pgkevet

Un-PC thought... Ever consider the poor peasant who spent decades of back-breaking effort with hand tools and a horse to rip out all the trees, till, manage and improve that soil to try and scratch a subsidence living only to have someone with more food than they need come along and turn hsi effortes back to a cute little nature reserve that only his friends can enjoy? How about a crop for foreign aid? (just being contrary)

I was mulling over what to do with a field this morning. The field next to it has been planted on its top half about 11 to 12 years ago. The utility arbs cut a swathe through it a few months ago..blocks of ash, birch and oak mostly. The ash I can just about lift and slide down the hill like javelins but the birch I can hardly drag - at least 50% more wood. (obviously the oak was ignored) It's pretty steep up there so not big enough to justify heavy machine that can access - horses perhaps if one had a lot to do. There's about 5 acres of the top half of the other field I'm thinking of getting some advice on. There's no SC on the farm and it'd be cool to try some blocks but heavy soil for the first 9 inches and then slate...not ideal for SC? A small disused quarry has mostly ash and some ancient (ten inch) hazel growing in the exposed veins on the planted field and some big oaks on the boundaries- an obvious clue to what'd grow best but then adding variety would be cool too. It may be a case of play safe with the majority but plant a few test blocks of other stuff and adjust things later. If I am going to try that then I might as well be radical - perhaps add to stuff just for fun and variety rather than simple economics... I'm in my 60's so I'm not going to see much of the end result (i hope to see it but unlikely to be cutting it) blocks of maple, walnut, monkey puzzle.. trees that i like. I did a small test germination of MP this year and got 80% .. next year do a big batch, pot grown and transplant them up the hill in 5/6/7 years...

I did take the opportunity to get the chap to explain and show how he puts a bar and chain on...

Ho Hum.. I nipped to the local stihl dealership..nice folk..they agreed it was binding, took bar and chain off, couldn't see anything wrong, put it back on..ran it up, chopped some wood and it all worked flawlessly. They were patient enough to check the other bar and chains.. put them on, run it up.. flawlessly. Go figure..perhaps being bounced in my car for the 12 miles?...

I had another mess about with the saw today.. There's no sign fof any snagging of chain the the bar groove. Without doubt if i tighten down the 2 cover screws then the chain gets harder to turn around the bar even with the tension quite loose. I cut a stack of logs with it and it got really hot so i decided to fit the brand new 18" bar and chain I bought with it and never used. With that when i snug down the cover nuts it binds the chain completely even with loose-ish tension that i could pull the chain clear of the groove with 2 fingers but for the life of me I can't see any wear on the inside of the cover or the nylon blocks that could explain it dogging down beyond design. I didn't fancy even trying it like that so unless someone has an inspiration of what I'm missing I'll have to run it to a local dealership and let them take a look. Confused <sigh>...hopefully something stupid I'm missing.. edit... and yes i did check the numbers on the bar and chain matched up

I'll double-check (well actually about quadruple check) everything again bearing everyone's suggestions in mind.. and then probably stick the brand new 18in bar and chain on to see if that makes a difference. You're right that is wasn't getting any air cooling going down through those thick dry ash logs.. If I have to upgrade any recommendations? I've got a couple of windblown old trees to clear in the spring.....

Both tanks use up together on this one even when it got smokey...but yeah would be happier if it had an oil increaser...

Lots to answer! Saw, bar and chains came from Jonesie at same time so I'd expect it all to match and second test was with brand new chain. Smoke is blueish as in cooked oil. Cross cutting a stack in the oregon saw horse upto 6 inch stuff full load goes through like cheesewire. It's longways down the 14/16 diameter inch logs when the problem occurs.

