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My wife and I always like seeing the pictures of your work - this one being a particularly poignant subject given recent events. Alec

You could try ringing Brian Pearce insurance brokers in Gravesend. Nowhere near me, but my parents used to use them and between us we've asked them some really tricky ones over the years (can you insure a canal boat in the garden; how do I get insurance to use chainsaws on other people's land not for hire or reward...) and they've always come up with an answer. Alec

For stove flues, have a read of Part J of building regulations (the official version shows up as the first item on googling the above phrase). It's important as it's inspectable (I presume you are needing to get your extension inspected?) and there's a lot of detail on heights relative to existing and new roof and particularly with regard to proximity to windows. Alec

The MS660 (or secondhand 066) will certainly do what you want, but they're expensive to have sat around unused. You could consider an old 076 - very reliable, good parts availability and will slog away with a 3ft bar on for as long as your arms can take it. If you do go this route though I would seriously suggest trying the weight before buying - they're built to last! Alec

I very much agree on the kerf issue. On the cut accuracy, I agree with the theory, but in practice, unless you change bands every cut, you have to be lucky in my experience to work out that the band is going to stop cutting straight, as it's not as simple as it just slowing down in rate. If the first part of a cut is dead straight grain and easy then it only starts wandering when you're halfway through and into areas which had side branches, i.e. have knots and wavy grain. Of course you can then change the band at the end of the cut, but by then you've got two slightly wandering faces. It seems to be particularly bad when cutting thin boards (under half inch) which seem not to support the band straight in the cut as well as a thicker board does, allowing it to wander more easily. I should also mention that I've just cut all the feather edge cladding for our extension as 1/4in to 3/4in taper over 8in width in oak, straight from the log, with a bandsaw, so it can be done without a swing mill, but it is a lot more fiddly. Personally, for small quantities of mixed cutting I would go with a bandsaw as it's more versatile and produces less waste, but it depends very much on the usage. Alec

The big difference between the swing mill and the bandsaw is the maximum width you can cut. If you don't need anything wider than 8" then a swing mill is ideal, and it's much better suited to making feather-edge etc. A swing mill will also tend to cut much truer edges as a band will always flex, lifting and diving a little with the grain of the timber. However, if you want wide boards you need a bandsaw. Cutting wide boards doesn't necessarily mean using wide boards. It also makes it much easier to cut around defects such as shakes, knots and rot which are inevitable if you're sourcing your timber from domestic and farmland situations rather than forestry. It also allows you to be more efficient in working to a cutting list of different sizes, as you can get some bits side by side, and you can take account of the waney edge after sawing, rather than having to err on the conservative side. Alec

Not even I would dare do that, although I have been known to start up the 076 at around midnight - the neighbours don't care but the wrens which nest in my shed do. Alec

Sounds like an issue with the clutch taking up. Have you taken the sprocket off? If you see signs of oil or 'glazing' on the clutch bearing faces, or of heavy scuffing on the inside of the drum then that could be the cause. If it's oil then a good solvent flush should fix it (assuming it's from assembly, not a leak). Otherwise, pictures needed, or send it back under warranty? Alec

If it's about pimping the saw it has to be the Magnum ones surely....?

Having just been to the shed and checked, the sprocket cover casting is identical on the 026, 044 and 066M (if I had the parts lists to hand I suspect I could confirm identical part numbers). This answers the question of why the holes are there - for use on the bigger saws. It also answers the question as to what to order - outer set of dogs for an 044 or 066 (I very much suspect that the 034/036, 046 and 064 ones will be the same too). Now back off to the shed to fish the piece of Alaskan mill from behind the shelves, where it fell when I got the 026 out - maybe I have too many bits of chainsaw....) Alec

Coincidentally, old boats are what started me on milling, as I couldn't afford to rebuild mine without doing my own timber. Mine is also on the register: Search the registers National Register of Historic Vessels National Historic Ships I would second Rover's comment about joining - I think mine was the first grant they ever gave out - for a week's course on forging wrought iron fittings, on Shetland in February. What section are your frames? I've done all mine and have enough spares stacked away, so if you drop me a PM I may have some suitable bits going spare, and I travel up to Middlesbrough to visit some of my remote staff about once a month (just back today in fact) so could get them fairly close. Alec p.s. I like yours Rover!

