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To the best of my knowledge, land use is defined by Land Registry, so you should be able to do a Land Registry search without alerting the 'normal' powers such as the council - it's the same search as when you're buying a house but you can order it yourself online. There are various designations - agricultural, domestic dwelling, greenbelt etc. and so long as it shows that the area concerned lies within the curtilage it should fall within the domestic dwelling heading, although there may be covenants on this. This matters as much to your client in his ongoing plans to build something planning exempt, presuming the exemption is not an agricultural one based on total holding. Note though, it's worth checking the defined curtilage - even if the area has been historically used as garden this isn't always strictly speaking legitimate. My own place for example looks like one plot, but is actually three, previous owners having bought different bits of adjoining land. One is the original domestic dwelling plot which has planning exemptions but is subject to listed building consent, a second is unencumbered agricultural and the third is agricultural with covenants. Walking round my 'garden' you could never identify which was which unless you knew, and what you do with trees/construction etc. could be perfectly legitimate in one part of the 'garden' but not in another. Alec

That isn't as bad as I'd feared to be honest. There are some nicely developing laterals in a few places and although there are too many uprights they're slowing down enough to have some side growth. I reckon with the removal of a few of the most upright ones, tying down of others this should be fairly straightforward to get back into bearing. I've been doing something similar to one, so I'll take a picture next time I'm there (in a few weeks). In the meantime, some of the info here (and the image of Peasgood's tree on the following page) may help give the general idea: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/52999-having-go-pruning-fruit-trees-anyone-interested-5.html Alec

I don't do a lot of contract milling, but when I do I'm normally £250/day all in. If it's a long distance I will add mileage and if I bring the Ripsaw it's a bit more but this is more than made up for in the extra yield due to the narrow kerf. I want to know where the trees have grown as then I'll make a judgement on the likelihood of hitting metal/stones. I prefer to take on the risk and add accordingly to the total as then all costs are clear up front, but will add a 'price per damaged item' if the likelihood of repeat damage is high (e.g. hedgerow with a high risk of a lot of barbed wire). Since I own the risk, I keep a couple of old chains which I will put on if the risk is high. The loss is only really the remaining life of the chain, so if it's only got a couple of sharpenings in it then it's not that much cost. Productivity is a difficult one. Timber is priced per cu.ft, with price dependent on species (which doesn't relate much to production volume) but with chainsaw milling the cutting rate is low and set-up time is relatively long (at least if you want to get optimised boards parallel with the heart) so production volume is governed by number of cuts to be made and the size of the butt, and the related factor of cutting pattern which determines how often you have to adjust the mill. Also significant is how straight the butts are. The bigger and straighter the butts are, the more timber you will get per set-up and the faster your actual production. A second pair of hands has a big bearing - if you have to keep stopping to drag heavy lumps around on your own this really hits productivity, compared with slinging the board off and going again. A day on your own cutting small diameter (8-12"), garden-grown low value timber into boards under two inches thick could yield as little as £250 worth of timber (i.e. not actually worth it for a customer to pay you), whereas milling 8"x8"x10' oak posts from clean 3' butts could yield over £2500 in a day. I reckon a good average yield would be around £600/person/day. I concur with the comments on aching afterwards - although I don't find this as bad as I used to - probably because I spend my evenings lugging stuff around anyway. Also with Rob's comment on the time taken to get everything together (and then sharpen it and put it all away again afterwards). Alec

Nice I have been known to have the odd saw in the kitchen, which is probably worse than yours just being on the freezer. As Rich says, check for a spark (and try sticking a paperclip in place of the plug to check it's not the plug). If you can get a spark, try taking the top cover and air filter off, then sticking a couple of teaspoonfuls of 2-stroke mix on the flat metal plate underneath and reassembling. If it now runs it tells you it's a fuelling issue. If you have to get further in to it, taking the metal plate off is achieved by undoing the two bolts on the top and the one at the back underneath, through the hole in the orange casing above the fuel cap. This one is a right PITA to put back in btw. When reassembling, make sure you pull the throttle trigger as you're fitting the plate back on. If you don't it can get caught the wrong side on the linkage, which is really annoying as you have to strip it back down to move it over. Alec

Usually yes, but Bramley is predominantly a tip bearer, particularly on juvenile growth. This means it will form its flower buds literally at the very tip of the previous year's growth. Alec