I did check to see if it would pull round freely when very loose..does..but when the tension is right it's certainly a lot harder to pull round..will look for burs/blue.. It was a new chain not a diy resharpen..does give oil film on test timber (part of my pre-use checklist) This am it was fine on two stacks of branches in the oregon saw horse but again even with some rests it smoked a tad splitting down a 2 foot length of 16inch diameter ash... I'm still thinking it's not man enough for heavier stuff even though it's not stalling on the pressure I load it with. I've got a couple of old fallen trees in the fields to dice up this summer 2-3 foot diameter - not looking promising with this saw. I suppose I'd better chuck the 18in bar on and see if it still smokes on my ash splits??

I 'thought' I'd be cutting a few logs now and again when i bought this saw - not realising quite how much my woodburner eats when it's roaring and the backburner warms the rads too. I've been getting through more than a wheelbarrow of logs a day and banking another 1-2 wheelbarrowfulls (in case of weather or illness) so the saw has been getting through more than a tank of fuel and chain oil a day.. I;ve also started slicing some of the bigger logs in the store..too big for the 14in bar so need to be attacked from both sides. The problem is that twice now I've had the chain and bar smoking. Obviously stopped as soon as spotted. First time I thought it was clogged oilways or a blunt chain - everything flushed clean, checked oil beading through with the bar off and the saw on tickover and the oil and fuel still run down at the same rates as when new (3 mths). It happened again almost immediately after that with a new chain. So a problem or me giving it too much stick/expecting too much from this saw? A simple case of 'resting' it more? Or a bigger saw? I do have an 18in bar for it but if oil flow can't cope on the 14 in bar? I don't see any adjustment to increase flow..but as stated above the tanks run down together and (yes) the bar grooves are clean. Advice?

Hmmm..haven't got that ambitious with my mulitfuel... but for the first time in my life i welcome junk mail <vbg>

Just to poach a bit of this thread (if I may). What preservatives are suitable for green wood? I ask 'cos assume won't soak in.. tar or pitch below ground and borax above where it can be recoated? Anything that can allow plants to grow up it?

It's a good question and one I;d like to hear the answers to from folk who've actually done it. There's vids of folk who have built whole houses like that but it strike sme that the problem with pine is going to be preserving softwood thats used green compared to buying pressurise tanalised stuff.. and potentials for waring under load.. and difficulties in it drying if you build with vapour barriers and insulation..let alone the issue of woodworm in the fresh timber if it hasnlt been heated/seasoned first..and on two's that'd be at least a year unless you build a seasoning chamber. The cladding would be less of an issue

Whether it's wood or other biomass...as soon as you start raping the land for extreme yields you have to remember that the ash doesn't go back where it came from and it's not just carbon you burn...

I can't speak for the others but I've got big lumps to dice as well as saw horse and general work around the farm....and i prefer the cost of the PPE to the alternative.. Or i could do it all with a mankini and the polesaw:biggrin:

I'm also a relative newbie at chainsaws but old enough to be cautious about dangers to me. I looked at heaps of chainsaw how-to vids, read the manual and chatted on here. My final decision was a stihl 250.. one the grounds that i have no need to prove how matcho I am with a heavier saw for my general firewood cutting and ocassional other stuff. I bought the full protective kit of boots, trousers, sleeves, gloves and helmet and foudn a mate familiar with chainsaws to give me an overview, help set it up and check chain tensions etc. It takes a 14 or 18 inch bar with the 14 being my workhorse..so two chains for that so I can send one away if necessary. I'm anal about pre-use checks and post use cleanup and use it about three to four times a week to cut a couple of stacks of thinner stuff and slice up a few thicker logs for ax splitting. I was pleased to fine it was easier to use than I expected although it also makes one appreciate how much a bigger saw could kick and buck if you got slack or unlucky. Definately a piece of kit to take seriously. Perhaps tghe biggest suprise was how fast it gets through a tank of fuel

