agg221

Hi James, Pulling the legs in - I mean positioning them far enough in from the ends/sides of the bench that you don't bang your shin on a projecting tusk tenon. I would use tusked tenons on all joints in the legs - this is because the legs are going to shrink in the 4" thickness and the rails are effectively not going to shrink in length, so all joints (length and width) will work loose equally. If your boards are near-quartered they shouldn't cup too much. Rods through will also minimise this. What I am trying to describe with slotted mortices holding the top to the legs is as you have said - the top will shrink as the wood dries so the mortices will move closer together, whereas the rail won't so the tenons will be fixed in position. This means there needs to be additional width to the mortice slot for the tenon to slide in to. Hope that explains the thinking Alec

A mess, yes, but fixable. I would give up on trying to grow the cherry against a wall and plant it freestanding. The plum could fairly easily brought back into a wall grown form. Possibly slightly more freestyle than it originally was but perfectly workable. Out of interest, which part of the country are these in? Alec

I don't remember a series on propagation but The Victorian Kitchen Garden did include some work on fruit trees and I remember grafting being demonstrated - just dug out my book of the series and they were propagating a variety called Maltster, which was shown being grafted at Brogdale. Harry Dodson was 68 when the series was shown in the mid 1980s. It is quite possible that he demonstrated propagation on other series too. I liked Geoff Hamilton and Anne Swithinbank (met her once at Wisley) but for me the best of all was Geoffrey Smith. I can still remember the theme tune! TV gardening is now not worth watching, but I still listen to GQT most Sundays. Alec Edit: Just found this, magic - [ame] [/ame]

I presume you know the fantastic row of elms at Termitt's Farm? There were some other really nice ones on Fairstead Hall Road until a few years ago - I think they were felled rather than died as the stumps are sprouting vigorously. Alec

I don't think you will have a problem with any Silky of 300mm and up. For cleaning up though, I prefer a good sharp billhook. The aggressive Silky teeth can snag awkwardly on the small stuff and there is a risk of twisting, whereas a billhook run up the side will trim all the sub-half inch stuff in a single swipe and it happily takes anything up to around an inch and a half. So, Kent pattern would be my choice.... Alec

Sean, have you come across the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) at Reading University? https://rdg.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/merl They have a huge collection of photos, mostly not very well described but many of them available at low resolution on line. You can literally sit there at the computer and pick your way through them by using creative search terms. The Tarlton collection in particular may throw something interesting up - actually in Geoff's area as it covers Terling and Fairstead in particular. I have spent happy hours scanning the rural scenes for elms! They also list a book 'Pollards, people & ponies' / [by] Mike Walford which may contain some useful photos? Alec

Are these the ones in Epping Forest? Alec

Funnily enough, I remember watching and thoroughly enjoying 'The Victorian Kitchen Garden' in the mid 1980s (I wish I had had the opportunity to meet Harry Dodson) - so maybe that's what inspired the approach. Either that or sheer bloody-mindedness A lot of what I have done has been in an orchard planted in 1919 - quite a few of the original trees are still very much going. The dwarf trees are on a very interesting stock which makes a tree that is easily maintained at around 8' but doesn't blow over, and is obviously very long lived. It doesn't quite tie in to any of the normal M or MM series, and of that era it may well be something completely different, but it suckers a little bit which gives me plenty of stock. I believe one of the common traits which was looked for in the older stock (which became the M series) was its ability to take from cuttings. Quince A has proved similarly easy to propagate but buying in plum and cherry stock has proved tricky. I found somewhere in the Northwest that did good quality material at a decent price. I know what you mean about the challenge of continuing aftercare, but if the weather is like it has been lately I don't think watering will be a problem.... Alec

Got them. I would certainly say they are small enough to move, probably constrained by the very small rooting area so I would certainly try it. Close up photos would help to identify what to remove. If you can describe the fruit I can have a try at the varieties. Alec

