peds
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Everything posted by peds
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You wouldn't want to wash your hands in a buffalo...
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I used to work for a chef who knew f*ck all about cooking. Just sayin' yo.
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Brilliant.
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Those spiral rope brushes work great when clamped in a vice with the bucket underneath, leaving both hands free to pull it through. Edit I hardly ever clean my ropes, and should do it more often, as the literature I've seen from manufacturers (during training courses with mountain rescue) make it clear that clean, dry ropes are significantly stronger than wet ropes with ingrained dirt particles, with breaking point much easier to reach. Even then, though, that breaking point should still be well outside your safe working load, but all it doesn't take much for things to snowball into a catastrophe.
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Back in the Alps (my home for 15 years) I'd not think twice about strolling through a field of cows, public footpaths cross them like spiderwebs. I'd often go over and chat to them, see if I could get a tune out of their little bells. Friendly fellows, despite the massive horns. Sometimes I'd sit down among them and crack open my flask of tea. Here in Ireland, I'd not go near the f*ckers. Absolutely mental, the lot of them. They'd eat you for breakfast.
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I've heard people waxing lyrical about Laxtons Superb before, so I'll definitely look into that. I'll check if the two you suggest are known to do well on my bit of the west coast of Ireland. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Correct price to fell 5 sycamores (London)
peds replied to Dalian's question in Homeowners Tree Advice Forum
Agreed. I'll do it for 4000 per tree, or 50 quid the lot if you'll sell me the timber afterwards. -
Good to know. How about longevity? How many tons can you send through a set of pack press sheets before they give up the ghost, and how does that compare to a basket? Will you get a lifetime out of it, if looked after, or do they eventually retire? Point noted about using stainless steel for the scratter instead of whatever blades come attached to the lawnmower. I've used a Speidel mill for the last two seasons, so I'll be modeling whatever I build closely on that. The one I have access to is a 40 minute drive away, and I fancy owning something myself anyway. One question: any recommendations for a pollination group 4 eater that keeps well? Tart and crisp, ideally...
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What variety is that? I have a few mm106 say here doing nothing just begging for some attention! I'm definitely looking at building a pack press, I don't think I could tackle the engineering for a basket press. Are they more efficient do you know? I'm at work at the minute but I'll gladly fire questions at you later on! Cheers. Edit I dropped the first 8 trees of my orchard in the ground just the other day, 5 of my own grafts, 2 from a friend, and one orphan. Soon I won't have to rely on scrumping to provide for my cider requirements!
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They are all in one massive shed for a guy with a very specific fetish.
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Poly Tunnel type structure for extremely exposed situation
peds replied to cessna's topic in Firewood forum
You are thinking of the "Polycrub", they are a great design. Edit The idea is that instead of a rigid metal frame covered with polythene, the frame is made of plastic hoops and covered with twin wall polycarbonate, which can absorb and react to the (frequently strong) winds and give way with a little bit movement. Further edit: Using twin wall polycarbonate makes it much, much more expensive to cover than using polythene, but seem to remember the Polycrub people claiming you could get 30 to 40 years out of it, which is easily double or triple what you'd get out of polythene under absolutely ideal conditions... and obviously much more if you are somewhere exposed enough to lick the roof off your tunnel every couple of years. -
I'm sure you're right, 2x4 probably works just fine, I'm just intent on making a copy of a version I've used somewhere for the last two years. It's a solid and sturdy bit of kit, absolutely no worries about squeezing the last drop out with a 20 ton bottle jack. Unless it was a real belts-and-braces construction, I'm not sure I'd be so confident with a timber device... Any photos of yours available? Anyway, the press is simple enough, the REAL challenge is building the apple mashing machine... I've heard of people using repurposed washing machines studded with nails inside the drum, but that sounds like a bitch to clean out. I was thinking along the lines of 200l blue drum with the blades of a dismantled electric lawnmower mounted in it... might need to think a bit more about that, though.
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Ah that's kind, cheers, but I'll find something to tinker together over here, don't worry! I do actually hope to get a grasp on welding before apple season in the autumn, I've got an old boat trailer that I'm cutting lengths of box section steel from, I want to weld them together into a fruit press (like the one below). Simple enough for a first job, I hope.
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I took out a row of conifers for someone recently, big old hedge that escaped. It had a haircut about 20 years ago which made it angry, and it shot out three or four poles per stem. Lovely big straight sticks. I've kept a dozen nice ones, I'm using them to make a 2 story playhouse for the kids. Wouldn't pay for them, mind.
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- cotoneaster yew tree
- cypress tree
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It's not rubbish firewood at all as long as it sits quietly in the corner for three years or so. Split, stacked, dried under cover, you'd get a few quid for it (delivered) in 2025.
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- cotoneaster yew tree
- cypress tree
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Hmm. Not sure that's the best idea for a 4 year old to use, to be honest.
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The above should just be copy-pasted whenever this kind of thread pops up.
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- cotoneaster yew tree
- cypress tree
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Great start. I can drill a hole in a decent stump for the handle to slot into, just need to think about a sturdy frame around it now.
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Pretty easy to make from scrap if you can weld. Where are you based? I cannot, it's something I'd love to learn, seems like a useful skill. I'm on the west coast of Ireland.
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A bit of a heavy blade like that attached to a block, sure, but it definitely needs a raised ring around it to hold the wood to split. I'm not sure what it could be made/repurposed/upcycled from.
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They are 3 and 4, up to now I've been seating a hatchet in a bit of wood so they can bang it down a few times on a block to split it, but I think they are picking up on the fact that they aren't really doing it themselves. I think with one of these yokes they'd appreciate the swing of a tool a bit more, and the force required to get a reaction from the wood. Then they'd have a bit more control and strength to use a wee axe when the time comes.
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I wanted to make or buy something like that above there for the kids to use when they are hanging out in the woodshed with me. It seems like there's less of a risk of chopping off fingers or toes or broken shins than using my smallest axe. The cheapest ones on amazon or eBay or whatever are 30 euro or so, marked as "ornamental use only", and don't inspire confidence. Obviously you get what you pay for. I'm not really willing to spend three figures on one though (or even the 50, 60 quid that some seem to be). Has anyone built something like this themselves or seen a similar solution? Or got any other ideas to get young kids happy swinging tools around?
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Knock out a few more and call it a half skip chain, claim it's deliberate.
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Will do skip, nice one.
