ben_inthewoods

Interesting comments and advice, would this pattern of cuts lend itself to quarter sawing with a Lucas mill for reducing the tension and increasing the stability of the sawn produce? I have a few hundred beech with a dbh of around 50cm that I could have a go at and a new kitchen needed next autumn. It seems a shame to firewood this size of timber, but the market for sawn beech appears small and of low value. Looking to the uses for sawn beech, is there a useful small dimension size that could be considered a stock item? Cheers Ben

Try to persuade the Forester to whip early next spring to reduce the impact next year. Hooking this time of year not great for your health if the spores are out. We've done 20ha of this, not great and a larch crop - fingers crossed not to get P ramorum

+1 many thanks for the heads up. We all need to be pro active in calling in pathogen sightings like this.

That is certainly the case in Scotland and that decision was made with reference to England.

There is very little risk of spreading Chalara via the transport of infected wood. As suggested by others in previous posts the spores are found in the leaves and leaf litter not the wood itself. Timber movement restrictions were discussed during the formulation of the national strategies to try and "manage" the spread of Chalara. There of course is the advice from FC and statutory conservation bodies to not fell ash prior to getting infected in order to try and find genetic resistance, but given that many ash trees are roadside and will therefore cost additional money to remove (traffic control etc) once infected the income of firewood surely should be considered to offset removal costs. Dutch Elm Disease has been mentioned and this can be spread via firewood movements it is this "under the radar" movement that very likely lead to the spread of DED beyond Inverness a few years ago (despite official movement restrictions being in place). On a wider point the movement of unprocessed or partly processed timber is an issue that responsible firewood merchants should carefully consider. There are very real risks out there and a few more on the horizon. Current risks (not all): Phytophthora ramorum - all those moving larch logs be aware that there are statutory movement restrictions in place. Pine Tree Lappet Moth - all those moving pine logs during the spring and summer be aware that there are statutory movement restrictions in place. Asian Longhorn Beetle - found in Kent (contained by sanitation felling???) Citrus Longhorn Beetle - within EU Emerald Ash Borer - very close to EU - traded within the EU via firewood crates - that is very possible (see posts about buying in processed wood from the EU that has not been kilned to a high enough temperature to remove the risk of EAB). As a timber grower as well as a firewood producer I am extremely concerned about the spread of pathogens present in the UK and EU and the risk of more pathogens moving into the area of EU free trade and then into the UK via world trade. It is the first topic of conversation when UK foresters meet these days. Once a pathogen is on in the wider environment there is very little that can be done. If carefully considered rules designed to control and limit the rate and extent of spread are ignored by any sector of the forestry, arb and horticultural industries we have a very big problem. Those in the firewood sector not concerned about tree health are potentially going to cause a great deal of harm. Those trading in firewood as just a commodity is isolation to what is going on in the wider woodland/tree environment need to be brought into line. I would suggest that bio-security is an item on firewood producers websites and marketing material, particularly those importing part processed wood (ie with bark on). I am not particularly looking to single out companies, but as Premium Wood has been touting for business it would be a good opportunity perhaps to put together a FAQ on how wood is sourced and what bio-security measures are taken to ensure new pathogens do not enter the UK countryside. I had a look at Premium Wood website and saw nothing at present. Regards Ben

After trying the tajfun 400 and the Posch 350 we chose the tajfun and have been pleased - 150m3 cut so far with 200m3 to go. We are cutting pretty much 80% beech and it is working well to date. pro's: cuts large cord 30-40cm diameter - we have an 8 way splitter it easily copes. when cutting short 25cm logs out of large diameter cord the tajfun does not have the problem of tipping the log when the dropping into the splitting chamber (frequent with the posch 350 that we demo'd). The lifting bench is a good alternative to an expensive log deck if set up correctly. The use of chain oil is minimal (unlike the older manual model - which i understand from those that had one caused gunging of the works). The controls are simple, the infeed and splitter can be used in tandem making processing quick. The saw shavings can be extracted via an additional extractor (we are just getting one as we are using the processor on a front PTO and want to limit the dust into the radiator and also use the forwarder crane to handle logs). Cons: Slightly lighter build than the Posch at least. Would love to cut larger diameter 600mm logs, but instead are selling them on to others. Would like to have a circular saw rather than a chainsaw for speed and less waste. Looks good, will see in 5yrs time.

