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Stihl quote a max bar length for the MS440 and MS460 as 32" ? If you have a 25" bar buried in a tree you're using about 23" by the time you account for the dogs. If you run a mill on it though, by the time you lose the 3" for the sprocket end, and the 1.5" for the bar clamp at each end, this comes down to only about 17" max cut width. You can lengthen that out to 19" if you take the dogs off, but if you're only running one saw it's a bit of a pain to keep taking them on and off. If you run a 30" bar you should get a 24" max. cut, i.e. much the same as the 25" bar would give you normally. Alec

A bandsaw mill as I'd rather have the ability to make wide boards. I don't run across enough trees over 3' diameter to worry about capacity, and have only ever exceeded the capacity of the hydraulics once - with a 20' butt, 3' at the narrow end. We had to flip it round with a very complex combination of mill hydraulics and farm forks, but it coped (made enough planks to finish the boat and do my living room floor!). Alec

I normally run an 066M on a 36in bar, but it's currently being fixed, so I had to fit the 044 for a bit. I was running it through 20in oak, with no real problems. It's slower, but OK. Your question suggests this is a bit of a hobby. Therefore, personally, I would fit a 30in bar on a 36in mill with proper ripping chain. This would give a cutting width of up to about 2ft (I wouldn't bother removing the dogs for the extra width) without slowing it down too much with bar drag. It should then run nicely on the smaller stuff. This would give the maximum flexibility to handle the odd wider bit without risking saw damage. Don't forget that ash is particularly hard work! Alec

Yes. There's a technique using wire - I last did it when I renewed the saw bench belt using a length of old fire hose and Dad used the same technique on a much smaller scale to link his lathe to a lineshaft. Haven't done it for ages so I can't remember how to do it, but there's a really useful little book from Stationary Engine magazine, called Belts and Belt Driving, by Gordon Wright. Dad had a copy, which is probably still in the garage, but I won't be going down there for a bit, however it looks like Waterstones stock it. Alec

Don't count on it. Oxbridge has very bright academics, but most of them hate teaching, do as little as they are obliged to to retain the cash, do it as badly as they can get away with and treat undergrads like something they stepped in. Very big difference between knowing a lot and being good at teaching it. However, it's certainly true that going to Oxbridge carries a reputation before it, which works to your advantage afterwards, however bad the teaching was! Alec

One thing that could be worth doing is arguing with RAC in advance, and getting the vehicle specifically written in to your cover. I had problems with them for a couple of years, after many years of owning small vans (Combo, Escort). They started saying that because it was commercial they wouldn't cover it. I asked if they covered 4x4s - yes they do. I pointed out that it was smaller, and lighter, than a 4x4, so why wouldn't they cover it? They agreed - cover reinstated. They tried to charge me extra, but not much, but again I argued that they wouldn't charge more for a 4x4, and got it back down to normal price. Alec

Pruning fruit trees is actually quite a subtle balance. Your approach would be normal practice, but the reasons are quite varied. Fruit trees, particularly apples and pears, are deliberately grafted onto stock to control their size. By comparison with 'normal' trees they are very small, and hence very weak-growing, vulnerable to disease and short-lived (modern commercial apple orchard ~20yrs). The obvious reasons for pruning therefore combine removing dead, diseased and crossing (disease entry point) wood which the tree can't deal with, and getting light and air into the crown to stop mould damaging the fruit and allowing it to ripen. There is also, at least in the early stages, an element of creating a shape which allows the maximum volume of well spaced wood, to maximise yield. The more subtle reasons are about maintaining a permanent state of maturity. Trees which are immature don't fruit. Producing lots of immature wood, as per pollarding, means no fruit buds. On the other hand, fruit trees on dwarfing stocks will pass rapidly from maturity to senility, which means weak growth, unable to produce good sized fruit, and susceptible to disease and hence death. Consequently, you're looking to techniques which get the tree rapidly to maturity, and then keep it there indefinitely. These can include reducing apical dominance (hence pruning to low-angle branches), the more modern (as in 20th century rather than 19th century origin) pruning methods such as renewal pruning rather than spur pruning, and the use of ring-barking. Pruning cut placement and timing can be used to increase or decrease vigour and hence maturity as required. Ring barking though is much more limited as it can only be used to reduce vigour, and as such it has pretty much died out as a technique, as the same result is much more easily achieved by selecting the right roostock in the first place (for most non-commercial plantings this means MM106 for apples, Quince A for pears). Hope this helps! Alec

