JonnoR

Hi All, This might not be the right section at all for this question, because it involves equipment that is by definition not 'Large equipment'! I finally pushed the button on a Lennartsfors Ironhorse (the flex2), plus trailer, crane arm etc. I'm tiring of hand hauling lumber up a sodding hill in my woodland, but it also got me thinking that other smaller scale woodland owners might also be feeling like me. In the view of the great and good on here, do you think there could be a niche for a smaller scale equipment rental enterprise, to support limited scope thinning operations for the group of lower scale private landowners trying to manage their stands? I'm thinking of one of the smaller Menzi Muck machines (probably rented out on a plant+operator basis when I'm not using it), a low impact small forwarder like the lennartsfors with hydraulically equipped trailer/crane, or even some sort of compact skyline setup to help rip out thinnings in smaller forestry parcels. I think it should be super easy to trailer to hard to reach sites, and with additions like augers and dump buckets it could be useful beyond the forestry work I envisage. One of the things I'm assessing is whether there's a 'Goldilocks' midrange of potential customers, who probably don't have the tonnage of lumber to justify higher costs associated with renting and moving heavier machinery (HGV costs, higher personnel hours to run more complex plant etc.,) but might also require an efficient way of extracting timber for personal use or smallscale firewood production. Might there be sufficient business to be made to at least offset ownership costs for my own use? I'm looking at some additional bits of land in France and the UK, so would likely need some proper equipment mysefl, as I manage more land. Speaking with Mick D he suggested that maybe @Big J might be someone who could expand on the utility of smaller plant to support sensitive site extraction. Grateful to all for feedback! Jonno

That's great. I guarantee I won't be sorted by then, so I'll be in touch!

Your collection is scarily similar to mine! Yes, those narrow tall bodies seem to match my own. When I have them in front of me I can check, but I put money on those dimensions matching my own. Thanks for taking the trouble to post the pics mate.

They don't have enough meat on them to fully fill the head vertically, sadly!

I've got Sager Chemical, Tru Temper, Collins and a load of others - either proper felling axes, or the cruiser style. They have a very high, deep but narrow holes (I'm sure I've misdescribed that and murdered the terminology - apologies). Once I've got myself sorted I'll send some pics. I've got a whole pile of NOS SA Wetterlings in various patterns too. Basically a forest worth of handle needs!!!!

Thanks! I'll check them out and post pics once I get these axes ready for hanging!

They're great yeah, but sadly they didn't have anything to suit my deep axe heads. The search continues, and thanks for the replies gents!

I folks, I have some lovely double bit US axe heads, but struggle to find hickory handles for them. Any UK/EU source you know of? Thanks in advance! Jonno

I did that with an overstood hazel, essentially creating a brush fence with some uprights to stabilise it and it worked perfect - pushing up some great straight rods from the stool

I think I'd have to invest in some fencing, or improvise with branches to give the stools chance to re-establish growth, given the deer population I have at the moment.

To my inexperienced eyes, the crowns are terrible, given the height of the trees. I'm not too sure that I'm being a bit overly killy in my selection for planned thinning. Would you take a couple winters to get rid of those marked trees to be sure not to shock the ecosystem?

I think Hornbeam is slightly more tolerant of being pollarded or coppiced at an older age, but they really are pushing the limits I'd say. The explosive growth in the stumps of trees selectively thinned over the last three years is pretty nuts

Thanks Stere, for both your response and the link! The hornbeam nurse trees, and the self-seeded understory trees seems to have done a pretty good job of keeping the oak straight and minimised the epicormic growth. The crowns are pretty poor though, and I'd assess it's a good decade overdue for some thinning. Once thinned, I did wonder if hornbeam pollards (or coppices) would be in sufficient dappled light to make a go of it, if only for shrub like ground cover for deer and weed suppression. From what I've read, the hornbeams that remain don't occlude the light in the lower story to the same degree as other species. My main concern now is not rushing the thinning and either stressing them with a sudden environmental change, or expose them to excessive risk of windblow. The canopy is super anorexic but if I rush I imagine I'll overly stress the trees that have had a pretty hard time of it with 2 years of hotter weather.

