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You might want to consider giving Jem Bates of Bates' Boatyard a ring. He won't be cheap but he may have something in where there are parts of it that are too damaged for him to use. He's just down the road from you. Bates Boatyard, Wooden Narrowboat Restoration Alec

They had just ended unfortunately, both from the same seller: Stihl 070 chainsaw with 25" bar. | eBay Sets the benchmark price quite nicely though - I would say that is reasonable, although if you hit really lucky you might get £50 off that Alec

Not wishing to start a 'mine's bigger than yours' argument, but I can confirm that re-grinding a crosscut chain to ripping for an 88" bar is a good way to use up half a day.... Yes, for running long bars for milling you really need a grinder, to keep all the teeth the same length and angle. Andrew - I would suggest you might as well go for a 36" mill. There is no down side really to the longer rails and you can use it with a 25" bar, but then if you ever do upgrade to a larger saw (which from your post sounds like it's eventually inevitable ) you will already have the mill. The price difference is trivial. Alec

Useful heads up, thanks, as I need to re-dig the ditches on the field we're buying. Looks like you need exemptions U1 (using soil for the purposes of landscaping), U10 and D1 to cover anything you might want to do with dredgings. Takes less than 5mins to register them too - details here: Environment Agency - Farm exemptions video here: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBeoqD3jqGc&list=UU8XLubOua8P9B1hT0Qb5Tbg]Registering online for your agricultural waste exemptions as a Sole Trader/Individual - YouTube[/ame]

If you're buying bigger, buy the biggest you can afford. There are a couple decent 070s on Ebay at the moment for example, which would perfectly decent on almost anything you are likely to run across - unless you really are only milling foot diameter stuff with a small log mill. Alec

This is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' question, but in general terms, what you would want to do with an 026 would be very limited. It would bolt to the mill, and you would get just over 13" of cut out of it. If milling small, relatively soft timber (under a foot) you could probably live with it for a while, but really it is pushing it. It won't do the saw any harm, so long as you rest it up every few minutes, but you will suffer a fair bit. I would look for something in the 60-70cc range to get the most out of a small log mill. The bigger you go, the more power you have to play with so the faster it gets. If you have 70cc then a 24" mill will also run OK if you don't push it, 90cc will run 30", or 36" at a push, but really for big stuff you are looking at the 100cc+ saws. Worth noting that older saws, without chainbrakes, can make good milling saws. The 041 might be worth considering as a cheap option for a small log mill, or an 038. You would want a ripping chain anyway, and a precision filing jig or grinder to keep all the teeth absolutely the same length and angle to make cutting smoother. If you are running a smaller saw then the Granberg ripping chain is worth considering as it takes a bit less power to drive it. It's more expensive though, and really needs sharpening with a grinder rather than a file. Alec

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Thanks - the land does attract single payment so that will be worth bearing in mind. Alec

Cheers! Well I found out today that our bid has been accepted, so I anticipate a visit from my neighbour soon

May be unconventional, but I like to have the stakes in place before I bring anything big down, as I'd rather weave it in as I lay it than weave it afterwards. Alec

For a small forge, bottom blown is quite good. Nigel Barnett over at Fransham forge makes a really good one with a dished top and bottom and a tube up the middle between them, with a side branch to stick the blower on. The tube is both the support and the air input. I have one of his and it works really well - for small stuff I just heap it up a bit but you can put a ring around the top if you need more depth. The whole thing is portable and knocks down flat for storage. Much better than the very overpriced folding ones. Alec

I've put a sealed bid in on the field next to us as it's the land between us and the river, so would allow me to sort our drainage out. It's 4.75 acres of grade II agricultural land, currently arable. No idea if I'll get it yet, but my next door neighbour has asked if I might sell him an acre for use as short rotation coppice, probably willow, to run his log burner on. I'm not inclined to sell it, as the obvious bit to let him have is the bit by the road, which doesn't flood and I want to make sure there is no development at some point in the future, but I might be inclined to lease it to him for as long as he and his wife live there, on reasonable terms. Does anyone know what the land use implications of doing this might be? I'm particularly interested in whether short rotation coppice would count as agriculture or forestry, and hence whether a change of use would be needed, either to do it or to potentially revert it to arable. Also, does anyone know what the effects might be on the quality of the ground from doing this? I'm aware that there would be stumps to be extracted or ground out (which I would take account of in the tenancy agreement) but any views on general soil fertility? Anything else I should think about (over 50m from the nearest building which is his house anyway, so no problems on that one). Just trying to sort out the implications in advance of hearing whether our bid has been successful, as I anticipate him asking fairly quickly once the bids are opened. Cheers Alec

That could be relevant - I suggest googling Radiata pine. Alec

Judging by the rounded off board (top I presume) that should come out looking really nice when finished - are you going for oil or varnish? Have you done much to the board surfaces between milling and the close-ups in the workshop? If not the finish on your milled boards looks excellent, which would suggest you have got the knack of holding it level and stopping any digging in, and that your chain is really sharp and even - out of interest which chain are you using? Look forward to seeing the finished result. The scale of your ladder to log does amuse me though:001_smile: Alec

