agg221

I have now done some of the pruning but will be going back next Saturday (22nd) if anyone (Felix?) wants to come along. Alec

You can get a planer, yes, but it won't fit to the .404" chain that goes with bars of that size. I do have an 88" bar, which would deal with at 2m length and I reckon it could be bored with care but I don't know of any other single-ended bars of that sort of length. The first couple of feet in from each end could be dressed easily enough but it depends what you need the middle section of the inside to look like. Other than that I think your only option would be to split, hollow, put back together and then dress the joint line. Alec edit: actually if you went bigger in diameter you could get through it to tidy up the middle.

Yep, they do. I have been busily converting the emerging thickets of small blackthorn surrounding the telegraph poles along the edge of our field into a new hedgerow, which will be laid in due course. In our case suckering is not a problem as our side is a ploughed field (which will now be about 10' wider) and the other side is a road which should stop it from suckering. Alec

How long is it? If it's not more than a few feet I would be inclined to bore it through with a long bar in a series of cuts, then dress the internal surface with a carving saw or a mallet and chisel or a gouge, depending on the desired surface. At that diameter you should be able to reach in fairly well from each end. Alec

So glad to see the rapid and positive prognosis. All the best. Alec

It will be kinder than an older, non-AV saw, but it won't be very kind compared with a more modern saw, and don't forget that these are the big, heavy, low-revving end of things so have more vibration to start with regardless of age. AV gloves will help a bit more. Alec

If your saw is old enough it will also have it written on the top. It used to be a selling feature in the days when such things were optional - I have several saws without it, hence why I have AV gloves, but the anti-vibration mounts on the older saws are not as effective as on more modern ones. Alec

The biggest I have cleaved was a piece of oak about 2' across x 8' long. It was the short trunk of a tree that grew out of the former bank of a derelict canal and it had a natural curve in it where it swept out at an angle and then vertical - I needed the curve for the bottoms on the boat. The canal is now infilled and the tree had died. We were doing some volunteer clearance work and whilst the tree had been felled and limbed up by council workers, nobody from the volunteers was allowed to use chainsaws, hence cleaving was the only option. It was hard! Dynamite would have been a much better option but may have taken out a few windows in the process. Alec

I second the comments on the use of chaps and chainsaw wellies. Chaps are great when crawling around in the leaf litter in the woods. I also use a pair of AV gloves (from Rob D). I don't feel the need for chainsaw protective gloves as the position for milling doesn't really allow for the saw to come in contact with your hands. Note that the milling position also doesn't allow for the chainbrake to work by anything other than inertia. Alec

20" will be quick, 25" will be fine, 28-30" will be OK on an occasional basis. Alec

It is very tricky cleaving something that size. You can split it if you have enough wedges (inc. making up a few very fat wooden ones to hold it apart) but getting it to stay cleanly in half is nigh on impossible. That means you end up with uneven 'halves' which gives you uneven 'quarters' so you wouldn't be likely to get four decent bits out of it. Hit a knot and you're completely stuffed. Alec

Don't think so. There is too much detail provided on the items, the location is accessible, viewing is fine and Paypal is also acceptable for payment. Alec

I go into mild anaphylactic shock from bee stings but I'm quite happy to have bumble bees around - they are so good tempered and don't seem to have any desire to cause harm. They live in my shed too most years and I help them out when the young ones get confused between the window and the exit. I have only been stung once, when I accidentally knelt on one. If you do decide to move them I would do it sooner rather than later as the nest and the numbers will be smaller that way. I would put them somewhere frost-free and let them get on with it. Alec

If Steve has run out and anyone else is looking for some in similar sizes drop me a PM. I have some stashed in the shed from when I laid the floor at our previous house - it was sawn at 32mm so will plane up to 1". Alec

I should add that there are also a number of Husqvarna saws which will do what you want, I just don't know the model numbers so well, and specifically I don't know the older (ie cheaper) ones, or their parts availability. The ones I listed out are all still well catered for in spare parts. Alec

I think the part you are after is the shroud - 1124 080 1610 If so, the part number is different on the MS880 - 1124 080 1602 Not sure if they are actually interchangeable. L&S Engineers list it as available: Shroud for Stihl 088 - 1124 080 1610 | Other Stihl Spares Alec

I would avoid boiled linseed. The driers are metal salts and not exactly pleasant. Not sure what they are using these days but it used to be cobalt which is relatively carcinogenic. This has probably changed, but still unlikely to be good. Alec

I think a lot depends on the longer term need. If you have an ongoing regular need for a big saw then buying something reasonably modern would be the best bet. It depends on how big you need and how often, but an 066 or MS660 would fit with the 30" bar, or if there are bigger things to deal with an 880/088/084. If 25" as a bar length was the very top end of what you need on an occasional basis I would look at the 046/460, as a good option. For a one-off, where everything else is more like 18-20" I would go for an 044/440. If you don't need to use the saw on more than an occasional basis, I would look at the 051, 075/076 or the 064. The 064 comes with a chainbrake, the others either have them, or can have one retrofitted. Which to go for would depend on what turns up at the right price - in my view there have been a lot of overpriced 051s recently so the 075 can be better value for money. The 051, 075 and 076 are big and heavy so you wouldn't want to use one for long but would be fine for the odd job. I wouldn't go for an 070 or 090. They are very nice saws (and I have both) but they don't have chainbrakes so I would be concerned that if anything goes wrong you may be in a grey area if there is anything other than personal use. Another option though if this is a true one-off would be to advertise the job on here and see if anyone local with a larger saw wants to do it. If it's simply cutting it up then it may be significantly cheaper than buying a saw for a single use. Alec

Yes, cedar would be much easier but I fancy trying it in euc. It's for my own stuff so I can afford to play around with it and see if I can get it to work. It should be pretty stable once dry, it's just the drying itself that's tricky. Alec

Cheers Jon, gunnii is fine for what I need. It's a nightmare to season without splitting and I will get a lot of losses but if I can get enough of it to come out OK it's great for drawers and carcassing wardrobes etc. as it repels the moths. Alec

What size is the euc? I'm after some to do some carcassing. Alec

Yep, it washes all the sap away Essex/Suffolk were badly hit yesterday - our village was cut off at one point due to water up to the car windows. We are by the river and the water was up about 6' over normal level, flooding right out over the fields. Came within about 15' of the house but that's about as close as it gets. The house is at the highest point, so most other things go under - you can get a sense from the fact that the front stack which has tipped over was parallel with the others, so the whole stack had floated off before it tipped! No real harm done, just a bit of re-stacking needed and a call the Environment Agency to clear out the ford (again). Alec

That's some very nice walnut. In my case, milling may have been rained off....

I know what you mean but I've done it slightly differently. I am not the expert in this but I bought a load of 3" elm in 15" average width that had been seasoning since the 1970s and I needed it at 3/4" finished size. I took it to someone who is very good at this and we ran all of it through a big vertical bandsaw, against the fence but the top of the board was a long way above it. The saw has no infeed or outfeed rollers, so it's a person on each end of the board. This made it almost freehand splitting by eye, but the wide band kept it true and we didn't lose a single board. Obviously you can't take the cup out (although you can deal with a bit of wind) but it did work surprisingly well - the inner board was flat both sides, the outer boards flat one side to use as a reference to plane the other side from. Alec