Hi folks, Forgive the attempted resurrection of this fossilised thread, but I thought it might be better to keep the topic in one place. I have several stands (ash and hornbeam as nurse trees with oak standards) needing thinning. Whenever I've felled the hornbeam, during the proceeding year they've erupted with growth from the stump, which has got me thinking that pollarding might be the way to ensure regrowth and a more diverse stock for wildlife. There are deer and wild boar around, so I'm not convinced the coppiced stumps will ultimately lead to much - hence the pollarding idea. The stands are about 40 years old, rod straight and very little branches until you hit the canopy. So, question is, have I left it too long for this to be viable? Is the single trunk non-viable for this technique? Given the amount of growth, and their apparent tolerance for slightly shaded understory, I'd really like to give it a bash. As ever, grateful for your insights and suggestions! Jonno

Mostly hornbeam and oak here - only very very few ash in the forest as a whole. This lot is a hornbeam with some self-seeded oak.

I finally got round to getting some of those cramped hornbeams thinned out today. Just opened the canopy up a little and got rid of the thinnest crowned trees where they were clearly starting to be dominated by their neighbours. I finished off the fuel in the Stihl ms261, then got out my new HUSQVARNA 540i XP, which is a little ripper in this sort of timber. For this sort of work it's perfect and as much as I love my ms261 I'll be reaching for the Husky more often I think. Anyway, thanks once again for the tips and comments 🙂 Jonno

Spent the morning cutting, sorting and stacking logs and getting them off the ground. Beyond the obvious benefits of keeping the base dry, I've noticed that neighbours are commenting on how smart the woodland looks. There's literally zero visual impact on the woodland, because all this stuff is windfall or dead standing, but by putting a few deliberately stacked woodpiles in open view, it's having an overall positive influence on the perceived care being taken.

Thank you Openspaceman, much appreciated - I will look at doing a thinning exercise over the course of the next few years. I was just about to suggest that Mick would have a better idea of what the French use hornbeam for in this region. I think it remains a popular nurse tree, often accompanied by Ash to bring on the crop of oak for wine barrels (though I'm 99% certain this plantation was grown exclusively for firewood and for the estate bread oven). I've started to bring back some of the hazel in to a coppice rotation and there are some signs of coppiced hornbeam, although that might be just a function of having been damaged by windblown trees over the years. No idea I'm afraid! Thanks again, Jonno

Hi all, I took a walk around a parcel I've not really explored before. It is a plantation of just over an acre, with predominantly hornbeam seedlings. It would have been planted about 20-25 years ago I'd say, but I'll knock one of the dying trees over next week to know for sure. My question is - should I conduct a small thinning exercise, to ensure the trees are not over competing, to the detriment of their canopies? They are spaced between 75cm and 1 metre apart, about 20cm in diameter and are growing straight (7-9 metres in height I'd say) Hard to judge from the photos I know, but to me it seems that there is some crowding in the canopy that suggests it's time to give some of the better trees some space to spread. Very grateful indeed for your collective insights! Jonno

Hi all, I had a productive afternoon, felling and dragging some wind blown hornbeam and oak up to a staging post, using a portable capstan winch. Tomorrow will involve getting it all dragged up to a ride, where they will wait till the Spring for me to cut them and get them up to the hardstanding near the house. The damage to the ground is minimal. Still hard physical work, but I'm learning as I go and thoroughly enjoying myself!

Fingers crossed the legacy is established now- sounds like an excellent strategy. My father promoted 'wilding' before it was fashionable, and created a number of habitats across Woolwich Common in the 70's that set the scene for more cost-effective landscape management.

Thanks headsgroundsman - I figured I'd like to get a colony of saplings started in a few pockets of the paddock and let natural selection sort out the winner! The Alder thing will be lower down the paddock, where it gets a bit damp and inaccessible.

I'll take a crack at it and report back! Thanks!

Hi all, I hope your winters are full of 2-stroke fumes and lumber! I am looking at replanting a paddock, that was cleared before I purchased my property. There are a couple of parcels where there are 100's of oak seedlings per square meter, growing up under the canopy. Has anyone ever tried to lift out sections of the ground and transplant that into a new area, to bring on? I'm just curious, but also would like to reduce my dependence on importing seedlings from a place which might bring with them some disease risks. Very grateful for any inputs! Best, Jonno

You can always rent it ?