charlieb

Damn. V quick reply from Logosol (Sweden) but even the 4.6kW saw needs three phase. You'd think they would do a conversion - I can't believe I'm the only person with a desire to mill but no three-phase supply (and who hates four stroke engines)

To be honest for the amount I use it the fuel use / power use is insignificant. I want to go electric because it's so much nicer to work - no fumes, no coughing, much less noise.

Yep. This definitely feels like the easiest option - and was the original question. Timbery do one in the US but if the UK reseller (Riko) do it then they don't do a good job of advertising it. Logosol also seem to sell one. 4.6kW or 8kW. Does anyone have experience with them? I got an alaskan mill from them years ago which was pretty fiddly but seemed well made.

I'd jump at this if I knew the right person. (As most of the issues with the saw are either in the engine or the engine control). Does anyone know anyone suitable in SE Scotland..?

Thanks all. The timberey has enough niggles now that I want rid of it. It's mostly the engine but a few other things. (Not really surprising given it's several years old and I haven't been the best for maintenance). I'll ask Woodmizer about running their LT15 mill through a single-phase supply. Seems to be 7.5kW. I have a feeling they won't want to get involved with inverters or transwave thingmejigs though..

Hi Folks. I've been milling estate timber very happily with a Timbery M100 for 5-6 years. Super cheap and it's done me really well - several thousand tree stakes, rails, sleepers and a Dutch barn all cut - but I'm getting fed up now with engine issues. Basically I can never quite be sure it's going to start. I'd really like to upgrade to a small electric woodmizer, but they're all 3-phase. Does anyone know of a good cheap single phase mill? It doesn't need to be super powerful and I'd actually prefer it not to have bells and whistles - I'm quite happy doing all the loading and adjusting manually and moving the cutter head - the motor just needs to drive the band.

Is it worth doing? We've had a huge one come down on the Estate. Somewhere that it needs to be moved. It's waste of time for firewood and it seems a pity to just move it somewhere to burn or rot. Any thoughts? People always talk about clogs, so if anyone knows any clog makers to pass them onto me! (Or is that alder?)

Roughly: Seedlings a bit less than 50p each (less if you buy more); tubes and stakes both a bit less than £1 each. Deer fencing worth it if you're doing more than about a hectare (very roughly). You can plant a couple of hundred a day if using stakes and tubes; several hundred if no individual tree protection. Birch is what I would max out on too, though I'd always mix in some oak and cherry if you want native; sycamore if not so worried. Maybe beech if it suits your ground. (Might as well give someone the option of some timber 50 years down the line.) WOrth noting that birch doesn't much like being in 4' tubes - they tend to shoot up and then blow over the following winter, so you might have to give them a bit of tlc a year or two after planting. Go for it. If you've got a bit of land then you can start as small as you want. Get some trees in the ground. Then you can watch them growing while you spend the time trying to get your head round the grant schemes. Our local nursery is Alba Trees - you'll be able to find yours easy enough and develop a relationship. Or Woodland trust, etc, will help you source small numbers of trees.. For what it's worth I've never bothered with weed protection - if you're doing the planting yourself and concentrate on scrafing properly then the seedlings seem to get away OK.

Are these no longer available? Suppliers all seem to be out of stock. Then there's a suggestion that it's been replaced by something called Gemstone Granules, but that's out of stock too??

I think those lads in Ireland are saying good things, right? This is all I came up with on a quick google... High-hour Horsepower: Valtra tractor still going strong after 22,500 long hours - Farmers Weekly WWW.FWI.CO.UK Dorset farmer Stephen Symes has a penchant for Valtras that goes back well over a decade. The first Finnish tractor...

Not local at all unfortunately. But tbh I'm not expecting to find what I need super local.

Thanks all. GIven me a few more places to check. Yep, buying without seeing makes me nervous, but I think I'd rather get the right machine with that risk than the wrong machine local. Valtra 6350 a good machine? There are two for sale with loads of hours but for about the right price: VALTRA/VALMET 6350 TRACTOR (ST5051) | RJ and KD McLean Ltd – Tractors and Plant WWW.TRACTORSANDPLANT.COM Andrew Wilkins Ltd WWW.AWILKINSMACHINERY.CO.UK

Thanks all. Mascus I hadn't really come across before. Look like a great alternative to ebay/gumtree. THough frustrating they don't allow you to sort by location. (Am I missing something?) Seems like easiest thing is to find a tractor on there and then find the dealer's web page for mor info.

