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There's a big difference between making yourself one chair and making dozens for sale. If you want to make one for yourself, one very cheap, and surprisingly quick way is to mark up your circle with old fashioned school compasses, and then chain drill round it, which is using a smallish diameter drill bit, putting the holes as close together as you can, keeping them wholly inside your drawn circle. Then use a gouge to cut out the waste. You need a gouge with a radius at least as tight as the circle to make sure it doesn't overlap. You would cut out each hole like that in about a quarter of an hour per hole if your tools are sharp. For faster work - you need a Forstner bit as has been mentioned. Alec

Do you have a cutting spec? Fairly self-evident, but slabbing at 3in is a lot quicker than a load of 1in boards, and quarter sawing is infinitely slower than through and through, which will significantly affect time, fuel, band/blade/chain wear and hence price. Alec

Willow will work as cladding on a rough shed - I wouldn't use it for the frame though (get hold of some oak/sweet chestnut/robinia if you can, or failing that, angle iron!) The reason willow, and many other timbers, is not very durable is that things soak in to it too easily, so it gets damp (which insects like) and it's easy for fungi to get in (it also doesn't contain enough tannin to kill off some infestations). However, the same problem also makes it one of the easiest timbers to treat with a fungicide type coating from B&Q or your local agricultural merchants, as it takes it up well. Substitute creosote would be the easiest, ideally doing the boards before you install them. In all honesty, a small shed will cost you less than an Alaskan, suitable length bar and a ripping chain, plus the fuel. It won't be as much fun though, and the mill is useful for other stuff too if it comes along, or re-saleable if you decide it's not for you. Alec

It were one day after closing, I were lying on me nest, When Stez shouts 'get your bags on, come on outside' So I grabbed me stripy tank-top, I had beer-stains on me vest And I sez 'best get some cans in, it's a long ride'.....

The Swedish ones - I've bought some falun red to do my shed with! Alec

Thanks Mark, I will be following this with great interest - I'm not that far away from the site of it myself. That is one hugely impressive tree. Oddly enough, I've been using oak of a similar colour, also stained by iron, but in this case rather more modern. Really good that the finished project will be viewable - I'll definitely be going to see it. Any ideas where yet? Alec

Slack-ma-Girdle's suggestion will be definitive. If you want a reasonable guess, the questions below might make it possible to home in on it. Eater or cooker? When is it ripe? When it's ripe, have you tried keeping them and if so how long do they last? What colour is the fruit (and is it single colour or flushed on one side)? Is the fruit russetted at all? What shape and size is the fruit? If it's something fairly common, this might give a reasonable assessment, anything unusual will need specialist input. Alec

Hi Andrew, That isn't in too bad shape really - you've got a good eye for it, judging by the material you've already taken out. Keep going really - I would suggest you use a renewal pruning method, deciding on which branches are your permanent framework and taking all the younger branches back over a three year cycle. If you use the 'search' facility on this site you should be able to find a link to the ATF's guidelines on renewal pruning. For a garden tree, there's a certain amount of leeway between a hard pruned single layer 'orchard' look and a slightly softer, more tree-like form with a slightly more spherical shape overall. This tree is currently closer to the latter, but could be brought in harder if you want. Either will work in terms of tree health, a single tier will be easier to pick and give you slightly better ripening of fruit in the centre as the light gets through better. I would suggest in spring clearing a circle about 3-4ft diameter around the base, mulching down with cardboard and compost or bark chippings over the top and using this as an area in which to apply a general purpose fertiliser - you're cutting back and it will benefit from something to help it regenerate, and crop. Do you know which variety it is, and whereabouts are you? Alec