You could try some of the holly cultivars/hybrids - you're suggesting some thornless species already, which suggests that a highly deterrent barrier isn't required, so some of the thornless hollies may be more pleasant to handle in the future - Blue King (female) and Blue Queen (male) I think are the ones. It also means you can pick a male/female mix to get berries, and throw in a bit of colour variation with variegated varieties too - there's a nice one with cream margin to the leaves. Alec

Ran a 2000 model Escort van (ex Post Office) for 8yrs until Jan this year and I only sold it due to birth of second child and hence needing more seats for the nursery run. It was a non-turbo, 1.8 diesel model on a manual 5-speed box and I sold it at 105k on the clock. Before that I ran a 1994 Combo up to 146k. I much preferred the Escort. It was ultra-reliable, just not very quick (mind you, I got it up to 95 on the long downhill on the M20 and only had to slow down on the uphill when the temp gauge started climbing rapidly!). The clutch was part gone when I bought it at 27k and still hanging on when I sold it. The only thing that lets them down is the rot. They go around the rear wheel arches (usually covered by the inner plastic lining), and at the rear spring hangers and the rear bumper mounts. The rear door seals went, which didn't help as the water ran in unless I parked it on a hill. I averaged 45mpg over the 8yrs, and I was pleased with it overall. I could load it right up, and on the top (low enough to reach, unlike the Combo) and it never really struggled. The Combo was definitely faster, even though it had a 1.7l diesel, and more refined, and had a bigger load capacity, but when things went wrong it was a pig to get parts for and really difficult to fix. Things really started packing up at 100k on the clock and it just got worse from there. Worst thing was the funny dome-shaped bit over the cab, which rots through at the edges and because it's fixed on with a rubber strip you can't just weld it up. I really wasn't sad to see that one go. Alec

Thanks Andy, With your additional information we're getting close to a full picture here. The use of a hard coating introduces another factor, in that not only is it hard, it is also stiff, and brittle. If you put it on a soft substrate, the substrate can't support the load on the surface in use, so it deforms, resulting in cracking and delamination of the coating. The best analogy for this is the way ice on mud behaves when you tread on it. This means that although the steel doesn't have to be hard enough to retain a cutting edge, it still needs to be left hardened enough to stop the coating from cracking off. My understanding is that chainsaw files are left harder (less annealed) than ordinary bench files as the underlying steel on the chain is still pretty lightly tempered. Some file makers (e.g. Vallorbe) actually make very high grade files which are left hard anyway, but their main market is precision instrumentation, such as clocks and watches, where the steel is left hard on the pinions. If I'm correct, then heating the steel even fairly modestly, to the point where you start to see colouration on the chromium plate, will mean softening of the underlying steel and the plating will no longer be properly supported. If you heat it to red, the plating will start to form chromium carbide with the carbon in the steel (in addition to the quenched martensite). This is structurally analogous to tungsten carbide, and comparably hard, so it's no surprise that the surface on a seriously overheated chain is unfileable! It's also worth considering that filing is a cutting action, while grinding is a wearing action. Cutting is less likely to generate frictional heat, so probably less risk of damaging a chain. That said, grinding is commonly used for precision sharpening of machine tools for a reason, so it's probably as simple as personal preference as to which set of skills you prefer to learn. Alec If you

