Ben Pinnick

How long should I season a dead dog for do you think? 🤣

These ones in XL - I have a pair of these they're actually pretty decent and a bargain for the money paid. Order both pairs and you get free delivery, and then the money you saved on that will pay for the return of the one you don't want. SIP Protection Sherpa chainsaw trousers Type A, Class 1 (Black) – FR Jones & Son WWW.FRJONESANDSON.CO.UK

Large is listed as : 35,4-38,5 I would say they're not going to be large, but I have the sherpa and they're very stretchy. Also look for the sherpa on F&R, they're not that much more and may be in XL if thats what you want.

And so it begins... You need to get some PPE if you don't have any 😂 Sorry but its true - even a small electic saw would be a life changing accident if it had gone worse! Decent set of gloves, and some trousers would be the first port of call (Im assuming you have some face/eye protection already as thats just bloody annoying not to have). These are cheap for Chainsaw trews. Not going to be the best of course but they meet the certs and since you're only cutting at your house, then you won't worry about whether they're the nicest to wear all day. SIP Protection Boxer chainsaw trousers Type A, Class 1 (Green) – FR Jones & Son WWW.FRJONESANDSON.CO.UK SIPs come up big - Im a 34" waist and have a M pair (another style, but SIPs).

Carnage round here (Durham). I was out in weardale 10 miles from my house. Drive out in strong winds, but nothing on the ground, drive back along the same route and have a near miss with a falling tree, three more on the road and one fully blocked road. These guys will be missing their internet for a few days... My one and only eucalyptus bit the bullet But you know, every cloud n all

Yeah but it does smell wierd... or is that just me? 🤔

I'd not bother trying to get 30cm logs from it. Halve it across the diameter, then half it again by thickness so you have 4 lots of 15cm half moons. Split at your leisure.

Thats a good point - but I looked back at the chains compatibility and I guess I meant AdvanceCut not the versacut as thats the obvious option on that bar.

You need the new clutch over (or at least you do on a 565) - you loose the retained nuts on the new cover vs the original.

I get the 'Your company has been nominated for an award' one a lot. Seems you have to buy a table at an overpriced event to collect your 'award'. hmmm... We also trade a lot of currency, so that causes many calls too as forex people seem to move companies very often. They get the same treatment as anyone else that calls. 'Sorry I don't buy from cold callers. No exceptions.' This often provokes a surprisingly robust reaction - 'How is anybody supposed to sell you something/introduce themselves then!?!' 'Err, you're not. Thats the point.' Click.

Bit of a drive for you but commutable as its not far off the A1 - Houghall Short Course Mini Online Application Form | East Durham College WWW.EASTDURHAM.AC.UK Houghall Short Course Mini Online Application Form

Ha yes thats true 🤣 Just freewheeling through the options in my head I guess, I think the avant is too big though (and too pricey) - storage is an issue a little, hence why I don't already have a digger. I shall continue to look at the options

I was thinking of stepping it up a class - I don't need to take it anywhere so something with more grunt than the little Opicos. I like the look of the new Kubota but I bet I wouldn't like the price. Same with the bigger Toros too.

Reading this thread makes me think that maybe I need one of these rather than the full on digger I was thinking of, as the grab was the only thing I would be using 90% of the time and this would be as good for most of what I need. The pricing on Worky's and Sherpas are a bit high for a hobbyist like me. Anyone using a chinesium version? Some of them look pretty good. With decent core hydraulics, Honda/B&S/Perkins engines it seems likely they'll stand up to what I need and be relatively easy to fix if it does go wrong. Anyone using a chinese one?

Ahh the irony. I import forestry stuff from China sometimes and often it comes in big mild steel frames. I not that long ago left one outside thinking someone would come and nick it as its got good scrap value. Did they? Did they ****. Probably too hard to load for the lazy b'stards.

You know what really annoys me. The people that come round and nick them. Im not talking about you or I asking for them, but the guys that drive round in flatbeds just taking ones they find outside warehouses. You know why? Because they always leave the busted ones.... grrr..... If you're going to basically steal someones stuff on the vague premise of 'thinking they didn't want it anymore' then you could at least do them the favour of taking all of them!

Also, depending where you are in N'land if you want a hand in exchange for a trailer load of wood let me know....

I'm not certain but I suspect you have a versa cut chain if it's an Oregon. They're not really designed for significant cross cutting or felling as you might expect. Assuming I'm right and you have a 3/8 lo profile .50 bar then I think you could get a Stihl Picco full chisel which will cut alot quicker. I may be wrong about yours being low profile though. Hence the need to know what's written on the bar.

It's a fungi I can't rember the name of that tends to live between bark and wood on felled timber. I get it on mine if I get the timing just right for when the bark is ready to fall off, but not actually off. Once it's off it tends to die back again. It's totally harmless if looks a little ugly.

Before you buy check what bar you have on there. It will say on the bar what chain it runs, you'd expect it to say 14" 3/8 0.50 and some number of drive links (52dl maybe). Let us know what's on there.

I had a grenade, but I find they move about too much for the really gnarly stuff thats always cut squiffy anyway. Now I run a saw over it to start a slot, and use an Erstwing star wedge, which is a straight wedge with a flared bit half way up so it goes in straight and true rather than moving around, but then prys the wood apart as it gets deeper in. Means you can really take to it with the hammer on your splitting maul. + 1 for the X27, and also an X10 is an excellent hatchet that cuts way bigger stuff than it should. I also use the fiskar's sharpener which is really easy and keeps them very sharp But as rob_the_sparky says use your maul for a while until you're good with it. Don't waste a decent axe burying it into the ground!

The roughneck splitting maul will do the job fine for a while. I had one for a couple of years, just keep the hatchet sharp. For a chopping block just use the biggest flattest slab of wood in your pile. Looks like you have a few that would suit. Use it on grass or similar until you get good though. Unless you want to mash it into tarmac 😂

The main problem to focus on is getting the oil/creosote out of them. The longer you can leave them exposed to wind/air then the better. So the quicker you cut them the better as you increase the surface area as long as you have the space to store it. Particularly if you have to leave it in contact with the ground then better to leave it whole for now until you have some storage. A basic 4 pallet set up would cover that pile though, 2 on the ground, two screwed (one each end) to make sides, tarp over the top (later; I would leave exposed to the elements for a few months personally as this speeds up the seasoning), job done. You can tell when you split down the wood how seasoned it is from the smell. even a dry split log can smell pretty 'piney' if not aged properly when you split it again, whereas one thats been properly seasoned will have almost no smell at all when split again, just the faintest whiff of pine. Likewise the bark should be falling off when its ready to burn, not still attached. You'll also know from how dirty your fire burns. Fully seasoned softwood will burn cleanly leaving no glass deposits (unless you burn it wet or its leaning right on the glass).

Yeah nothing wrong with softwood as long as you season it properly. I get mine in bulk 😉

Drying it isn't a problem, it will dry quickly. You need to get it seasoned. I stack it in the open for min 6 months, not covered just in a stack. Then when there's a good dry spell at the right time bring it under cover allowing a couple of months for it to dry out the final bit. Having said all that my source wood is already a year old in the log stack. So you may need longer to season. Best get it done!