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I had the 090 out on the mill today, one lot this morning, another this afternoon. Certainly feel it after lugging it back at the end of each cut. Alec

I am creating pollards at ours. In some of our hedgerows there are sycamore of a suitable size and they will end up on a 7-8yr rotation for firewood. I have done some for the past couple of years and will do some more this winter. There is a big difference in appearance between street tree pollards and rural pollards but I think both have their place. Alec

Before you do, if you want to take the highest magnification close-up of the fracture face and post the picture on here I'd be happy to comment (this relates to what I do in the 'day job'). If you do want to send it off, try not to touch anything against the fracture face, and if you find the other half, resist the temptation to fit the two bits back together The failure will almost certainly be due to a fatigue fracture which progresses in bands per cycle. These are visible on the surface of the fracture but sometimes need microscopic examination as they are so subtle - fit the two together and you will rub the surfaces enough that the bands can be destroyed which loses a lot of the information about why the failure occurred. Alec

Steve, how aware are you of the current status of work in enabling the reintroduction of disease resistant elm? I don't just mean in the UK, I am talking Europe-wide. In summary, it has taken 40yrs of analysis, breeding and testing to get to a point where some very limited field trials are underway in a very small number of locations. Yes, there are some other projects which are very unscientific and based more on hope than analysis, but the underpinning work is showing results. Half a human lifetime but barely a tick in tree-time. The point is that sometimes when man makes a problem it is incumbent upon him to fix it. Not all fixes are good, some good (valid) work is not successful in achieving the desired result, some well intentioned but under-researched approaches make things worse. The latter point is a very good reason why unless you have some solid data behind what you do there is no good basis for understanding why you get a particular outcome. Without the level of research undertaken, re-introduction of elm would not be a realistic proposition now. Left to its own devices, other human factors (such as development) would have prevented the route forward which has been identified from being achieved by natural means. If the results had already been known it would have been possible to undertake the 'one' trial which gave the desired outcome, but to predict which one you would have to be a fortune teller. Under-developed research would have resulted in the release of a clone into the field which suffered from a completely unrelated condition which had the potential to cause even more damage. Whilst ash has a lot of potential to be self-selecting, saplings will sometimes grow to a reasonable size before they are affected. Thorough trials will give better understanding of factors such as dependency of variables, e.g. is there a correlation between resistance and vigour or growth habit? This gives a much better opportunity to minimise the impact than a random approach. Alec

There is quite a lot of misunderstanding around thatched roofing and fires. The usual causes of fire are mice chewing wires (which is why new wiring is discouraged and has to be armoured cable or in conduit) or idiot plumbers with blowtorches (yes, really!) The issue with fires is not sparks but creosote soaking through old brickwork and mortar which can eventually be ignited, smoulder right through and set the thatch slight from the inside. Open fires, being inefficient, pass hot gas up the flue so the creosote doesn't condense. Log burners have much cooler smoke so the creosote condenses more easily. The solution is simple - use a liner. Spark arresters are actually discouraged as they tend to clog up and either cause problems with draw or the soot can catch fire. Alec

I'm near Haverhill but work near the southern edge of Cambridge so Duxford Hire & Supply is very convenient. Alec

I have a large array of old saws, most of them really old, all secondhand. I literally just chucked in Aspen instead of pump fuel, in some cases on top of pump fuel (not old and stale, just what was in there when I picked it up and it was demonstrated) and away I went. I have had to rebuild two carbs and replace a fuel pipe when they went brittle, but otherwise nothing, not even a retune. I am fairly near Spud and he has checked several of mine after switching and none of them have even needed tweaking on the screws. Just been milling this morning with the 090 which runs on Aspen - a much more pleasant experience than pump fuel would have been. Alec

No idea why it's doing it, but I share your pain. Mine has started throwing its bands forwards for no apparent reason: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/milling-forum/93505-bandsaw-throwing-bands-forwards.html There are some good ideas of things to look for on this thread. Alec

Some thoughts: 'Best' depends on your criteria (best price, best performance, best durability, best aesthetics etc). You presumably need to comply with building regs, but you could go further and go for Passivhaus. One way to justify your choices is to use a spider diagram - choose your criteria and set them out at the ends of spokes of a wheel. Then draw a series of 10 rings around them so it looks like a spider's web. You can then score each criterion out of 10 (use data where possible, e.g. thermal conductivity values or price) and mark off each criterion on its spoke so 1 is the innermost ring, 10 the outermost. The bigger the area covered, the better the choice, but you can justify it against whichever criteria you select as the most important. The best thermal performance material on the market is aerogel blanket, supplied by Aspen. This means that you can use it at the lowest thickness for a given performance. If you want to go green and decide on a bungalow rather than a log cabin, try looking at Modcell's construction which locks up the maximum possible carbon. One thing which often gets overlooked is that building comfort is a combination of temperature and humidity. Water vapour management is essential and the easiest way to maintain this is through breathable construction. Thermal mass is also important for temperature stability. Concrete is not very green but is the easiest way to achieve it. Managing solar gain is also important - you want heat and light from the sun but it is no use if the building overheats in summer and you need aircon to manage it. You could consider building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) as a roofing solution - there are now photovoltaic roof tiles available. Sounds like a good project! Alec

If there are no old test certs then the mfr still appears to be in business or TRADA would be able to help. Alec

