spandit

Not big enough, that's a kindling saw

I know most of you probably don't agree with muggles having chainsaws but I've still got most of my limbs and flip-flops are really practical for cutting in hot weather, although with missing toes it's sometimes difficult to keep them on... Anyway, I've got a Stihl MS-181 (better than Husqvarna? Discuss... ) and have been using their Rollomatic anti kickback chains until now but wondered whether there are options out there that would cut more efficiently? I'm mainly cross cutting firewood but potentially some light felling in the future.

Took me quite a while to sned but you can appreciate the scale next to my 4x4...

Chain sharpening is for wimps. Real men just force it through & make dust

Yep, showing now... Here's one down locally but didn't make the news & the bloke who owns the property is a tree surgeon!

No pic showing

It was dead, unfortunately. Also, it was in the wrong place I stand corrected and feel ashamed

Don't know what all the fuss is about qualifications, I brought this behemoth crashing down without damaging anything or anyone

Are you able to rehandle an old one? They often appear at boot sales very cheaply. My Brades was £2

Looking for chip to use for pathways/mulch or anything worth burning HGV access and we have a kettle PM for details

Yes it will probably sprout new growth and if you do it, do it now as Spring is very much in the ascendency

Cut the fence either side with something and then get a friend with a knackered chainsaw to remove the stump, unless you can cut underneath the fenceline? Actually, once the fence is cut, could you try splitting the stump or putting a barrel over it and burning it out?

OK, I'll do that but I'll probably put another post on here which is a bit more obvious

There was something like this on an AWDC play day at Bordon a couple of years ago. In the middle of the site there was a small lake (that for most of the day had a V8 Disco immobile in it). I got the Pinzgauer through, but not comfortably. This thing didn't even get the hubcaps wet...

Reading on here there are some people who pay to tip their chips, some who get paid for it and some who give it away for free. I could do with a few tonnes of mulch, is this the kind of thing that I could get for free (East Sussex?) I'm aware that it needs to be composted for a while before use, by the way

For the £2 or so per tree, I'm prepared to take the risk if it dies following coppicing. Should at least nitrogenate the soil for other species and hopefully dry it up a bit. I agree, more trees everywhere!

All good advice and most of it too late as have already ordered tubes/spirals. The matting cost me about £150 - don't know how that compares to spraying 1500 trees several times with glyphosate. Ring fencing not really an option as I've already identified 12 different sites where the trees will be planted. The entire perimeter is about half a mile, I think. The spaniels and the .22LR will keep the rabbits at bay and I have a friend who would jump at the chance to shoot deer if they appear, which in East Sussex is more than likely. I'm told the soil is pretty fertile. The rushes seem to like it anyway! When I say we're on sand, it's an extremely fine sand that holds the moisture quite well. It's covered by a good few inches of sticky sod anyway

That's why I'm planting such a high proportion!

From What is coppicing? | coppice.co.uk "...For example, common alder coppices poorly..." From http://www.forestryjournal.co.uk/newsitefiles/2010/0410/Coppicing.pdf "...a relatively few species like common alder which strongly coppice..." In fairness, the first link is the only one that said it wasn't suitable for coppicing but with a domain name like that, you'd expect it to be an authority...

As I said, not a million miles away - between RTW and Eastbourne

Well aware of the need to plant the smaller shrubs on the outside and I take your point about evergreens. As mentioned, we have a lot of holly around the edges and there are large clumps of rushes to harbour other wildlife (woodcock, for example). I'm planning on trying to establish some heather too and hopefully my pond will attract more wildlife once I stock it with plants (already seen frogs in there!) I still don't want to use glyphosate - I've read arguments both ways but it doesn't gel with my conscience. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a yurt dwelling hippy (no offence to those who are although kudos for having an Internet connection) but one wonders how any trees manage to grow without human intervention? I've got some oak seedlings well essblished in the sward (?) and my philosophy is that the trees that survive will be all the stronger for it I'll be asking for thinning/coppicing advice on here before too long, don't you worry!

Love the foliage on those red oaks. Will add those to the list for next year...

Here's a photo of part of the site: The mess towards the top is a pond I'm digging out as there is a spring there. Currently puts out about 3,000 gallons a day. There's a drain at the bottom so I can just dump the lot downhill, which is very satisfying. It fills up in a few hours. Once I've finished digging it, by hand, I'll plant some willow revetments to stabilise it. The woodland will have a ride/path up to the pond and I'm planning on creating a seating area up there to enjoy the view, if we ever get a day where it isn't raining! There are plenty of willow sticks stuck into the ground, a couple of buckets full (400?) so should have a good source of withies in years to come. The timber in the foreground of the second picture are a couple of barrel staves that belonged to a barrel that was placed over the spring in the 40's. I dug them up when I was excavating the pond (there's a book written about our house/land that mentioned the spring but it had been covered over some time ago and was just saturating the land and making it boggy). At time of writing, the water has nowhere to go when it over flows but the white line you can see marks out a future pipeline that will take it down to the ditch.

It's probably going to be a while before I have any suitable for hammocking - considering sinking some big posts in at the right spacing so I can enjoy them a bit sooner!