Peasgood

I meant geographically rather than anatomically.

I paid summat like £20 inc del on a pair of pear knife scales once. Must be worth a punt

Oh heck! My log shed is full of apple. That pear is full of worm but how deep they have gone is a different matter. AFAIK worm don't go deep. From the colour it is obviously well seasoned.

Black widows/redbacks do look like that (as far as shape goes) so could be a false widow. Where was it (if you are still with us)?

Funniest thing I have read in ages

Seriously, I would be much happier using that friggin big flywheel thing you see on Youtube with axe head welded to it that any of the screw type splitters.

Maybe he said malaise.

So did I. I thought you were supposed to

Ash can rot very quick

I wondered how just one could be infected too.

I discovered that spraying Dursban on fast growing apple shoots during hot weather scorches them. I now feel a bit of a dick (to keep it on topic)

Thanks. It is a Lister elevator. New engine was just over £100 and 6hp instead of the old 2hp that never did run properly. Couple of roofing battens fastened under the slats and some galvanised sheet screwed on to stop the logs falling through. Side extensions are just some bent up rebar with sheet tacked on. Hopper is a Give Way sign cut in half and a bit of ply. All very simple really. Took a bit of thinking about but didn't cost much to do. Really useful thing to have. Brilliant when parked next to the Fergie saw bench. (which is what I made it for really)

I think the other posters made more sense than me. What I meant was that it was a sensible starting point for negotiating from, although it doesn't read like that. £350 is a lot of money for little work. If i could do that for 4 people I would be on a lot more wage than I am now, and for a fraction of the hours.

I don't think there is a single machine that suits everyone as there are so many variables. Most of my wood is leylandii at 9-12" diameter from own grown trees. I cut to 18" lengths as that is what fits in my fires. If I had big rings of oak, beech etc this splitter wouldn't be much use, but it does suit what I have. I did some bigger stuff the other day, just dropped the knife down and quartered the rings. Then lifted it back up again to finish them off. As for lifting stuff up again, do you use a hookeroon? I haven't had one for very long but kicking myself for leaving that so many years.

Sounds like a reasonable starting point. Best of luck.

About time I put some pics up, mostly because I haven't seen one like it on here (unless I missed it). I have an Oxdale and can't fault it tbh but I wanted a horizontal splitter. This was so I could split and push the logs onto my adapted bale elevator. This meant it had to push through the blade rather than the blade being on the ram. It also needed a table of sorts. I was in the process of planning how to build one and came across this one on the internet. Surprising how many times you can look at log splitters and still come across something you hadn't seen before. Pretty much exactly what I was after so I bought one. Very good splitter and it does do what I want it to. Well thought out design but I do have to say it wasn't finished off too well. Biggest complaint is that the handles were too short and the guard over them too close to the valve. Obviously never checked before it was sent out as it just couldn't possibly work as it was. Big hammer sorted it but you shouldn't have to do that on a new machine. Top link pin hole is too big and the Cat 2 pin they supplied slips right through. Couple of other minor issues too. All in all not major faults, just stupid things that wouldn't take much getting right. Would I recommend one? Well I have no regrets. Made by Hand Engineering in Ireland.

It is a big house. All very nice until you have to heat it! Especially as it was built before they invented insulation. Plenty of logs, none of them dry Hadn't reckoned on the winter dragging on for so long.

I have two lit today, might light the third yet!

Banks can, and do, freeze partnership accounts upon the death of one of the partners, they then insist you open a new and separate account. Reason being that unless you have a written partnership agreement stating otherwise the partnership is now dissolved. (as per section 33 of the partnership act as Welshman says) Presumably your sister in law can't access that money anyway. Inform the bank but make sure you withdraw any money for immediate use, if they do freeze the account you may find yourselves strapped for cash. As said, your s-i-l should know full well what she is/isn't entitled to but she will be pretty distraught at the moment (as I am sure you are too). Can I also add that the fact he had no life insurance is not your responsibility. That was his business not yours, your s-i-l was just as able to make that arrangement too. Don't let feelings of guilt on that matter cloud your judgement. I expect that sounds harsh but as I said, I have gone through the very same thing not many months ago. There was no life insurance there either, he too had a wife and young kids, his wife too was in a professional job and just as able to make arrangements for life insurance but didn't. My thoughts really are very much with you and yours. It's a struggle but crass as it sounds, time really is a good healer. Take care.

Well I can't help pointing out that nearly every single shoot on the tree is like the one I posted a pic of Very basic and simplified advice is take off all vertical shoots and any that do not radiate away from the main trunk. A general rule is the more you cut off the more it will grow. Finding the balance is the art. Looks a nice tree, enjoy it for what it is.

First of all I must say I am really sorry to hear of your loss. I too lost a business partner and family member late last year so I know how you feel. From what you have told us it sounds like you were in a partnership but without a written agreement. If this was the case then there are laws/rules that automatically kick in. One is the automatic dissolution of the partnership. I'm no expert ( especially as we were fortunate to have a very detailed agreement) but you can very easily use google to look up partnership law. I would say you owe her nothing more than the value of any jointly owned assets. Ie. a shared van, saws, chipper etc. I can't see how she could possibly be entitled to any wage or share of profits whatsoever. If you feel obliged to help her out financially that is up to you but I would be extremely cautious of setting any agreement into writing. Good luck, I hope you get through it. As above, take professional and impartial advice. You will have to pay but it is money very well spent.

But it wouldn't be strong upright growth for long, the weight of the crop brings them down just right, and I don't just mean while the crop is on them. Besides all that, the OP should have flowers by now.

Ah well, here's a pic of what mine do. Above the red line is last years growth, pic taken this afternoon.

I have 2.5 acres of Bramley that I planted nearly 40 years ago. None of them do that. Another thing with Bramley, the best thing to do with them when they are growing skywards is to just leave them. The weight of fruit will fetch them down in a year or two. Worst thing you can do is prune those shoots back, this just strengthens them so they won't ever come down. Mine are all on MM106 and all pruned in such a way that we never pick off ladders. (gives an idea of height)

An apple tree makes new growth year one, fruit buds develop year two, flowers year three. My Bramley's are just about to come into full flower this week