agg221

Sweet chestnut is the only timber I have ever found which edge bends itself! I cleaved a load of it for the battens for the extension (tile and cladding) but because of modern building regs I then had to plane the clefts to an even thickness and to install it in straight lines I had to cut 2" widths out. I was using overstood coppice lengths, about 8-12" diameter, and they started off dead straight. No spiral when cleft, but they ended up looking like bananas! Fortunately the batten could be edge-bent back into shape when fitted. Alec

I think this one is probably a bit situation-specific. If you create a swamp in front of the average suburban house the neighbours tend to complain... Not sure how much it helps, but I tend to leave large lumps of wood in mine but take all the ropes/ratchet straps away and leave it unstable. The sides don't drop, so the only way to unload is with a hoist and I reckon someone would think twice about driving down the road with the risk of it suddenly rolling across and slewing the trailer, or shedding the load. Alec

Whilst I agree with what has been said, one thing to add: The chain out of the box is general purpose. Your original question suggests that you start getting this problem as soon as you sharpen the chain, even from the first go? If this is the case, the chain certainly shouldn't get worse than it was out of the box after sharpening, even if you don't touch the depth gauges. If this is the case, it suggests that at least some of the issue may be with your general technique? One way to check - next time you are seeing your mate, take a chain you have just sharpened and are not happy with, and ask him to sharpen the teeth but not touch the rakers. If it cuts better, you know it's not the rakers; if it doesn't, it is. Alec

Haverhill - would be close if you were heading Braintree/Sudbury way. Alec

In which direction will you be heading back to Norway? If it happens to be my way, access is easy and I am not under water. Alec

Well I'd say that's done the job, and very nicely too. Main thing, did you enjoy doing it and do you/your Dad like the results? Alec

Given your clarification, one way of viewing it could be whether you enjoy wandering around it now? There's someone else on here with an area of poplar woodland (in Norfolk I think) and again, not the most inspiring species in some ways but if it's a pleasant place to be I don't think that matters. We have an area of willow at the bottom of our place and it makes a gently shaded site. It's only about 100'x300' but I let the nettles grow, cut paths through and enjoy the butterflies and grass snakes. The trees are quite widely spaced, so I have underplanted with hazel which is doing OK. I wanted to gradually transition it to sweet chestnut and hazel, but the sc is not doing well in the shade. If you did want to change it, you could do it gradually, either by pushing back the boundary from your existing land a bit each year, felling a few trees and replanting, or by felling a few across the area to create gaps and planting these to get an effect like natural regeneration. This might give you the best of both worlds. When she was in her late 80s my Great Aunt decided she would like a more varied selection of fruit trees in her garden and planted some apples and pears. She died last year at the age of 104 and had got fair enjoyment from her decision. If she hadn't lived that long, she wouldn't have regretted planting them (being dead an'all!) but if she had decided she probably wouldn't live long enough to enjoy them and not done it, she would definitely have regretted the decision. That's how I tend to to look at tree planting these days too. I'm in my 40s but if I make it to retirement I will be the first person in five generations on my Dad's side to do so. Even so, I'd rather look back in my 70s or 80s on things I had done than look back on things I hadn't. Anyway, if you get the same chance as my Great Aunt you will be looking at trees around 50yrs old! Alec

This is a question heavily influenced by what you want to do with it. If it's firewood for a boiler then short rotation willow coppice. If it's logs then alder. If it's to potter about in then do you dislike the willow? If no, leave it; if yes replace it with something you like. There is a disused piece of land adjoining us and if I ever get it it will become a hazel copse under oak standards, bordered by a few coppiced sweet chestnut. The hazel and sc will be selected nut varieties for added interest. Alec

Glad to hear it's OK. I am upstream from you and it's also dropping well here. Alec

Which river? I'm on the Stour and it's been pretty high but we just got away with it in the shed. Several of my things have been submerged. Water probably won't have got in through the carb but is likely to have got through the exhaust, so how far it got depends on where the piston is. As has been said, get it running ASAP, even if that means not properly dry first. There is no better way to get residual damp pulled through and the whole thing warm and dry than to run it (and whose hedges don't look better for a quick trim in November...) I once had my dumper go right under - took rather more cranking than usual to get it running but it fired up in the end, spat out the water and away it went! Alec

