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One other thing to add. For grinding off the back end when it peens over, I now use weld sanding disks like these: Pack of 25 Sanding Fibre Discs Blue Line Siaron 8 4819 115 X 22mm Hole 24g for sale | eBay WWW.EBAY.CO.UK Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Pack of 25 Sanding Fibre Discs Blue Line Siaron 8 4819 115 X 22mm Hole 24g at the best online prices at eBay! Free... I have always used Blue Line ones as that's what I tried first, in a relatively coarse grit. They cut much faster than a cutting or grinding disk and put less heat in. I also find it much easier to hold the flat face on the workpiece and get a decent result than trying to use a standard grinding disc at an angle. Coincidentally, they are also very good at removing wood - pretty useless for paintstripping though as they tend to remove the thing the paint was attached to just as quickly. Alec

At least you actually are your age, I just feel it! Alec

14 degrees is 1 in 4 so driving 8" gives 2" of lift. And as Stubby says, they stack. Alec

Steel wedges were around for a long time before plastics were developed enough to cope with the job. That meant there was a lot of time went into refining the design. I have two types of steel wedge, both inherited and probably over 100yrs old. One is about 4" long x 2.5" wide and tapers up to 1" thick. I use this like I use my plastic wedges but can give it more abuse. The others were probably 8" long originally, 2" wide and 2" thick. These take serious punishment. Note the taper on both is the same. I tend to use plastic wedges to hold cuts the width I want them but metal wedges when I actually want to open the cut. The taper is about the same on both types but the wider wedge tends to grip better and not dig in to the wood so much. They don't have any features on them to stop them slipping out, so it's all down to friction. With a 7lb sledge I can drive them hard enough to make most things move, although I was defeated by a 3'6" parkland open-grown oak which wasn't having any of it and I couldn't hit the wedges hard enough to persuade it. What you can also often do is drive one on top of another to widen the opening as unlike the plastic ones they will drive into a zero gap, but for that you really do have to look after them well and grind off any peening as soon as it happens, not just when it gets sharp. If you carry around half a dozen steel wedges in addition to your other kit, you do notice it! Mine only come out if I know I will need them which tends to mean felling something that I want to tip. Alec Edit, forgot to mention that they do also come out occasionally for cleaving timber which is too big for the froe.

The key point for me is that this tree is not dead (even if it dies later), and it has a TPO on it. I think I understand the OP's original objective - to kill the tree while it was legal to do so. A TPO could not have been applied to a dead tree, so if he had killed it before the TPO came into force, it would not have come into force. He did not have the resources to get it felled so he attempted to kill it by ring-barking. In my (non-professional but fairly educated) opinion, the OP has not cut deeply enough to kill the tree. There is now photographic evidence to this effect. The tree can therefore be regarded as still living and subject to a TPO. I cannot comment on what work can now be insisted upon (bridge grafting etc) but if this is needed, it will incur extra cost and if I was the TO, knowing how the tree had been damaged in the first place, I would be insisting on anything within my powers to achieve its survival and taking particular care to inspect on a regular basis and ensure that all due aftercare was in place. The likely outcome is therefore that the tree stays and looks more of a mess than it would have done if it had been left alone. Since it is not dead (even if it subsequently dies) I would be insisting on replacement if it does. I think the OP has created himself an enemy in his local TO; has created himself an eyesore and may have incurred himself some cost. Therefore, in summary, I think he has failed in his objective. Alec

I have done this with some hazel at my place, mainly because it is was very overstood and I wanted to make sure it didn't die. It has worked well but what I have found is that you do need to cut enough out to encourage regrowth. If you leave too much then it remains heavily shaded at the stool and does not regenerate. Leaving the inch thickness and below stems seems to be enough. Alec

I agree with this and also with Rough Hewn's comment that the mill design is not the best. I have a Stihl double-ended mill but realistically it sees very little use. I would look at the price of a new Panther mill of equivalent size, with bar, and halve that as a starting point for the mill + bar. I would advertise the saws separately, so three lots in total (saw, saw, mill+bar) but mention the other lots in each advert as somebody might want all of it. I would be a bit less optimistic on the price. Parts availability for the saws is not great and their condition is a bit of an unknown quantity when sold with no warranty. They also do not come with a bar or chain, which makes a lot more difference to sale price than it should. I would be thinking around £200 each for the saws as plain, untested powerheads sold for spares/repair. If you can get them running I would expect that to go up to £250-275. If you have even basic old bars/chains for them that will push it up more. Alec

