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I can tell you why I haven't bid on it, which may help in forming a view. I think it's a great piece of kit and will probably be a really good deal for someone. It's a production-capable saw at a price where you can afford it to stand idle some of the time, ie it will do all that is asked of it without holding you up but you won't feel it must be working to pay off the investment. I wouldn't mount it on a trailer - for rigidity I would want a fixed installation and getting the pit in the right place relative to the structure of the trailer may also be trickier than it first appears. A fixed installation works really well if you either sell timber or are milling from your own local source. I sell very little timber, do more milling for other people at their own site and would rather not bring everything of my own back here for preference as eventually I will annoy the neighbours! If you are doing what I do, you tend to end up with oversize or difficult access stuff. I can tackle difficult access but if I upgrade it would be to a trailable horizontal bandmill with a 3'+ capacity as that would best suit my situation. If you are pretty much only milling your own timber of a size which goes through this, and already have the handling gear, I reckon this mill would be an excellent option. Maybe Fred can be prevailed upon for a reasonable consideration to help set it up and demonstrate its operation? Alec

As per Burrell - 46" sprocket nosed bars are made by Sugihara and supplied by Chainsawbars ? chainsaw chains, chainsaw bars and chainsaw accessories. When you set up the mill it clamps to the bar, inside the nose sprocket. This means you lose a few inches at the nose, a bit for the dogs and an inch for each of the two clamps. As a consequence, the maximum capacity through the mill is about 7 or 8" less than the bar length. To get the most out of a 48" mill you need a 56" bar but the next available length is the 59". Alec

OK just checked and the video is actually of my 076. Although I've used the 051 in the past, and it works fine if you stick to a 30" bar, more recently omeone bought a 24" Alaskan mill through Rob D to fit to an 051 and wanted to try it out with someone experienced. I had some suitable sized elm to mill and he came along - we compared the two Alaskans, his 24" on an 051 with Oregon chain, my 36" on an 076 with Granberg chain. Both chains were correctly set - his was new, mine was freshly sharpened with the Granberg grinder. The Granberg chain left a notably better finish. The 051 was slower but not painfully so - it was working at full capacity and didn't bog down but it took its time. The 076 was much quicker; I didn't have means to time it but it was enough to really feel the difference. I would say the 051 is a good choice for a 24" mill for personal use. It's quick enough to not be painful at full capacity and at up to 18" is really good to use. You could go for a 36" bar and 30" mill but don't expect it to be quick and you would probably only do this if you were planning to upgrade asap. With the 24" mill on 18-20" timber you get enough done in a relaxed day to feel satisfaction with it and if you are using the timber it can produce far more than you can use. It isn't such a good choice if you are wanting high production rates or if you are needing to get things out of a site in a hurry. Alec

You can stick a picture of the 090 up if you like No offence taken over the arb comment. I do these things for my own interest and am quite happy with that. I agree that you learn a lot from working with other people, and it also works well when we work together - I do a lot of setting up and optimising the yield and quality - Martin then blasts through the boards. Re. the 051, funnily enough this is one saw I do have some video of. I will sort it out and write a review. Alec

I think this thread is a really good idea - the same questions go round it it should get them grouped together. I'm just no good at taking pictures (always seem to be too busy milling) but I recognised my saw - nobody else would be running a 1970s Oregon hard-nose bar:001_smile: You can pick out which one is my 076 for the same reason... I'd agree completely re. the 52" bar, a much better investment, but if you are only going to use it from time to time then sometimes the 47" Duromatics turn up cheap on ebay. I bought one for £100 in as-new condition and I've seen others. Alec

I would buy the 48" mill. I didn't, and wish I had. It gives you the capacity to get around the flare at the root end of the butt without so much edging up and fiddling about. You will only be able to use about 28" of your mill capacity with the 36" bar but you can shorten up the mill for now and when you need it you can get the longer bar and chain to suit. Alec