You do need something above the register plate in an inglenook. Stoves are much more efficient than an open fire, so the smoke is cold. This means that any creosote in the smoke can often condense on the brickwork before it goes out of the top (unlike an inefficient open fire where the smoke is usually hot enough to carry it out, and definitely is if you burn the odd bag of smokeless to dry it out). The condensed creosote then soaks through the brickwork. If you get a burning smut up there at some point and it happens to lodge on the surface it is possible for it to ignite the creosote and then slowly smoulder its way through the brickwork to the other side. If it happens across something combustible on the other side, such as wooden joists/rafters, then it can set fire to them. A similar problem has been traced as the cause of the significant increase in fires in thatched houses. I believe you shouldn't need paperwork for the installation, since it pre-dates the change in building regulations, but if the model was still on the market after the change then someone picky could cause problems. Otherwise it may be worth a few phone calls to find someone suitable to do it. Alec

And I'm happy that you're happy that I'm happy too

I've had similar issues in the past. Have you had the saws pressure/vac tested? I have this done (by Spud) religiously. My 066 has just survived with the plug white due to being very cautious - turned out to be a blocked filter in the carb which hadn't been apart in about 20yrs so reasonable. Mine is de-tuned (again by Spud) as per his comments. I really don't notice under-performance. If it was a race saw I would suffer but I mainly use it for long, hard cuts and would rather it had some leeway. I once lost an 064 and 066 pot and piston in the same day thanks to a dodgy batch of fuel (not supermarket and freshly mixed) so I now use Aspen as it never gives me problems and it doesn't get stale so can stay in the tanks without thinking about when I last used a saw. It also doesn't age the rubber components. No problems since I switched over, and rather more pleasant exhaust fumes too. Alec

When it comes to fires, I am a Luddite. In our previous Victorian house, I fitted an 18" grate in the living room, and a 14" hob-grate in the dining room. They looked right and I could keep the whole 2-bedroomed house tolerably warm with the one in the living room alone. It drew air mainly through the air bricks under the floor, so there wasn't any noticeable draught, and both inserts had plates fitted to close the flue when not in use. Our current place is a thatched C15 hall house with an inglenook fireplace inserted around 1550. I can't think of any stove which would look in keeping, so when I remove the plywood register plate (!!!!) and fit a liner to reduce the chimney volume it will be left open with a canopy and ash pit, which will work nicely with wood and allow me to get the face area:chimney cross-section right. I will also have a closure plate in the flue and an air inlet ducted under the floor to keep draughts down. I recognise that it won't be as efficient as a stove, but it will work well enough for me. Alec

I have various bits that might suit and drive past Doncaster regularly - what length/depth/width are you looking for? Alec

I would generally agree. A good scrub with hot soapy water used sparingly, followed by some floor wax would keep the patina and make it a bit fresher. Alec

that's why I use chaps for milling and have got 16yrs out of them so far. Slightly more raised eyebrows if you take your trousers off after cutting....

I still have, and use, the Stihl chaps, gloves and wellies I bought in 1998. The wellies now leak so I have a new pair which are stiffer and less comfortable. I have replaced the hat as it went out of date and the ear defenders are less effective. Alec

I have milled quite a few long-dead oaks. Haven't had a bad one yet, even when left lying on the ground for a decade or so - a couple were damaged before they died, e.g. by lightning, but the rest was still sound. There will be no sapwood left, but that could be considered a plus. You'll get several tables out of that! Looks like a good candidate for milling in situ with an Alaskan. Alec

Thank goodness for that! Otherwise I would for the first time in my life have become accidentally trendy Alec

You could try taking one on through a temp agency on a short-term basis to start with. This is what we do when we have gaps between secretaries. They are generally very good, start quickly and if it works out they may want to stay on, if it doesn't work for you (either the principle or the individual) then terminating the contract is easy. The agency will also know exactly what they expect to be paid. Alec

Won't do any harm to go further apart - that's distance between trees btw, not between groups. Keepers will deliver. Whips are the best bet as they will establish well (also convenient if you can get the brought back in a car). They should be well over 60cm though even as one year maidens - think more like 1-1.5m, sometimes 2m! Alec

Although Conference is self fertile it still does better with pollinators. I would plant your half dozen trees as two groups of three, 30ft apart. One tree will produce as much fruit as you can use, and a lot more besides, so I would mix them up. Williams is a good bet for early, Catillac for a long keeping cooker. Beurre Hardy is also a good bet. Keepers Nursery has a good selection on pear stock with reasonable descriptions but if there are any varieties which particularly appeal and you want more info then let me know as I have quite a bit of literature. Alec

Just found the thread again - thanks for these, I think I need to find some nice larch. Alec

I have had this problem too, in my case with spruce and some sycamore for Se7entdevil. No idea why - both cut fine with the bandsaw; the chain was fine straight after on some oak and elm respectively. Alec