If it's on crab stock, or more likely a selection such as M2 given its age, it will be a big tree if let go - 20' or so, so it's a fair way from that yet. Unless it is impossible to do anything other than pollarding it, I would suggest an alternative management strategy. It will give you the best balance if you keep the branches close to horizontal. If you can create a permanent scaffold of horizontal branches, fairly evenly spread, with side branches from these on a rotation, taking them out every three years or so, you can stop the tree from bolting (which is what it's done). I've only done this previously by pruning, but following discussion with Gollum this winter I have changed approach and suggest that to start this process, you might find it most effective to tie down some selected branches to start forming the scaffold. This will convert them from growth to fruit and you should get blossom next year. If you can stick up a few pics I can try to comment further if it helps. Alec

Once you get above 100cc, it doesn't make so much difference what you run, except if you are looking to mill extremely wide boards when an 090 or 090G do make a difference. This can have its advantages. Nothing wrong with buying a brand new saw, but big saws are often less heavily used in day-to-day arb work, so many of the secondhand ones that come up are often in good condition. Personally, I don't regard a chain brake as essential for milling, since kickback is extremely unlikely. This opens up a wide range of older, lower cost options. Stihls are well regarded for milling. The current option would be the MS880, but the 088 (effectively the same) and the 084 are well regarded. Be aware there are some parts availability issues with the 084, and only genuine pot and pistons are available for this family, which are expensive (£300+) if you wear one out or seize it. From the generation before the 075/076 is a good option and parts availability is excellent as the TS760 disc cutter only went out of production a few years back. The 1106 series saws (070 and 090) are also excellent and parts availability is fine, both genuine and pattern. These don't have the option of a chainbrake. All of the above hold their value really well, so if used but looked after you will get your money back if you sell it on. Generally, the older the saw, the heavier it is and the lower the revs/higher the torque. This does mean you need to play with the chain a little to get the most out of it, however on the plus side they suffer less from power loss on a hard nosed bar, which can help for cheaper bar options. Hope this helps - can't comment on the 3120 but I don't know of anyone using one for milling. Alec

That's the key point with rocking. The bar is straight, so the cutting face is straight. If you keep the saw straight without rocking, i.e. just pivot it around the dogs into the wood then you are making a fan shaped cut, so all teeth are cutting at once and you're using the whole bar (admittedly the back end of the bar is travelling less distance in its arc, so does less work, but it's still a reasonable approximation). If the teeth are dull then they don't 'bite' and tend to skid. Similarly if the saw is underpowered for its bar length then it stops it from bogging down. These effects are reduced if fewer teeth are in contact with the wood. Rocking the saw creates a curved cut, so only a few teeth are in contact at any one time. It is, however, more effective to just sharpen the chain or not buy an overly ambitious length bar Alec

Thanks Pat, and thanks Bob (and for the tea!) - just got back from picking it up and very much looking forward to using it. Alec

Still looks promising for going tomorrow, not sure what time yet but I will be identifiable as the one with the harassed look, trying to keep the 2yr old and 4yr old daughters vaguely under control! Alec

If you've got the parts off, it's worth having a look here to see if you can match them: HPC Gears Home page Alec

Haven't been there for a while. Also now houses the national walnut collection I believe. My daughter went there on a pre-school trip last year but despite asking her to come back with details of the walnuts she only remembered details of the animals and the playground. You'd have thought she would have learned by now! Alec

The visible effects, particularly on the leaf on the right hand side, look rather like a leaf miner. If it is this then the bands won't help much as the whole lifecycle takes place on the tree. Grease bands are best for things which fall to the ground in the fruit and then crawl back up again. Realistically, insecticides are the best bet if you really do want to control it. Otherwise, letting the birds get on with it will probably be reasonably effective. Alec

Colloquially known as shot hole. I did wonder, but normally this leaves brown marks - it starts as brown spots and these drop out to leave the holes. I suspect in this case it probably is insect damage. It's been a funny season, having warmed up suddenly and late. I suspect therefore that insects have hatched pretty much as the leaves opened. If it's insects you could try an insecticide if the tree is small enough, but to be honest I wouldn't bother unless it is extremely severe. Although it looks bad, the percentage loss is pretty small and there won't be much impact. A different season and it would be totally different in effect. If it's fungal, something copper-based would be the normal approach, if everything copper-based hasn't been banned. Alec

