openspaceman

Well you may as well try to carefully dig up one of the suckers and replant it next month then.

Sorry I missed the layering bit, what failed with it. It was the normal method for propagating hazel coppice which was sparse.

Yes you could stamp on the bottom of one of the smaller shoots and lay it down and peg it to an area of bare soil six foot from the main stool for a couple of years.

The trouble is the market generally expects a product that is fairly consistent is size and shape (8-12" long I think) and the branch logger's product can vary a lot.

Pick the apples to reduce the weight then gently prop it back as above

pm sent

I think I asked you before but what are the common parts with an A55? possibly similar engines?

In practice yes but the main need is for it to dry evenly so a dry outside doesn't shrink more than the wet inside and crack. Too true Another one!

I imagine that was an interesting conversation.

It looks like wood of a fruit tree, apple my guess.

It's the chemistry of biomass. The white wood of a short lived tree serves only to support the crown it has about 1% minerals and the rest is cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose, the working parts of the tree like the leaves and bark are more complex and need all the other chemicals to do their job and it is these that need the small amounts of potassium, silicon and other trace minerals that end up in the ash. grasses have high ash content because they do not differentiate into a support system. There was a database (Phyllis) which showed the chemical content of many plants, I haven't looked for it for a few years.

I think it is much the same as wood though I bet birch bark is higher because it is oily, the main difference will be much more ash from bark compared with the wood.

Yes the ring shank nails cause a lot of split boards going to kindling

Faithfull Nail Puller 60cm (24in) | Power Tools Direct WWW.POWERTOOLSDIRECT.COM The Faithfull nail puller is the perfect tool for removing nails from most materials, lifting floorboards, opening wooden crates and... A modern version of an antique nail puller my father in law had. I never really tried it as it was designed to work. You use the slide hammer to bury the claw under the nail head then as you lever it the claw grabs the nail and pulls it. I see no reason it wouldn't pull a staple. I quite fancy one for reclaiming pallet boards but I so rarely have the need now.

My school mate had one, he said it was cooler than a bike, when we were 16. It had a tight turning circle but you could reverse it by switching the ignition on the dash and staring the engine to run backwards. It had a strange electric starter and also the kick start. It would only start in reverse by the electric starter IIRC.