ashman

Just found this thread, a very interesting read, well done on a good job, however......your bang on right what you say about the strength of the I beams and directional forces, i have built a heck of a lot of grain trailers for farmers, and you really do need to look at this problem, some of my first attempts were very much the same and all ended up twisted, now i either cross section another I beam, or weld gusset plates in, gusset plates are not ideal as they still allow movement, but a full size face plate does the job perfectly. Rob.

Wet wood and crap wood are both the same thing when delivered on the week you want to burn them. But yes i meant crap wood, i have seen loads of old window frames, floor boards, pallets, even ply delivered as a load of logs !

I offer the service, along side the logs, i find it has had mixed results, some are very happy and love it, others have made stupid remarks like, does your wood ruin our chimney then !! I have a regular list of clients who are happy and thats all that matters to me. Any new customers, i try and have a chat about the previous wood they used, how often they had the chimney swept etc, the odd one seem to think i am trying to screw them for more money, but on the whole most are impressed to learn what burning wet wood does, and the fact i pass on information freely, whether they take up the sweep service or not dont matter to me. It helps get rid of the cowboys selling crap wood

Then me please. Many thanks. Rob

I think its a good site Rob. Just not had any timber to sell on there yet. I will be wanting a mill sometime as i have a few trunks to get slabbed up, soon as they are done i will advertise them. Have replied to one ad but it was posted in january, not sureif he is still looking or not. Rob.

For several reasons i did not mill it on site. I had a set of wheels, so made up an axle, rolled the trunk oto this and pulled it out with my quad bike, (took some shifting). It now sits in my shed ready to be milled as and when i get time and the kit. Many thanks for the kind offers of borrowing a mill, unsure at the moment quite how i am going to do it, i have been thinking an alaskan may be a good buy as i have some oak that needs doing at some point. It does look a very good lump, am looking forward to making something from it. Thankyou for all your suggestions, think it may still be sitting there otherwise. Regards, Rob.

Hi Alec, i am just outside bedford, (to the north). I can imagine that a homemade mill wont be ideal in comparison to a proper alaskan job, if work had been better i would already have invested in one, but alas, times are very tight. I am thinking of trying to "wheel" the trunk out now and get it back to my yard, to deal with it at a later date. The mrs has been on at me to make a dining table, and i am hoping this will be a nice lump of wood, not even seen it yet, but have been told it is good by the man who felled it about 4 months ago. if i can get two good planks at full width then i have the table top sorted.

Yes, thats exactly what i had in mind, i was going to use 1" box section for the mill, with threaded bar to adjust the cutting depth.

DOH, trust me to miss the obvious, yeah all makes sense now.

Yeah thats a possibilty, it is on a bank, about 70mts from nearest i can get the truck, through some woods, too many trees in the way to winch it out. How do you mean a much better yield from quartering it ? i was thinking it would make the planks a lot smaller and less usable. The wheels on an axle dont sound a bad idea though, i have my thinking cap on now.

Thanks, thats a mighty fine offer, but i am supposed to be out of there tomorrow, only had this landed on me at 8pm tonight !! No vehicle acess doesnt help, i have to carry the planks (or logs) out, or i would have taken it away whole then sorted something out. Just seems a shame to log such a good trunk up, hence trying to come up with a plan. Rob

I was going to make a home made mill out of some inch box section i have, but was wondering if it was worth it with standard bar and chain. I might make a quick home made job, and if it works then maybe a better one for the next job. Not sure what i am going to make from it, i would like a dinning table, but at the moment...who knows. i was thinking of milling them all at 2", or just slightly over so when planed and sanded i am left with just under 2" boards. I like chunky rustic furniture, so a few bends and scars wont upset me !!

Right guys, this is my first attempt at this ever, so please be gentle lol. I have aquired an elm trunk, not huge, but about 24" across, i guess its about12 foot long, and very straight. Now... i want to have a go at planking it tomorrow, but...this is the bit you will laugh at.....i dont have a mill, in fact i am wanting to do it with a standard setup saw ms880 and 36"bar, with a standard ripping chain. Is it viable ? In an ideal world i would buy a mill, bar and chain, but it aint an ideal world and i cant afford the expense right now, not for one piece of timber, maybe in the future i will look at buying a setup. I was going to make a rail from a ladder, and some inch tube i have. What do you reckon, am i mad ? Rob.

