devon TWiG

Look on my Facebook page below , I do loads of it , yes specialist tools are used , they are turned on an electric lathe when the wood is unseasoned / green (easier !) I do not have any pics of tools or work in progress I am afraid ...

Yes , nice bit of wood , was covered in cow shit and mud where it had fallen out of a farm woodland into a field where it stayed for a few years , until I was asked to cut and shift it to allow a new fence to be erected , sadly a lot of the log had been hacked at and most removed by farmer and was only a short fat bit left .....

It is not common and hard to spot , that is why it is valuable ,I know of one estate where the woodsman has chopped triangular windows through the bark to try and find some .After felling any Ash or Syc you should be able to spot it , along the vertical section of your hinge , or just cut one ring and then split it .

Ripples in figured wood run hoizontally across the grain the opposite to what you have shown , I have had and used rippled syc and ash and it really is gorgeous stuff but what you show is not rippled ...See left hand side of rippled Ash bowl below ...

The owners of said trees could find themselves in trouble if they had not dealt with the potential danger in a reasonable time frame though ....

I have , years ago on many occasions attended scenes of fallen trees in the road and on other property where damage has been caused but have never really found out if any one is liable in the end . I know it seems negligence usually needs to be proven to claim against owner of tree , but in the above case I would be surprised if the insurers of the cars damaged did not pursue the owner of the tree for costs .

So if there was nothing to suggest there was anything wrong with this tree and assuming the homeowner is insured ( or not ? ) will the people injured and who's car was damaged be able to claim against owner ?? Also who covers the cost of the clearing up ??

Although I am probably one of the only people ever to have made and sold anything made from Ivy

this very subject cropped up on a different forum a while back with "eco" extremists claiming it is a wonder plant and never harms trees , I think a picture says more than words

Queueing behind pensioners in the bank on a Saturday ...they have all effin week to go in !!!!!!! unlike those that work ....they should be banned !!

Well I am glad I did not buy one !!!!!.... although I guess it would be covered under the sales of goods act and therefore I could return and get my money back !!!

I have spent a fair bit of time in South Africa and there are plenty of BIG ( black ) women out there but the men are mostly small and slim !!!

A joke from Matelot's Christmas cracker .......What is the only thing to have settled in this country recently and not claimed benefits ??...................SNOW !!!

Guy top left looks a bit camp !!!

Always a hard question , as retirement is a bit like going on a holiday but you have no idea how long for !!! therefore no idea how much money you will need ...having a job in the public sector seems the best way to a guaranteed generous pension but obviously this is not for everyone . ISA's are a bit redundant now as interest on any savings up to £1000 is now tax free , and almost all "safe " investments have very poor returns at the moment . If you are mortgage and rent free by the time you are in your 50's then you should have plenty of disposable income , but the temptation to dispose of it is high !! Buying commercial property or land is one option , especially if it is of use to yourself . Really though how much money will you require for a reasonable standard of life ?? the state pension is not enough but topped up by savings / some investments and perhaps some part time / temporary work should suffice if your lifestyle choice is realistic , however if you are sold the retirement dream of endless holidays / cruises / dining out / classic cars /lady boys etc then ask yourself do you really believe you will want this when you are 70 plus , even if you are lucky enough to still have good health or even be alive ???? it is all a gamble really ???

Be suspicious that it is not stolen ????

As well as offering your self to other tree contractors you could also contact landscape contractors etc and also seek your own jobs , simple felling , ground clearance etc and on occasions you could get jobs and hire in a climber , I am pretty sure if you were determined enough you could keep busy , but the maths may vary from your example ...

I guess it is a sort of "pole climbing" really !

I have never seen this method of climbing before

Utterly bewildered by your comments !!!!! "Stinks ", " highly unprofessional " "sue " for what ?? and have no idea what you mean by "privileged" information ?? This was in about 1990 , I was working next door to the property when inquiry was made , called Arb officer the next day to inquire about the trees status and was surprised it was not protected . I do not know how you think trees have become subject to TPO's but it is often as a result of them being under threat , in the past local Arb officers often would not let us know if a tree was protected after an inquiry until they had, had a look and see if it is worthy of preservation ., this was quite common in planning applications for construction sites particularly .Do you think Arb officers used to drive around looking for "nice " trees to TPO ?

Was asked for a price to remove a nice big Blue atlas cedar that owner felt was spoiling his view , phoned Arb officer to see if it had TPO , and he said no ....I suggested he goes to look a it , next day he tells me it does have now !!! good result I think !!

Seeing as nearly everything for sale in this country seems to be made in China ...do we have to pay for the "right " to buy from them ? and can their citizens come to the UK and live , or us go there to live ? I am not sure I would like to live under their " human rights " ... however they are not trying to impose them on us are they !!

We rarely prune trees for the benefit of the trees ... more often for the whims of the owner , or it is in the way of space some one wants to use for something else .....also flush cutting from a few decades ago provides nice cavities for habitat now ...just not ideal next to a busy road !!

Cut it to the lengths that the weight is such that the horse can shift !!

One thing with insurance that seems odd to me is ...say for example I was pissed and crashed my car in to another car the insurers pay out to the 3rd parties car but not mine ... this is not the reason I do not drink and drive !!!!