When you replaced the clutch, did you also replace the roller bearing in the sprocket? If so, did you grease the new one? The roller bearing only runs when then saw is at idle - when it gets worn, or if you don't lubricate it, it can pick up and try to drive the chain. It creates a lot of friction in the process and gets quite hot, which transfers to the sprocket and the chain. You can tell if this is the case as the plastic cage for the rollers has a distinctly melted look and the rollers fall out (guess how I know this....) Alec

I wouldn't disagree - my preferred saw is my 076 which runs a 47in bar quite happily. However the 075/076 are still fairly expensive to set up with - good condition with a decent length bar is likely to be the wrong side of £300 which is quite a lot to have a play. The 051 is OK and parts availability is still good as it's very similar to the 076, which only went out of production a few years back (as the TS760). I managed to find a non-OEM barrel and piston for my 051 for about £80. I couldn't comment on the 056 and its equivalent cost/repairability. For me, for someone want to try out milling the 044 has the advantage of being a generally useful chainsaw even when not milling and of being easy to get parts for. Alec

Oh yes, Dad bought one for the orchard and I can confirm that even brand new ones, or ones freshly serviced by the manufacturer are no better. To be honest I gave up trying to use the brakes to steer it and just lump it round the corners. 3rd gear is definitely best - it skips over the apples, ant hills etc much better then! If you want a real workout though, try an Allen Scythe. I can do 2-3hrs on the BCS but 20mins on the Allen Scythe leaves me dead on the floor! Alec

I would suggest an 044/MS440 is not too bad. It will do rather more on an occasional basis than it really should, albeit slowly. I've had to use mine a couple of times with a 36in bar on. Put a 28in bar on it with a 30in Alaskan and you'll get a max. width of just over 20in, which won't stress it too much. The other plus to this one is that, still being a current model, that hasn't changed much over a long time, parts availability is good, both OEM and non-OEM, and they hold their value so if you get fed up with it you can probably get a reasonable amount back. One cheap option if you're mechanically minded would be an old 044 from ebay, in non-running condition which specifically states it's seized. This option carries a risk, but stands a good chance of paying off. Most saws seize because of a fuel problem. The quick fix in this case is a new non-OEM pot and piston for about £60; that plus a bit of cleaning out of crank case and away you go. If it turns out not to be a fuel problem that seized it then ring failure is cured by the same approach. The only problems which aren't cured this way are mix problems due to fuel blockage, or air leaks. These show up by overspeeding (screaming revs), at which point so long as you stop the instant the revs start to climb you can send it off to Spudulike and get it fixed (or at least, that's what I do...) If you do go this route, you can pick up the saw for about £100 (mine was £98 last year), about £70 all in for parts if you replace the gasket and roller bearing at the same time, plus the risk of some labour getting it fixed if it turns out to be tricky - but you probably still get most of your money back. Alec

One thing I would bear in mind - at the moment if it hasn't been touched it looks like a natural tree. You've seen what it will look like if left alone - an extremely large natural tree. If you start down the route of pruning the one thing that is highly probable is that it won't look like a natural tree. Whether you like the look of a pruned tree or not is your call. There are three types of pruning that could be done to keep it down to the size it currently is - one is a regular reduction to as close as possible to a natural shape - as has already been mentioned, once you start down this route you accept having it done every 3yrs or so and it will always be a bit more dense and look slightly 'clipped'. The second is called 'topping' which you really want to avoid for many reasons, but are liable to end up with from a non-reputable individual who is simply asked to reduce the size of the tree, as it's quick, easy and doesn't require much skill. The third is pollarding, which tends to result in much heated discussion, but if you google 'Burnham Beeches' and click on the images tab you get a sense at least of the size that beech trees can be kept to in a semi-natural state. Note that many of these have not been pollarded for a lot longer than they would have been under routine pollarding management. Some people love pollards, others hate them, to do it well on a beech would require a skilled arborist to assess the likelihood of success on your particular tree, so going that way would be the most challenging. Alec

Unless you're going all out for a monoculture crop, I'd be inclined to mix in some birch - obviously won't coppice, but gives you some standards which you can take out as thinnings, or leave in at first coppice of the alder to get a bit more weight on them, and hazel - particularly at the edges, as it coppices well and seems to cope OK with having its feet wet.

