devon TWiG

I have experimented a bit with ivy in the past and more recently, but not large diameter stuff though , I like the very contorted/fused stem type pieces , and have some nice curved bits drying at the moment which I intend to carve some shark jaw bones from !!! I think it has great potential for use in woodcraft , but as yet under used . I hope you try something and let us know how you get on !

It does look quite nice and interesting , but what do you perceive it's end use to be ? Table tops perhaps ? it may be a bit soft for that , it would be interesting to see if it sells , or if you make something from it be sure to put some pics up ( I know it will not be for some time yet , unless you kiln dry it ) I do not think I have ever seen anything made from MP apart from turnings .

Also , did you know that the semi precious stone "JET " the black stuff from the east coast is actually the knots of ancient monkey puzzle trees that have been fossilised a bit like coal over many thousands of years !!

I do not really think Monkey Puzzle is worth milling , the only real value to turners is the rings towards the top of the main stem where branch stubs are visible in the bark ( or where branches have been removed ) and cut in to rings between nodes ( whorls of knots ) and used end grain to turn bowls or hollow vessels ( see pic ? ) it is not pleasant to turn , it stinks when part dried , and is horribly resinous when fresh , but can yield pleasant results , as a guide the useful pieces fetch about £5- £10 per ring if about a foot or so in dia . I have turned plenty and it has never blunted my tools !!! it is very soft and not easy to get a good finish on and can be a" bumpy ride" whilst turning ! This piece is slightly spalted !

Wait until it is felled and trimmed out , Yew varies in colour a great deal , and is very prone to having a lot of shake ... The hoppus foot measure is a bit irrelevant here really as many sections of yew is so un-round , fluted etc it is hard to estimate ... but if it is nice wood in colour with minimal shake then it is worth more than £ 3.00 per cu ft , even small branch wood is useful and saleable and it keeps well so any one buying for their own use should be stocked up for years . The owner seems aware it is worth more than firewood ... but will they accept the best offer they get ? .. or hang on in the hope for more ?, it is not often easy but that is how market forces work unfortunately !!

I personally would not buy wood without seeing and feeling it , I prefer to cut it from log form myself , also the cost of postage tends to make it a bit expensive , most craftsmen source their wood locally and there is plenty of it about , decent butts can be valuable but try getting a merchant to send out a lorry ( with hiab ) for one butt , it is a sad but long standing situation. Anything more than firewood value , without having to cut split and deliver it is a bonus surely !

To be fair to yourself , and to the guys quoting for the job make sure they are all quoting for the same thing ie ; 1 guy says x amount to leave on site , another to take all away etc ... or get them to quote on multi scenarios , a price to remove all wood , another to cut and split all wood , or take it all away ....

Quite a lot of garages run oil burners for heating their workshops from old engine oil , ask around they may be glad of it for free , and it is better than paying to dispose of it !

Arb waste can produce some fabulous and beautiful woods , but trying to sell them is a very hit and miss affair !! Getting the wood and milling it is the easy bit ... marketing is far more difficult !! I buy all sorts from local contacts but it is rarely the pieces that they had considered as having any value at all , yet the nice big clean butts are so often logged or left to rot ... very frustrating really !!!

It would appear he is using the tractors rear wheel as a face plate and the tractor as a lathe ... 100 + HP that is some lathe !!!!! The bowl is built up of segments as you can see , I have seen someone turn a 6 foot dia bath this way years ago , but the way the wood presents itself to the chisel leads to a lot of splinters and tear outs .... not easy at all .. lots of sanding ...

pretty sure this is Prunus serrula

It was recently in the press that 20 % of all prisoners are caravan dwellers ( well they have a roof over their heads now and cannot nick much !!! )

Hi Big J , do you do all your milling with an alaskan and chainsaw or do you have saw milling gear as well ? as it would appear you have had a large lump of sweet chestnut delivered or at least moved to a site , if so why not use ( or take it to a mill ? ) I know chainsaw milling has its place ie .. in a place that is innaccessable to heavy lifting gear , but for milling surely it is slow and costly compared to bandsaws . I ask mainly because many years ago ( 20 or so !) I had an alaskan mill and was cutting some beams for a shed for myself on a site and a timber merchant / miller i know saw me working pretty hard ! and commented that " it is the last resort of a desperate man !" not in a rude or insulting way , and I sort of agree with him , as in I would only mill this way if there was absolutely no other way !! which in Arb work is often the way !!

Does anyone else on here use saw chain oil to lube their drive chain on their bike ? I have been doing this for years , mineral or bio !