Maybe it's me, but I can't see Colt or St Julien A stock listed Alec

Yes, but I was seriously underwhelmed with the Colt I bought from them. No roots at all, just root nodes so not suitable for grafting for a year, budding for 18mnths and 3 of 10 didn't even leaf out. If you want to graft this year you need a guaranteed good root system. Alec

If you put up a photo I can offer an opinion, but I generally find trees can be got back into shape. A lot depends on whether you want it for outright crop or for character - if the former, start again, if the latter, character takes a long time to grow. Alec

I would chance moving them - not much to lose. I have moved some reasonably old (up to about 50yr) fruit trees in the past and most make it. I wouldn't prune them first at this time of year as it is inviting silverleaf. A fairly small plum would be on either Pixy (up to 8ft) or St Julien A (up to 15ft) and cherry is probably on Colt (up to around 15ft). These have fairly compact root systems so as long as you can get a good rootball, wrap it well to stop it drying and get it straight in a hole, backfill with good topsoil and it should be OK. It will need good staking, and not straight through the rootball. Either a diagonal stake or a set of three in a triangle, with battens holding them together at the top and a rubber tie round the trunk from each. I use old bike inner tubes from the cycle shop. I would then mulch it down well to keep it moist and keep the weeds away, water regularly when needed for the first year and take off any poorly placed/overly dense growth in late March/early April when they are starting to grow and there is less risk of silverleaf. Don't be surprised if the whole tree develops a silvery look. This is false silverleaf and is a sign of shock. If the tree gets away this will not persist. You could try grafting from them as well, but it is tricky to find rootstocks on a small scale. I wouldn't go with cuttings as they are very unlikely to take and you will have no control over the ultimate tree size, which will probably be a lot larger (30-40ft). If you know the varieties, and they don't make it, you could always replant next year. Keepers Keepers Nursery UK | Fruit trees for sale | Buy Online | Mail order has the best selection I know of and tends to have end of season sales if you are less worried about which variety you want (their sale has just started). Alec

Yep, about that, with the best part of a can of chain oil. The butt had been down a year and up off the ground on bearers. Not sure if it was that, the mineralisation or the relatively slow growth but it was particularly hard. I can normally do cuts up to 36" width on my own, but this one really needed Graham on the other end of the mill for the wide cuts and fuel consumption was definitely up as a consequence. Alec

Thanks Graham, an enjoyable day, great setting and always good to finish up with a goodly pile! Alec

It might help if you give a general area of the country. You may find people can give more ideas by PM if they know this. Cheers Alec

One thing about bench designs is that usually the designer is not a miller, so they have to use what they can buy. This places limitations on the design (imagine going to a timber merchant and asking for 3off quartersawn 4"x9" please...) An advantage to using your own timber is that you can mill what you really want and use sections to best effect. I think if I was trying to make a high quality beech bench and wanted to work with rather green timber, I would be inclined to: Make the legs from 4"x4" and pull them in a bit from then ends. Fit the stretchers with wedged tusked tenons so that they could be tightened up as the wood dries. Conveniently I could then also take the bench apart to move it. Make the top either from three sections of quartersawn timber, 3" or 4" thick, or if I didn't have enough, make it from a whole load of 3"x2" or 4"x2" and if it wasn't perfectly dry, rather than gluing it together, I would run threaded rod through every foot or so, so that could tighten it up as the wood dried. M12 should do it but you could go M16 if you wanted it stiffer. Fit the top to the posts with a mortice and tenon joint, but slot the mortices wider to the outside to allow for movement as the wood dries, then rely on the weight of the top to hold it on. For now though, I content myself with benches made of old joists, mainly because the shed where I do woodwork periodically floods, so there isn't much point having a nice bench! Alec

Sort of. Timber would be priced per Hoppus foot, firewood per ton. Which are you using it for? Alec