Willow lasts a lot better than most people assume it will, even dead. It has quite a lot of tannin in the bark so as long as you leave that intact it holds up for a good few years. I use it for light tree stakes when I need to put a rabbit guard on a whip. Alec

I have never found it as bad as you might think (depending on how small is small?). The trick is not to try and do it the same way as you would with a large oak sawlog, but to use a method more like you would use for production sawing of softwood. A vertical bandsaw is very workable and does not need to be huge if you can beg or borrow access to one. I screw a straight board to the base of the log with the side lined up with a line through it, and use a low fence; that sets the first face. I then unscrew, rotate so the flat face is downwards and screw back on to the board, again running against the side of the board as a straight edge. You now have a pair of faces at right-angles. I tend to prep a batch like that and then just set up the fence to the right thickness and run off board after board. It might be a bit of a pain if you need very long boards (what height are you aiming for at the sides and how much wall will you have?) but I have quite happily run 3m field maple logs up to about 10" diameter through work's bandsaw. The hardest bit was singlehandedly manoeuvring them onto the table for the first cut as they weighed a ton - best done when H&S had gone home for the night! Given where I got my ideas for sleds etc from, another option if you are not in a rush would be to see if you can come to an arrangement with someone wanting to demonstrate sawmilling with their traction engine at an event later this year. These are outdoor events so I would think they are one of the more likely things for Boris to let us do. Thank you - nice to be back. I was down in Exeter with Robin on Friday btw. Alec

TVI - do you also have aspen or poplar available? I know that is a totally counter-intuitive choice but it soaks up preservative beautifully whereas treating ash only forms a coating and it does not pressure treat well either (much like spruce). If you can't get something naturally durable and so are going to have to treat, it may be a better option. I am aware of at least one fairly modern barn done that way by a tree surgeon/sawmill which has held up very nicely for over 25yrs by using an oil-based preservative. Alec

This was done by the neighbours to the place where Mum still lives over 40yrs ago. Not good for the trees, but a mix of blackthorn with ash and poplar pollards are all still going. The wires are now deeply buried and the living posts are the only thing that keeps the fence up. Why does it need fencing (determines the type of fencing), what size are the trees and what is the long-term plan? If it's a quick fix and the trees are coming out anyway, I can't see as it does any harm other than being a bit ugly and looking like a bodge, but it's you that has to live with it! If you have any decent specimen trees which you plan on keeping then I wouldn't put staples into those. If you plan on planting it up as a hedge for the long term then putting the staples into anything that won't lay would seem sensible. Alec

Alasdair, Can I suggest that you stop and think about something. What do you actually want to achieve? It reads as though you are on a crusade against lo-pro, and against Rob D. You asked a question as to whether other people have had problems with lo-pro. It's a fair question and you have had answers. Some were positive, others were negative but you appear to be focussed only on the negative answers. You give the impression that you weren't really asking the question, but were trying to gather evidence against the equipment Rob sells. If all experiences had been negative then there would be a good reason to consider the equipment unsuitable, but they are not, so clearly it is not. It is clear that different people have different experiences with lo-pro. In that regard it is definitely more sensitive to the approach of the user than heavier chain. This is not surprising - look at the build. It is clearly much closer to the limits and you would expect that to be more challenging the higher the torque of the saw, but it works for some, who get benefits from using it. If you wanted to find out why, you would ask what they had been milling, how they use it, look at videos etc. to try and get to the bottom of it. I have not seen any questions of that nature. Perhaps that would be a constructive direction to go in for everyone? Rob D has commented on your thread and you appear to have taken exception to this. This is an internet forum and responses are open to all. You would particularly expect the subject of the thread to want to reply, and you would expect him not to agree with you. Do you not feel he is entitled to express his response to your comments? In the end, you have experimented with lo-pro and have found it is not for you and have bought something else which you are happy with. You have been refunded. What more do you actually want someone to do? Alec

