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Paul in the woods

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Everything posted by Paul in the woods

  1. Paul in the woods
    A few years ago I bought a roll of Treeguard plastic mesh 50m x 1.2m and it's been very useful to make made to measure guards to protect more expensive plants and bushes. I'm now looking to get a couple more rolls but the shop I got it from has disappeared (Acorn Planting Products) and another place is selling what I think is the same stuff (Tubex Treeguard) for £122+VAT where I only paid £76+VAT. Has anyone used anything similar? It seems hard to track such stuff online but would like something a bit cheaper than £150 a roll.
  2. Paul in the woods
    Surely every little helps, so to speak? I'm also aware that it's been a fairly dry late summer / early autumn so far and if we get a month or two of very wet weather the MC will go up. I may be posting in Feb asking if I can get the MC down from 25+%!
  3. Paul in the woods
    I thought it would make more sense to bale it and send it to the larger power stations that use chip/biomass, rather than turning logs into chip and bracken into logs.
  4. Paul in the woods
    I think it depends on where you place them on or near a stove, I often wonder about the stoves sold with integrated log stores etc. I'm planning of using wood for most heating and cooking so I'm considering a fairly large area near the stove to finish off the wood. I hadn't thought about bringing the temp up but that's useful to know. I'm curious to know how much the wood would dry off in just a week though, I wouldn't have thought that much to be honest. I suppose I'll have to experiment a little and take some readings.
  5. Paul in the woods
    Is there a sensible way to dry off seasoned firewood a bit more before burning it? I've a open sided log store with an overhanging roof so the wood is around 20% MC but can this be reduced much more before burning? For example, I'm considering leaving a large area clear to stack logs for a week next to the kitchen wood stove but would that make much difference? Any other ideas?
  6. Paul in the woods
    Thanks for the replies. I'll email them and see if they stock parts but Milner only seem to stock for the older Nissan/Ford Maverick and US automotive US cars. The Maverick seems to fall between various camps, a US car but with many UK parts. I've been quoted £50 for a scrap part so might have to go to a main dealer this time. I'm also looking at paying over £5 for a single washer.
  7. Paul in the woods
    Can anyone recommend somewhere that sells more unusual Ford parts? I have a 2003 Ford Maverick (not the Nissan clone but the US Ford Escape) and sometimes struggle to find parts without paying daft main dealer prices. I'm currently after a power steering pressure switch that should cost about £20 but my main dealer wants £60+. The problem is I can't find the exact match online in places like eBay or just by googling and many places just seem to list parts as suitable for the Maverick even if I know they are.
  8. Paul in the woods
    That's a bit misleading. Ikea also sell a linseed oil based wood treatment, aimed more at worktops by the looks of it. I expect they sell the mineral oil because many people have used and recommended it for many years. Main reason I'd guess is because it's completely food safe to all as it'll end up in food when you use the board. If you're using a chopping board, rather than just keeping one for show, how does the osmo oil hold up to all the cuts? Does it still prevent moisture or need re-coating?
  9. Paul in the woods
    If you're near an Ikea I've used this pure mineral oil when treating stuff: SKYDD Wood treatment oil, indoor use - IKEA I don't often bother with regularly used spoons really.
  10. Paul in the woods
    Thanks for that, I couldn't find any vibration levels for electric saws when I asked. I've since found some for Makita saws and they do seem to match up with what you say.
  11. Paul in the woods
    Is there any reason for that? I would assume an electric saw would have less vibes than a 2 stroke if running the same bar and chain.
  12. Paul in the woods
    When you apply the word organic to goods in the UK it has a legal meaning, so you can't define it yourself. I could not sell organic potatoes and then say I use Roundup on them for example. In the same way I would have thought selling 'seasoned' logs would mean something, a quick google suggests <25% or even <20% if kiln dried. I've no idea if 'seasoned' has any legal meaning but if it does then I wouldn't have thought you can redefine it yourself.
  13. Paul in the woods
