Macpherson

You'd could do worse than consider the cheap hand winches that I gave you a link to before if you've got no cash... .... £40 for a pair,... if you don't do ebay ,toolstation sell them, you just need to keep re-rigging them every 1.5m , that's why you need 2 .... but still cheap as chips.....and a chain and shackles rather than ropes and knots, you don't want any stretch ....I used one of these last month to drag out a great big lump for milling 3/4 of a ton plus, ..unless you can borrow stuff the rigging gear will cost far more than these.......I suppose it depends on how much value you put on your firewood supply, but to put it in context.. a 20m wire rope for my tirfor isn't far off £200 but it'll lift 3 1/2 tons, with this kind of project on your hands it's well worth biding your time... what you need can be built up quite quickly by watching the usual auction site. If your needing shackles etc I find this place very reasonable and a top notch service... all the best http://www.gsproducts.co.uk/

That's a decent price.......but it does say solid construction, just in case your tempted ☹️these are often really sturdy 1/4" plus thick plastic but they do get fkd by boats and are often seen by the shore with a crack in them, easily welded, cheers.

Sounds like a boat might be handy

Yeah, I've also got a petrol winch but not that model, in the same way as you I'm planning to drag some big stuff but using part of an old marine buoy which are easy to get here......just checked Jonsies do the cones at £124.

Tirfor might be your best bet then it had a long enough cable, could you borrow or hire one ? I've never noticed these nose cones before, I'll have a look thanks...previously used the top of a propane bottle, worked fairly well but not always big enough.....the front of an old canoe might just be available to me, cheers.

Yeah, that winch and kit are on ebay at the moment for around £1400 from the US, the nose cone is the bit that interests me, I've not seen one for sale in the UK.... anyone seen anything like it for sale here ? This is real cheap and quicker than a real Tirfor, but on a steep bank two of them would be better as releasing the ratchet isn't easy under tension......a real work-out.. knackering, but still cheap, cheers. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Ton-3-HOOK-3M-CABLE-PULLER-HAND-WINCH-TURFER-FOR-CARAVAN-BOAT-TRAILER-UK/253678767776?epid=6020265119&hash=item3b106ecea0

Hi, I've not used these but I have done similar using torch on underlay roofing felt, very easy and cheap....so far seems to have helped...I also put a section of plastic pipe round the post if its in a situation that likely to be strimmed.

Yeah, had one like this a few weeks ago.. ex fish farm, leaking from the bowl, but the main problem turned out to be the petrol tap which leaked and is also prone to be worn or gunged up by lack of use and or crap from the tank, cheers

Thanks for the link, interesting to read about this again, I switched to this stuff a few years back and don't go near the refined stuff....although it's going to be in nearly everything that you don't cook yourself. Cheers

It's interesting that natural unrefined salt contains more than 80 elements other than sodium chloride, who's to say what benefits these other trace elements have, either on their own or combined, certainly not the medical profession. We and all other species evolved consuming the full spectrum in our diet, animals will travel many many miles to find a salt lick so why on earth would you want to refine it down to one element ? Of course supermarkets do sell 'healthy' sea salt which is usually just refined salt with added iodine,..... there's really very little sense left in just about anything these days. I think that you'll find that Lucozade sport is sweetened with the artificial sweetener Aspartame, made from three known poisons......if your happy to consume that, I wouldn't worry too much about salt, well worth a look at what other folk are attributing to this muck.

I've only got an Alaskan which I enjoy using, but I know what you mean.... a pal of mine has a band mill and has built a similar log arch but uses the winch on the front of his jeep to pull the logs onto the trailer, for this to work he welded a tow hitch to the front of the vehicle, it works really well, cheers.

I discovered this guy Mathew Cremona a while ago, If you like the log arch you'l also like the very large band saw mill he built from scratch, check him out on youtube.

So the whole charging system less the battery for £40 ish ....not bad at all

So whether battery or capacitor would the charge controller supplied with the original solar panel kit not do the job ? Just presumed that would be it's purpose, cheers.

Hi, nothing very Tesla I'm afraid for the time being... I've got access to a ready supply of s/h car batteries many of which may have been replaced unnecessarily and can last years just running lighting / fans, etc in a 12 v system. My old workshop ran this way for years and although I'm not off grid, I plan the same again in my new place especially outside lighting, my electricity use is small and I don't want to add to my bills, so this would seem the easy way to go, cheers.

Hi, you don't say what type of timber you want to protect, but prior to any coating of oil, varnish etc.... I always coat wood, whether seasoning or finished, with this to prevent blue staining and attack by pests, it's cheaply available on the usual auction site and 1 kg of powder dissolves to make 5 litres of solution. https://www.borax.com/markets/wood-protection-biocides/ There are many threads on here recommending various different products for sealing timber against the weather, I usually use my own concoction based on Tung oil, cheers.

Hi, interesting thread,..... I'm putting together a similar system to you to keep batteries charged for off grid power, I rarely find anything on Amazon to be cheaper than ebay, cheers. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20W-solar-panel-kit-with-controller-for-camper-caravan-boat-20-watt-charger/122630270712?epid=16015680039&hash=item1c8d556ef8:g:EJgAAMXQwwlSABHG

Yep, I was also interested in reading what folk had to say on this subject as I've been looking into it for some time, hopefully the conversation will get back on track,.... there's a few on here that wreck any thread they comment on by talking complete shite .

lovely job, cheers

Tip of the bleeding iceberg mate,.... you'll live longer if you stay away from anything your GP want's to sell you.......oh!... yeah ..and the cost's already covered by your taxes... How many in house of lords have shares in GSK etc...Sickness and ill-health is probably the best place to put your money at the moment...By design ?

Aye, the problem of plastic pollution is massive particularly in the oceans and recently highlighted on Blue planet II.... I thought this guy's idea could be an interesting alternative approach to encourage a change in attitude for many of the poorest communities on earth. https://www.ted.com/talks/david_katz_the_surprising_solution_to_ocean_plastic

What about a net barrier..I don't know how fine It would need to be but various net sizes are available, I've used this for other reasons but cheap enough. Or maybe paint the edges with thick melted wax ?...cheers. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2M-X-20M-Green-Debris-Netting-Scaffold-Garden-Screen-Crop-Protection-Windbreak/352093256217?epid=1113496351&hash=item51fa64ba19:g:qk4AAOSwdU1W87ls

So are they attacking the living tree when it's healthy.. or as it ages and perhaps has damage / rot.. or once it's felled ....and do they go for milled timber that's stacked ? I'll stick with the wasp, I'm pretty sure it can't push an egg through the bark unless it's soggy, ...they love Sitka....soggy weeds

Yeah, had to google longhorn beetles, I don't think we get them here......very similar mo to woodwasp... the larvae get all through the sap wood so in a log of say 18" diameter 4 - 6" can be lost, the last larch I milled was riddled with 1/4" burrows and hadn't been down for very long. While I'm happy with the way that borax cheaply acts as a pesticide and prevents staining and mould.....if applying it topically I can see that it probably wouldn't have much impact on any pest that manages to get past the surface...or is already in there, having said that, I don't think any of my milled timber has suffered after it's been stacked... cheers.

Pity you hadn't said this earlier,.... still wouldn't poison them.