This definitely doesn't help the original poster, but may help with the explanation as to what happens when steel gets hot. I can't find the specific grade(s) of steel used for chainsaw chains, but it will inevitably be a fairly high alloy steel, probably a fair amount of chromium, and is also likely to contain a reasonably high carbon content. Carbon is soluble in iron at high temperatures, forming a phase (atomic arrangement) called martensite. This occurs at different temperatures for different alloys, but is in the region of 600degC (dull red). For ferritic steels, you can test this as a magnet sticks below the martensite transition temperature but not above. Carbon is not soluble in iron at low temperatures. If you cool slowly it precipitates out, leaving a soft ferritic iron phase. If you cool quickly (quench) however, there is insufficient time for the phase to transition, leaving a 'locked in' martensitic phase. This is glassy hard, and way too brittle to hold an edge, even if you can get one on it. You want a trade-off between brittle and hard - more of the latter, less of the former. Conveniently, transition from martensite to ferrite is non-linear, i.e. if you gently heat the quenched steel up, you lose brittleness faster than you lose hardness (the process of tempering). This leaves steel in an optimised state for the application - higher tempering temperature means greater loss of hardness in exchange for more toughness. The usual function of the additional alloying elements such as chromium is to increase hardness and hot-working properties. Chromium has an additional function in that it forms chromium carbide by reaction with the carbon. This is extremely hard (and brittle) but being in a dispersed form within the iron matrix it doesn't make the overall material excessively brittle. Other alloying elements such as manganese increase hot-working properties, i.e. make the alloy less sensitive to losing properties with heat. So what does this mean? Well, when a chain component is made it will first be quenched, then tempered to the right hardness. If you overheat it a little bit in grinding/filing you make it softer as more carbon is precipitated out to revert to the ferritc phase. Overheat it a lot (glowing dull red) and you re-form martensite. This will quench as it's a thin section, leaving glassy hard unfileable material. So, the former is softer, the latter is harder, both are bad! So the only option is to leave it in the temper condition it was made to, by filing it gently, or grinding it gently, to stop it overheating. I have no idea if this helps, but at least it's something I know about! Alec

If you are looking for a fruit tree, how big can you afford it to get (height and spread)? If you have problems with people swinging on the last one, is it rather accessible and therefore do you want something where the fruit is for cooking rather than eating raw, as they're less likely to get scrumped? If you have some ideas on the above I can dig out a few suggestions suited to your location. The common ones are likely to be available container grown, the less common ones would want ordering as bare-root trees for next year. The plusses are that you get what you want and it's a lot cheaper, the minus being that you would have to wait until October to plant it. Alec

Would that be mine by any chance? Alec

I tend to cut dead through the centre as soon as possible, so set the rail up parallel to the centreline and skim the top to leave 13in above the centre (max throat on my Alaskan) and take it off as a slab. I do it this way because any interesting grain, or any rot are most likely to be found in the centre so it gives the best idea how to break it down from there. I would also take the bark off first as grit and dirt dull the chain and it makes cutting much harder work, and subsequent resharpening on a long bar even harder! Alec

Looks to be about 30" max? It depends what you want to do with it - if you want really wide boards then a wide mill is your only option. If you actually just want narrower boards then quartering isn't a bad option as it will give you nice stable, well figured timber. If you need to use a bigger mill then consider how often you might get access to things like this. If it's once in a blue moon, probably worth getting it milled with a portable (Woodmizer etc). If you might get more, and want the facility (and have the time) then a heavy saw and long bar, and buy the long top rail to extend your Alaskan would give the facility. A decent 076 can be had for about £300, with a 36" bar attached, just add ripping chain. It's slow, but will get you there - you'll get a max. cut width of about 28", so you have to slice the sides off but only to a minimal amount (bark plus sapwood). One other thing to consider. It depends on whether you want thick slabs or thin planks as to whether the amount you'll lose to kerf with a chainsaw mill is a significant factor - hiring in a band mill can often save quite a few planks on thinner stuff (I did a lot of 1" floorboards and 2" boat planks out of a log about this size and it was significant). Hope this helps. Alec

