agg221

The length in the first picture is a bit knotty, but the others certainly look nice enough to mill. Two options - buy an Alaskan mill and ripping chain, and do it yourself, or get someone in to mill it, work with them and learn from them for next time when you buy your own. Whereabouts are you? Your 461 will handle 2', just not very fast, but how long is your 'long bar'? You will lose about 6" of milling length off the bar (if you take the dogs off the saw) so the bar needs to be at least 6" longer than the log diameter. There are several ways around this on a one-off basis though if necessary. Alec

A wheelbarrow is definitely the lowest cost extraction solution, and completely portable. Woodyguy's approach of letting 4' lengths dry for a bit will also help make everything easier to move around. There is a trade-off though - each time you make a cut or a split the occupied volume increases, although of course you don't end up with more wood, it just takes up more space. I therefore wonder if it might be more efficient to cut the 4' lengths and let them dry, then take them to the edge of the wood where they are to be extracted from using an arb trolley, and set up a small 'processing area'. This would prevent the need for lugging your log horse around the woods, although you would need to think about what to put underfoot to prevent it from getting too muddy. Btw, how big is the 'big dead elm' and does it look solid? That one may be worth milling. Alec

I have the large. I haven't tried the small to compare it with, but it does have reasonable weight and goes through quite a lot. I picked it up cheaply on Ebay and certainly don't regret buying it, but I think if I was paying full price I would go for the maul as the large splitting axe doesn't go through really knotty stuff and unions that well. Alec

I've used Gumtree, and it worked very well. The thing to do with it is to remember that it is -not- Ebay, so the same rules do not apply. Treat it like the old small ads in the back of the paper - everything needs to be pick-up only, and cash on collection. It will probably get the same proportion of tyre kickers and timewasters as anywhere else, but they are wasting a lot more of their time than yours this way. When I sold my van, the buyer was coming about 65 miles, so I said we would agree the price beforehand and if it was as I said it was then that was what he would pay, and if he didn't want to pay that he would be wasting his evening. He turned up, and paid as agreed. Alec

Regarding your intentions, the following might help (if I've got the figures right!): Firewood: once back in regular management, you will roughly get 1 cord (3.6cu.m) per acre per year, so you will be able to harvest about 2 cords (7.2cu.m) per year from your 2 acres (assuming it's all coppice - reduce accordingly if it's not). 1cu.m of cordwood converts to about 4 builders' bags, so that gives you a yield of between 25 and 30 builders' bags, so that should keep you going. To start with, since it has been neglected, yields will probably be higher than this on a one-off basis. I would look to fell the leylandii, coppice the hazel and remove the blackthorn, and infill spaces with hazel. You are better off working in blocks, rather than doing the odd tree here and there. You also want to consider the density of planting of the standards - if they are too close together then they won't thrive and you definitely won't get the coppice to work underneath, so some of these may also be best removed. Generally, leave the ones with the long, straight trunks, although there is an element of species selection too - birch is generally short lived (~80yrs) whereas oak and beech should be 120+ years old before considering harvesting, and will go on a lot longer than that. If the larger trees have been crowded and need thinning, consider whether they are large enough to justify milling - anything 18" diameter and up is worth a go for your own use, making sheds etc. Anything 2' and up may be saleable if you feel so inclined (although if you can use it yourself it will save you a lot). If you do sell some, don't expect a fortune but it could be used to offset the cost of kit - effectively making it a cost-neutral hobby, rather than an income in its own right. Alec

Not much on there at the moment. These look reasonable if they don't go up too much: Japanese Carpentry Tools : SET OF 5 CHISEL NOMI #80 | eBay Those Tataki Nomi look pretty decent, particularly the 6 piece set. Alec

If Paypal find in your favour (and if he doesn't respond, they will) then they extract the money from his linked bank account and he has a large unauthorised overdraft to deal with. You will then be free to offer to send it back to him (at his expense). When you make this offer, make sure that you phrase it that no response within a given period will be imply that he does not want it returned, and that you will then be free to do with it as you wish. This avoids the difficult limbo situation where you have it but it's unclear whether you own it. Alec

We just don't hold with that newfangled electrickery round these parts (not sure whether I should mention that my elder daughter's sixth word was 'pitchfork'). Alec

Sometimes rabbits seem to leave some of the cambium intact in young apples, in which case they survive (I had this happen in the 1980s and the trees are still doing well). To be on the safe side, I would go with the bridge grafting suggestion - cut the scions in January, store them in the fridge and graft when the weather starts to warm up and the buds show signs of developing. Alec

