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Yeah the 400 is good. On the 480 we can easily use the 6 way but the ram switches from 15 to 25ton when it's needed,which is most the time on the 12 way so adding the chainsaw to that can make the tractor struggle.

Thanks. Our tractor was only 45hp when new so with the 12 way we have to let it split before we can cut the next one. Even then it's still much faster cutting big stuff than small stuff though.

We're using 84 link husqvarna or oregon chains, usually full chisel. 3/8 0.058 Bar is a 24inch oregon (had problems with the sugihara we tried) I keep meaning to try a rotatech, had one from the apf but it was the wrong size (my fault).

Cutting some big stuff through the 12 way splitter today. Satisfying to watch but takes a lot of work to maneuver the logs through and the little tractor was struggling with revs on the knotty oak.

Bet you were nervous cutting that to fell with all the rot.

That's not as bad as it sounds. For example if I spend 20k on a processor and sell it after 4 years for 10k, even if I only did 500 tons a year, and you would want more for that size processor, it would only cost £4 a ton.. With the boiler we installed it's the same - it's going to be 5-10 years to pay off but that means it will only cost a tiny amount per cube.

Shame to see someone go out of business but it's usually imported wood that's the problem if they've been undercut to the point they can't compete. I don't see the issue with drying to be honest, the aim of RHI was to get more people using renewables and it's worked. We've been selling wood for 20 years and we were trying to work out a way of selling more dry stuff through the winter so it worked perfectly for us. It was a big investment and we've still got a loan to pay off but it's helped the business to expand. RHI hasn't made our wood any cheaper, it just covers the cost of drying (except towards the end of the year when we go over the payment limit). We also don't charge extra for 'kiln dried' wood, we only dry to be able to sell more so whether we sell dry stuff in summer or use the drying shed in the winter it's still our standard £60-70 a cube.

They're potato boxes with reinforced floors. We dry the wood in them then tip them into a pickup to deliver.

Milwaukee impact wrench. Never had one until a few months but it will shift any nut including the ones on our chipper blades which makes the job way quicker than hanging off a bar.

It's sequoia /giant redwood.. Weird stuff, weighs way more than you would think and has 2-4 inch thick bark that's like a carpet. We bought a load to plank because I'm making a raised garden for my mum. Do you manage to sell your oak planks, we're struggling with the ones we cut because everyone wants different sizes?

Going to need a bigger loader. I think there's got to be a use for this log so I don't want to cut it in half but it's 2 tons plus.

Weren't the big companies like certainly wood drying before rhi? In regards to drying wood I get what you're saying about drying wood with wood but if you put a wet piece on the fire it's using its own energy to dry itself anyway. On a commercial scale if we assume wood has to be dried (which customers normally demand) it's just a matter of working out if it's better value to have a large amount cut in the summer and stored in the dry or doing repeated small amounts through the winter with a kiln. Off the top of my head it takes us between 15-18% of our total wood to dry what we sell if that's any use as a comparison.

Thanks, it was filled in with a small fire in front then one day my mum started pulling at some loose stones and got a nice surprise.

Despite the fact that we sell dry firewood we usually end up with the offcuts so we just dry by the side of the fire. You can't really go too dry but there's no real gains once you drop below 15-20%.

Quite right, we can kiln dry down to less than 6 so it doesn't even register but we aim for less than 20 and just explain to customers who want it drier that they won't gain anything. We only dry so we can keep cutting through the winter anyway and to be honest we're currently burning 30% ash on our fire with no problem. It's just a matter of providing what the customer wants.

Never had a problem with ours but if they're house dogs just make sure they're indoors and someone's with them, sometimes it's worse to change things with dogs than have 10 minutes of noise.

As a comparison, we do 800-1000 tons and get through 10 - 15 chains, depending how many snap teeth on stones, and 3 bars. Chains are sharpened after about 20 tons and that takes 10 minutes. Cost is around £500 a year plus time. Our old tajfun 400 did 3000+ tons and the only replacement parts used were 3 belts, 2 oil pipes,2 tensioning screws and a few new log holding flaps from operator error.

Do you have one of the clamps with a roller on? I find the curved ones like ours grip better, especially with the teeth.

A chain should only jam if it's blunt, in an average day we cut 15 tons and with the exception of a few bent logs which pinch briefly it will never stick until you need to change the chain at around 20 tons. I'm also curious to know if the harvester chains are any better at cutting.

What I want to do now is cut a hole in a tree, put something inside and then some glass over it and let it all seal up so there's just a window. It would make a brilliant story for children years from now. And misery for someone doing firewood years later.

Not unless you're on a massive shoot I wouldn't think, most beaters enjoy it as much as the guns. it was £20 plus food and a brace of birds here and the £20 would normally be only if you bought a few dogs.

Depends where in the country and diameter of timber. If the majority is 6-18inch diameter we would pay £45+ in mid Wales. Unless you're near me then I'll say about 20 a ton.

I would recommend a tajfun 400 for quality, reliability, production speed and price but it's mostly personal opinion. Things to consider; Chainsaw or circular saw. Saws stay sharp longer but chains are easier to sharpen especially if damaged and are cheaper. Also the machine can be physically smaller with a chainsaw. Size: go as big as you can afford and look for one with a big open splitting chamber, this limits wood damaging the machine. Splitting force: with a 6 way splitting wedge you'll want 10 ton plus. 15 is idea though for hardwood and you can go higher. Log tables: if you're using pallet forks or a grab to avoid manual handling you'll want a log table attached to extend the in feed. Power requirement: shouldn't be an issue most are less than 40hp but if you want to move them small tractors will struggle as they're normally 1-1.5tons and mounted quite far back. Unfortunately you just missed the demos at the apf but there's plenty of people on here if you find a machine you want to look at.

Haha, probably 70 years ago someone thought I'll have to remember to avoid those'.

I've been sorting logs and sharpening chains for the next couple of days cutting.