I have a couple of small electric shredders, which you're welcome to buy. Unfortunately I would strongly recommend that you don't! One is a Viking (effectively Stihl) and it really isn't worth it, despite being a decent make. They aren't that quiet either, which was the whole point of getting one before we moved, as we used to live in the middle of a village - no engine but the noise of the chipping is still pretty loud. In the end I gave up and burned everything on the days when the wind was in the right direction not to hit the neighbours. Alec

Could try yoghurt - it's what you use to encourage growth on masonry and I can't see any down sides. Alec

hullsmillfarm - you must be very close to me. If you find a suitable leaf spring and don't have your own forge, let me know if you need it shaping. Alec

I am no expert, but a few subtleties of cleaving I've learned along the way: Some woods cleave, others don't. Oak, hazel, chestnut and ash all cleave well, elm doesn't. When it's very fresh it splits very quickly, which means you can't control the direction of the split. When it's very dry it tears out, which makes splitting radially more controllable, but splitting across the width (i.e. round the rings of the tree) almost impossible. The ideal seems to be down for a few months. First stage of cleaving is easiest as you say with some wedges. This takes it down to quarters or thereabouts - depending on how big it is. Wedges run the split pretty much as it comes, the froe gives some directional control but only when the section is thin enough to get a bit of bend, at which time you need a cleaving brake. It took me a long time to find details for a cleaving brake - they're one of those things which is really simple but a lot of little non-obvious details make them much more comfortable to use. Some hold the workpiece upright, others horizontally. I prefer the latter as it means the length of wood is unlimited and gravity works with you, which is good for heavier sections. Mine is two posts banged in well, about 3ft apart, with a horizontal rail coach screwed on about stomach height on the front face. The rail coach screwed to the back face is on a slope - at one end its lower edge is slightly below (say an inch) the top edge of the front rail. It slopes up so that at the other end its lower edge is about 6in above the top edge of the front rail. You can then push your section in to the gap between the two, slide it so the length sticking out is right, and push it to the side until it jams. Because the front and back rails are separated, you can position it so that the end sticking towards you is higher by lifting it up and it will then slide in further. When you're using a froe it has a tapered blade, like a wedge. You hammer it in with a wooden mallet (beetle) to get it started. Don't use a steel hammer as it peens out the back edge and it won't slide in the split. You can then control the direction the split goes - put the fat side downwards and push the handle downwards. If you use your other hand to bend the lower half of the split part down at the same time it does it faster. You have more control if you keep pushing the froe up as far as possible while the split advances. All this only applies while the split is advancing towards the front rail - once the split is over the front rail it runs straighter, but you have less control if it hits a weak spot, so it's best to pull out a couple of feet at a time to split, the rest being behind the brake. The basic cleaving action creates wedge shaped pieces, thick end from the outside of the tree, pointy bit from the middle of the tree. This means they're not parallel sided. Try and cleave it parallel sided and it will just twist to run wedge shaped again! If you need parallel sided, this is most easily done by cleaning up with an axe or drawshave. A drawshave can be used in the cleaving brake, by moving the part so it drops lower and moving it back between your legs to sort of sit on it to keep it sprung and stop it moving. If you do this, be aware that the more you spring it down, the more the drawshave can whip down the length, effectively cleaving, if it digs in a bit, so it's a balance. You can drawshave the ends in a cleaving brake, but you need a loop of rope to put round the workpiece, a bit back from the end, then put your foot through it and push down. Hope this helps - I've been making a lot of chestnut ceiling lath and tile batten for my extension - I now understand why ceiling lath retails at 49p per running foot! Alec

I got into milling through a need for oak to repair my 40ft canal boat. I then did a 72ft canal boat and currently have a 30ft boat in my garden that I'm giving the owner a hand with. This means 2" planks, 3" bottoms and 5x3" natural grown crooks for frames - not the kind of thing you turn up and ask your local timber merchant for! Alec