Very nice. I particularly like pictures 3 and 4 - what's the wood? Alec

It depends on how narrow a cut you are prepared to limit yourself to. Very crudely, 50cc will do 12", 60cc will do 18" (70cc will do 24" but not in a small log mill). All these will be near the limit without constant resting, and will be slow, but will get there. A bigger saw will make it quicker - limit for increasing speed at 18" appears to be about 90cc. Alec

A combination of several reasons really: The construction means that the edge can be left harder, so they can take a better edge and stay sharp longer. I find this helps in very hard wood such seasoned oak (I believe there are some window frame companies which use them for cutting aluminium!). The tang, collar and hoop construction makes them extremely robust. I have some old C19 Robert Sorby chisels which I inherited. These include socket chisels, where I find the handle eventually works loose due to slight sideways movement, and mortice chisels which have a tang onto a flat, with a leather pad, which work better but the handle can split. The combination in the Japanese design self-tightens and holds well without splitting. A certain level of laziness (aka speed!) in that the Japanese chisels are sharpened at a single angle, rather than double bevel, so I only have to set the angle once per sharpening. Polishing the backs by design also keeps them clean and smooth running as you cut. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I get pleasure from using them. There is still a culture of craftsmanship in Japan, which extends to the way tools are made. Not quite so true of the fully machine made tools, but I enjoy using something which has been made with skill and care (including a proper wooden handle, with the aesthetics which go with excellence of design. Alec

I was given a small set of 4 standard modern oire-nomi about 15yrs ago, which work nicely for light stuff. I have then bought various random mixed lots on ebay, from Japan, so long as they contain the size I need. This has resulted in quite a few rusty, disreputable looking objects, some of which have turned out to be very nice, hand made chisels underneath. Because I want them to use, I am not so worried that the original black finish has gone, and they may need re-handling (although this is rare). I am mostly using them for heavy cutting in oak, sometimes fairly seasoned, hence the need for heavier blades. I am careful about how I use them, but they get worked hard and I have never had a blade chip - the heavy ones will be blue steel for this reason. Alec

It is raining heavily and very cold here - just come in from nailing down the first half of the replacement shed roof so at least the front part will be dry now. Typing this as my fingers gradually thaw out. Alec

Very useful page Morten. The only things I would add are: 1. You might come across reference to blue steel and white steel. The construction of a Japanese chisel has a thin strip of hard steel laminated to the softer iron body. The steel can be 'blue' (tougher) or 'white' (harder). You can't tell which it is unless the description says, but generally blue steel would be used for heavier type and cheaper chisels, whilst white steel would be used for high end fine bladed and paring type chisels. 2. The maker's name does tell you something. Most chisels are 'signed'. Modern machine-made chisels usually have a stamped in name, whilst expensive hand-made chisels are pretty much always signed by carving the name in. If you are buying new, they will almost certainly be machine-made and stamped in. In practice, since reading the name is next to impossible (unless you read Japanese!) it only matters if you are buying old secondhand tools and want to try to work out what you have. Obviously if you buy secondhand tools with hand carved in names and rosewood or ebony handles it is clear that somebody went to a lot of trouble, which typically means the blades will also be excellent. Alec

Thanks for the info on the Dunsley Baker Neutraliser - looks to be exactly what I have been looking for. Alec

Chainsawbars ? chainsaw chains, chainsaw bars and chainsaw accessories Alec

I buy japanese chisels, individually in the widths I need. New they are seriously expensive (see Classic Hand Tools website) but I buy them secondhand on Ebay from Japan and clean them up. Alec

I stood on the lawn at the back of our house, with ours and our architect, discussing our planned extension. Her comment on the design was 'well it's OK, but why have you hipped the roof?' - answer, because your predecessor told us to, but we don't like it. She said we were right, and put it back to a gable end. She then asked if we would mind making it bigger. We asked how much and she said she thought it would look much better if we doubled it. We were happy to oblige! Oh, and we are installing 2G slimline panes, with proper hand-blown cylinder glass outer panes and inner Low-E to get the performance up. No questions asked, although we were the first in the district to get permission (she had just taken over). Alec

I sell very small quantities, and am in no rush. I don't have a kiln so I sell green or air-dried. Air-dried prices depend a lot on how long it has been drying, as if it is 10yrs+ it can be more than kiln dried, but for fairly thick section that has only had a year or two I would still treat it as green. Green prices would be: Oak: £20 Other 'decent' hardwoods (e.g. ash, beech, sycamore etc): £15 Standard softwoods (spruce, pine, larch): £10 I don't need to add VAT to these, so the prices are pretty comparable to Jonathan's. Some more desirable species command higher prices. These include walnut and most fruitwoods. Fruitwoods in particular tend to be in small sizes which are fiddly to saw, and some such as pear are extremely hard. Alec