I have no idea if any one runs courses, but there are plenty of good books, also loads on the internet , and national trust and other large collections usually have most of their plants labelled or I am sure there are plenty of Arbs on here will let you work for free all day carrying Leylandii out of gardens so you know exactly what it looks like and will never forget it !! lol

. Your dimensions would make it a double pallet so around £60-70 I think. Your limited to about 800 - 1000kg on a pallet so you should be ok --------- Probably nearly double that price now ( I deliver palletised goods for a living ) do not request AM / next day to keep costs down , sometimes if other goods can be stacked on top of yours can be a bit cheaper as well ( saves space )

Matty F, you are not far wrong in your assesment of most turners , as most are retired etc and do it as a hobby and do not sell for profit/ income .There is far more wood from arb arisings than is ever likely to be used in the craft market . I get my wood from several local contacts and they are happy to let me loose in their firewood pile for as long as I want , I usually look for ugly knotty stuff, fork/ crotch sections and less common species , the wood is always wet / damp / green and I can usually fill my car ( honda jazz) for 40- 50 £ ( more than firewood and no work ) which we are both happy with , however I only cut up small sections /2nd measures of wood , nice oak, elm .yew butts etc are priced higher by negotiation ! I probably only buy a few hundred pounds worth a year , and I do quite a lot of turning . It would be very unusual for a turner to spend hundreds in one go ! Unfortunately if people see a turners wood suppliers catalogue and see the prices , they do a quick calculation that all butts are worth thousands !!! ( they rarely are ) I really do not know any one who has sold wood of much value to a turner so if it is your wood do what you want with it !! If you have a buyer then you will get to know what he wants and save it aside for him .

The volume of sap is constant throughout the year , it just moves more in the growing season than it does when dormant ,the chemical make up ( sugars ) will vary throughout the year as well . Green wood weights of a given volume do not really vary from the growing and dormant season .

Holm oak is very dense , slow to dry and very keen to warp and split , I think if you were to plank it you will suffer very heavy loss. If it is cut in to small sections then it may be of interest to the craft market , although few use it so not many are looking for it , and even less will be willing to pay much either . As seventh devil says it can be spectacular quarter sawn to show the medullary rays , I have a small stock of A4 size pieces set aside for a project , when i get around to it !!

It would lead to a lot of broken wing mirrors and the livestock would get out as well !!!

Most college courses are in " arboriculture " not just tree surgery, although most employment is in tree surgery, a qualified arborist after some experience will usually be a better tree surgeon . Physical fitness, attitude etc are probably as important . Different climbing techniques matter very little as a keen enthusiastic arb will seek out and try new equipment and techniques and settle with what they feel suits them the best . Also multiple gadgets etc can lead to confusion if an aerial rescue is required ! . Many people are out there every day doing good work, safely and efficiently and enjoying it, in many different ways .

I deliver and shift quite a few woodburners ( I drive a lorry ) I was wondering about this a while back .... Wood price has gone up quite a bit in recent years ..many people do not use their stoves as main heating source .. often woodburners are replacing open fires ....coal is used in multi-fuel stoves as well ... firewood is being imported ... much pallet wood etc is scavenged that never used to be ...IF fracking takes of big time then gas price may fall making wood seem overpriced and messy work ... Also much wood that did not have much of a market other than pulp , pallet wood , pit props , chipboard manufacturing etc now has a ready market to the firewood industry with more merchants and suppliers than I have ever seen ( on here and in real life ) selling by the load and many in nets ... so in short I think market forces will settle things, but all of this depends on the weather as well I guess !!! On another thread on this site I could hardly believe the amount some of you guys are burning for personal use !!!....

They could have been as low as 10% when leaving the kiln ..... however wood will only be as dry as its surrounding humidity , so will probably have absorbed water from the atmosphere , even indoors in the UK at this time of year ... so kiln drying was a bit wasted really , but will still be great firewood I would think !

Put a rope through a convenient high.ish fork in a ,tree tie one end to the log the other to the tow hitch drive forward lifting the log in the air , with a second rope tied to the log and through another fork , tie off the end with a few wraps around the tree ( arb lowering style ) position truck under log and lower ( carefully and slowly ! ) in to back of pick up ! This should be OK for logs up to about half a ton ( pick up capacity ) with practice this can be very cheap and effective for occasional use , take care not to stand under the raised log at any time !! With two pick ups and another person it becomes quite easy , assuming there is a conveniently situated " craning " tree .

Methusala the ancient bristlecone pine , Massive london Plane , and a very large gnarly old oak ! ( possibly replace Plane with a Baobab !!)