ABtrees

OK here's the owner. Can't be sure I've ever seen / had chance to study them before but I guess I will now !

Do you know your hole ?!!! Woodpecker hole - obviously - but which one ? OK the clue is in the 2nd photo

Spring in full flow, here in lockdown France. Took my daily exercise tramping through the wood yesterday - flowers abound - couple of photos - although I've posted before, anyone want to have a guess at the last one (I now know what they are - v. interesting plant tho). Just about to post on show us ya birds thread - guess it's spring related - may be of interest

You mean something like this ?!!!

Hi. Not sure if this will be any use but found the guys below v helpful so even if they don't have the exact size they may be able to advise. Good luck ! https://www.scosarg.com/tooling/bandsaw-blades

I've decided not to climb trees any more it's much easier waiting for them to come to me ! This won't be 'today's job' - it's going to be at least 2 days (working on my own) and then 2 more waiting for my back to recover - looking forward to next winter a bit more now though (and the one after that !).

Hi Wizard. I've used this (followed by the OSMO exterior) : https://www.screwfix.com/p/sika-sikagard-universal-5-star-wood-treatment-clear-5ltr/66962 Non solvent, can be overpainted, protects against all the baddies etc.etc. Treated planks on shed inside and out - hit by all weathers. That was 8+ years ago and haven't touched it since - nothing bad to report so far ! May give it another go this year when the sun finally arrives. One word of caution though - its deadly (obviously) to all insect life and fish - it cannot enter the watercourse.

Just for interest, found a lot (40-50+) of these fellas in a windblown Alder (there's your clue !) that I was tidying up the other day. Haven't seen them before and apparently they normally overwinter in the leaf litter not in the bark where these were. About 7-8mm and a lovely shade of blue (the pic doesn't really do it justice). The second pic is (I think) a Large Tortoiseshell trying to stay cool till it's time to wake up !

With the hassle factor over here at the moment, you'd be lucky to get back in time for Xmas !

Really appreciate the thought and offer. Sadly (happily) based in deepest darkest France about 2 hours deeper than Mick !!! so unless someone needs a (busman's) holiday sometime soon....... and doesn't mind waiting to talk to the yellow vests on every 3rd roundabout !

Thanks to everyone for their replies and yes Stihlmad that is exactly what I have done probably 20 or more times over the years. with this one though (maybe proximity to the road, overall height - the interlock with the oak is est. 60 ft up because of the slope, and though my picture doesn't show it very well, has some substantial branches interlocked), I thought I would put it out there to see if anyone could suggest a better idea. I think I should have set out my stall a bit better (apologies for not doing so). I'm not a professional arb. this is on my own property for my own benefit / piece of mind. Been working in my own woods for the last 12 years and using a saw for over 30 yrs. but still feel (relatively) I know nothing and as said am always ready to learn / take advice. Unlike most of you guys on here I have the luxury of being able to take my time and look at it for a long while and work out a solution. in this case I just thought I would ask !

I'm beginning to think that may be my best option - always keen to learn and I'm sure it won't be the last one of these !

OK Am I getting that second bit right - are you suggesting pulling the butt down the hill ? I can't get above it with the tractor and for the reasons above, there really isn't a decent anchor point above it

Thanks both - and don't worry like I said, skill set and a degree of timidity / reality will keep me from climbing the oak !!! I can't go down the ground anchor root either (I don't think) the soil is shallow, loose and straight onto the bedrock (such as it is) which is deeply fissured and can be dismantled with a gemmy bar (which is probably why the tree blew over in the first place !) ! Apart from which the angle of the slope above wouldn't help.

Evening all. I've got a (actually 3) challenging windblown 45ft acacia (root plate lifted) hung up in the top of an Oak on a 40 degree slope over a road (with a fence and a river thrown in for good measure !!!). Any thoughts / advice on the best (least dangerous) way to fell it - greatly appreciated. There's no access from the top of the bank and nothing substantial enough to strap/winch it to. Same either side The only thing I can think to do is climb the Oak and try to 'release' it (!) but the outcome may be a bit too instant and binary for my liking and skill set ! Alternatively just drop it and hope for the best and then just keep taking sections off the bottom until it clears or falls back up the hill ! Leaving it and /or dropping the oak aren't really options either. HELP and thanks in advance. Photos attached show from up the bank and looking across the bank.

The big one missing from the list has surely got to be Hornbeam. Better calorific value than Oak and you can burn it 'wet' : dead tree - straight on the fire; Live tree - 1year later. Great heat, clean and slow burning.

There was apparently another reason for using wooden (hornbeam) teeth in the gears. It was a major safety (and cost saving) feature. If for some reason (say a large stone) the mill got jammed, with all that power, cast on cast wouldn't have a good outcome - there is no clutch !!! Alternatively replacing a few wooden teeth you'd be operational again within the hour. I attach a photo showing it was usually the big (drive) gears that had the wooden teeth. The smaller gears are iron. BTW the pillars are (apparently) sweet chestnut - no idea why - probably something to do with load bearing ???

Evening. Back in France - had a couple of sickly looking Alders to drop this week - dying / dead and the woodpecker had been having a go, so I expected the odd grub ! Splitting it out - absolutely infested with lime-green larvae - max about an inch long (and a couple of bigger flatheads). I am sure that some of you on here are far, far more knowledgeable than me so can anyone please tell me what they are ? Thanks As an aside I reckon the big grub (posted in August) is Ergates Faber - magnificent beetle - similar size to Stag but all beetle - none of that antler stuff !!!

Yeah - good call - they can fly in the dark and they are attracted to light (actually to harvesting the other insects attracted to the light) - maybe rethink the tennis racquet just in case !

I have an entirely self-set tree nursery containing a lot (maybe 200+) of predominantly Oak and Hornbeam but with a few 'others' (Walnut, Hazel Ash). They are obviously way too close together so I have the idea that I'll move some around a bit ! I've never done anything like this so I'm going to need all the advice I can get. I'm guessing the best time to move is Autumn (lower water requirement and lots of rain) but when is too early and when is too late ? How much earth to take ? Is there a metric between tree height and size of root ball and (I guess) is it species dependant? Some of them are quite big (see photos) - and therefore presumably their roots will be entwined - what is the best option : disentangle them and lose the soil surrounding or just pick a big enough (?) root ball and chop through anything outside that ! How do I 'prep' the new site or is it dig a hole and chuck it in and just infill ? And finally if (as I am sure someone on here has already done this) what are my chances of success (survival rates) ? Thanks in advance for any advice AB

I would think it more likely to be some other beetle, maybe a late stag beetle, lesser stag . The other name for a Maybug is the Cockchafer and there are plenty of other chafer beetles that fly. Hopefully (for you) they aren't Longhorn (as they can ruin any untreated timber - have a look at my recent post on the 'iggly, iggly thread and you'll see why) !!! The only real way to tell is to catch one - butterfly net and a torch rather than tennis racquet !

You may want to have a look at the King Arthurs / Lancelot tool range for the grinder. Also check out the Saburr carbide discs. Found this link https://www.toolpost.co.uk/pages/Carving_Tools/Power_Carving/power_carving.html which may be of interest. Good luck - be safe.

Hi Jules Yep pretty sure it is a longhorn but which one. This larva was the smallest of 3 I found, at just over 6 cms so I reckon its a big one ! Oh yeah - its in France

OH and I appreciate this isn't quite the right thread but can anyone id these fellas for me - they hatched yesterday. Thanks

Here's a fairly large grub found under the bark in an Oak trunk that's been down a year - I think I know what it is but would be happy to see if anyone agrees so suggestions please - loves Oak and leaves bloody big holes !