No, what I am saying is that if you treat it appropriately lo-pro works very nicely for milling, is quicker and produces a smoother finish, but if you want something you can abuse then it is not the solution for you. 'Abuse' may not be deliberate - it may be something you are doing which you do not realise is a problem. I once had a colleague who couldn't understand why her suspension kept wearing out - someone went on a test drive with her and she took all the speed bumps at 20mph because that was the speed limit so it must be OK... As an aside, the Duromatic hard-nosed bars take a significant percentage of the saw's power and heat up more. They are also far more difficult to get the tension right. The information around this subject is best found in Will Maloff's book - are you familiar with it? If you look at the people posting on this thread, there are two who have notably negative experiences and quite a few who have positive experiences - if you want to go back through the posts and count the experience of each poster then you would get a balance but more appear to be positive than negative. I note that the person who has blown nose sprockets has relatively little experience; some of the people who have reported positive experiences have been milling for 10+ years (I bought my first Alaskan before Rob D even set up in business, in 1998). What does not help is focusing only on the people who have the same experience as you. If they have the same issues then they cannot help - it is the people who have a different experience who can help, assuming you want a solution rather than just to give an opinion (if you just want to give an opinion, you have done so, but don't expect people who have had a different experience to agree with you). I do understand how frustrating it is when kit does not work and you can't figure out why. That does not necessarily mean the problem is the kit - if other people are not experiencing the same issues (as clearly they are not) then it is worth learning from them what it is that you are doing differently. If you want to try and figure that out, post up details of your set-up. Add photos, the type of timber, video of you milling and those of us who use it successfully should be able to indicate where the differences lie. Alec

Agree Chris (and likewise with your reply to Mick). I am even less qualified to diagnose/suggest prognosis, which is why I have avoided doing so. That's also why I didn't comment on @Cobbs tree&estate service post - I wasn't ignoring him but he knows the tree and I don't so I couldn't really add anything. The key thing is that a proper survey will establish what the issues are, what the prognosis is and what the options are going forward. There are many circumstances where the owner just doesn't want the tree - this one is the opposite so it perhaps presents more positive alternatives than normal. Steve - as you say, standards are not cheap, but at least with a single tree that is really wanted it will definitely get the aftercare needed to give it the best possible start, and would not have to suffer a minimum planting pit. Again, size/type is something to weigh up should it become necessary and there is plenty of knowledge to draw on in selection, planting and aftercare on this forum. Alec

A couple of observations which I hope the other contributors to this thread will agree with. If a tree is not likely to fail from the base (in a way which presents an unacceptable risk if it did which I would think is likely to be the case here) then it does not -need- to be removed. Everything beyond that is a balance of cost and likely outcome. Different people will view this in different ways, depending on how much the tree is worth to them. For some people, it would not be worth the cost and effort of trying the techniques Chris has suggested when weighed against the probability of success. A lot of tree work is driven to a budget and the likely outcome from just cutting back a beech is not going to be positive, so for them the most cost-effective approach would be to take it out. However, that does not take into account the value of a particular tree to a particular individual, so to you it may well be worth enough to make the investment. If on balance after a proper inspection you conclude it is preferable to remove it, you would have options for replanting. You cannot replace a tree of that size in a short timeframe, but you could invest in a large, heavy standard (not the kind of thing you buy at the garden centre) and with proper aftercare it would make a reasonable statement within a few years. This would also give you the choice of some specific varieties. Personally, I always think copper beech looks gloomy and I really like the appearance of the fern-leaved beech (Asplenifolia) and quite like Fagus engleriana but that's my opinion - yours will no doubt differ. The point is that there would be choices that you could make if you find yourself in that unfortunate position. Alec

Think of the difference between an arb report and a tree surgeon having a look at it as similar to the difference between a surveyor and a builder having a look at a building. Both can probably tell you what needs doing to an extent, but they are not the same thing. Do you know the tree surgeon you have asked to have a look at it well and have reason to trust them? If they are highly experienced and you have a good relationship then it might be what you need but bear in mind that a tree surgeon generally makes most money by doing most work, which could create a conflict of interest. Whereabouts in the country is this? There may be some arb consultants on this site who are suitably located to help. I should add, I am not a professional in this field but the only thing I can see that I would definitely do is remove the ivy, partly because I wouldn't want it going any further and partly because the lower down there are problems, the more significant they are likely to be and ivy on the trunk can hide a multitude of sins. I think it's a positive approach to want to retain large trees - so often people want to remove them or hack them back due to fear of what might happen, so buying a property, getting proper advice regarding options and enjoying the trees is a good thing! Alec

