Paul in the woods

I expect a laurel effort went into planting the hedge so I hope someone called the copse.

I was also going to say Oysters, but then I clammed up. Actually looks like it would provide many years good pickings if the thing doesn't come out.

I find it useful to give the cutters a quick sharpen every now and again whilst working. I find it's quicker than changing a chain and speeds up cutting. I also don't have a bench of blunt chains to deal with...

The Aspen site summarises the reasons here: https://aspenfuel.co.uk/products/aspen-fuel/ I use it or Motomix as I don't use the machinery that often and I've never had a problem starting something after several months. I also don't use a vast amount of fuel so price is less of a concern.

You could ask @shavey @doobop @wicklamulla @Youngstu (I don't know if any of them mill but they might know of someone in that area).

Well, round here our council has declared a 'climate emergency'. However, if you ask them what it means they can't tell you and if you push them they get stroppy and refuse to answer unless you submit a FOI. They have been having climate meetings for about 10 years by the looks of what I can find out, but they've not produced anything other than extra CO2 from all the meetings. With regard to the rubbish. I think theory and practice of what councils do is far removed. Ours insists on some separation but then paper is put in an open plastic sack and has to be put out the night before. So, in a fairly wet part of the country all the nice paper is often soaking wet so I assume is not reused. They have 'invested' a great deal in nice shiny collection vehicles at great cost to the tax payer. However, they are too big for many roads so insist people drive the recycling to collection points and drive there again to pick up the containers. So, that's 100 short journeys they expect people to make which will be great for the environment. 🙄 Interesting to read the comments on the amount left after incinerating. Our council proudly boasts nothing goes to landfill. I assume they simply ignore the ash that's left. I'm not sure our local government will adapt, it'll just find more wool to pull over people's eyes.

Wait until spring and eat it! https://pfaf.org/USER/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Phyllostachys+nigra

It would be interesting to hear an update on your progress. Has the coppiced ash survived rabbit attack and ash dieback? Some areas and possibly even some stock does seem more resistant than others. I also note that down here in Devon the rabbits in many areas have been hit dramatically by yet another disease and in places the numbers wiped out.

Looking at an enlarged version of the first photo of the end grain it looks ring porous.

Doesn't sound normal, mine might take a minute to warm up and get going but by the time I've cleared the ivy of a trunk she's ready to fell. Has it always done it or has it got worse? Mine did suffer from dust getting into the carb until I put some vaseline around the base of the filter. I wonder if the carb needs cleaning?

So not horrible at all but useful. "The hatched larvae live under the bark of both dead and living trees, feeding on smaller larvae until they are ready to pupate." From the first photos they looked more like flesh eaters than vegetarians. WWW.WOODLANDTRUST.ORG.UK

I'm curious to know why it's bogging. I have the same saw and it might not be the fastest but it doesn't really bog at all. Took down a fair sized ash this week, 16" diameter at the base and logged it up in a couple of hours without any bogging. Best of all it only used a litre of fuel. Mines had over 100 tanks of fuel through it and I'm sure it's improved. I keep the chain sharp and don't lower the depth gauges too much. Also a wedge in the top of a large cut helps. Apologies if that's obvious.

You say young but is it not a small, old, piece of shaggy bracket - Inonotus hispidus? It's a bit hard to tell from the pieces.

....from the makers of Lassie and Hammer House of Horrors, we bring you.... "Igor Come Home." (Yes, I think he did).

Run out of rooms to paint?

Ours is still in the veg bed as I put a temporary row of Norway spruce there for a few months whilst I sorted out somewhere to plant them. That was a few years ago so now they can be harvested and Christmas trees.

Anyone seen anything like this for sale in the UK? Internal Thread restorer with 3 Metric cutters WWW.VICTORNET.COM Internal Thread restorer with 3 Metric cutters

I've done that but the cheapest one in the UK seems to be £40. I was getting a bit fed up searching for taps as even searching for M30 x 1.5 the taps that turned up were M30 x 3.5. Google was just as bad but it looks like many shops don't list stock in a way google can index. Hence my question. I don't know what sort of shops to look for.

Many thanks. Did you google them or know the shop? I assume the taper tap would be best? I need to clear/recut the first couple of threads, the rest seem to be ok. I assume/hope the end of the taper tap would follow some to the good threads?

Can you post up your recent Euc planting photos again @Big J , they've been lost from the planting thread due to the site maintenance.

Where did you get them from? I can find one for £22 on the slow boat from China.

Doesn't look too expensive, but I'd need to spend a few hundred on a decent drill. Thankfully the thread isn't that far gone. I've also seen some rethreading tools for £200 each which would be cheaper.

That is/was my plan B. I'm worried why you thing it's inappropriate? (Or a bit rude!). I thought I'd try clearing the thread first and if not then I'll ream the entrance. I have found a sump bolt that's the right size. It may be small enough to be able to screw it through from the back. (There's two arms at the back with only a 28mm gap, so I can't drive a long bolt through. The is a bit of room that might mean a short bolt will fit). If that's doesn't work then reaming or I'll take it to an engineer. (Yes, it's removable from the machine).

Have you tried contacting a local councillor? They may well be no help but it might be worth a try. If you don't know any it might be worth seeing if there's a council meeting being broadcast on Zoom so you can get an idea of who to contact. Do you have legal cover on your house insurance? If so they might be worth a try, although weight up the fact you may not want them involved. The other option might be to look at taking legal advice, CAB might help. They may even be able to put you in contact with a solicitor who offers some initial free advice. At least the offer of £5k would seem they are accepting liability.

The indemnity insurance is something your solicitor should be able to discuss with you. A quick google shows loads of similar questions about missing TPO trees. Personally it's not something I'd raise with the council at all. With regards to heave, if you're feeling bored there's plenty of threads on here such as this one: https://arbtalk.co.uk/forums/topic/121421-the-inevitable-tree-too-close-to-house-on-clay-soil-question/ As has been said, take copies of the evidence of the missing tree.