Thanks Rich, I've passed the details on to her. Alec

Hi James, Sorry (but not surprised) to hear it failed anyway. If you plant a greengage the tree should grow well enough, but don't expect heavy crops - they just don't produce them so it's quality rather than quantity. The tree will be grafted onto a rootstock, as probably would just about any fruit tree you may buy. The type of rootstock governs the ultimate size of the tree, so it's important to know which one it's on and personally I wouldn't buy a tree from anyone who can't tell me which stock it's on - it could mean the difference between a tree with an ultimate height of 8ft vs. a tree with an ultimate height of 40ft! For greengages, damsons or any kind of plum I would suggest St. Julien A, which will make a tree a bit smaller than the damson you're losing. There is a more dwarfing stock called Pixy, but I would avoid it in windy situations and where there will be grass around the tree as it's a bit too weak. Also, don't forget that because there is a graft line, if you let any shoots grow from below the graft then they will produce the fruit of the rootstock, rather than the variety you're trying to grow, so cut them off as soon as they appear. A clean trunk of between 3 and 6ft would be the best bet for strength and avoiding rootstock shoots etc. Alec

You could either use something naturally durable and let it weather to grey - cedar, sweet chestnut or oak would be best, larch is OK; or you could use something absorbent (which coincidentally means least durable) and soak it in something preservative. Poplar and pine would be best for this. Are you planning on buying or milling the timber? If you're milling, or at least re-sawing, feather edge is fairly efficient on material - taper 3/4 to 1/4 would be conventional, making two from a board planed both sides to 1in thickness + the resaw kerf. Alec

I'm afraid it's very unlikely - mainly because he doesn't like people, and partly because although it's mobile he doesn't move it any more - I don't think he has taken it anywhere since I got him to tow it round the M25 at rush hour..... Alec

There was a related thread on here a few months back - someone was asking about max. bar length, I think, on an MS440. I found a few old references which indicated that Stihl have scaled back the max. recommended length in the UK. If you look at the Stihl website and select the different countries you can work out which lengths are recommended in which countries (if you are sufficiently bored with nothing better to do, such as when minding the children.......) Alec

Do you need something truly mobile, or to set up at a location for a period? The Norwood one is pretty good from what I've seen, and because you build your own bed for it it's very good value even bought new. Things to consider - do you need hydraulics? If you've always got a teleporter to hand then no, otherwise yes. What's the biggest timber you want to mill, then add about 6in at least to that to cope with flare at the base of the butt (more quite often, but you can lop the bigger bits off with a chainsaw before loading). It's not just the throat that matters here, it's also the height you can raise the head to, as the flare gets in the way if it isn't high enough. What's the longest length you want to mill? The rigid bed towable ones will do up to about 20ft, beyond that you are looking for something with a sectional bed that requires making up on site. When processing rate requires it (i.e. my chainsaw mills are too slow to get the job done while the site is accessible) I've usually hired one of the Autotrek ones - the owner hates it but to be fair he hates pretty much everything (and everyone!). 20ft bed, 3'6" max diameter, fully automated and can set the two ends to different heights to deal efficiently with taper. Only thing is you still end up doing it all by eye anyway. Alec

Talking to Mum yesterday she conceded that she does need someone to help cut the grass. It's about 1.75acres, in Hartley (near Dartford/Gravesend), mostly grassed in orchard so it's keeping it down rather than pretty. Some of it hasn't been done for a couple of years - lots of plum suckers. It can still be got down with a brushcutter (I spent 5hrs doing this yesterday and am feeling it today) but it really wants regular, ongoing cutting - it's been done before with big walk-behind mowers and I've had a small ride-on over it too - it would want a few ant hills levelling to make this more pleasant again but that's no problem. If anyone is interested, ideally on an ongoing basis, please drop me a PM. There could be some ongoing fruit pruning work too in time. Alec

This is a known combination for milling - to reduce the kerf a bit. You also need to consider chain gauge - is your reel (and your other bars) 0.063" (1.6mm) or narrower? If you're using 0.063" then you should be OK. If not, you run a risk of snapping chains if you are using a lot of the bar length and cutting efficiently (max. torque). You can drop the top end revs a bit and leave the rakers a bit long so you get less bite, but that kind of defeats the point of of using the MS880 in the first place. You might get away with 0.058" (1.3mm) but I doubt you would get away with 0.050" (1.1mm). The only saving grace is that when the chain snaps it's likely to be safely buried in a very big log! Alec