The problem with these situations is that they need a very quick judgement call, which is sometimes the wrong one with the benefit of additional information - so in hindsight it can sometimes be the wrong call but you can't tell at the time. I therefore tend to give the benefit of the doubt. Two examples - this week a phone call from the school, younger daughter (5) had banged her head, massive lump and grazing, no obvious signs of concussion but was sitting out quietly and not joining in, which is not like her - school said she needed collecting. My wife picked her up because even though she was 20mins further away it was easier for her to reschedule her day on that occasion and there was no sense of extreme urgency. A few years ago my mum was nearly killed in a car crash. Phone call came through, it was clear that it was serious and she may not make it (as it happens she did, but her heart stopped three times and she spent six months in hospital with ongoing reconstructive surgery). Drop everything and go. I take my own transport to work so the issue didn't arise, but to me, if it was an employee, in the first scenario I would pay for a taxi. The person is where they are without transport due to the nature of the job, so I would feel it incumbent on me to enable them to reach their transport. This is on principle rather than on cost grounds, either to them or me. Their call as to whether to get a taxi back to their transport, or to the school and then sort out picking up their transport later, but if the latter that is at their cost. The extra time isn't critical. Second scenario, get them there. One drives them, the other stays to look after the site, sort out the problems later. 10mins waiting for a taxi (which may not show up so it drags on to half an hour) could be the difference between them getting there in time or not and the consequences of 'not' are not worth risking. Hopefully (as in my case), the person makes it. That does not make it the wrong decision. Alec

If time allows, I would cut a trench halfway around it as far out as will ultimately be moveable as a rootball and backfill with good topsoil to promote root growth; then move it in November. Alec

I would protect with Wykabor - yes you can work out what it is and make up your own cheaper but if you buy the powder it isn't that bad and it's a lot easier. If you go this way, apply it asap and let it move through the wood while still green. Ideally you would season the wood before use but it's going to take a while to air dry a 4x4 - 2yrs+ so if you want to use it earlier, I would use timber framing construction methods which are designed to work with green timber and fix the top planks down in a way which allows them to be tightened up as they shrink. Alec

Posts for indoor use will be great. Beech is short grained so properly stacked it seasons well. Don't use it outside though as it has no decay resistance. Alec

You haven't mentioned what type of mill you have, and hence how expensive the bands are (presuming bandsaw?) and also whether you have the facility to sharpen them yourself. The odds are high that any nails will have been put into the beams, not the trees, so they will be near the surface. You should therefore find them fairly easily. Pitch pine also suggests fairly old, so nails are more likely to be iron than hardened steel. They will dull the band and take out the set on a few teeth but are less likely to destroy it. I would be inclined to ask if he would be OK with them at 16" width. If so, I would skim an inch off each side and then run the planks through. This would lose almost all risk of nails as you will cut below most of them when skimming the sides and if you do hit any you will see them clearly and not hit them again. I work in half days rather than by the hour. Granted this is for a chainsaw mill, rather than a fixed installation, but it allows for setting things up, sharpening and all the general faffing about you have to do anyway to get going. ome people have a basic charge plus costs of band damage, but I prefer to offer a fixed price so the customer knows exactly what they are accepting. I take the risk, price accordingly and sometimes it works out in my favour, sometimes not, but I make sure that I am not exposed to more risk than I am happy with. If bands are around £20 each I would be inclined to factor in two bands and ask £150 if I wasn't too worried about getting the job, £120 if I wanted it. If it works out, you will be up a bit, if it goes as planned it covers costs, labour and depreciation. Much less than that and if you take out a third or fourth band it is getting very expensive. Alec

I would agree with close to Kent pattern but carpenters' axes usually have the blade straight across and side axes are also known as broad axes and the clue is in the name. I reckon it's just a light hatchet for general duties. The best cleaning method is electrolytic followed by a wire brush and good dose of oil, but failing that just wire brushing will do it - I would keep away from the sander if you want a decent look as shiny patches mixed with pitting is likely to be the result. Alec Alec

I had pretty much the same issue over late filing last year - I ultimately got a written apology for the treatment I had received, the 'debt' written off and a payment in consideration of their actions. If it helps in future, I am happy to share the route to achieving this, but obviously not on the open forum (drop me a PM). Alec