AHPP

Winch it back up, loads of radial guy lines, army surplus parachute, scissors, wigwam!

Everybody else will be thinking that though. Get one of the massive Silkys and clean up!

With some reference to it being said on this thread you can get logs from poplar and willow after 4 or 5 years, there's something else I'd like people's thoughts on. I've been thinking that relatively short rotations could be a good idea anyway. Aim to harvest a pole when at about 4"/10cm diameter at breast height (DBH) and cut to chosen lengths. Most importantly, no splitting (huge labour and time saver). You get 4 or 5 rounds from floor to breast height which are decent sized logs and everything above that going up the pole is obviously smaller and smaller diameter (still unsplit). You get a decent selection of log/stick/kindling sizes from each pole. Excellent branchwood logger territory, I'd have thought. How does this fit in with how trees grow and coppice? I'd like to believe this system of harvesting when at 4"/10cm DBH lends itself very well to growing from a stool. Loads of roots and energy from the stool gives quick early growth (and we're not interested in the later, more steady growth). Thoughts?

I'd originally discounted silver birch because whenever I've seen it it's either live and kicking or soft rotten - no middle ground! Does it coppice well? How fast does it grow in comparison to the other species we've been discussing? You've go me thinking about willow and poplar again. A monoculture block of each and maybe a block of the two mixed could run as a sub-system on its own (shorter) rotation. I clearly need to do more research on softwoods and hedging so that I can ask better questions.

Thanks for responses so far. I was originally thinking just get the fastest growing stuff and plant all that but considering ash dieback etc thought diversity might be best! I hadn't considered going with anything that wouldn't coppice but that would give me the option for a block of cherry (let the suckers grow instead of the stool?) and maybe even a block of softwood (which I know very little about). I'm all ears to other suggestions for the perimeter screen. At one extreme, leylandii would be a great screen but of no other use and brings maintenance and shading problems with it. Something that is 80% as effective as a screen but is more easily manageable and/or still usable for firewood would be great. I'm aware of the short rotation coppice willows and poplars for mechanically-harvested biomass but that's not what I'm planning. Tell me more about using willow and poplar as conventional coppice and firewood though. They both have a pretty poor reputation as firewood as far as I am aware. I'm not totally clear on how fast people are saying hornbeam grows. Fast? Slow? Comparable with what? As for aesthetics, I like straight lines, intensive management and high yields!

Maybe cherry. Will it coppice?

Feel free to add your own maps/planting plans for your woodland (real, planned or hypothetical).

Say you were wanting to plant a new woodland to use mainly for firewood and had identified: alder ash sycamore sweet chestnut robinia eucalyptus (monoculture only) hornbeam hazel to be planted in monoculture blocks and mixed blocks. Every year you harvest a monoculture block (or maybe two halves of different monoculture blocks) and a mixed block. Look good? What other species could you include, either to add diversity to the firewood crop or for any other benefit? In the example below: Brown - mixed species Colours - monocultures Grey - unplanted White - hazel (primarily for wind/sight/access shield - is hazel the best for being a dense screen?) The blocks are 50mx50m (0.25 hectares/0.6 acre) each. The hazel perimeter is 10m deep. Total area is 250mx250m (6.25 hectares/15 acres).

The tyre method sounds like it won't really save much time but it really does. Most efficiency gain for a given cost available!

I went today. Good day out. Much bigger than I was expecting. This chap, Stuart, was giving very interesting and down to earth bodging demos. Split, hew, shave, turn. Nice guy and had plenty of time to talk and expertise to share. He was even kind enough to let me have a blast on one of his lathes. I made a thing and plenty of sycamore shavings.

Went to the Hadleigh show today. Planning on hitting Stowmarket tomorrow. I appear to have missed anyone who's anyone but I'm sure it'll be good nonetheless!

There must be some sort of netting or strands of something available dirt cheap. Bale stuff maybe. Use like plastic packing wrap, giving a few wraps to get the tension. Almost certainly best done stacking the billets vertically of course. Rotate the package: Or rotate the wrap around the package: Lower tech is to just walk around the package but that gets old fast. I'm not totally convinced by the billet system btw. Unless you're bundling to load into kilns or something, I can't see the advantage over making chunks which can be scooped in loader buckets or moved on conveyor belts/elevators (where orientation doesn't matter). Sure, you could stack high but realistically does that outweigh the outrageous rehandling? Please feel free to put me right. I'd be interested to hear what you like about the system.

Yep. On the calendar.

We must have passed like ships in the night, Alec. I got there about 10 minutes before Ed. I did actually approach a guy with two young daughters: "Excuse me. You're not Alec, are you?" "Yes. Hello." "Brilliant. I'm Alex. I bought some planks from you via arbtalk last year." "What?" "Arbtalk?" "Errrr..." "You're a sawmiller, right?" "Nope. I work in IT." What are the odds?!

Really don't. It may be good fun but it's also very easy to trip up. Don't believe me, call a solicitor (a firm who advertises "commercial law") in the morning and ask them. They'll give you 10 mins for free and give you the basic info and advice. If you then decide to go ahead, you'll have help ready to move for if/when you need it.

I'm sure many have seen it before but the Ben Law Grand Designs episode is on at 20:55 on More 4.

Ignore. Don't talk to anyone about it (including council, police etc). Don't even admit receiving a letter.

Also woody and in the Cambridge area this weekend: Bodgers' Ball at Wimpole Hall. https://www.facebook.com/GreenWoodwork

Spare seat going from Sudbury area if anyone's interested. Going via Clare, Haverhill, Linton.

Reminds me of Nicholas Cage smuggling guns in containers labeled 'Nuclear Waste' in Lord of War. Nobody's going to search them and nobody actively wants a dog with arse/bladder problems. Well played! I was talking about this thread with a friend earlier and we both hoped you'd kept her. Result.

Bump for tomorrow.

Might well come along. Not that far for me. Say hello if you see me, wolfman and I'll try and track down agg221 (I bought some oak planks from you for a friend a couple of years back but we never actually met!).

I test drove a Scudo the other day. Shonky continental crap.

If you already have the rock climbing harness then crack on with that. 120cm sling with a clove hitch just in front of each hip makes side tie in points for a lanyard (not comfortable and do not treat as trustworthy PPE). If you're buying from scratch though, go for an industrial offering. Cost difference is small in comparison to extra usefulness.