You say minimum - do you mean that's the shortest bar you want to put on it, or you want a saw where the longest bar it will pull is at least 36"? If it's the shortest bar you want to put on it, and when you get it out you want to use it all day, an MS880 would probably be the best bet, although the 3120 has its fans. If you just want to get it out from time to time and can run it for a bit, then stop and do something lighter, you could consider an 076 (1980s model with chain brake etc) as it is a cheaper solution. Very heavy but fine for ringing up if you're driving to the tree, resting it on a log and letting it do its thing. If you mean you want a saw which will pull a 36" bar from time to time, you'd get more use overall out of an MS660 as it will pull a 36" bar but is also really good with a 24" bar for more day to day stuff. Alec

Very interesting project - are you connected with Adamson and Low (who are constructing the table)? Alec

Will the owner let you clear the undergrowth enough to make tracks? How large is the woodland and what's the ongoing situation longterm? For a handful of trees, having a word with the farmer about dragging to his field and paying him to come along with the tractor and trailer to get it down to the access point is probably the cheapest and quickest way. I have access to a wood and clear the standing dead for milling, so I feel your pain. I use a wheelbarrow for getting small stuff in and out and periodically extract whole butts by paying either the local farm labourer who has access to a tractor and is amenable if slipped a tenner, or the bloke next door who is building his own house and has a dumper (I pay him in firewood). A wheelbarrow does work, and can carry a fair amount, although it gets hard work pushing it. The alternative is a pair of old wheels on a short solid axle, then lash bits over it and drag (like a makeshift logging arch). If you go this route, leave the lengths fairly long, about 6-10ft, as it makes dragging easier. I do this sometimes if there are tops up to about 18in dia worth milling. If it's a longer term thing with ongoing access you could consider powered transport. If the site is level a dumper works quite well - I have now bought an old half ton Benford dumper which fits in my 8'x4' trailer and will carry rather more than half a ton in a load if I want it to. It will also drag something pretty serious. Getting some training of some form is a good idea - it doesn't have to be formal as you don't need tickets - finding someone (such as Pasty Muncher) who can give you a good idea on what to do may be sufficient. One thing though - I would seriously advise having a suitable winch and knowing how to use it on hung up trees. One day it will happen and you really want to know what to do when it does before you have the choice between leaving a hanging tree to kill someone else and risking killing yourself through ignorance. Alec

If you want to grow them commercially, use a dwarf stock. The best bet is Pixy. You will keep the trees down to 8ft, they'll start cropping at about 3-4yrs and have decent crops at about 5-6yrs onwards. For maximum yield, you want to plant double staggered rows at about 8ft apart in the row, and keep permanently clear under them in the wide planting strips with weedkiller. They'll do best as centre-leader form and tie down the tops, so you'll need permanent stakes. This makes them crop earlier, and keeps them shorter (all picking can then be done from the ground). This is nothing like the romantic notion of big standard trees growing in grass with sheep grazing underneath and a haze of blossom in spring, long fruit ladders in autumn. This works fine for personal enjoyment (and the trees will live a very long time like this - Mum's place was planted in 1919) but this form of orchard is no longer viable. I worked for someone who ran a small mixed fruit farm of a few hundred acres in Kent, everything at stepladder or ground picking height, mostly older trees grown in bush form. I was working for him at the time and we talked a bit about the economics of it. He had to work full time as a solicitor to make a living - the farm just covered its costs. Alec

And above lies your answer. As to where to buy it - I suggest getting the one from Trafalgar Square, spray paint it green, job done................ I'll get my coat Alec

Slight derail but Kav, are you looking for stakes that are permanently submerged, or will they be above and below the water, i.e. cross the waterline? If so, the best you can get would be Robinia, failing that go for sweet chestnut. I missed those elm pics first time around - beautiful grain. Alec

I think sealing the ends may be a matter of circumstance. It definitely takes time, effort, cost in paint, means you can't mill until it's dry etc. all of which are good reasons not to do it if you're milling commercially. Also, if the timber you are accessing is a good length then losing half an inch to an inch at the end of each board doesn't make much odds. If you're milling small quantities of random short stuff for yourself then sometimes you want every last scrap. For example, I got hold of the bottom end of a walnut which had fallen over and been chopped up by a farmer - 4ft1in length in total remaining. Sealing the ends gave me 4ft boards which have now seasoned perfectly without losing more than cleaning the ends straight. Commercially, really not worth it but for my own use, means I can make a nice chest of drawers Alec

