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One issue is that there are no legal treatments for armillaria. That said, I think if it was mine I would be inclined to wash down my patio with Armillatox and the washings might spread a bit.... Alec

It's difficult to put a value on it really. On the one hand, the price per cubic foot is quite staggering, on the other, where would you find another one that size? Alec

I've milled some plum, including one of the trees where Steve turned the smaller bits. It hasn't split. I always tend to make the first cut dead up the middle to take all the stresses out, then take boards off each face in turn. I try to get things milled asap to stop any checks from initiating before I mill, as they tend to run. If it was mine, I would mill it asap as it should be cool and damp enough by now up your way. Alec

Full length boards would be heavy, but it's possible. We've done oak of similar size and you can carry it with four people, drag it with two, particularly if you put it on wheels. A couple of wheels on a short axle and enough blocks to rest the plank clear of the wheels is all it takes. Is it possible to mill the lot, slide it to one side and then go back with some people to shift it, rather than having them hanging around for the day? Alec

Yes I have, for an Alaskan service though, rather than a bandmill. I charge £300/day for milling. This is an all-in price, which I have worked out around costs. Green hardwood can reasonably be valued at £20/cu.ft. This is a bit arbitrary as oak is about the only timber commonly available green, but £15/cu.ft is the lower end and bear in mind that £20/cu.ft is effectively a delivered price, so it's about right. The timber can be presumed to be free as it will typically be single trees which already belong to whoever wants them milled. It depends a lot on the log and the spec but in a day I will typically produce between 35 and 70 cu.ft. which would have cost £700-£1400 to buy. This represents a very significant saving. I will then typically end up leaving it stickered up properly to air dry, after which the equivalent purchase cost would be significantly greater. However, what I always discuss with the customer before taking a job is whether they actually have a use for the wood. Some have clear ideas for it, such as building large sheds/summerhouses, or a new floor or dining table. Others intend to sell it - I warn them this is likely to be challenging and require time and effort on their part but whatever they decide they want to do with it, in the end they are the customer so if they want me to mill for them, I am happy to do so. Those who have a clear use always come out with a significant saving over buying the equivalent timber, even if they had bought treated softwood. Those who don't, or intend to sell it, may not. The one exception is when I am milling small diameters of short lengths, where the set-up time outweighs the value. This is only really worth doing when the customer has a sentimental reason for doing so. Alec

As a general note, I would be careful about where I used creosote. I do still use it (the proper stuff) but as a known carcinogen, active through skin contact, I tend to use it in places where it won't be touched much. As such I am happy using it on sheds and fences (and my boat where it is a traditional use) but I wouldn't want it on a raised vegetable bed as I would be likely to come into contact with it on a regular basis. Alec

I can't recommend from experience of using their wheels, but I have watched the wheelwrights at Weird & Wonderful Wood do it a few times and they are spot on first time every time I've seen them fit tyres, to new wheels and old. Not sure of their names but Tarby Davenport who ran the event would know: 01359 240724 or 07720 400864 [email protected] Alec

The longest it 'could' run is 42" in that it would bolt on, but I wouldn't want to go above 36" and would be inclined to stay at 30" for fairly comfortable milling. Alec

Are you working from a computer? If so, click on reply, then go advanced. Scroll down a bit to the 'Additional Options' section and click on 'Manage Attachments' in the middle. You will need to re-size them down to the allowable maximum before submitting, then choose file, e.g. saved to your desktop, and once you have chosen up to 5, click the upload and it should work. If you're on a smartphone you're on your own Alec

I am not in the market for this, but you are more likely to get interest if you can put up some pictures on here. Elm can be very variable in colour which makes a big difference to desirability. It would also be useful to know the length and the diameter at the top of it. Cheers Alec

Yes. It is good but it has drawbacks. The colour isn't great and it smells of vinegar. It only works on Radiata pine, making it stable and lightweight but the process plus shipping the timber from New Zealand makes it more expensive than using a naturally higher durability class timber. Alec

There was a small patch of it between us and our neighbours when we bought the place. Between us we have now nearly eradicated it - pulling any young growth every two weeks and shading it out by letting nettles and scrub grow over it to stop young shoots making it through has done the trick. It has taken about two years but not a lot of actual time (a few minutes every fortnight). I haven't found it grows back from any of the pulled material - I spread it out in the sun and it seems to wilt off too much to recover within a day or so. Alec

Yes - I would guess one of the smooth leaved forms of U.minor. It would be useful to have a photograph of a leaf with a scale in it. Location would also be a clue as the forms are generally quite localised and still follow Richens' map of 1983. Alec

You can use Mum's place in Hartley if you want, which is about 10-15mins away and available anytime - drop me a PM if you need the details. Alec

If you were this side of the country, or I had an easy (+ reasonably priced) way of getting it here, it would not still be hanging around! Alec