OK, I started with an 064, then moved to an 066 Magnum, more recently 076, 070 and 090. I mostly mill oak. I found the 064 and the 066 were too slow for my liking in 2ft oak. They get there, but trying to mill 20ft long butts into 2in thick planks was tedious, to the point where I gave up, collected up butts and hired in a bandmill. Having gained access to more timber that couldn't reasonably be extracted whole I started again and quickly remembered what the problem was. I bought an 076 and it made a massive difference. It was fast to the point of being a pleasure. This is also about the point where I realised that I needed a better way to keep the chain sharp and even. For several reasons I have ended up with 070/090s too. The 070 (it's mine in Burrell's picture) has been given some serious work to do and copes fine. It's a bit slower than the 076 but keeps going with wide cuts. The 090 doesn't add much if anything to milling speed on anything up to about 2ft6in, but above that it starts to help and really comes into its own above 3ft or so, as it just doesn't slow down. Bars make a big difference too. I've run hard nosed bars on the 076 and 070 and they are definitely slower. I think the effect is more noticeable the faster the revs, so with an 070 it has least effect but you would really feel it with an 066. Chain makes a difference - I get best results from Granberg chain, but I do also run standard Oregon chain and the difference is small. I also have skip-tooth ripping chain for some bars. I have tried it on shorter bars and it doesn't help but on a really wide cut it makes a big difference. I have run it on a 52" bar and an 88" bar and I would say it was essential for the latter. My favourite combination is probably milling 2-3ft width with an 076 on a 36" mill, with a 46" roller nose bar, running Granberg chain. Alec

I'm about to start breaking this lump down. There are several bits - the first one set up is 18-20" wide, 7' long, although there are some small cracks in the bottom 6" . There is some excellent figuring - boards will obviously get shorter as I go down it. The lump in the third picture is 7' long, 6' wide, but more rustic in character. I also have some smaller lumps which will yield 4' x 4' boards. If anyone is interested in some, let me know and I can send further pictures. For bits that will go in an estate car I can bring them up the A1 as far as Middlesbrough, or down to the Dartford area. It will be £20/cu.ft as it's green. Cheers Alec

I like that. Minimalist Alec

It breaks the UK into its separate countries - Scotland and Wales are both there. I reckon the collective power of Arbtalk could have an influence.... Alec

Hi Eddie, Thankyou for the explanation - apologies for the delayed reply, I had overlooked the updates to the thread. From my point of view, I don't think the changes are likely to have a negative impact and I would guess from the lack of responses that the same is true of most people (compare with the recent outcry over Stihl's change in policy), mainly because they buy in person and anyone who bought by post still can. The change is dependent on dealers being prepared to post (or to make the arrangements for you to post?) and I wouldn't count on all of them being prepared to do so. If this proves a problem it may become necessary to list on the website which dealers will ship. The one area I can see some potential for problems over is pricing. Aspen is currently in a slightly unusual position in that it is not sufficiently widely available to avoid geographic monopolies. The on-line sales may have had an effect of providing a pricing baseline. Aspen is sufficiently specialist that a reasonable proportion of users may be aware of the website, and if a dealer tries to exceed a certain price threshold it becomes cheaper to buy direct. If this is the case then the above factors may enable price hikes to a worrying level from the user's point of view. It may however go the other way. I'm thinking here of the internet pricing model, as used by FR Jones amongst others re. Stihl products. My understanding (drawn from the comments on here rather than any personal knowledge) is that the combination of reduced overheads and economy of scale allowed Stihl products to be sold online at a lower margin than local dealers could achieve. This was resented by local dealers, leading to Stihl's attempts to ban online sales. With chainsaws, the argument was made that these are complex products and a handover is needed - Aspen doesn't have the possibility of such an argument and Stihl's policy has been withdrawn now anyway. I can see the potential for a large supplier such as Jonesies to take up internet sales of Aspen at a discounted rate, making it harder to convince local dealers to stock it as they can't make it competitive (maybe this is Gardenkit's chance to become an oil baron ) All the above is pure speculation, but may be worth considering if you haven't already. Can I just add though how much I appreciate the fact that, with Aspen, I can ask a straightforward question directly to the right person and get a straightforward reply, in a public arena so that the information is available to all interested parties. I contrast this with the policies of other manufacturers. Alec

