codlasher

Put your hourly rate up & dump anyone who can't see beyond the front door. It's not a one way street! codlasher

Never ever. I totally disagree with the use of the chain brake as suggested. It is a safety feature for kick-back. You will need it then. If you are walking why are you holding the throttle? You carry the machine with one hand without your other hand being anywhere near the throttle. If you fall you can use your other hand to break your fall. If in doubt switch the saw off. codlasher.

The pulp mills were still cutting first growth Eucalypts in Tasmania up until recently. Many of a similar size shown in the pictures! Much to peoples dismay. Thing there is that it is a political issue with regards to work and keeping the wood-pulp companies in business. The North West of the island is now in the grips of expression as the timber industry has collapsed. The knock-on is affecting whole communities. codlasher.

I understand exactly what you mean Craig! This is one of the problems with using stop/go boards and drivers of vehicles. You have to pay particular attention to what the car driver sees beyond the first STOP board. This is IMPORTANT as they see the GO further up the road and push on through......straight under a falling stem...... Irrespective of what the car driver did, and I have had this happen on several occasions whilst working within this system. Your operative should not have reacted in this way! From an overview you have a perfect right to shut the road provided you have all the correct signage out. I took advice on the extra signs and had courtesy signs made for just this occasion, these worked well until stolen and had two bigger items made to replace them. (***Estate are conducting essential tree safety work. Sorry for any delay. Please be patient. Estate Office contact number; 01999 099988) I always reported incidents such as this to the police with the vehicle registration. Your operative should have had better training and there should have been a 12D operative on site to supervise the situation/advise, this is where you have gone wrong..... I was always glad to have my traffic light system operating as this ensured that you rarely had to get within 20 metres of angry/late/daft drivers. Put this down to your learning experience and consider how to adjust your working system to help avoid this type of incident in the future. It's never pleasant. codlasher (12D operative!)

Try this for an idea in stone. You can then carve your piece of timber. There's plenty to choose from! Carnac stones - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia codlasher

My old boss had a motorised sharpener and we hated it as it cooked the teeth and this made them difficult to sharpen in the field. His theory was that he couldn't have three chaps scraping files over saws in the morning when there was work to be done! As my eyes have got worse I find sharpening more and more difficult without a strong pair of glasses. I now have a thing that the file sits in that helps. A mate has bought a motorised sharpener off ebay. Any opinions on these would be welcome codlasher.

Classic week-end. Danish fishing boat mid 1930's

I'm sorry that I can't offer any advice on the perfect truck. I will wish you the very best though in your future venture. codlasher.

I was staying at a hotel in Stone, Staffordshire whilst at the last but one APF. Whilst riding my bike over the bridge there I watched some folk do some of the slalom course that seems to be a permanent set-up on this stretch of river. Coming from a dinghy back ground I went down to the rivers edge and stood for quite a while watching......A completely different skill set and what fun! Close up too. Me, I spend my water time at the bottom of the London river & upwards as far as Ipswich. Often scraping the sand banks and mud in the river estuaries with the bottom of my dinghy. I've been to Southend on many occasions but only for chips at the end of the pier, never the town......too far away at over a mile:001_rolleyes: I'd like to learn kayaking but feel perhaps this skill set is a little too late? codlasher

I remember, about ten possibly more, years ago, the first of the new generation wood-chip boilers being fitted to certain farm houses. Great, everyone said. Clever contraption, burns rubbish, or what was perceived as rubbish.... Those in the know were correct in predicting the steady rise in costs for all the wood-fuels that cluster together in this area, straight firewood, C30 & C50 chip and the vast range of pellets. Now some of these were produced as a by product of another process which was good as it meant that all forest produce was utilised. What has happened in fact, is the fuel side has started to dominate the market. In my opinion no bad thing because this has made woodland owners able to pay to have their trees attended to. In this case, as an example, the steady rise in firewood prices is very clear. Forest managers have an alternative market for the tree tops/rejects that would have cost to haul long distances to the chip companies. That is also a plus. To be able to get an easy loan and up-grade your existing boiler to something probably 50% more efficient is commendable and I support this idea. To change it to a wood-butning machine be it on any available fuel is really another ball game. Perhaps this is why nothing has been set firm.....yet. Another opinion is that you can have the best & most efficient boiler fitted, but if you can't keep the heat inside of the property itself, you are wasting your money. Insulation is probably just as important as the new boiler, whatever it burns. Good insulation is not cheap either, although what is currently available today far exceeds in volume over performance what was available not too many years ago. codlasher.

Truffles? codlasher

A suggestion, Stihlben, if you are serious about selling in the future..... You may be talking to Mr Channer anyways. To maximise your value I would sort the timber into 'processor' sizes for haulage. So cut to 2.4's and max log diameter of 300mm (1' in old money) The 2.4 will ensure a self loader is able to use all their bays efficiently. The remainder can be dealt with in any way you choose. codlasher

I can not see what the problem is.........Sunday, Monday, they are just days. You are alive, fit & healthy. Take them a bag/truck load of logs. Be glad your 'phone is ringing and you can earn some money! If you chose to be a log seller you have to have these terrible inconveniences! What's all the fuss? Most of all be polite. codlasher

They look like Sitka but the best way is the 'clutch and curse' test. Clutch the branch and if you curse they are Sitka! If not they are Spruce:biggrin: codlasher

