Billhook

Better photo of the blade

A problem has been building up for some time in the yard. Namely a whole lot of tree trunks that are far too big for the Palax processor which really only has a capacity of 10 inch diameter logs. I hate the work involved with chainsawing into lumps then hiring a big hydraulic splitter and picking up the resulting pieces either to be re split or thrown into a box. Being old and lazy I felt that there has to be an easier way I had some wear plates removed from the dozer blade when I fitted some new ones, so I welded two together and welded them vertically onto a length of H section girder. I dug a large hole with the excavator and put the girder and blade inside, then mixed well over a ton of concrete to leave just the blade sticking out about two feet. Sharpened the blade with a grinder and tried to push a two foot diameter log, with many large branch knots through it with the Matbro telehandler. The Matbro weighs about six tons and has a 100 hp four litre engine with a powerful ram on the boom. Very disappointing result even when I charged at the log, it would not look at it. So out comes Daisy Etta, about twenty tons of Caterpillar D7 with a 14 litre engine at 128hp not much more than the Matbro but a huge long stroke means a shed load of torque at low revs. I think maximum revs is around 750 rpm but a lot of torque at even 500rpm and of course the steel tracks to put the power onto the ground Well the old girl hardly even growled so next job is to fit a horizontal blade to split the trunks into four. This I think will work well for occasional use. I can then pick up the four lengths with the Matbro and take them to the log table to go onto the Palax. The main advantage is that there is no length limit to the log and I could have the Matbro standing with the grab on the far side of the blade and just cut with the chainsaw when there is a long enough length Oh yes, I have three old car tyres to go over the blade when not in use. We do not want any reversing accidents do we!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM7HlfrqHH4

I have found this one to be very useful, especially for cutting a load of smaller branches as well as a few larger ones. The price seems to vary a lot from the mid £thirties to £ seventies so you need to shop around Black Powder-Coated Saw Horse for Woodworking - WWW.MANOMANO.CO.UK IN STOCK: best prices on Black Powder-Coated Saw Horse for Woodworking - choose between 13 Saw horse Not the most brilliant demonstration here. Chainsaw could be a bit sharper and he needs to slot a length of 2"x 6" timber under the logs to prevent contact with the metal. Works well for me when placed over the wood box so you do not have to keep picking up the pieces and you are cutting a a comfortable height

Its only loggingical!

Bag arrived today and is perfect for my needs Used to take a bundle in my arms from the one ton potato box to the wicker basket and not only cover myself with dust and log debris but also only manage a quarter of what this carrier can carry. It lays quite flat in the big box and therefore can take slightly longer or awkward shaped pieces The coal scuttle has the branch loggings on the right, the new carrier in the middle and the wicker basket on the left I cannot emphasise enough the beauty of the loggings not only for starting a fire but for running smaller stoves. They last much longer than you think they will. They are mainly Ash and Sycamore loggings.

Yes that is the one I ordered and it is not quite as posh as the one on the American site, but I do not need a posh version!

It may be because my wife spends so much on Amazon that we are on Amazon Prime!

Just ordered of these from Amazon which seem good value at £9.99 on offer. Black Friday?? Need to carry logs from the one ton box sitting just outside a few yards to the stove. A barrow has a step to negotiate and a basket a narrow door, also I can place the bag in the box to fill more easily Perhaps you all have one of these already and I am just a bit slow in discovering these things! Firewood Log Carrier Waxed Canvas Wood Tote Bag WWW.AMAGABELI.COM Firewood Log Carrier Waxed Canvas Wood Tote Bag is Constructed from premium waxed canvas. 39" Long x 18" Wide, excellent size for carrying a few logs, firewood...

It certainly does work for 312, but you must insert the zero so 099 +990= 1089

My father found this little trick in the New Scientist magazine many years ago It works well if you write the answer on a piece of paper and hide it somewhere, in a book or drawer. It works better if you ask the victim to use their calculator as although it is simple maths for my generation, I am constantly amazed how many people cannot even do basic maths. Think of a three figure number. All numbers different and no zeros eg 123 reverse 321 and take the smaller from the larger. In this case the answer Is 198 reverse this number 891 and add it to the previous one 891+198= 1089 and 1089 is the number you will end up with every time The main thing not to do when you have amazed all with your psychic talents is to tell all that it works for any three numbers! Save it for Boxing Day perhaps with the family. Perhaps some wizard can explain why this always works? I noticed that the lass at our local garage had 1089 on her private number plate so I did the trick and I am now treated like a God whenever I go there! ps it works for four figures as well but the answer is 10890

Wonder how many bodies they found in it!

Perhaps there are enough folk working near a Lucas Mill owner to come together and buy a planing disc and a sanding disc for the occasional use. The 20hp Briggs is a big bonus and it will plane almost any length using extensions and a width of up to five feet The planing disc costs around£1000. Not sure about the sander, but it looks reasonable compared to the sort of money discussed above. A dedicated slabber would certainly be easier than using a chainsaw slabber.

The line that must be most pertinent to arb workers “ A man’s gotta know his limitations “

Need to join the marines for a bit of fast rope training!

Looks like a beautiful magic cloud of wood smoke! Top marks!

I suppose the bar could be used for some interesting chainsaw carving project.

Chainsaw argument with grass topper. The chainsaw bounced out of the bucket on the front loader of a tractor that was topping the grassland.......... The topper won!

Just been rained off as the squalls were soaking me even in an open fronted shed Managed to cut three nice 8x 8” beans 12 feet long out of a lovely piece of Ash. The beams will take the place of rotten ones above some double doors in an old shed we are restoring I enjoyed this video on the Lucas family. Geoff was the one I met on my trip down under twenty one years ago

Slightly more sophisticated log pile making up my poplar log cabin by the lake. Built with full scribe method in 2000 but due to foot and mouth the team could not come up from Devon to help build it until the Winter when it had to be built in a Dutch barn. Because of the time lapse between taking the logs from the barn to the site, they had moved a fraction which resulted in a small gap between the top layer. Dozens of Pipistrelle bats have taken up residence as can be seen by their mouse like droppings, I put a 20p coin there for scale

I presume that even if I restored it as a timber tractor, since the cab has been fabricated by a blacksmith with no plates or certificates, it would not pass H & S anyway. I would think that there are roll over frames for cabless County tractors available which are certified

My thoughts exactly Do you have to have a roll bar if you have no employees, driving it yourself and are using it as a piece of classic machinery? Another thought is that if I mount the crane on the trailer, and power it with the tractor hydraulics, with the controls mounted also on the trailer operated from the ground, are you meant to have a roll cage on the trailer by the controls?