MarkO

Just bought a new toy.



Not quite as powerful as my STi or X-Type, but still loadsa fun.

chaos.

Oh! Until you hit a knot in the wood and it flies back at you and slices your face off

Fantastic!

MarkO

Got a proper-job helmet for it, so hopefully kick-back shouldn't be too much of a problem. Still need to be careful though.

Cut down my first tree on Friday, a 35-40ft ash. "Timmmmberr!". Should that'll be a few weeks' firewood next winter...

imlach

Always mean to get one of them.......

Running out of firewood from the trees cut down last year, so need to go in search of some more

pathetic shark

So you got fed up with paying Scottish prices for fuel ..... still, working in a forest has to have some benefits. Other than the Helly Hansen trail and the quite ridiculously filling stovies, that is!

PS How do you get the logs home on the bike?

ProperCharlie

protective trousers and boot are also well worth it. remember one time (in the days before brushwood chippers) i was using a very similar saw to the one in the picture to "mash up" branches on the back of a truck. - saw kicked back and went straight into the instep of my boot i thought i'd cut my foot off. turned very white, ripped off boot and sock which were both cut through, to find foot perfectly intact. must have been a few mm away from needing major surgery. a friend of mine (professional tree surgeon) was a few mm away from completely lopping off his left arm half way bewteen the wrist and elbow - 4 hours of surgery managend to get it back together.

so be careful!

yoza

Do you really cut up trees to heat your house?

I cant picture myself doing that.

Ive got a nice three bar, you just nip to the local late shop, buy a lekky card, swish it through the thingie in the hall.
And as if by magic, the lekky fire comes on, brilliant......

Maybe when you get a proper job you can afford some of this lekky stuff yourself.

How do you power your computer?

This post was not meant to be patronising, I really feel sorry for you.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yoza, do you not keep warm winding your watches up ?

yoza

Nice one Jacko.

That was a cryptic clue as to how he powers his computer.......right?

MarkO

Got the chainsaw cheap - one of the advantages of working with the Forestry lads.

Yes, Yoza, I use firewood to heat my house and to generate hot water. It's hard work, but very rewarding. As has been mentioned, Scottish firewood seems to be priced pretty exhorbitently (about twice what we used to pay in Kent for a similar-sized load of wood) so collecting it myself for free seems sensible. If I can collect/chop/store enough wood for next winter then we'll be mostly self-sufficienct (since our cottage has its own private water supply - no rates or sewerage charges ).

And besides, Yoza, using logs for heating is second only to natural gas in terms of cheapness, and it's the most environmentally-friendly way to heat your house. Is your central heating 100% renewable?

As for getting the logs home on the bike, it's not an issue. The trees I've taken down so far were in my own garden. And there's a private bit of forestry land directly opposite my house, so I'll just climb the hill, chop off what I want, and roll it down the hill.

It's a back-to-basics lifestyle, but it's 1,000 times better than my old life. Wouldn't change it for the world.

yoza

Do you use a leaf to wipe your bum?

NotoriousREV

I have a load of cherrywood going for free, an entire trees worth, already cut down, buyer removes

imlach

Good on your MarkO. A life a lot of us aspire to, but somehow never get round to.

I try to be as self-sufficient as possible these days, barring the sewers, water, leccy, and gas (not that great then!).

pathetic shark

By the way MarkO, when does Glentress get a bit more rideable? After my last two trips there ended up with me pushing through snow and ice (on the top sections anyway) I could do with some slightly more clement conditions.

Brendan Hughes

REV, if that cherry is of any size, you could sell it.

MarkO

Shark, Glentress has been perfectly rideable all this year so far?! There's been one day when Spooky Wood was a little treacherous and icy, but the snow doesn't make the trails unrideable (make's 'em more fun, actually ).

Besides, there's only been snow for a few days out of the last 2 months anyway, so stop being such a wuss.

Oh, and BTW, you should pop into the shop and say hi next time you're down.

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Hehe

I've spent the last few days clearing trees from our boundaries. Got at least a chord of wood out of it. Still got quite a bit to chop up, though the rest is neatly stacked up drying for next winter. Fortunately the local farmer is going to have a good bonfire of all the small branches, added to what he stripped off the hedges.

Bloody oil-feed on the saw keeps getting blocked Using "recommended" oil as well, so keep having to strip it down. Nothing like our old Danarm at home in Ireland (still going after 30 years) with a manual oil feed, never any problems - though that weighed 35lbs!

Yep, saws are dangerous - my dad nearly sliced my ickle finger off Blood everywhere!

BOB.T

Hmm, I could use one of them for next years Sweden trip We were stood at the side of the stage this year, two Swedes turned up, walked off with axes, came back with two trees and promptly set fire to them!

milo

and you're posting this how? on your back-to-basics home computer with internet connection?

seriously tho.. good on u

MarkO

LOL @ Milo.

Still have a few luxuries, although I do miss my broadband (my exchange is at 130 regs with a 450 trigger ). ADSL at work though so at least I have some connectivity.