Entirely agree Rob. There are things I have decided not to post - not because I am 'timid' but because there just isn't any point as the likelihood is that the aspect I think may be interesting to people will be drowned out by the pointless noise. I can see exactly why some people would decide it just wasn't worth the time and effort. The brilliant thing about this forum is that it manages to combine 'ask the expert', be that on fungi, chainsaws or 'my tree is doing something odd', with high level technical discussion between experts in their field, as well as being a place for relaxed chat between people with shared interests who know one another, sometimes in person as well as through the forum, and probably some other positive things as well. The relaxed chat, ie entertainment, inherently includes an element of friendly banter, but you can spot this easily - it's the running jokes, lots of emoticons and general good humour. As a newcomer, you may not get the joke, but you can see it is around you, not aimed 'at' you, and maybe you even feel more involved by it - it suggests that this is a friendly community to be part of. There are also some pretty heated debates from time to time, based on strongly held but differing views, but again quite legitimate. The trouble seems to be that a small number of members seem determined to pick holes or make personal attacks on the slightest weakness. This is not done in jest, but seems to be solely for their entertainment. At best this is unpleasant and a negative reflection on the individual and, as Steve recently pointed out in closing the ppe thread, by association, the forum. At worst it is bullying, aggressive and, recently, could be taken as sexual harrassment. There is absolutely no need for this and I for one would rather see fewer of these individuals remaining on the forum, hopefully to be replaced by more of the people Rob refers to above (and I have met others) coming back out of the woodwork and deciding that it is worthwhile to post, since I am sure they would add infinitely more value than the pointless posts of the current irritating minority do. Alec

Just had a look, Clark Forest do a Bahco spud for £23 inc. handle. Not as elegant as the various Oshenkopf models, but should do the job. Debarking Iron | Logging Hooks and Tongs | Clark Forest Alec

Hi Steve, you're welcome:001_smile: A barking spud is a thing like a giant slick type socket chisel with a 6" wide blade. Oschenkopf make them and they can still be bought new in the UK, without the handle - there are several videos on youtube of people using them but basically it's about scraping along the line of the bark to peel it off in big strips. When the bark is loose you can peel over a foot width in a pass, which could reduce it to a few minutes on your logs. You would have to see whether it is quicker to do this beforehand, or to pick the bits of bark out afterwards when they fall off. It should also significantly increase band life. Alec

I wouldn't worry about strapping. I would just set everything up nice and level, and bung a few lumps on the top to weight it down. I would agree with your sizing, but unless you have already decided on the style of furniture you are aiming at, I might be inclined to skim the tip to give 3" width (i.e. little more than the bark) and then take a 3" slice off. You don't lose much on your boards as it is curved in this bit anyway, but it gives you something to make 3" squares out of later if you want table legs etc. What sort of mill do you have? I would try to avoid a chainsaw mill for that job, as you will waste a lot on the thin boards. Alec

I've found walnut to be fairly stable. Even the very outermost boards haven't cupped much. At that size I would rather have the wider boards. Out of interest, whereabouts are you, and what do you plan to do with it? Alec

I haven't tried to do what you are doing, but my initial thought is as follows: I would start by separating out on size. Up to 15" as one grade, over 15" as the other. On the smaller grade I would calculate my first cut by measuring the base diameter, then subtract 10" and divide the remainder in half. I would skim this much off the log, then roll it by 180degrees so the skimmed side was face down, and skim the same off again, leaving it 10" thick. I would roll this by 90deg, then slice off 70mm slabs ready for processing. On the larger grade, I would measure the base diameter and split them in half. Anything over 20" I would skim off one side only, down to 20". I wouldn't bother rolling as they're that much heavier and also, being a larger diameter, it's less wasteful as the curvature is less. I would then take a 10" slice off, leaving another 10" slice behind. I would take each 'half' in turn, stand it up on edge and take 70mm slices off, as above. I would make sure that the band was really decent, and in good condition. It might dull and start to wander quicker than it should, due to grit in the bark, but if you're getting your wood fresh enough it may pay off to de-bark with a spud before milling, as then the band should go on virtually forever in poplar. As to weight, I would keep the section as full as possible, try a full 4m length and if you find it's too much, take the length down to what you can handle and then just cut all logs at that - it will take too much time fiddling about deciding what log length you could manage from every individual possibility. A starter for ten...? Alec

No doubting the quality and workmanship in both of those. The ash one doesn't do it for me though - I think it's the combination of 'perfect' lines and finish, pine back and dark colour (olive ash or stain?) it has something 'Ikea' about it? Not quite the same, but compare with this: Photo Frames Ethnic Elephant Mango Wood Multi Photo Frame Holds 5 Photos Fair trade by Folio NH9 The yew on the other hand, with an oak back and natural form just looks like English handmade craftsmanship, and unique. That's the one I would reckon on getting significantly more for, and is probably easier to make? Alec

I'm just envious of people who have the physique to carry it off:lol:

Please leave the Ann Widdecombe photos on the other thread... Alec

Glad to see you're still around, and it should all settle down now (although be warned that when Felix and Geoff get going on the subject of their choice in underwear it can sometimes reveal information which I am sure we would all rather they kept to themselves)