Bealers

Hi, I've got a bit of old Hazel coppice that I'm bringing back into rotation. I want to do some press planting to plug a few holes and was wondering if there's a particular variety I should be getting? Some seem to yield more nuts but I want to be sure that they will coppice too. I'm also trying to find a source of seeds so I can cultivate my own but I'm not having much luck.

No, my Mrs spoke with the FC today and they said there was nothing stopping us felling (and removing) the usual 5m³ per quarter.

I did a week at Ben's place a year or so back, learning the main joints, in fact I bought the wood on his general recommendation that unthinned, slow grown Larch was a perfect building material. I've emailed him a few times since but the conversation petered out. I can't find a number anywhere, I got the impression his time was rather over-subscribed! Thanks, looks interesting. I've got in touch with a couple in Cornwall doing the type of build as we want so I might go and bug them.

We've got a small Japanese Larch plantation in Powys that was purchased by us to provide us with materials for a roundwood framed house that we're hoping to build over the border in Shropshire, planning permitting The FC have said they won't give us a licence to thin before May now so they can check we're not diseased. I put a separate thread on here about that. Anyway, I'm concerned that us leaving the felling until the sap is up will leave us with a crop of sub-standard construction poles but this is just my unqualified opinion, am I right? If we did go-ahead and fell, but hold off frame construction into 2013 would this given the poles sufficient time to season or would we be best off waiting until winter 2012 and felling then; using them semi-green in spring 2013 ? Third option is to just buy the poles in when we need them but this plantation in unthinned so they are all lovely and straight and it would be a bit galling given we've a load if it stood there gagging to be used.

I've a 4 acre Japanese Larch plantation in Powys that we applied for a felling (thinning) licence from the FC late last year. Because they can't tell if we're diseased or not they've come back to us saying they can't issue us a licence until May when the stems have needles again, fair enough. The puzzling thing, however, is them then asking us if we'd sign a declaration saying we understand that they are unable to give us an answer within the statutory 3 months. This has set small alarm bells ringing and I'm concerned that it could be a sleight of hand in some way on their part. If they are unable to issue a licence within 3 months why should they need me to sign something to say I understand that? Or, are they just covering their arses? I'm away working so have only had the letter read out to me by my Mrs but I'm confident the interpretation is correct. I'll give them a call next week when home to get the full story but wondered if others had any insights on this?

Thanks, will-do. My Mrs will intercept it when it arrives and we'll call that my 40th birthday present 192s are £314 here, though not sure if that's ex VAT.

I was tracking that ms192C, but gave up on it when it went over £200 given they can be got brand new for around £300. Just managed to 'win' the rear handled ms200, it has got a 12" bar but I may look at getting a carving bar if I get into it more. Quite like the idea of making some simple sculptures, though the genius works of art I see posted on here are forever out of my reach.

amazing, all of them

I'm not a carver, well unless you count a few mushrooms, but I want a small, easily handled small for coppicing with and I figured that a saw that you carvers rate is probably perfect for it. I've already got a Husky 346XP which is great but even with a small bar it still feels too bulky for multi-stem fiddly work so I think a 30ish cc saw is what I'm after. Searching this section it seems the Stihl 192c (I've found a MS192c-e online, what does the e signify?) is what some of you recommend but then others of you are saying it's more of a 'home' saw and the 200T is the one to go far. Problem is that I don't want a top handled. So, 2 questions: 1) What's the quality of the 192? Home or not is it well made? 2) Is there a Husky carver friendly saw? I assume the 339XP is the pro equivalent, but is there a cheaper 'home' alternative that you'd recommend? Cheers

Thanks all, I've filled it out the best I can and we'll see what transpires.

Hi, I'm sitting on two (Welsh FC) felling licence applications that I really need to submit but I'm unsure about the rules on marking. Plot 1 is 4 acres of Japanese Larch that is absolutely rammed full of mature (50/60 years) stems; it has never been thinned. We're looking to getting a thinning licence to remove 25% for use on a (roundwood) house build, amongst other things. According to the guidance notes I should be marking the stems to be removed. Really? It's a small well-defined stand-alone plot so there's no ambiguiity over what will be taken out, can I get away with stating this in the notes and discuss on the site visit? Plot 2 is 7 acres of very neglected broadleaved coppice. It's so overgrown in places with light starved willow and the hazel stools being 30+ years old that I'll have trouble defining the coups until I've made a start and gained some decent access. I'm considering putting in for 5 arbitrary sized compartments. Once agoin I'm supposed to be marking, but in this case on the bondary only. It's also totally self contained so can I get away with not marking? Also, for plot 2 might it be easier for me to put in for a single compartment for felling over five years and once the natural lauyout becomes apparent re-apply for 7, 1 acre coups to get the rotation going. In summary how strict are they on marking? I assume I'll get a visit, can I discuss this then rather than spend loads of time marking up?

Hi, I've got loads of (well) overstood Hazel that I want to bring into rotation over the next few years. Whilst my Husky 346XP is excellent I'm thinking that I want something lighter and more manoeuvrable for the coppicing work. I already have 2 Huskys so I'm naturally leaning that way but would consider Stihl. I've not a lot of money to spend so will definitely be going 2nd hand and for cheapness I've been considering the more diy/domestic end of the market, say 35cc. What would you guys suggest?