A few years ago I dead-lifted an engine, clean over a step into a shed. As I pushed it forward I felt a twang down my right leg and my lower back locked. Following day I couldn't bend at all. A couple of days later when it moved a bit (but really hurt) I went to the doctors and was told to take ibuprofen, pretty much like smarties. I don't like taking drugs at the best of times, and the idea of long-term use didn't thrill me. After a couple of weeks I went to the local chiropractor, and she was brilliant. First consultation free to discuss things, then a spine x-ray and then a series of treatments, twice a week for a couple of weeks, then weekly for two weeks, then after a fortnight, then after a month. 8 sessions in all, the manipulations really worked - I could walk properly even after the first one, and some good advice on posture, sensible exercises (which I still do) and no recurrence. Certainly no intention of extracting the maximum cash, and the money was well spent in my case. Alec

Stihl - North Essex

I will be collecting

Have now heard back regarding the rims: G'day Alec Yes they are interchangeable with Oregon sprocket rims. We think the Oregon number is 68210. Kind regards, Charlie Rob - I'll drop you a PM but assume that's a current number? Also worth noting that they do packs of 10 rims for about £45 - not sure how that compares but it sounds reasonable to me. Merle, quite happy to add one in for you and send it on. Have also spoken to my Aunt, who is quite happy to send them on, so everything is set. I'll drop PMs round on Saturday to everyone who has expressed an interest (unless you want to confirm before), then place the order on Sunday. Alec

Thanks for that - very close for me (go walking there sometimes) and the children should enjoy it. Alec

12004, and they will be much bigger diameter than anything else in the box! Alec

Fair old lump that - giving the 090 a good workout? Out of interest, any idea of a cutting rate with the bar fully buried? Alec

I don't know the model at all, and can't find much on it. There was however also a VI-123, for which there is slightly more information: Model Profile: VI-123 Assuming they are of similar construction (identical date ranges of manufacture suggest that this may be the case) the use of a flywheel magneto suggests that it could well be points ignition rather than a more modern electronic type ignition. If so, you will probably find access to the points behind the flywheel. It's worth having a look under there anyway as if there is obvious corrosion on the coil that is likely to be the problem. To get the flywheel off you may or may not need to lock the crankshaft (on a Stihl 070 for example you don't as the flywheel is screwed on to a backing plate). If you do have to lock the crank to undo the flywheel nut, take out the spark plug and either insert a proper plastic piston stop, or turn the engine over far enough that the piston is on the up stroke, up past the exhaust port, and then feed in some rope - don't do it with the piston lower down as you can jam the rope between the exhaust port and the piston and it is a pig to get back out, guess how I know this.... You can also test electrically for continuity at various points - there are guides to doing this to be found using Google, but if you get stuck, shout. Having tried the suggestion above (using a paperclip to see if you can get a spark) there are a couple of other things you can try. Note, even if there is a spark, it may not be strong enough to fire under compression, in which case the suggestions below may still help. Firstly, it is likely that if it has points they are dirty or corroded. Cleaning up with a bit of emery paper would be worthwhile. You may also need to re-gap them with a feeler gauge. Secondly, another thing that can happen on magneto ignitions is that you get demagnetisation. This can be cured by taking the plug out to allow the crank to rotate freely and then spinning it over for about 5-10mins with an electric drill. The easiest way I found to do this was to fit a socket to the flywheel nut and then grind a bolt head to fit the square, fitting the shank of the bolt in the drill chuck. Hope some of the above is of use! Alec

I know about the ones on ebay in the US - but they're 9 and 10 tooth. The originals were 7 tooth, which is needed for the 090 to really score by delivering the torque on a long bar. Madsen do list Oregon rim sprockets in their catalogue but not for any specific saw. They don't appear too keen on being contacted other than by phone, which isn't too convenient. Might give them a call at some point though, although realistically the Australian ones look more straightforward. Alec and yes, I think I've found a spare muffler

The Chainsaw Guy (Rich) is a really helpful bloke. He supplied me with the bar on the saw below. Alec

I've gone down the white spirit/air line route. White spirit dissolves up the oily stuff pretty well, and stays wet well. It doesn't blast clean off particularly well, but a slight layer of oil left behind probably isn't a bad thing. Alec