I do find the interface on the series 2 owners' club The Series 2 Club Forum - Index a bit easier. I particularly like the way that once logged on I can click on a button to reformat the screen to show only the threads I have contributed to. I know there are ways to do this on Arbtalk but they all require quite a few clicks, which is particularly fiddly on an iPhone. I have a tendency to forget the titles of threads and then not notice they have been updated, which is annoying if you ask a question, get an answer and then don't find it. I know David Humphries put a reply up to my question about formative pruning work as I saw it on the iPhone but I can't find it to thank him for the reply! I also find the parent board/child board interface quicker to navigate with less scrolling - I know there are sub-forums but the horizontal layout decreases the number of lines. Alec

Hazel does layer well, the technique being used for replacing missing stools in copses. The advantage of layering is that the stem remains attached to the parent plant, providing water and nutrients whilst roots form. This supports it during the formation of new roots, which is particularly useful for species which root slowly. I've done it with various things for propagation purposes rather than gapping up hedges and it's pretty straightforward. You select a stem which is flexible enough to bend down to the point you want the new plant to root, split and peg open, or gouge out an area at the point you want to bring in contact with the ground, then dig a shallow hole (a couple of inches) and peg securely down, the cover with the earth excavated from the hole and wait. If the stem is long enough you can repeat this at several points along its length. Alec

Nice with the poll intact. Did a make show up (looks like a stamp may be lurking there on the inside face and I'm guessing Brades from the shape)? Re. electrolysis - any washing soda from Sainsbury's/Tescos will do. Alec

You mean if someone stands on the fence to hold it down enough to get the mill past.... Yes - haven't forgotten the governor, just need to get to it with a big enough screwdriver to hand. Alec

Very nice, and just down the road from me..... Alec

ie not quite so handy when you have to mill round fence panels and a berberis like that last one Alec

No, it shouldn't split. The splits are caused by the difference in shrinkage around the ring between the rings in the middle and the ones at the outside. Take away the middle and it should control it. Alec

They are indeed Fridays - I mean Saturday 15th and 22nd and you would be most welcome. Alec

I would go for a 48" mill if you think you might get access to big enough timber, 36" otherwise. The extra length of the 48" isn't too inconvenient (Burrell uses one shortened up to a 25" bar for milling 18" stuff). 36" is a good all-round size and will get through almost everything you come across with a bit of work. Alec

Following on from the interest last year: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/52999-having-go-pruning-fruit-trees-anyone-interested.html I thought I'd put this up again for 2014. Pruning fruit trees seems to be an area which for some people is a bit of an experience gap, and it gets regarded as a black art. I've looked after Mum's smallholding orchard in North Kent (near Dartford) since about 1988. The trees are now mostly about 95yrs old so well over commercial age and the aim is to keep them alive, healthy and stable, with a reasonable crop for use rather than sale. There's a mixture of vigorous and semi-dwarf, with a few young trees planted over the past 20yrs. The trees are much more the kind of size and form you would find in a back garden than a modern orchard. I'll be going down there in February, either Saturday 14th or 21st, to do the pruning (apples and pears). If anyone is interested in coming along and having a go then they're welcome. I'm aware this could look a bit like 'come and do some free work for me' but that isn't why I'm offering it (I'll be doing it anyway) but it's an opportunity to see the difference between pruning forms and how they can be developed over time, and whatever else anyone is interested in (so long as it's within my knowledge). It would be very much my personal view and I don't have any formal training or claim to be an expert but hopefully anyone interested would go away knowing more than they did when the came Alec

Yes, 880 is a better bet. You will start off with a 36" bar, and end up fitting a longer bar when you get fed up with chopping the edges off to squeeze it through Alec

Check you've got the throttle linkage rod running the right way over the carb. You have to have the throttle pulled to the right position as you fit the top cover or it jams up. Alec

It's demand. Beech is out of fashion, oak is both in fashion and more useful (structural strength and exterior durability). Alec

If you have a look at Chainsawbars ? chainsaw chains, chainsaw bars and chainsaw accessories (Rob D's site) you will find the available kit, together with links to introductory videos. If you have any questions then the email address is [email protected] (and you get me answering them ) Alec