Hi David, I was down there a couple of weeks ago and no sign then, except on the apples. I was picking and pruning the plums so had a good look, less specifically looking at the apples. By this stage, the leaves on the cherries are beginning to look tired and just ready to start colouring, so it's less surprising that they aren't affected. It's also notable that the (extremely irritating but unidentified) insect is, it seems to like pears and apples most. The pears rarely respond with much growth, the apples do. I therefore think there may be a link between fresh, young shoots, time of year and weather in the prevalence of the mildew - the other orchard species just don't bring them together in the same way. Alec

The orchard I grew up on in the '80s regularly had a powdery mildew affecting the apples in late summer, but not the pears, plums or cherries. There was an insect that ate the tips out of the fresh shoots each year at about 3" long, so by the time they got going again it resulted in soft, sappy shoots much later than normal, equivalent to lammas growth in oak, and that's what was (and still is) regularly affected. Alec

Entirely agree with points made re use of plant (I probably wouldn't bother if there was no suitable plant for lifting as they will be extremely heavy with a big enough root ball). Not sure I'd reduce the height and width - I've seen it work both ways. Sometimes if you leave the top alone and the retained roots are good enough, with enough water and nutrients available, you can get the larger leaf area to promote rapid root growth and reistablishment. However, if you leave too much top relative to roots it can't sustain it and the tree shuts down and goes into decline. It's less effort to just move it whole, so I'd be inclined towards the latter if I was chancing it like this! The drive may be OK here, in that if it's relatively solidly surfaced (tarmac or concrete rather than gravel) there may not be much incentive for the feeding roots to have gone under it. I still reckon I'd give it a go, just consider it lucky if it works and write it off if it doesn't. Alec

Although I haven't done a lot of cherry, I've not noticed any particular problems with the bits I've done. I tend to mill as quickly as possible anyway as it takes stresses out which stops the cracks starting. If I'm worried, I slap a coat of paint on the cut ends first, then mill (and air dry as I don't have a kiln). The paint stops the ends drying faster than the middle and causing stresses that way. Alec

You don't have a lot to lose really by trying it. Do it as soon as the leaves are going - November, as the roots remain active through the winter so it has more chance of settling and re-establishing. Take as many roots as you can practically get, going out as wide as possible to the non-drive side, with as much of a rootball as you can retain and move (bearing in mind it will be heavy). If you've got the plant to do it, I'd dig a decent trench, work in some compost to the base, then more compost into the dug out soil. Drop the trees in and stake well, then back-fill. They'll need regular watering for the next couple of years, expect them to look sick for a bit, if they survive then great, if not you have done all the prep-work to buy in some smaller ones next year and fill the gap that way. Alec

I think it depends on where you are. If I had the choice of site then I'd pick somewhere that oak did well and grow oak standards over sweet chestnut coppice, with some areas of hazel coppice. I grew up in north Kent and Shorne woods next to the A2 between Gravesend and Rochester are what I'm thinking of if anyone knows them. Only place I've ever seen proper fly agaric too. Alec

Out of interest, how does this scam work? He's offering inspection which suggests he has the machine, and requiring the deal to be closed through eBay which gives the buyer far more ways to get their cash back than sending a cheque or doing a bank transfer etc. Just interested so I can avoid getting caught. Alec

Out of interest, how does this scam work? He's offering inspection which suggests he has the machine, and requiring the deal to be closed through eBay which gives the buyer far more ways to get their cash back than sending a cheque or doing a bank transfer etc. Just interested so I can avoid getting caught. Alec

I would agree with Robinia - quite useful as it's extremely durable outdoors. Alec

I would agree with Robinia - quite useful as it's extremely durable outdoors. Alec