SteveA

There's so much to be said for having some way of burning logs, even if it's just as a back up to modern heating systems (and energy supply price hikes). And alot of people don't consider about gas or oil heating systems not working when the electricity supply fails! One winter, during the coldest spell we spent a whole month without oil central heating & no log fire. Never again!.... Looking forwards to building a rocket mass heater in the not to distant future.

I couldn't find many places stocking the Ripeur 2 gloves. Are any arborist companies supplying them?

Good call - just read up a bit more on this - i didn't know there could be such a long delay with the arthritis symptoms... Plant Thorn Synovitis (Plant Thorn Arthritis) Symptoms, Treatment, Causes, Diagnosis and Prognosis - MedicineNet ....definitely best to remove all thorny fragments asap.

Just hoping i ordered the right size.... medium, whatever size that means?

We bought our woodland knowing that a small section had a tree preservation order on it, "about 3/4 acre has a TPO" they said. Next, when we requested to build an agricultural barn under permitted development we noticed the TPO from the council didn't correspond with our own map.... they said our neighbouring woodland was TPO. So we asked our TPO officer to confirm..... The Result: No TPO on our woodland! great!! Conclusion: Don't assume anything; even after paying money for professional? searches

Treated myself to a Milwaukee M18 FUEL cordless drill less than one month ago. It broke half way through my second job ....the bleedin' chuck wouldn't undo ....so it's off for repair with my 3/8" driver bit stuck in it. Customer support have been very good so far. But apart from that, the drill is superb..... just hoping the same problem doesn't happen again. http://www.milwaukeetool.co.uk/tools/cordless/m18/tools/m18-cpd-(1)/

That's what we use our 1942 butchers cleaver for.

I'm interested in this.... how many are you needing and dya need them exactly square/ smoothly cut?

Good to know, thanks Jonathon I have already carved it in my minds eye, steve.... i have carved it as a fallen beech tree!

We've had a beech tree up-rooted in the wind and apart from the fact that it is now horizontal instead of vertical the wood looks healthy. I paced it from ground level to the top and reckon 80ft tall....it's about 2.5ft diameter at the base of the trunk. So, not huge, and not small. Seems a shame to burn the whole thing.... any alternative suggestions?

yep, thanks Jon

Bit of a warning: Stuck our heads in the edge of the woodland this afternoon and noticed the trees swaying over at quite an angle, then promptly reversed out to take a walk around the meadow.... a few minutes later there was a huge cracking sound coming from somewhere in the ancient woodland.... think best to wait for the winds to drop before investigating! It seems seriously windy here, not sure on speeds?

It's been and still is very windy here in Pembrokeshire - our garage roof sheets started lifting off so had to shut the door and now inside for a cuppa tea. Forecast to be windy all through the night..... the wind here seem much stronger than the recent 'St Jude' storm!

I'm going to try the french system, which involves less manual labour of moving lots of small logs, and goes something like: - fell tree and cut at 1m lengths - for heavy, large diameter trees/ split lengthways & carry away to stack outdoors - for lighter, small diameter trees/ carry away.... split lengthways at position of stack, then stack outdoors - cover the top of the stack with a tarp/ galvanised sheet/ whatever you have to hand - (leave oak fully uncovered, rain helps to wash the tannins out) - leave stacked outdoors for 1,2,3 years (this is dependant on the type of wood). - then cut the 1m lengths into 3 sections, or 4 if you need smaller logs - stack the logs completely under cover/ in vented shed, or similar for 1 or 2 further years - check moisture on sides, ready to burn at 20% or less Think of the bark as a rain jacket holding in the sweat.... that's why it's a good idea to split down the length and let the middle dry out.

Do you include the bag with the order, charge a deposit or empty the bag at the delivery? (I'm guessing each bag costs a few quid).

We have a few acres+ of Sitka & Western Hemlock that needs felling as it's sucking all the light away from the native trees. So they have to go. I went on a training day last week, part of it was about how important it is to season wood properly, not only a good fire, but also for low smoke emissions/ air pollution. I did ask if softwoods are suitable for burning, answer: "yes"...just so long as it's seasoned well (20% or below). A mistake people often make is thinking that it's okay to throw the occasional unseasoned log into the fire.... but it's a real waste of heat & increases risk of deposits building up in the chimney + air pollution. We may be selling our own well seasoned softwood firewood sometime in the future. Don't see a problem with it myself....

If it isn't being sold by woodlands.co.uk then you are off to a very good start! Keep in mind that it's worth as much as somebody else is prepared to pay for it, and then you'll be in with a good chance. Is it a live auction? ...ie raise your hand/ scratch your nose/ do a YMCA?

Yes, it's an "Agricultural Waste Exemption" under the environmental permitting (England & Wales) regulation 2010. I think all new registrations have to be in by the end of October 2013 otherwise they send the waste police around..... if you've been really bad they might compost you! The worst one is that if you cut a piece of wood and want to turn it into a walking stick then you have to have a permit (i kid you not).... it's called "use of waste to manufacture finished goods U9 but you are only allowed to use 100 tons of wood to make crooks or walking sticks".

Take it home and pop it in the fire! ....or if you feel you have to burn on site at least make the most of the heat by roasting a load of jacket potatoes and pop them in your freezer. *shivers at the thought of painting Monsanto on ash stumps*

Yes, definitely need this in place.

I say dig it until it looks about right, let it rain, fine tune. A bit of water sitting in the bottom doesn't do any harm.... let it pool where it wants and it will eventually level itself out. Leave the ditch for long enough and it will be like ours (completely infilled; a non-ditch).

Machete and an austrian scythe fitted with a ditch blade: Austrian Scythes for sale.

oh, okay. Rant over

ref: Limited use vehicles tax: You can tax your vehicle in the 'limited use' tax class if it’s used solely for purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture or forestry and: ~ it’s used on public roads only in passing between different areas of land occupied by the same person ~ the distance it travels on public roads in passing between any two such areas does not exceed 1.5 km ....1.5km (less than a mile) doesn't exactly help get horticulture & woodland products to the local market does it!! Who comes up with this stuff?? Maybe they dont want true local produce to thrive? Maybe Tesco, etc is local enough for DVLA and ukGOV?

If it were me I'd go for the natural regen. To clear bracken & bramble I'd go with with a machete and austrian scythe (fitted with a ditch blade). Would hack any high stuff or big woody bramble with the machete.... the scythe is for selective slicing at ground level, taking care not to nip seedlings. In your work area take a bunch of old plastic plant pots to mark the position of seedlings; saves standing on them, or scratching them up when dragging out those gnarly brambles. We don't have deer where we are (the aristocracy have them mounted on their walls), so you may want to use some bramble as defence; or rent an aristocrat for a day?!