When you use timber in construction a strength grade is usually specified. For hardwood, and large softwood beams, this is based on visual inspection, looking for things like knots, waney corners and insect damage etc. For smaller softwood sections, things like joists and rafters, grading is done by mechanically testing each piece of wood, after which it is stamped as passing. That's what this machine does. Alec

Don't often see these for sale: Cook bolinder SG AR wood stress test machine | eBay No connection to me, but if it genuinely is in good working order and has recent test certificates then it could be a very low cost entry route for anyone considering supplying graded softwood. Alec

You might find this interesting: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/48466-fenland-black-bog-oak.html I vaguely recall it being very difficult to get the drying right in the early stages and a kiln being used right from the beginning to control humidity, drying at fairly high temperature (around 30degC). If you could get access to a kiln at a local softwood production mill then that would probably be about right if you put it in with their load. That kind of kiln drying will give you a turnaround of weeks so definitely possible in your timeframe. Alec

From my experience, if it was fine when it died, it will be fine now. I had a couple of logs which had been left lying for over 10yrs, one of which had been struck by lightning, the other the tree had just died, probably 5+yrs before felling. They were the leftovers from an arctic load that went out from a farm. These two wouldn't fit on and weren't worth coming back for. Apart from the total lack of sapwood (a good thing!) they were no worse than the day they died. Alec

Yes it has. Think of wood as being made up of a bundle of drinking straws. Each straw has some partial blocks across it at various points and some sideways holes like pinpricks. When water gets down the middles of the 'straws' the damp environment is suitable for spores to settle and grow. Once established they can also progress to adjacent 'straws'. The 'straws' are never perfectly straight, so if you saw down the face you always cut in to some which exposes the inside, allowing water in. If you cleave, they tear apart without rupturing the walls. This creates fewer sites where water can get in. I've done some work on trying to develop preservatives which work by blocking up the 'pinprick holes' and filling the walls of the 'straws' with something that fungi can't penetrate. We had some success with it but it wasn't cost-effective. Alec

Very nice! I suggest keeping a look out for either a sprocket nosed or roller-nosed bar as it will take less power from the saw that way. It looks to be cutting pretty well - as has been said you can make it cut bigger chips but the risk is that it bogs down when cutting full width so you need to be careful. There is also a trade-off between increasing the hook (more aggressive cutting, less pushing but a rougher surface) and decreasing it (smoother surface but more pushing). Mine is now going to have to come out to play as the 076 has just started playing up. Overkill for what I'm doing (2ft oak) but needs must. Alec

Worth getting a replacement if you can, but don't chuck the old one. These are one of the easier parts to weld up if you have to at some point (or get it done by someone with TIG - fairly cheap). Alec

The key questions will be: How straight is it? Any sign of rot pockets or other defects from where old branches have been removed? How wide is the heartwood? (the dark bit) How dark is the heartwood? The price will depend on the above and whether anyone wants it. I may be interested if I can tie the trip in with something else. Alec

It's a bit further on than you're looking for but I can take as much as you have, near Haverhill. Alec

It's not about whether they could master it. Trouble is, they are a pack animal which is a classic sign that they're heavily unionised. As soon as you start trying to change their job description they'll be straight out. Alec

I don't fancy trying to train them to do it though. Alec

I don't think you can catch wolves with Nutella Alec

Which model? On some of the smaller ones, such as the Bantam, you engage the 'clutch' by shifting the whole engine over on a lever to tension the drivebelt. These ones are interchangeable with pretty much any engine. On others, it depends how well the output pulley lines up. Alec

It would matter to me - although we don't know which magnolia, very few of them get much over 20' in height and the increase in girth can be very slow. That tree could have another 30yrs in its current location, which may mean the owner can continue to enjoy it for as long as they live in the house and the new owner may well not value it and choose to remove it. Everybody happy By contrast, many of the maples (excluding the Japanese species) can get extremely large. I would far rather have magnolia in that location than a Norway maple. Alec

I agree with this. You like the tree, it isn't inherently dangerous at this time and it will only ever be fairly small anyway. It is in a location where you can easily keep an eye on it so if you do get a problem with it rotting and becoming unstable later you will notice (you could set up a reminder in your calendar to have a good look once a year). I suggest unbolting the panel of fence first - it looks like it is held in with four bolts and it will be a lot easier to do this than to mend/replace it afterwards! If you can't, I would move the first cut a bit further out than indicated in the drawing, so that it is well clear of the fence. This may make it rather high to cut safely with a chainsaw, in which case a hand saw will do it well enough, just take a bit longer. Don't underestimate the weight and leverage of that branch - once it is falling you won't be able to control it from near the cut. I would then cut about where the red line indicates, to leave the final piece to cut off as light as possible. This is because you don't have access to both sides of the cut, so once you are nearly through you will have the weight of the wood resting on the chainsaw bar and you don't want it to jam. Your question was about making the cuts so that they heal. When you are taking off branches like the ones which have already been cut, you can see that they have not been cut completely flush - there is a collar you can see in the bark which is where you want to cut them. However, you are now taking off what is effectively a second trunk so you won't have this option. I would make the final cut at a slope so that it sheds water and doesn't have a stub to rot away on the outside corner. Probably about 45 degrees, with the top falling level with where the trunks meet. Don't use wound paint afterwards - it doesn't help. Alec