A lot of people assume walnut is worth a lot. In my experience, it isn't. Problem is, you don't tend to find forest trees - they're in gardens, they're full of nails and often they have hidden rot-spots. Also, in my experience a lot of people think the butt is so valuable that people will gladly pay a lot for it standing, and be pleased to do the dismantle and removal for free. If they're in gardens this can often be tricky, and sometimes impossible to get the butt out as a worthwhile piece, so the price should reflect the work of extraction. If he genuinely has a veneer quality log - dead straight and almost cylindrical then it will have some value. If it's already out, complete with the root bole, and by the roadside ready to pick up, this will add a bit more. It's from a twin-leader tree so it almost certainly isn't dead straight or cylindrical. I would be surprised if someone offered much over the £200 for it in the best case above - maybe up to £250 if they've got an immediate market for it. The next one I'm getting will be free, and is over 6ft across, 8ft long, having died due to an aggressive reduction. I'm not felling it though - it's still 40ft high, next to a house and the branches overhang it (and I don't climb). The owner will have to pay for its removal - me taking away the big bits reduces the bill by the price of disposal. Hope this helps - basically the figure he has in mind is in my opinion rather creative! Alec

Logs to Burn, Logs to burn, Logs to burn, Logs to save the coal a turn, Here's a word to make you wise, When you hear the woodman's cries. Never heed his usual tale, That he has good logs for sale, But read these lines and really learn, The proper kind of logs to burn. Oak logs will warm you well, If they're old and dry. Larch logs of pine will smell, But the sparks will fly. Beech logs for Christmas time, Yew logs heat well. "Scotch" logs it is a crime, For anyone to sell. Birch logs will burn too fast, Chestnut scarce at all. Hawthorn logs are good to last, If you cut them in the fall. Holly logs will burn like wax, You should burn them green, Elm logs like smouldering flax, No flame to be seen. Pear logs and apple logs, They will scent your room, Cherry logs across the dogs, Smell like flowers in bloom. But ash logs, all smooth and grey, Burn them green or old; Buy up all that come your way, They're worth their weight in gold.

Sorry, not sure why my rendering of italics didn't work, makes it rather unreadable - can any Moderators give me access to fix it? Cheers, Alec

No personal experience, but I thought this advice might be interesting: From the brilliant Evelyn's 'Sylva, a Discourse on Forest Trees', 3rd edition (1669), Chapter IX on the Mulberry 7. Some experienc'd <i>Husbandmen</i> advise to poll our <i>Mulberries</i> every three, or four, years, as we do our <i>Willows</i> : others not till 8 years : both erroneously. The best way is yearly to <i>prune</i> them of their dry, and superfluous branches, and to form their <i>heads</i> round and natural. The first year of <i>removal</i> where they are to abide, cut off all the <i>shoots</i> to five or six of the most promising : the next year leave not above <i>three</i> of thes, which dispose in <i>triangle</i> as near as may be, and then disturb them no more, unless it be to <i>purge</i> them (as we taught) of dead <i>Seare-wood</i>, and extravagant parts, which may impeach the rest ; and if afterward any prun'd branch shoot above three or four <i>Cyons</i>, reduce them to that number. One of the best ways of <i>Pruning</i> is, what they practice in <i>Sicily</i> and <i>Provence</i>, to make the head <i>hollow</i> and like a <i>bell</i>, by cleaining them of their inmost branches; and this may be done, either before they bud, <i>viz</i>. in the <i>New Moon of March</i>, or when they are full of <i>leaves</i> in <i>June</i> or <i>July</i>, if the season prove any thing fresh. 8. The <i>Mulberry</i> is much <i>improv'd</i> by stirring the <i>Mould</i> at the root, and <i>Letation</i>. Hope this helps! I also have 'Culture des Muriers' ('Cultivation of Mulberries') by Nismes (1763) which is more comprehensive on the subject, but in French and having been up since 2.30am courtesy of my 2yr old coherent translation of this is currently beyond me! Alec

The ones in the first pic look like they should quarter OK. You need a wedge each side of the full crack first, end on. Knock them in equally, then once you've got it running well, another wedge in from the side and it will probably go straight through. If not, keep them going in. It can help to have a long wedge - I have the lower leaf of a transit leaf spring cut in half and the top end annealed. This makes a couple of 10in wedges which are narrow and good for correcting the split. Alec