Dan Maynard

I don't think a bit of surface mould will be an issue, maybe turn the pile over to bring the worst ones up to the top while you are putting the pallets in. The thing is that around a third of the weight (up to half for some woods) that you have put in the shed is water. If you think of it as several bathfuls that's got to get out of the shed then you can see the need for ventilation. Possible the existing vents could be ok if they are opened, you might have to force the airflow though. Does it smell damp? If there's really no choice on location, maybe some small DC fans would be good, that would be relatively cheap and quiet so could be left running all the time. This is what people have to do with kilns.

If it's dry it's dry, can be less than 9 months if it's hot and dry weather. Cedar is just fine from what I've burnt, quite light once it's dried out. When you say seems to go ok, can you see it hissing as the logs start to burn?

I've only used the ZT at work once and had to be real careful to avoid slipping the belt, apparently the tensioner is a weak point. Has he done anything to the tensioner, may be that's the root cause?

Welcome to the forum. I reckon polyurethane without sanding is a waste of time, and sanding enough to completely strip the varnish so that you can successfully oil to fresh wood would be quite a big job and maybe difficult to get looking even colour right to the edge. I'd go for option 2 and see how it goes. Only potential problem I can see is where the current varnish looks pale may be lifted, unless you remove the old layer then the new varnish will just sit on top and still look pale. May need more sanding than you think.

I have a 36" low-pro which I ran on my 365 before conversion to 372. Maybe it will go faster on 385 but because it's only cutting say 28" it is within range of the 70cc saw. If I remember I was working off the saw/bar combination on RobD where he suggests longer bar possible with low-pro. I just haven't done enough milling to justify to myself buying a bigger saw.

I bought a Jet winch from L&S, I think to be honest those winches about £200 are all the same inside made in China. I believe the Tirfor patent ran out so the copy ones are fairly new on the market. If you're using it occasionally then they work ok, I figured buy from someone reputable in case of problems rather than someone random off eBay. Having said that, I have seen more of the ex-hire genuine tirfors around since and with my time again might get one of those.

I think Husqvarna fit Oregon rims as OEM anyway.

If there's bare metal when you wire brush I would put a couple of coats primer on there before the hammerite. If the mot man fails it for corrosion you'd be better off knowing and getting it fixed anyway, surely?

Anyway, this is what I did. The strange looking bit in the middle is sound, there is some strange shadow in the photo. About six feet down the main stem had some decay, I think looking at the rest it had been cut there before so I took it back to that point and then shaped in to match.

I think I am partly the victim of being too lazy to type enough to say what I mean. What I mean by not tolerate pruning is that the wood is susceptible to decay, they aren't brilliant at occluding cuts and sometimes sprout really unattractively after being pruned or have limbs die off. And what I mean by drawing the line is not to advocate pontificating, but take a different approach and do more work explaining to the customer pros and cons and maybe push back against work which could cause a lot of rot. In contrast I had a eucalyptus and a hawthorn on different jobs last week, no problem whacking them as hard back as the customer wants, will be fine. I have agreed a fell and replant with some birch but they were a funny shape with little to cut back to, and easy fell across the cul-de-sac on a Sunday morning.

To be fair to them, just received another email from the same vendor apologising and explaining that they couldn't get hold of gel through normal routes so had to go out and buy it from an obscure retailer at elevated price, hence as cost price was high it got sold on at high price. I think they're decent people, trying to get hold of sanitizer because people kept asking for it.

Likewise, we had some re-rating done years ago and turned out it went down as the toilet not rateable area. Sorry I can't see them doing anything in a rush. Having said that, if you don't ask you definitely won't get.

Yep. I guess it depends where you are, some areas in town can have narrow gates and tight turns.

I think it's bigger than I thought, probably have added in that extra hour.

Worth searching out TomD's pricing method if you can. Everyone has their own suck through the teeth and pick a number, I've been using a version of this myself, seems to work. There are customers who choose you because you're trustworthy and others who only pick the lowest price, ideally you work more for the first type. I'll try to paraphrase, and add the caveat that this is just what I'd do in my head. The costumers usually have no idea at all how long things will take and don't see things in those terms. Start with one hour, then imagine how many hours it would take on a lazy afternoon, multiply total hours by 75. If you're a bigger firm or using specialist kit then your hourly rate will obviously be different. If you reckon you can stick a ladder up, tie in and drop it all on the ground then it doesn't look an hour's cutting so not less than 150. If you are going to have to lower stuff then maybe add in another hour, or indeed if there is more there than it is appearing to me in the photo. It's a starting point anyway.

I'd go for oak too, slightly stringy on the split, but not looking quite right on the end. I've never split turkey oak - could it be that?

I'm on the line of hiring at the moment as my small grinder was nicked. Problem is you ideally need the biggest grinder you can get to the stump so 460 will be better in every way until it won't fit down a path.

I think cheap wedges (Oregon) are made from ABS, more expensive (Stihl) will say made from polyamide. It's slightly softer but doesn't go brittle when cold, I found lumps cracking off the Oregon ones. Now have a couple of K&H which are fine too. Then it depends how much wedging you do, much back lean and it's handy to have a Stihl hi-lift or two.

Ah that's what flapjack looks like. Apparently my wife made a whole tray last week but we've got two teenage boys at home now schools are shut. Grrrr. Mind I was like it when I was their age, can't really blame 'em.

Or do, cut a stick about finger thickness and make a whistle. Have a video of my scouts trying to blow my eardrums but not sure I can post it.

Or pasta. I got the same email I guess, thinking that's expensive but then have they actually done a good job to find some at all? Where is anyone else buying it? Alternative is hot water and soap, so maybe take a huge flask to site?

I would hang fire before sending them off there, wait for a few more people to chime in as I think not universally recommended.

I don't think the LPX is narrow kerf so in theory at least it won't cut as fast. Personally I would want the chain I ordered, you have a narrow kerf setup which is probably a good thing at 16" on a 346. Change supplier.

Definitely. Long lost brother?

Photos not attaching....