I've got a decent idea of what I'm after now. Question is where to look? Ebay? Aggriaffaires? Local dealer wwws? Autotrader? Facebook? Gumtree?... I'm expecting to do a fair bit of searching before I go for something, but keen to know where to search. Btw what I'm after is a 'small' 90-100 ish hp 4wd agricultural tractor (ie no special guarding), with front loader, and lowish hours. Hopefully <£20,000. For a mix of yard work, topping, and occasional extractions. Valtra preferred but I'm not fixated on them.

Heres's the link Matthew. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Deutz-Agroplus-75-4x4-tractor-with-loader-2003/173910205314 Glad to hear decent things about them. I'll give the guy a call if some forestry money comes in as expected. Good to hear decent things about Zetors too - if we go for one of them it would probably be via a dealer and potentially newer.

Anything particularly wrong with these? Duetz in general, or this model. One's come up fairly local at an attractive price. Just checking there aren't horror stories out there. It's for general estate work, including timber and firewood stuff but it won't spend much time in the woods. We have a little quad tractor for most in-wood stuff. Also, any other brands I should look out for. I'd love a proper forestry Valtra but I don't think that's going to happen. Zetor?

Anyone know a supplier who would deliver SE Scotland? I'd like to try a few. It will be indoor so cage without the innard would be fine..

Cheers all. Frontloader tractor will have loads of other uses: we can't afford to buy any kit that's only good for logs. Noted GDH. I've been a bit worried about that, but OK so far. (we're on the East Coast, so fairly dry). Building a dutch barn soon and it will definitely be divided up. Might get some crates or IBC cages in due course - I think our valiant with rear forks would lift them when dry, but would need weight on the front.

Handball? I looked at one of those roller mats and decided it wouldn't save much time on balance. And we'd be too tempted to use it for wet logs so it would be bound to disintergrate.

Thanks both. Good to know getting them into a loader bucket is possible. (We're upgrading to a semi-decent loader tractor. knacks and tricks will be part of it. I don't like taking rickety loader on current MF565 near the landy very often - don't trust it.) Rowan we unload by hand. Tbh the time taken on this doesn't bother me. We only deliver within a 5 mile radius so it's a good time to catch up with people - they nearly always give us hand, and appreciate that we can chuck over fences, etc. It's the time loading in the shed that's dead time, though there is the advantage that we can chuck aside oversized or rotten logs for our own stove. We're currently doing about 20 loads a year but I'd like to build this up to 50 or so. Just our own logs from the estate. Never going to be a full time business.

Hey all. SImple question really: can a standard front-loader digging/levelling bucket be used to pick up loose dry logs reasonably easily? We're building up from a very small firewood business (where we handle the logs into back of pick up for sale) to a slightly bigger firewood business where I want to lift them in using to-be-purchased tractor with decent front loader. Just thinking ahead whether a standard bucket will do it or whether some sort of grab thing would be needed. I'm planning to build a new dutch barn for drying and can cut heavy-duty sleepers for the edge, so front loader would have a hard backstop to push against. Or does everyone dry in bags/boxes??? At the moment we cut rounds in the woods and split these in the shed into a big pile of split logs to dry. I've considered splitting straight into boxes, but that would be another thing to think about.

Thanks all. Pretty clear that I should pay the extra money and get the bigger of the models I was looking at.

I'm looking at ~35HP and ~50HP 4wd tractors for general forestry and estate work. I'd have a front loader either way, other implements would be winch, flail (heather cutting mostly) and small timber trailer with grab in due course. No ploughing. I'm leaning more towards the 35HP for maneuverability, etc, but a bit worried I'll be underpowered an annoying amount. Question: what tasks am I likely to regret going for the smaller machine for? Occasional earth moving or v heavy logs, yes. Anything else?

Cheers Tom. I've been to see another (very) local BCS. Do you know of anyone with an AGT nearby?

Thanks guys. It would be low diameter stuff (max about 20 cm, mostly less), 2-3 meters long. All been stacked by hand so far. Tom I'll be in touch at some point. Might not be till the Spring though. (It's very small and local firewood business we have.)