HOLE IN THE GROUND by Bernard Cribbins There I was, a-digging this hole A hole in the ground, so big and sort of round it was There was I, digging it deep It was flat at at the bottom and the sides were steep When along, comes this bloke in a bowler which he lifted and scratched his head Well we looked down the hole, poor demented soul and he said Do you mind if I make a suggestion? Don't dig there, dig it elsewhere You're digging it round and it ought to be square The shape of it's wrong, it's much much too long And you can't put a hole where a hole don't belong I ask, what a liberty eh Nearly bashed him right in the bowler Well there was I, stood in me hole Shovelling earth for all I was worth There was him, standing up there So grand and official with his nose in the air So I gave him a look sort of sideways and I leaned on my shovel and sighed Well I lit me a fag and having took a drag I replied I just couldn't bear, to dig it elsewhere I'm digging it round 'cos I don't want it square And if you disagree it don't bother me That's the place where the hole's gonna be Well there we were, discussing this hole A hole in the ground so big and sort of round Well it's not there now, the ground's all flat And beneath it is the bloke in the bowler hat. And that's that!

The cynic in me wonders how much the press stirred up the confrontation. The dale mob has had several days in court and appeals and must be fully aware that they aren't going to win against the police numbers...just going to get some more court time for resistance and violence... The only way they could have held out would have been back-up from their whole traveller community nationwide.

I had a 'what the heck' moment and bought the oregan sawhorse...arrived today and have to admit it's a dream to use....stacked full and four cuts = 2 wheelbarrows of logs. Having said that a farmer neighbour tells me he used to hammer stake pairs into the ground every foot over a long run... fill the whole mess with piles of branches and go down the gaps with saw and long bar and do his whole winter supply in one session!! Oneupmanship at it's best.

I tried out my home-made V stand today on the pile of short branches left in the barn. Not so good..all my branches are too round <s>.. and the central gap too wide. I think i'll add a central V and gripper sometime - something like an old rake head or alloy stair gripper and bungie cord should do it..

Yup! Simple and clever - the wet cloth leaches lye from the wood-ash which turns the glass oily deposits to a soap... must try that! Anyone made an ash barrel to collect lye?

Now that is impressive and the detail makes it!

I've neglected this spot with sorting out my new farm. I hope you like this one: Here in the depths of Wales on Cwm farm there is no light pollution and on clear nights you can see the spread of the milky way clearly. Quiet nights are only punctuated by the hooting of owls and the ocassional rustle in the undergrowth. There's a lot of owls and it occured to me that i might be able to study them and work out a form of hoot translation. To that end i started observing the owls and their behavior. That meant a thorough inspection of the woodland near the house and just as well I did because there was a huge dead tree that might just have made it to the barn if it had given way down the slope above. Now no way was this aged retiree and chainsaw tyro going to have a go at a 50 foot dead tree as his first felling so I made some enquiries and an Arb called Barry and his groundie duly quoted and turned up. Barry was cheerfully Welsh and got the gear out and checked. He asked me what i wanted done with the tree after and, being the piddle-taker I am, I jovially suggested he slice it neatly into 12 in lengths and stack it down in the far barn! Barry did the climbing and groundie all the real work and to my astonishment after they had dismantled the thing they started slicing it up - neatly into 12 in lengths. "Wow" I said "I didn't seriously thing you'ld do that!" "No trouble" He said and they chopped up the branches and ringed the whole thing up and struggled to pick each 2 foot diameter main ring into the truck and got it all down to the barn. That was definately worth a tip! Those guys sweated hard over that and apologised for leaving the last ring 'cos they were too knackered to move it. With the worry about that cherry tree falling on the house gone I was able to get back to owl sounds and the next night finally had my program fired up and ready for the big test! 9pm and the owl started his calls, the mike picked up the sounds and fed it into my PC and with hardly a pause the words scrolled across the screen... "Where's my effing tree?"

After my post i looked around at the offeri9ngs and today I scrounged some tomber found lying aroudn the place and made myself a sawhorse...yet to be tested but simple enough in theory... two crosses at the right working height but enough upstand to take about 3 to 4 branches and supported from the sides of the lower legs with enough space to cut between the crosses as well as off the end overhangs...best of all it was free. I'll get to use it tomorrow hopefully.

cool!