Paul in the woods

I've tried growing a packet of mixed Euc seeds from here: https://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/item_562A_eucalyptus_hardy_mixed_species I followed the instructions and got a large number to germinate and they grew on quickly. My only problem is they outgrew their pots before I had anywhere to plant out - so ensure you have somewhere ready to plant them out. Mine have become a little stunted but have now flowered after about 4 years.

I had thought about getting an undersized bolt, but it would need to be M29 which doesn't seem to exist. I'm currently looking through some plumbing fittings as they around that size.

I know a few people locally that might be able to help but they're both sheltering from Covid at the moment. Many thanks for the offer Doobin, I do have family over there but will not be that way for a while. Thankfully I'm not in any rush and I'd like to get something sorted as I can see it happening again. Thanks for the warning Bob, that is also my main concern with a normal die, and making the matter worse. I couldn't find an M30 rethreading tap and I'd expect one would cost and arm and most of a leg. I might go back to the file thread restorer to start with. I had thought about going in from behind, so to speak, but I don't think there's enough room to get the bolt through. I'm sure the might be something else I've not thought of. There does seem to be a few sensors and even sump plugs that are M30 x 1.5 but not many bolts or other tools. Ideally I could do with a min 60mm long bolt even if I use the file, so I can test the thread.

Thank you for the suggestions. I do have a micrometer and thread gauge, and it looks like M30 x 1.5 but it may not be an exact match. The part looks to be cast iron and it screws on the end of a piston on a cylinder. So, I don't have a bolt to force in and I don't want to damage the cast part. I've cleaned out the threads with a metal pick and that has removed some of the loose parts. There is about two turns where the thread has become flattened and could do with reshaping. As the iron looks fairly soft a bolt should do it, or worth trying first. If I can't find one laying about I'll order one. Even a single M30 x 1.5 bolt is expensive and not the easiest thing to find. Noted about cutting slots in the bolt.

Glad it's not just me, I'm feeling a bit like Captain Kirk stuck in a parallel universe after suffering a transporter accident.

Just raising this here in case anyone else is affected. Steve, I seem to be able to see two different versions of the forum! Each version has a different set of posts on it. An example: One has my thread restorer post on and one has updates on this thread: https://arbtalk.co.uk/forums/topic/120819-maybe-the-uk-should-plant-more/page/12/#comment-1840098

I need to clean up an internal thread on a part for my mini-digger. The part worked it's way undone and damaged the last few turns of the thread. There's plenty of good thread to work with. A quick measurement suggests it's a M30 x 1.5. I would normally buy a tap to do this but a M30 x 1.5 tap seems a bit expensive and I may not have the measurement spot on. I bit of a google shows 'thread restorers' such as this: https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/cutting-tools/thread-restoring-files/thread-restoring-files/f/61 Sort of a file you align with the good part of the thread and clean out the damaged part. Anyone used them and are they any good? Does anyone have any suggestion of anything else could try?

Yes, thanks for all the hard work Steve. Don't break it again. ?

Going back to the original posts I've also seen fully trained arb companies make the same mistakes. Dropping trees across an open road, having half a dozen people pull a tree over rather than get the felling cut right etc. I'd also be careful what you wish for with licences. Would you also be happy to take points on yours if you get something wrong? What happens if you get a six month ban? Or perhaps it would work like a FAC, sorry sir you already have one top handle you don't need another. (Oh yes I do, ones for every day use, ones for classic tree topping).

Well, to me, those time lapse takedowns remind me of films of caterpillars munching their way through something.

I've not seen anything like the lilac fungi either but a bit of a search suggests Lilac Fibrecap, Inocybe geophylla var. lilacina, as a possiblity. Apparently common and deadly.

Have you IDed them yet? I thought No 2 looked a bit like a slime mould but not like any I've seen. Then it occurred to me it could be something like a young hazel porecrust, dichomitus campestris, if it's on a hazel. (Nice name anyway even if I don't have a clue what it is). 5 looks like velvet shank. 4 I'm curious about, it looks like a very shaggy parasol, which can be quite variable, but I'm not sure. Sorry, not much help this time.

On a serious note, what's the output of your existing gas stove in kW? And how many clothes do you have left on with if you have it on full blast? There did seem to be several reviewers of the suggested stove complaining by the lack of heat but that may be down to their house and install.

Just open all the windows, the more 'zero carbon' wood you get through the greener you'll be, especially if you kiln dry it first.

How did the goats get on with the knotweed? Funnily enough, although there's lots of clumps around the countryside here it doesn't seem to spread as much as other places I've seen. Which is just as well as the council loves to spread it about.

It's a bit of a how long is a piece of string question. Anyway, the instructions say typical refuelling is every hour with 31cm long logs. So, you should be able to work out how many logs from a bag you'll get it. I'd guess about 3-4 refuellings a bag, so one bag an evening? This depends on the draw, when it's windy my fire will burn through more wood. It'll also depend greatly on the quality of the wood in the bags. Make sure the bags aren't wet and I'd also recommend a Carbon Monoxide (CO) alarm if you don't already have one. If you like it I'd track down a reliable bulk firewood supplier.

Can you zoom into the leaves of the first one a bit more? Looks more like a lime to me but very hard to tell.

Have you considered the Shaggy Scalycap, Pholiota squarrosa? I can't really tell from the photos as I can't see the gills and stem. Pholiota squarrosa, Shaggy Scalycap Mushroom WWW.FIRST-NATURE.COM

Probably not a moth but a caddisfly, possibly a Halesus of some sort. Halesus digitatus?

I agree with Dan but it may take a fair number of years to get it fruiting well. I've renovated an old tree, first year no apples, 2nd year a few small things and now I'm into the 4th year I'm getting a good crop of decent sized apples which are surprisingly good. I do have the room to plant others trees though so it wouldn't have mattered if the tree didn't make it. This might be helpful if you do choose to keep it: Apples and pears: renovating old trees WWW.RHS.ORG.UK Old, overgrown apples and pear trees can still be attractive and productive features in the garden if brought under control...

Just a tad. It's lovely in a woodland setting but that's a bit much unless it's hiding something worse.

I've got something similar we've inherited with our house. A lapsed random conifer that has far outgrown a 70's rockery. This multi-stemmed beast has been hacked (sorry crown lifted) over the years and now is a fairly tall thing which rocks and sheds branches in the wind. It'll be coming down over winter.

Yes, it's ivy with flower buds. One thing I didn't know until I looked up the Latin name is the climbing ivy is a subspecies Hedera helix ssp. helix and the ground cover is Hedera helix ssp. hibernica.

Possibly. Fly Agaric is a very common cartoon fungi and I remember some showing people eat it. (I remember as I was annoyed at the time!). I have also seen adults pick it, thinking it was edible even after being told it was poisonous. I would hope the risk is minimal though. I wonder what @benedmonds recommended?

Tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera.