TonyIOM

Hi Simon, the steel band is fitted to the joist ends at your determined radius to conceal the structure of the deck. Use flat head stainless steel screws, marine grade 316 are best as they won't subsequently stain. You can clean any fingerprints etc off the steel using any stainless steel cleaner or baby oil! I can send you detailed construction steps that are easy to follow if you wish. The critical one is to make sure your centre marker rod cannot move during the work and don't remove it until the last deck board is fitted:001_smile: Thanks to you all for the compliments. Tony

Hi Here are a couple of examples I use for building and edging curved decks. The spider web structure allows you to run joist supports close to the edge of the curve without subsequent sagging. I use a stainless steel band fixed to the joist ends to neatly conceal and protect them. A steel stockholder/fabricator can cut the steel into strips that are the same depth as your joists, a quick and cost effective solution. Cheers

Hi Thanks for your advice, I'll try that tomorrow. I think part of the problem is down to me being used to an MS180 when carving then trying to manage the somewhat heavier 660 and rig! Also the log I was cutting was almost at the maximum available cutting width with a 36" bar. Cheers Tony

Hi Here are some pictures of my first milling work with my new Alaskan from Rob and an MS660. The wider boards are about 28" wide, 2 1/4" thick and 4' long. I'm having a problem when I approach the end of the log and the leading edge of the mill is not supported causing the saw to run deeper - how do you address that? Al comments welcome, constructive or otherwise! Cheers Tony

Hi The owner did get it out of the hole by attaching a sling between the HIAB and a small conifer and pulling the mog up to level. I then had to cut several rings to fill in the trench and allow it to climb out! The trailer couldn't be detached because the pin was jammed. Still got 90% of the timber out. In the background are 3 large Beech trees that got blown over a few weeks ago. The largest is about 6' DBH but I think I'll leave that job to someone else! Cheers

Hi Here's my 1992 Ducati 888SP4, not much use off road I have to say!

Hi Thanks for all your comments and compliments. I cut the oak with a small Husky 353, 20" bar and a Granberg ripping chain that I'd badly sharpened after hitting a nail on my second pass! The trunk had fallen about a year ago but the saw passed through quite quickly, although the sections are only about 2 foot long by 7" max width. I'm going to try out my new Alaskan on a 4' x 32" section that I left on site. It was very tedious extraction! Thanks Tony

Hi Here are some pictures of my recent milling attempts using a Logosol timberjig on a small branch above the trunk sections. I made a chunky but small mantlepiece and a little shelf. The pictures were taken just after the wood was planed - is this brown oak or a special Isle of Man oak? Cheers Tony

Hi Will I'm not a tree surgeon and the last time I climbed a tree I was 10, otherwise I may have considered a mobile band mill! The St Johns mill is a huge Stenner mill capable of taking logs up to 5 m long and about 1.2m wide although they only process spruce. larch and other coniferous material. The chief sawmill manager showed me round yesterday and invited me in to watch my oak logs being processed from the overhead control room. At £300/hr I have to be careful with my cutting list! There's one or two tree guys milling wood but for their own use at present - most tree operations here are fairly small and the IOM Government has just given a long term contract to a UK company with a Kobelco tree muncher/mulcher to flatten all the larch here. I've made 3 chunky mantlepieces using a Logosol timberjig and have some interesting burr elm to do with the Alaskan (when it stops raining)! Will get pictures up soon. I did manage to get this chunky bit of beech out - perhaps a tree house base for someone with no trees Cheers Tony

Hi James, I'll let you know soon...I bought a 2010 MS660 last week with a 36" bar and also a 36" Alaskan from Rob. I have some 32" diameter oak, 28" beech and a gnarly burr elm to mill. It certainly had no problem cross cutting the big oak with the knackered chain it came with! Cheers Tony

Thanks for your helpful reply and I'm pleased to say the Chief Forester in the IOM Government said my oak trunk was the best oak he had seen in 25 years. Taking on board your advice re weight and handling I sent the oak in 3 sections; 3.7m, 3.1m and 2.5m. The forestry guy suggested they mill at least one large 12" plus beam for inglenook fireplaces as such sections are very rare to find and they are often requested - some good news to mitigate the 'issues' we had today; The Unimog burst a hydraulic hose at 10.30, at 11.30 the trailer hit a submerged stump and pulled the tyre off the rim, Fixed by 2pm only for the trailer now carrying the biggest butt to jacknife and tip over and then the Unimog buried itself up to its hubs in sticky mud whilst carrying around 2 tons of burry elm. Hoping tomorrow is a better day - will get some pictures up soon. Cheers

Hi I live on the Isle of Man and have a 10.5m Oak trunk, 34" tapering to 24" plus some large beech and a large burry elm. The Government sawmill can process the the oak in 5m sections at £300/hr (they normally process 10 trunks an hour into boards and beams so it seems reasonable (I keep telling myself)! I bought an MS660 and a 36" Alaskan from Rob last week to mill the beech and elm. However I'm unsure what is the most popular length and thickness of planks or beams to mill. I want to make some table tops, benches or mantle pieces from the timber. Can anyone suggest appropriate dimensions? Cheers Tony

Thanks to everyone for their input - not being an arborist I had to look up what a turkey oak was . I'll take a photo of a leaf tomorrow. The oak timber frame guy has not returned any calls and it turns out he imports all his oak from France - it must be really cheap what with France and England road haulage and two ferries to be cheaper than a local trunk? Here is a picture of most of the main trunk with a 6' man for scale to the left. Cheers Tony

Thanks Jon, I think it will only be viable to sell on the Isle of Man. I just need a rough figure as to what that size of log would be worth - if it was in Somerset for example? A timber frame company is coming round tomorrow to have a look and I don't want to get taken for a ride! Cheers Tony

Hi I have been clearing a windblown 250+year old beech tree and underneath it all is a large oak, flattened by the falling beech. The straight main trunk is around 13m long, about 1m wide at the base and about 80cm at the top. Can anyone advise me on what this may be worth in its current form to an oak frame company? I have thought about planking it then making beams but my current Husky353 is not nearly big enough? I do however live on the Isle of Man so shipping to the UK would severely dent any proceeds! Thanks Tony