A few quick pics of my first milling project a 2.7m x 500mm freshly felled Oak. This is a 36" Alaskan mill with a Husky 576xp with a 28" bar. I was nervous that the 75cc wouldn't be man enough but it was fine. I was amazed at how simple it all was.

Thanks for all of the replies, much appreciated. @agg221 in direct response to some of your points: I recently invested in a Husky 576XP to complement my 346XP. This gives me more grunt for felling and I hope more power for milling. I purposely decided against the bigger 90cc+ units as they are too big for my felling needs and I can't justify a dedicated milling tool, so I went for the middle ground. I was considering the 24" mill and a 28" bar but your comments do resonate with me. I'm not a pro - evidently, see below - but I do have a 7 acre broad leaf plot that is in need of some serious management. There are quite a few huge sycamores in there blocking out light to some really overstood hazel and I've my eye on them for milling. Spot on regarding extraction. I tried to skid it out today with my 650CC 4x4 quad and it wasn't having any of it. I've a skidding cone but the ground is too soft and the quad was just digging in. I could make the effort to improve the access and get the landy in but I think I'll just mill in situ and trailer out each slice piece by piece. Regarding my felling technique. Yep, totally agreed, it's a waste of good timber. I don't do this day in day out and for me it was quite a complicated fell (wind damage, hung up split bough). As I was making the first cut I could almost hear the intake of breath - ooh that's far too high. When I put the photo up I thought no-one would notice Second failure was no felling bench which bit me right in the arse today trying to get the stem out.

Hi, I've been looking for an excuse to get a mill for a while and now the opportunity has presented itself: It's about 2.7m long and 45cm diameter at the middle. I know it's probably considered a small stem to you all but this is a decent size for me to make a table out of. For the Oak itself should I leave it to season for ages first, or mill now and stack it? I assume I need to coat the end grain in something, what do you guys use? Anything else to consider? Cheers

Hi, I'm thinking of getting a log arch so I can move stuff easier with my quad. Ideally I could also use it by hand when shifting things in the yard. Can anyone recomend a log arch suitable for an ATV? Google threw this one up. And secondly an idea where to find a hand cart attachment like this would here be really useful: (taken from here) Thanks

Thanks. As a matter of interest what's the difference when milling?

I just read through this entire thread and thought I'd jump on it. @flames your work is amazing it's interesting to see how you're making those bigger bowls and with such lovely pieces of wood too. I thought you guys might be interested in seeing my Pole Late. I made a it a few weeks back out of semi-green Oak. It's still very early days and all I've made so far is 'dibbers' (the things to make holes in mud when planting) out of Ash. I also put up a crummy vid of it in action if you're interested. In terms of tools I've currently just got a set of 4 Ashley Isles chisels/gouges but I'm looking longlingly at the Ben Orford turning hook so I can have a pop at bowls too I'll post some pics up when I make something yet though I might have to practice a bit more first after seeing the stuff you're all knocking out! Cheers

Hi, I'm about to buy my first brand new saw, a Husky 576 to complement my 2nd hand 346. However before I part with the cash I want to check that its it's going to be OK for occasional milling too so I can get some raw materials for outdoor furniture making. Reading through the threads on here it seems that you pros are all recommending larger 90CC saws (most notably the 880) but as I won't be doing it day-in, day-out I'm hoping to get away with this smaller saw with - say - a 30" ripping chain on for both hard and softwood (as and when I can get my hands on any). Will it do? Thanks

Hi, I know from reading threads on here that Larch is meant to be pretty good as firewood but I'm assuming this is referring to European? What about Japanese? Thanks

Thanks for the all the further replies, I'm really glad that I asked! @agg221 it will only be now and again so your suggestion of an a-frame loader is a really good one, thanks.

That's helpful gensetsteve, thanks.

Thanks for the replies. I should have said that it's a 110 300TDi. I'll do some further research. I was looking at a trailer with a grabber of some kind as I'm likely to be doing the work on my own and loading may be a problem. I assume that the Riko-type trailers are not for road towing, more for moving stems around to a loading/stacking area? I've got a budget of around £3K so can't go silly. I think I'm leaning towards the tri axle Ifor Williams though I'm still concerned how I'll get it loaded. Do you guys use a winch on the trailer to skid the trunks onto it? I'm trying to visualise what 3.5 tonnes is. If we were to say 4M 12" stems roughly how many is this? If I wanted to carry stems of more than 4 meters I suppose I could get a frame fabricated for the front of the trailer to allow diagonal loading? Obviously this would need to be strong.

Hi, This is my first post so please be gentle with me. I've got a small plantation of Japanese Larch that I'll be harvesting a section of this year. I'll be wanting to transport long poles back home (circa 6 miles) to use for construction of some timber frames as well as smaller chunks for firewood. I've got a 300TDI Landrover Defender (1996) for towing but was hoping for advice on: What sort length timber is feasible for on road towing? Is 4M too long? What sort of trailer/crane combo could handle this? RIKO seems to do some likely candidates. What sort of weight can I sensibly tow using the landy? Plated weight might be one thing but what's that like in reality? Bearing in mind I'm in Wales so will need to pull up some steep hills. Cheers