Great post. Good on you Deeco! Here's luck in your travels! codlasher

To be honest in the majority of cases that I have had with regards to bats, I have found that they prefer roofs. To the point where they have become incredibly messy. I have known an entire colony move, in one instance, to a 'better roost' in a warmer roof-space when a boiler was fitted into an attic space. A whole colony of Pipistrelles moved from a very comfortable large out building to a small confined attic and proceeded to cover the boiler in excrement! I understood their preference as it was a much warmer spot but remedial work to ensure the above mentioned boiler, was not buried, took some time:001_rolleyes: The pic shows a transient colony of long eared bats enjoying a summer roost for one week in another roof:biggrin: I love my Magenta 4 bat detector and am still learning heaps! In an area where the vast squirrel population has resulted in the prediction that any future Oak and Beech trees will never reach maturity in a form that will provide quality timber. The resulting bat roosts need to be in houses to survive! Thanks Typsey for the info. codlasher

Simples....I'm assuming the chimney is lined with a clay liner not a steel item. If it is a steel liner do not attempt item 2. So for steel liner; Lower the rods again or a weight on a rope. Attach a small grapnel and pull it back up the chimney. This way you will not have to get the bristles to bend the other way again. If it is clay lined or simply a 9x9 square, borrow a 12 bore shotgun and providing the chimney is straight and you can point the gun up the flue, let go with both barells & this will most certainly dislodge the object. If not wait for the debris to clear and go again. This will also ensure your chimney is swept for the next 12 months. You need to be out of the way pretty quick in light of falling debris! Option 3 is have a good fire and burn/melt the bristles on the brush. Good luck. codlasher.

We had a ride-on planting machine. We preferred the 'Skrieffer' that cleared the debris in a 2' wide path and made the slots for the young trees to be put in. This was pulled by a 6 pot County tractor. A hole every 18". So planting on FC spec every other hole was used. In those days there was a big market for 'Rustic poles' so close planting was encouraged plus there was not such a call for beating up with the volumes going in, unlike today with 2.0 or 2.5 meter spacings! The main reason that the ride on was not used was the poor chap on the seat froze to death! The decision to continue manual 'heeling' was a mutual one. Does your machine have a heater? Just interested:biggrin: I use an air spade nowadays to make the ground soft, working up a hedge line with it doing figure 8's in the soil and also for putting in bigger 'standards'. This digs/floculates the soil 6" at a time and makes for beautiful and easy digging. It prefers damp soil so is perfect for the job. In my opinion there is an invention waiting to be made using air pressure technology and planting.... My poor old knees won't do more than 1/2 a days digging so I have to use alternative ideas. codlasher

I have a Buckingham Woodstation I'm thinking of selling. Reading your post tomw reminded me. PM me if you're interested..... codlasher.

Some of these contraptions are great. My friend and neighbour has the remains of a 'Farm 2000' in his yard. it must have been there, rusting away, for a decade at least. I was having a cuppa with him and his wife recently and the subject got round to this 2000 and its operating. Mr loved it for the facts mentioned by twistedhicap.....burned anything, including carcasses, in its day:001_rolleyes: It ran for twenty+ years. Mrs hated it with a vengeance as she was un able to do anything with it when Mr was away. Everything was too big, too heavy and took too much time. They are now well into their 70's now and have oil CH as it is at the flick of a switch. Me, I'm spending time and hard earned £'s on insulation now. When I'm too old to operate my machinery I will have a well insulated house which will require minimum heat input and have one room that is extra warm for winter time. I still haven't decided on which fuel to go for but it will be chip or pellet.....eventually. There's a lot of boilers out there but the KISS effect will eventually be the decider:thumbup: codlasher

Ha! That makes the saw AND winch redundant! codlasher

Like!:biggrin: codlasher

There's always that jangling nerves bell as you are waiting! We always talked each tree through no matter how many times and no matter how many times there is always the jangle of that feeling! codlasher

Sitting in the cab with a straight cable running up into the tree and watching. Engine running nicely on just above tick over, clutch in and waiting for the signal to go. Nervous. I never put a massive strain on the cable to start with. The reason was not to trap the cutters saw when the directional cut was being made. This rule applies particularly to stems with potential for rot inside. As long as the cable was straight was the rule. When the felling cut was being placed I had a very good idea of what was happening by how the cable was behaving. If the cable bellied I knew that all would be well and the need for big pulling power was low. If the cable went bar tight I paid much attention to the pre-arranged escape route and the signal from the cutter that he was clear and to work up the power on the winch. There was always a point of maximum pull to where the tree reached its tipping point. Maximum pull sometimes resulted in the whole tractor rear end rising up onto the fork stops, this meant that there was now all weight on the mechanism and it was doing what it had been designed to do, dig into the ground and pull with all its 10 ton capability. As the tree reached the tipping point the tractor slowly moved forward and the wheels again touched the ground, the tree then hit the ground. Job done...Phew:thumbup1: codlasher As a PS to this. Ten ton of pulling power will pull a bogged and fully loaded timber lorry from a bad loading bay (See Nick Channer's pic as an example)

Treat what looks like a simple pull with a tractor with caution. If the tree is any bigger than 16" you will be surprised by the 'lift' created with pulling on the trunk with your cable/strop. Creating a big angle between the draw-bar and the attachment position on the tree itself will result in less grip the more you pull, often resulting on the rear wheels loosing grip much earlier than you would normally expect them to. Try to loose weight on the opposite side by sending the Climber up to drop those limbs if you can. I used to dig the forks of my old County/Cooks winch combination well in when doing this type of work as this occasionally dragged, particularly on wet ground. All the equipment was 25mm cable rated to over ten tons. A short cable strop about 2.0 long was used to wrap around the tree then the main cable was attached from the winch, either pulled up by the climber or run up using a ladder. Webbing is probably as good but must be rated for what you will be putting through it. The plus side to webbing is the weight and none those bl**dy whiskers that always appear in cable waiting to get you no matter how thick your gloves are ;-( codlasher