Imagine I drive a Hilux. I drive it over cattle grids and speed bumps without slowing down. I drive it through fords and over potholes without slowing down. Because it is a Hilux and built for that kind of thing, even though it isn't really very good for it, it takes it for so long that I don't even reach the point where it fails. However, it is quite slow and rattles a lot, so I think it would be nice to drive faster and smoother and I go out and buy a Ferrari. I then drive my Ferrari exactly like I used to drive my Hilux and within a month it's wrecked. I have trashed the alloy wheels and suspension on the potholes and cattle grids, ripped up the underside on the speed bumps and ruined the engine by driving it through fords. I take it back to the dealer and say 'this car is useless, it's not fit to be sold'. The dealer gives me my money back and takes the loss on himself. However, I am not content to leave it at that - I want to prove to the world that Ferraris are useless and feel the dealer should advertise this fact, so I keep ringing him. The dealer does not want to sell me another Ferrari because clearly I am not going to use it as it is intended, and he only wants to sell them to people who will. He is also rather busy trying to make a living selling cars, so he doesn't really want to have more conversations with me and in the end he therefore removes me from his customer base and blocks my phone number, since I am clearly not a suitable customer and I have already cost him a lot of time and money, and there isn't really anything he can do that will make me happy. I now need a new car, and since my old Hilux worked for me the way I (ab)used it, I go and see a Toyota dealer instead. He is only too happy to sell me a new Hilux and since I am the customer and I want to rubbish Ferraris, who is he to complain? He can nod along and agree as much as I want - after all, what is it to him, he's getting a sale. Alec

Just to reiterate, I run lo-pro on a 36" bar on an 066 and it works just fine. Alec

Whilst you may not understand them, are there some numbers on the bar? They are probably stamped in, somewhere near the powerhead end. If you can post up exactly what they say (or a photograph) then people can advise. If there are no numbers, take one of your existing chains for the bar and count the number of drive links. Also, look at the chain and it will have various things stamped on the links. These will probably include a manufacturer's name and a code. From this the information can be worked out. Alec

I have had the woodscrew version of this for about 15yrs so the concept itself is not new. Good if you are drilling and tapping lots of identical holes. Not so good if you are usually tapping one-off holes in a wide variety of sizes (I would guess not available across the full range of UNC/UNF/BSW/BSF etc) and no use at all for blind holes. Alec

The heartwood on an oak log is likely to last a lot longer than a modern fencepost. That means a long-term management procedure (inspections etc) whereas a flat surface on the log is permanent which may be helpful in reducing risk. Alec

It doesn't look too large to move. I would be inlined to stake it diagonally so the stake does not run into the rootball. Put the stake on the upwind side relative to the prevailing wind, so that the tree pulls against the tie, rather than pushes onto the stake and rubs on it. A useful tie for something this size is an old bicycle inner tube (when the bike shops re-open they are usually only too keen to give them away!) It will then need an annual check but shouldn't get too tight across the annual increments. Alec

Just to add, another approach you can take with the mini-mill combined with the Alaskan is to quarter big logs. I sometimes get asked to quartersaw decent oak and my usual sequence is to skim the top flat and an equal height from the centre at each end; then cut dead up the middle with an Alaskan. I then use the mini-mill, set to the same depth, to quarter the top half. Even in a 4ft butt x 15ft long I now have something I can roll off sideways or slide off to the end. This can then be cut using an Alaskan, either as a square beam or as a series of quartered boards off each face in turn. If the bark comes off easily then I can debark and run every cut off a sawn edge which makes the mill feed more smoothly. If the bark won't come off then I run off the bark face as even though it feeds less well, it means I am pulliing the bark away from the cut, which tends to mean the teeth don't catch grit and dull, and the board faces stay cleaner. The reason I make the top vertical cut completely separately from the lower cut is that it allows me to reposition the line to get the best out of the log. It can be worth another inch on the square, which is significant value when you add it up. Once the top half has gone, it is a lot easier to lift the bottom half clear of the ground to run the mill down without catching on anything or blowing so much sawdust in your face. Will Maloff's book is excellent reading. Alec

I have cut a few dozen beams in oak using it and again, have not had a problem with it going off square. I have also used it for slotting in a flitch plate in one which then dropped in neatly, so pretty accurate but a bit of care needed to keep it straight and not twist the saw back-handle. One thing to be aware of with all these devices - you are not holding the saw on the front handle which means the only way the chain brake will operate is on inertia, and your cutting position does leave some of you in line with the saw however carefully you position yourself. It shouldn't kick, but unlike an Alaskan mill which can't, these ones could if you catch something. Just worth considering in relation to saw choice and maintenance, given than a lot of older saws get used in milling. Alec

Looks like bacterial canker was involved. If thinking of planting another fruiting cherry it's worth noting that some varieties are more prone to this than others, and also that some varieties are self-fertile while others are not. Also worth noting that rootstock has a substantial bearing on ultimate size (if you weren't already aware of that). Alec