    Organic food in the UK is certified by one of a few organisations though, so you at least have some idea what organic means. I would also be curious to know what say Trading Standards would say about "Seasoned Wood" being sold that's 30% mc when I would have thought the average buyer would view it as 25% or less?
  14. Paul in the woods
    The new Stihl compact cordless would struggle with logs over 6", I've found it surprisingly noisy as well. I keep being tempted by the Oregon offered by Screwfix: Oregon CS1500 45cm 2400W Electric Chainsaw 230V | Electric | Screwfix.com 2400W, 16" bar, 3 year warranty etc. No idea what the powersharp chains are like, anyone know?
  15. Paul in the woods
    I have a little auction house near me and in the past they've sold a fair bit of wood for turning (probably from an old wood turner who's passed away) and plenty of people were willing to pay a good price for small pieces of wood. There's certainly people out there willing to pay but it's getting hold of them. It might mean holding onto the wood for a while and that may not be worth it. Has anyone tried contacting their local wood turning groups for example? I can see people not wanting to pay for any old rubbish but a decent sized piece of Laburnum should sell.
  16. Paul in the woods
    Cheer up lads: Tony Blair considering future role in British politics - BBC News
  17. Paul in the woods
    Are you sure they're Asian hornets and not the native ones? As far as I'm aware there's only been two sightings of Vespa velutina in the UK so far. Asian Hornet spotted in the UK for a second time - BBC News
  18. Paul in the woods
    Stihl or Husky saw?
  19. Paul in the woods
    It looks more like a cave spider to me, possibly Meta menardi.
  20. Paul in the woods
    Yes, their life-cycle is the same as wasps. A mated queen will over winter somewhere warm and start a new colony in the spring. In late summer/autumn virgin queens will be raised that'll mate in autumn and overwinter again. The main nest will die off each year although it may be active quite late in the year if we don't get a cold snap. I gather the Asian hornets are more susceptible to cold but in the south at least we've not had it that cold for a few years so I can see them surviving easily. One thing I've noted bee keepers doing where Asian hornets have settled is make traps for the queens early in the season to catch as many before they form a nest.
  21. Paul in the woods
    Something very concerning if you're a bee keeper is the arrival of Asian Hornets in the UK as they're more aggressive and more likely to raid honey bee nests than our native hornets. I thought it would be worth a mention here as there's a chance of finding a nest in future. If you do please can I ask you contact [email protected] as they're trying to destroy them before they get a foothold in the UK. More details available, including how to recognise them, form the National Bee Unit here: Beebase - Beekeeping information resource for Beekeepers Alert poster PDF: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=1224 ID sheet PDF: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=698 This I believe is some photos of the nest they have found in the UK: Asian Hornet Nest Found – Adopt A Hive I doubt you'd want to be topping that tree while the nest is active!
  22. Paul in the woods
    Are the 400 trees spaced over the whole 1.5 acres? If so I assume it's not a replanting condition on a felling licence as the density is too low. I'd be tempted to only clear part of the area and write off some of the trees. Do you have much other open space? Have you thought of keeping bees, if so you don't have weeds only forage for the bees. (Sorry if that's not funny but brambles, rose-bay-willow-herb etc is great for bees and sometimes areas of scrub is just as important than trees in a wood).
  23. Paul in the woods
    With the webbed redish stem and staining I wouldn't say it's a brown birch boletete but one of the rarer inedible/poisonous ones. Hard to say exactly which one.
  24. Paul in the woods
    Do you play the lottery at all? 67 days.
  25. Paul in the woods
    Has anyone done a breakdown of costs of turning say a fallen oak into saleable beams/boards? I keep pondering a mill of some sort, or getting someone in, as I use a fair bit of wood and get fed up with buying poor quality stuff. I even saw a very simple small oak fireplace that was little more than three oak beams joined together and it was selling for over £500. I wonder if there are people out there who would use a milling service but have no idea such things exist?

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