Stompy

I'd go about 25mm for your sticks and try to use the same wood and the timber you are stacking to minimise any grain staining. Looks like you got the hang of it though, cracking job mate.

Have a mate in London who did some work for Rebecca Loos (not that famous really), said she was very, errrr, friendly

Really like that, you've done a cracking job. I've got a green man on the front of the house, think he is covered (and seems to be chewing on) Oak leaves......

Any figuring on the Sycamore?? Pics would be great.....

8 1/2 foot x 20 inch is pretty huge and I imagine would have a fair bit of weight to it. Might be worth looking at pallet shipping. I used to use Palletline when i sold bits and pieces of machinery in the uk. As long as you have access for a 7.5t truck and can get hold of a pallet this may be the cheapest option. Your dimensions would make it a double pallet so around £60-70 I think. Your limited to about 800 - 1000kg on a pallet so you should be ok

I suppose it does look a bit like that Dornier........ No intention on my part. Was good fun to build, a bit fiddly in places but better than plastic toys for the imminent little un :-)

Euro 3 phase is 380V as opposed to 440v in the UK but makes little difference to motors, they will work well on both..... Well worth having a look at at that price.... do some nice upgrades to.

Same over here..... It can get upto the mid forties here in the summer so trying to slow the drying process is vital, similar to in the US. It is not such a problem in the UK but still worthwhile end sealing...... generally the slower the timber is dried the more stable it is. Kiln drying, if not performed correctly can collapse the cells in the timber creating a brittle product. Best to air dry for as long as possible before kilning..... In my opinion And keeping the timber whole until you intend to use it and it is dry is always the best course of action. Or get it down to rough dimensions and dry from there but allow enough for movement.

Ku?a: Tuheljske Toplice, visoka prizemnica 430 m2 + hala 520 (prodaja) Or A ready made sawmill business if you've got £430,000 to spare?? Some good kit there. Sorry if it's bit of the topic......

A few I have found over here. Some beasts available for pretty good money..... Pilana Terglav 1200 - 11000 eura Translation: Terglav 1200 Sawmill, 1998, main motor 18kw, sharpening (???), computer M measuring, six hydraulic compressor, two hydraulic wheel, 10m long, capacity approximately 15-20m3/8h, super condition 11000 euros Pilana TTM-800 Translation: Sawmill TTM-800 with 12 meters of the railway. Speed ​​is controlled via a computer. Comes with 10 blades Pilana WRAVOR And a Woodmizer...... PILANA I HOBLERICA WOODMIZER TE VILJU?KAR INDOS 3,5 tona Plenty more out here, every village has couple of sawmills. Everyone produces their own timber and has their own piece of woodland. Loads of big old Vertical bandsaw mills to.

I really don't have the time but I got a little carried away with an idea and made this......... My first little un is on the way so will be the first of many toys for them to smash up It's not based on any particular plane, just freestyled it. Needs a rub back and another coat of wax.

Sounds a great idea, most folk I've seen using a chainsaw make me cringe, people don't understand the dangers and how very quickly things can go wrong. Check out the insurance implications, I imagine they would be huge. Health and safety Britain being what it is..... Could check out if you could get some sort of sponsorship or local council grant to cover some of the costs. Saving money for the NHS etc

2014 Robot wars Champion??

I don't rate it at all compared to other finishing oils on the market. It's expensive to..... I have used Morrells ezeoil for years and have yet to find a better oil finish. Easy to apply, great depth and colouring and a solid finish.

Could be 'sap staining', seen it in Maple before. Caused by a fungus but tends, as the name suggests, stay in the sapwood. Don't know any cure for it (if it is that anyway)

Best bet would be to find a joinery shop who would be willing to run them over the surface planer and then through the thicknesser (planer)....... you'll get perfect boards that way which will only need sanding up. Alot of work to do it by hand and takes some practice. As above hand plane would be your best. Half the the work is taken out of the job by making sure your plane iron is sharp..... as you probably know working with blunt tools is a waste of time.

It may be seen as a little harsh by some but also some truely invaluable constructive criticism. John can and I'm sure will take some of the advice and criticisms given here and work to further develop his product. Without the brutally honest answers and comments given here he would not have such a broad spectrum of views and a better idea of his target market. For myself as a furniture maker and joiner (aswell as Steve I'm sure) this machine seems to sit somewhere between a big old rack saw and a workshop ripsaw. I can cut 225mm on my saw with a 3 metre sliding carriage, not too different from the Silverclaws ability. But then I wouldn't use my saw for cutting logs but could get another for rough work for a couple of grand. Or pick up a new Hud son Oscar bandsaw mill for less money than a new Silverclaw. Interested to see the extent of the portability as for me this is it's major selling point at present. Everything else can more or less already be done with existing products.......

Ok, just looked as though you may get a build up of dust, debris etc around the blade, under the rollers etc and not easily be able to get near it to clear as it is fully enclosed. Cheers and good luck

Looks interesting...... Is there any form of dust extraction?? And is there guarding around the drive belts?

Don't know too much about chainsaw protection but I use one of these to stop all the nasties getting into my lungs in general workshop usage....... Product Catalog:3M? Maintenance Free Half Mask Respirators 4000 Series Comfy and cheap enough to have a few kicking about so there is always one handy. Good for chemical vapour protection too so versatile for finishing to. I know most timbers aren't too harmful but over the years wood dust can cause some problems, worth looking after your air bags.

Plus incredibly hard work cleaving something of that diametre....... and as Alec said you would waste most if it. Let the machine do the work

No worries matey I'll see if I can find a picture of the tabletop I used it on to give you an idea of the finish.......

I wasn't far off...... the product is called 'Timbertect plus' or it might have been the 'Worktop seal'.... both supplied by conservation chemicals limited. I seem to remember the first time I used it I just gave them a call and asked for some samples and then sent a whole pack including all you need to apply and finish. You can download instruction sheets from there website too. great company to deal with and very friendly.

I have used a company called that I thought was called Timbertec, can't seem to find them on the internet!! Anyway was pretty impressed with the finish and seem to remember that they produce an oil that can be used to finish wooden sinks for kitchens so I'd say that it would fit your purpose perfectly...... not much use I know but will try to remember and post up here. As for the safeness of other products I would try to get hold of the COSHH and data sheets for each one, they should give you all the info you need to find out if it will melt your teeth/kill you slowly etc You should be able to download them from the respective companies website or request them. I believe they have to supply them by law. Any of the cooking nut oils would probebly do the job and be safe

Ok..... I'll do a bit of reading up and see how I get on.... sounds complicated but I'm sure I can get my head round it. Cheers for the advice