I used to run a fastrac, ok machine, good road speeds, but not cut out for forestry imo, i had a few major problems with mine so got shot, 11months later it went up in flames ! I have a class now, almost as fast as the fastrac on the road but a lot more rugged, trailer and crane and a mounted chipper, i adapted a grain trailer to run behind the chipper on drawbar while chipper is 3 point linkage. Rob.

It does actually look a fair bit of kit, but why did they go to all that build and then put a manual splitter hieght adjust on it ? As been said, i could see the switch gear not lasting too long. However, from the pics it dont look too bad, and looks like it will take fair size timber. I would be interested to know a bit more about it. Rob. Edit, just noticed it is plus vat, missed that before, thought it was vat inc, pushes the price up a bit for an unknown foriegn machine.

no bids so i guess it didnt sell, says he is open to offers as well.

Yeah thats the answer i was expecting but you can always live in hope. Cheers, Rob.

It is standing at the moment, i have the job of taking it down, the bloke has said i can have the wood for nothing if i want it, not usually burning this so unsure if its worth my time loading and taking to my yard and stacking, or just leave it there. As i am taking the tree down anyway, i have the choice to ring it up for logs, or take the trunk whole if i can find another use for it. I wont take trees down for free, even though a few people do ask me to, my time and kit doesnt come free, sometimes i get the wood, sometimes they want to keep it, thats fine with me, but i dont usually get horse chesnut, so unsure if i want it.

To be honest with you, milling and joinery are fairly new to me, i have always had an interest in timber, and making things out of it, now i am in a situation with some spare time on my hands, and i have access to some very large oak trees, it seems a shame to log them up as i have always done, so thinking of turning my hand at creating something much better than logs. I agree from what i have learnt about oak, it can be temperamental to dry, my first thought from what you say about the boards cupping on the top of the stack, do you have them banded ? as the ones on the bottom are ok, they have enough wieght on them to hold shape, but the top wont. I have to work with oak at present as that is all i have available, and quite a lot of it, although i see you also use chesnut, what type is it, i have a very large horse chesnut to come down soon, i always thought this was only good for firewood, i would love to think i am wrong ! Where in kent are you based ?

Does anyone use this for anything other than firewood ? I have a large one to come down and looking for alternative uses for it than logs if possible. Rob.

I have been offered a large horse chesnut tree for free, are they worth bothering with or not, i have never tried it before. Rob.

Hi. I am even more amazed how good it looks now i know how quick you finished it !! what sort of strength does the biscuit and glue give ? it is a way i would prefer to do a piece like that given the choice, purely as i would look at the screw heads every time and kick myself for not having them hidden. Yes my plan was to dry the oak first, i have 3 lovely butts waiting to be milled, and several more still standing, and although these 3 were standing deadwood, they have a high moisture content still, i believe they will warp all shapes for indoor use unless i dry them first. I am really taken with what you have done, i was thinking along the lines of an oak office desk, but having seen that, i think an oak desk with storage for my files etc above. very similiar to yours, (sorry for pinching the idea). Another line i was looking into was more a "rough and ready" type of furniture for my garden, bench or chairs and a table. obviously this would be after i have made the mrs a dining table !!!! should never have let her see this section of the site. Regards, Rob.

Have you hidden the screw heads ? if so how, i guess i would sink them and then put a dowel in, and sand off flat. Only asking as i would love to build something like that from some of the oak i am looking to plank up shortly. Looks a lovely piece of work however you did it. Rob.

Hi. Yes i will certainly be using dead as thats all that i have available now, all the green stuff has been cleared for this year, but i have a few dead ones still standing and a few on the deck i have already dropped. Rob.

Cheers Alec. I am looking into doing some milling in the next week or so, will have to see how i get on. Rob.