ah well that's that then? perhaps that's why regulation might be required if there is a real risk of further pathogens being imported via logs with bark. At the moment (for part of the year) you can't (it is illegal) to transport pine logs out of a small control area west of Inverness in order to prevent the spread of Pine Tree Lappet Moth. This is causing some folk major inconvienience, but it is limiting the spread of a potentially serious insect pest. If statutory control is required because the market is not bothered that may be that. what do you think?

Price is key especially for those not really giving two hoots about UK woodlands, the woodland industry, the landscape, biodiversity...need i go on? however the issue of imported wood is being looked at seriously.... Here is the script from the powers that be... " We do not have reliable intelligence on the type and volume of biomass that is entering GB and where this biomass is coming from. As such we have recently commissioned a report from Geoff Hogan, Head of the Biomass Energy Centre (BEC) to assess the international trade with GB in firewood and fuel wood chips. Extract from project brief: Background In the light of recent biosecurity issues and concern over the spread of plant pathogens between countries, it is valuable to have an understanding of the flows of plant material that may present a risk of infection, into the UK. Woodfuel, specifically firewood and wood chips, presents a particular risk and it is intended to attempt to estimate the current and likely flows of such material imported into the UK, both from the EU and beyond. Project outline • It is intended initially to collect such data on international trade with UK in firewood and fuel wood chips as is currently available through existing databases such as the HMRC Trade Info. This will be resolved into flow from within the EU and from beyond. Although such data do not give sufficient detail, and only cover flows to and from the UK, they can provide some baseline figures, and act as a reality check on more detailed data collected subsequently. • Following this it will be necessary to assemble a list of principle importers of such material into the UK and contact each directly in an attempt to get figures for recent imports, and also to assess the likely changes in such trade over the coming years. • It will also be necessary to attempt to estimate flows into the EU from outside its boundaries on the grounds that some of this material may subsequently find its way into the UK from third countries within the EU. • Finally, if sufficient information is available, an attempt will be made to break down flows into the individual countries of Great Britain. This report should be available towards the end of March. " The importing of fuelwood (with bark, kilned to various standards) has horse meat parallels. Perhaps quality firewood producers should be educating their customers?

I wonder what folk are importing when they are importing firewood (and chips) from eastern europe and from further afield? I suspect that if Chalara had not turned up first then Emerald Ash Borer would have turned up from Russia (via Eastern Europe) where it is devasting ash woodland. Bronze birch borer (via US) or Asian Longhorn Beetle (via Italy) next? Would be interested to know what biosecurity controls are being put in place by those traders importing 'kiln dried' wood.....the floor is yours.....

Thanks for pointing me to those posts. What was the outcome in your case? Did you fell the oak, find it sound and mill it with an Alaskan mill or wait for better conditions and drag it out and sell to a merchant who could maximise the value? Having heard Rick Worrell talk last year about adding value by processing and drying I am keen to do that where possible, but perhaps heavily burred trees are special cases? Interested to know how to realise the maximum net return from a tree that has stood 180+ years (planted be the Estate as a timber crop).

We are trying to start adding value to logs by milling rather than selling in the log. We have a few oak that have succumbed to shading by beech and are unlikely to recover in the crown (just a couple of live branches left) a couple of these are pippy or burred. As we are new to milling and not wanting to rush in and ruin a potentially valuable log we are seeking some advice on how to deal with these logs (assuming that they are not shook!). We are thinking that we should slab the pippy oak (4" slabs) and dry it slowly (inch per year +) in a shed. But we are in two minds what to do with the burr oak - do we slice burrs off 'sort of boxing the heart' then mill the rest as slabs? Or do we do something else? We are proposing to slap with what we have which is a Lucas mill with slabber attachment as this saves 3rd party processing costs and haulage. cheers Ben