.

My grandad always said (in best south Devon drawl): 'Ash for oak, in fer a soak, oak for ash, in fer a splash'. He also said 'Rain 'for 7, stop by 11' but when pushed due to variable success rates he did enlighten us to the full version of this which is only known by a select few. 'Rain 'for 7, stop by 11. If it don't stop by 11, wait 'til 2. If it an't stopped by 2, wait and see what it will do'. So far, this has never failed, so there must be something in it. He also said 'Yer boy, come yer, put yer yer yer and see if ee can yer whats yer'. Plus of course 'You can't get a 8" turd down a 6" pipe' and the classic and unforgettable 'NO, STOP YOU DAFT C$&%' which always gave us a giggle as teenagers, knocking down walls with the new County.

I gave it a tickle today and it's running like a dream now. I'm kind of tempted to get some bolts, clean it up, service it and keep it. It was my first ever saw and I got all nostalgic using it again. It's a lumpy old thing compared to the newer stuff but it cuts wood up which is the objective. That said, the 13" bar and chain arrived for the 345e today so that's on and it's going for a test drive tomorrow. Looks and feels like a totally different saw and I can't wait to see how it munches through a big pile of oak branches I have out in the field.

Yer boy, come yer, put yer yer yer and see if ee can yer wots yer. Proper job.

Ta, I'll have a fiddle with it. Like you say it's not worth much so not sure if I should just move it on for a few quid or sort it out and keep it as a back up. I don't really want to stick it on ebay like it is as it's not safe and I can see someone taking a chunk out of their leg with it if it's not sorted out. Is there a good place to pick up minor spares such as chassis bolts etc? I noticed one of the bolts has fallen out of the manifold. Maybe that could be an issue?