I think these are good points. A few thoughts, not based on arb, but I have made 6 recruitments this year and over 30 in the past 6yrs. Apologies if some of it is obvious. In determining the salary, have you worked out what you expect them to earn you? If you work out expected number of days out earning x daily charge-out rate then this equals the maximum you -could- give as a renumeration package (salary + NI + pension contribution if you are in the threshold number of heads + any allowances). If you then work out the margin you want, it tells you the maximum you -want- to pay, which will inform the level at which you pitch the advert. As a role with supervisory responsibility, ie pitching it as a step up, I would quote the annual salary first (maybe with a day rate in brackets afterwards, although you would hope anyone applying could work this out!). Similarly, I would quote it as a 40hr week, rather than daily, as it gives an impression of seniority. You are quoting quite a wide range on the salary. Is this basically to try to attract someone, or because you can see different ways the job can be done, based on experience? Perhaps add a bullet-point list of expected responsibilities to make it clear what you are wanting them to do and the experience you are looking for, and make it clear what is essential and what is desired. As this is career progression, you are looking for someone with ambition, so I would comment on the potential for further career progression. I wouldn't be specific in the advert, but would be ready to discuss this at interview. In my field, I find it is usually best to let the candidate describe their interests in this direction and be open minded about whether it could be useful. For example, if you have someone who expresses an interest in progressing into surveying, and this is something you don't currently offer, it could be mutually beneficial. This would make one candidate favourable over another who said they want to go straight off and set up in competition to you in 2yrs! Alec

Some useful thoughts on this thread (particularly agree with Jonathan over not bothering with a metal detector). A few more thoughts from me: For those with budget/space constraints, log handling presents an issue. You can move and roll a surprising amount with a 2 ton engine hoist from Screwfix or similar. You can even edge stuff over rough ground a couple of feet at a go by letting it dig in and dragging in steps. A big toe jack is also very handy for rolling large lumps around and lifting them clear of the ground if you want to run a mini-mill down them for quartering. Stickers - a standard pallet is a good source of well dried material. Sawing through the slats, close up to the nailing points. This will produce a series of lengths of around 16" which can be ripped down with a standard circular saw or bandsaw to make a good number of stickers per pallet - around 100. I break down a log with a sawmill that runs on a rail fixed to the log (e.g. an Alaskan) in the following order: 1. Rest the rail on the top of the log measuring up from the centre at each end and propping it so that the two heights are equal and work out where the rail is resting, and how much needs to come off where to get it stable. 2. Knock any knots or lumps off the top first - I find a decent side axe is quicker and easier for this than a chainsaw by the time you have had several goes to get it secure. 3. Once the rail rests well on the log and is wedged so that it won't dip, take the first cut thin, just enough to create a continuous surface to run the mill down. 4. The next cut is dead up the centre of the log as this takes out the maximum amount of stress. 5. Either quarter by sawing each half vertically, or through and through saw boards off the two flat surfaces. If different thicknesses are needed, take the thickest sections furthest out from the centre as they will be more stable. Alec

No need to notify listed buildings. Listing relates to the fabric of the buildings on the listed site (any permanent building, including modern sheds!). It doesn't relate to plants growing on or near the building. Of course you could notify them anyway, which might save any questions about what was done to the fabric at the time, but no legal requirement. Alec p.s. Renewablejohn - our listed buildings officer is called Natalie....

My 026 excepted you mean....! Alec

I'll offer an opinion. Look at pictures 6 and 7 on your other thread. You can see soft spots at the end in picture 6, to the right in picture 7. You need to leave these out of your calculations of volume. When it's to the side, you could cut the widest possible full length board to take it out, and then the remainder as a shorter, narrower piece, but you can't include it in your calculation. Assume you had a clear board with no soft spots. You would measure the width at the narrowest point on the narrowest side. This gives the maximum width board you can get out of it at full length. You would then measure the length at the shortest point, assuming it isn't perfectly square, for the same reason. Assuming thickness is even, this gives you the length, width and thickness to work from. Assuming the figures in your post are correct after you have done the above, that would be 8ft x 3ft x 0.25ft - multiply these together and you get 6cu.ft. I would reckon on selling clean, good quality timber like this (minus the soft spots) at £20/cu.ft whilst green, so about £120 per board. This would go up a bit if air dried, more if kiln dried (or air dried for a very long time) and more still if planed to an even thickness after drying. Hope this helps! Alec