To the OP, you don't mention how long the row is, what the setting is or how you are connected with it. You say budget doesn't allow for laying but if it did, would this be your preference? If so, have you had any quotes? If it's not too prominent, have you/the owner considered giving it a go, ideally with some input from someone who knows what they are doing for the first bit? If it all goes wrong, you end up cutting it down to ground level anyway so all you lose is time. I wouldn't claim to be great at laying hedges - definitely slow, but I have done my own after having spent a day working with someone who is very good and it was enough to not get it completely wrong (at least, it is still growing, both the bits I laid and the stools). You can get away with much more variable stakes and binders than a pro would use - I got most of mine from overgrown material in the hedgerows I am doing but anything big enough and the right length and fairly straight will do for stakes and anything long, straight and flexible will do for binders - even brambles used to be used in the past. Alec

Thanks for the update and the pictures - I would be pretty pleased with that outcome If you are finding there is little blossom then it could be encouraged to return to productivity by tying a few of the branches down to a lower angle but basically it will now just need the odd bit of thinning out on the structure (nothing too hard, just the odd bit here and there to stop the inner crown dying off) and enjoying it for decades to come. Alec

The primary factor in good milling is the chain - if it isn't kept sharp and even this will make far more difference than size of powerhead, width of cut, length of bar, lo-pro vs standard etc. However, assuming you keep the chain spot-on, which may mean sharpening lightly every couple of cuts, the above factors will make a difference. With a 395, if you are milling under about 18" wide cuts you won't notice the difference much between lo-pro and standard, but as the cut gets wider you will feel it more. Lo-pro takes out a narrower kerf, so less power goes into making sawdust per inch of cut. This means the saw mills faster without bogging down, ie milling is quicker and puts less stress on the saw. That said, if you just run a 395 with a standard set-up on a 36" bar, 30" mill, it will cut OK at full width in oak or beech, just quite slowly. Alec

Yes, the maximum you would get out of the set-up I described would be 36" - you need the bar longer than the mill rails to leave the bar nose outside the mill frame. An 880 would handle a much longer mill/bar, although it does slow down. 60" bar, 56" mill would be fine. With trees up to 44" available, I would definitely go for the 48" mill. It can be shortened up to fit a shorter bar on the 661 and then run it longer on the 880. Alec

i Steve, 36" mill, 42" bar and yes the winching kit would fit. Alec

Grass snakes can get pretty long. We have them here and the biggest I have seen was long enough to go right across a pallet and partway back - I reckon around 5'6". Alec

Last year we went to Normandy, using the shuttle at the height of all the issues with overnight efforts to board the freight trains. Absolutely no problem with the camps - they are a long way from where you need to drive. Normandy is really good with children - nice climate, big beaches, castles, Bayeux tapestry and D-Day beaches, plus excellent cider. Off to Brittany from Portsmouth tomorrow - big excitement for the eldest is a cabin with a porthole! Will let you know how it goes... Alec

I can't see any particular problem. Although alder is soft, it isn't much if any softer than spruce which is often found as floorboards and holds up well enough so long as you want to have 'character' rather than perfect, unmarked boards. If you have the material, I would look to go slightly wider than 100mm - more like 125 or 150 if you can. It will soon add up to save a lot of nailing and gap filling. They don't all need to be the same width - if you can span the room, go with whatever you can get out; otherwise I would pick a couple of widths and make everything one or the other - we did this and it is a lot more efficient of on timber. I would through-and-through saw, as much of the log as was wide enough, although take out the core and if possible enough of the centre to lose major knots from side branches as they grew, then stack high enough to minimise cupping. Once dry, I would edge up to take as much of the cupping out as possible. I would allow about a quarter of an inch over thickness - this might only let you get one face perfect on planing, but that's all you need. We had no problems with this when making 6" average width x 1" thick boards. Alec

If you aren't trying to grow anything, and there is nothing flammable in the area, you could try a flame weeder. Very effective and quick if used regularly, just don't let it get near any conifers... Alec

Cutting so the grain runs in straight lines across the joist will give the most stable timber, but there is a trade-off between optimum cut for material and optimum cut for yield. Say you have a 24" diameter butt. This will comfortably yield four joists from the quarters but if you cut a slab out of the middle you can only get two. However, if you need a load of other depth material (for example rafters) then this may still be OK as you can cut the slab out with its centreline in the middle of the tree. The 'offcuts' from each side will yield a good slab; these can then be ripped down the other way into for example 1off 8"x3" + 2off 6"x3" or 2off 6"x3" + 2off 4"x3", depending on what you need. This is why it helps to have your whole cutting list worked out before you start as it lets you optimise your cuts. Once you have cut out all the bigger stuff, don't throw away the small offcuts. You will be amazed how many decent battens you can get out of it using a table saw. I would avoid getting any sapwood into the battens though. Alec