Iain H

I use a hakki pilki 1x42 processor, we can do 20 cubic meters a day in small diameter stuff with 4 way splitter but double that on big stuff with 8 way splitter. We use a sawbench for the small diameter stuff as it causes more problems than its worth through the processor. We did a job for a firewood merchant last year with 100ton mixed hardwood and it took us 6 days. If you have access to a saw bench it would be a lot quicker on the smaller diameter stuff up to 10 inch or so. Cut straight into bucket on telehandler then load trailer, split at other end straight into stack. Larger diameter cut with chainsaw split and load into trailer then straight into stack. Everyone has there own methods but that is how i would tackle it.

If they are guarded its easier to band spray, just need to set a boom up to spray down each side of the row. you will get on nearly twice as fast using a tractor with mounted sprayer or quad bike.

I have a vimek minimaster, it is very similar to the alstor. I would say on a average site with average timber you could haul 25t per day. To do 50 you would need a short cart with large diameter timber. They are great for first thinning operations, you don't need to take out racks for access. They will cope with bigger forwarding jobs, but compared to a tractor and medium sized timber trailer they are quite slow. The most i have done on a single job is 100 tons shown in attached video. http://www.youtube.com/user/woodlandgroundcare?feature=mhee#p/u/7/TlCQEsce0-U[/url]

I guess it depends on the local price of logs, the cheapest round here are about £50 per cube and the most expensive £80 per cube. We have lots of woods and not as many people. £20 per cube standing though, you would want to make a bloody good job of stacking it!!

Nobody has seemed to work out the price of getting the wood to roadside? Lets say i buy at £10 ton, it costs me another £10 per ton to cut it and another £8 to extract as we use low impact extraction equipment. The agents charge green weight so unless you get it shifted straight away you are losing between 5% - 10% of your weight. That does not leave you with much selling at anything less than £40 ton roadside. Maybe £10 ton profit, for something that is a damn site harder than processing it into logs. Then you hear stories of people paying £25 ton standing??? You can make money if you see the job through from cutting standing timber to delivering a load of logs to the customer. I appreciate this is not possible for everyone but might be the way to go if you cant afford to by in cord. I went to a FC demo last week and there are more contractors setting up with smaller extraction equipment such as mini forwarders, compact tractors with winches, hydrotongs, atc forwarding trailers on quad bikes ect. These provide people wanting to buy firewood standing a cost effective solution for extracting small amounts of timber. Maybe this is the way it will go?

I have worked on a site where they have used tree shears on a excavator, let the material dry then put it through a whole tree chipper for power stations. Depends on size of blackthorne. The site i am thinking of was mature Hawthorne with butts around 12". The site was then mulched and we then planted into it. A follow up spray sorted any regrowth.

They are good in the right conditions, i have two of them. You can get about 6000 in a good day with long runs. Only problem is if the ground is prone to cracking at its a dry spring the slits will open up and the trees will suffer big time. In good soil its no problem. Only need 40hp to pull them, unless you are planting steep banks as in the picture. Keep thinking of selling one of mine as i only ever use one now. If you run two together on a tool bar you need a lot bigger tractor because it shifts the weight back more. Let me know if you might be interested. Many thanks Iain Hart 07968174905

Lincs - Leicestershire

yes i guess it depends if you are buying or selling! What made me ask the question was that i got offered £30 and he would take everything i had! Thought i better just check what people are paying?

So i have got a surplus of ash at roadside, somewhere in the region of 100 tons . Not sold any before, i have processed it all myself but have plenty and have ongoing contracts for further stocks through the winter. What is the going rate? I am i silly to sell it? Wood is cut to 2.5m and ranges from 10inch down, ideal for processor because that is what we cut it for! It would be the smaller diameter heaps in the picture

I might be able to help you out. I am based in Colsterworth, so just up the road by the sounds of it. I have somewhere in the region of 300 tons of ash. Give me a call 07968174905. I have posted a couple of stacks we are currently working on.

40-60 bare root with spades

That is a softrak machine with marking out tool on the back, site was so wet it was the only thing that could travel. It was that or string line planting 70000 trees.

A few pictures of machines we have either got or hired to get some trees in the ground.

I have planted coal tip sites all over South Yorkshire including Silverwood, Goldthorpe, Grimethorpe. Generally the sites have had paper, lime and sludge incorporated to form a soil to plant into. We plant with Alder, rowan, ash, birch, aspen, bird cherry, hawthorne, hazel, goat willow, poplar. They are planted as amenity woodlands and so there is no long term plan to manage them commercially. We have planted some areas at Grimethorpe for commercial forestry but the areas had about a foot of topsoil spread over them. They are very susceptible in dry conditions with loses around 40% not unheard of. Best species in my experience on very poor soil have been rowan, birch, alder, poplar. There are some compartments at Barnburgh that have been in for ten years and they can start to get windblown. The sites are ripped with D6's but even so the ground is very compacted. Generally i have to say there is no short cuts on these sites. There is one compartment at Silverwood with good soil that has Six year old ash that are 10ft plus, then you have an identical compartment planted at the same time with poor soil that has trees struggling to get above head height. We plant with br 40-60 stock although Grimethorpe has had 9000 s/pine in 2 litre pots! Hope this helps in some way? I have a colleague who plans the sites if you would like his details i can forward them to you?

Yes vimek minimaster with driven trailer, only got 16hp but you have to try quite hard to get it stuck. Use it in wet/sensitive woodlands and for first thinning as you don't need to take out any racks. on a good day you night get 15 - 20 ton out.

A few pictures of one of the firewood jobs