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Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4613
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 10:58 am Post subject:
Can you still get Sandvik blades for bow saws today? Not that i have googled mind,but locally only the rubbish Irwin and the like are available,half a dozen cuts and it feels like an old blade, On the other hand ,a Sandvik will do a hundred,and then re-set the teeth and it will do another hundred,they keep their edge well.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46212
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 11:44 am Post subject:
a few left on ebay and some shops still have em not tried the bahco branded ones

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 11:58 am Post subject:

Hairyloon wrote:

dpack wrote:

a good chainsaw is cheaper than a good battery saw and will run while you have fuel ,with most a 5 ltr fuel tin will do a days work which is a lot of cutting

It depends what you are doing. Clearly a battery saw is no good for logging, but in a lot of land management work, you spend more time moving than you do actual cutting.
For that sort of thing, our battery chainsaw will usually go all morning, if not longer.

Too many tea breaks.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 3:22 pm Post subject:

Nick wrote:

Hairyloon wrote:

dpack wrote:

a good chainsaw is cheaper than a good battery saw and will run while you have fuel ,with most a 5 ltr fuel tin will do a days work which is a lot of cutting

Too many tea breaks.

Quite possibly, but as I said, it depends on what you're doing.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9881
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 5:45 pm Post subject:
the best loppers, IMHO are fiskars

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 6:10 pm Post subject:

Nicky Colour it green wrote:

the best loppers, IMHO are fiskars

They're great aren't they.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46212
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 6:22 pm Post subject:
fiskars used to make a light brush hook that was ideal for brambles etc a bit short of handle for tall folk but ideal for short ones like me,good bladed tools in general,i have had a few scissors and knives from them.

onemanband

Joined: 26 Dec 2010
Posts: 1473
Location: NCA90

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 8:02 pm Post subject:

I have Bahco bow saw - no complaints - does what it's meant to
Don't buy a non-brand/cheap bow saw - it will be pants.

Loppers - I am using Wolfgarten as best - no complaints.
I also use cheap (�15ish) extending handle loppers. They only last me a year or two, but are good for cutting roots or where there is risk of cutting wire. Extending handles give extra reach and leverage (tho excessive use for leverage will break them)

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 8:55 pm Post subject:

Cathryn wrote:

PS Next year when we have some orphan lambs...

Nope. Not near my trees (the land is a couple of miles away - too far to be committed to frequent checks. And if you tell Jenna you have baby lambs to cuddle, you can board her until midsummer!). I know what you mean about chainsaws, but having coppiced one four or five year old stool with a handsaw, I think I need power. It took me all afternoon! And there will be all that firewood too...

I don't think loppers will do - I'm hoping for firewood sized logs from the coppice (eventually) and there are several big trees which need to come down first, too.

I have hired brush cutters in the past, and I don't remember it being a problem height wise. I remember I couldn't wear the gloves, as they would have fit on my feet!

I had noticed that stihl was expensive, and wondered if they were worth it (I don't mind paying if you get your money's worth)

I don't really drink tea, and I will only have school hours to work in, so it won't be long sessions anyway. I do store my caravan on site, though!

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 9:07 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

WW why do you need a mower? The trees will eventually shade the grass out but until then it'll supress other weeds, we just mulch new plantings

Do you think I'd get away without one? It's fairly neglected grass, chock full of thistles and docks and brambles. I'm planning (it's still at the planning stage) to plant hazel and coppice it, with some oak standards. I know eventually they will shade everything out, but I'm expecting it to take a few years. And they will always be the orchard and tracks and things. I'm also a bit wary of strimming near trees. I'll put weed suppressing membrane down along the rows and then thought I could just trundle up and down with the mower once a week to keep it all neat.

Sounds idyllic, doesn't it?

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4613
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 14 10:28 pm Post subject:
Had a look at them Bahco blades ,the type with the less teeth,and the double toothed every 5th one,looks very similar to the old Sandvik,so will give them a go if i cannot source a Sandvik,which stood up to regular use underground in wet conditions.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45669
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 14 6:23 am Post subject:
[quote="wellington womble:1417436"] Do you think I'd get away without one? /quote] Yes, we had a couple of acres of rough grassland that had a few oak and ash saplings in it when we got here, they are now good sized young trees without any intervention from us The natural state in most of the uk is forest, any bit of land you leave untouched will eventually revert to woodland

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15967

Posted: Sat Sep 20, 14 6:04 am Post subject:

I would try a chainsaw (under supervision) before buying, and I think you are wise to leave the big tree felling to someone else. You could go on various courses, but a basic small tree one, would be adequate for coppicing. You might need medium or even large tree, and wind blow as well to deal with other trees.

You will have to wait a long time for the hazel to establish itself and then grow to firewood size. If you have trees and big shrubs there already, could you just keep then in rotation for firewood? Most British woods are fine for burning if they are seasoned, but make sure they are stored off the ground, and take the bark off one side of birch, or cut and split it to season as otherwise if rots before seasoning.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Sat Sep 20, 14 9:45 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

I would try a chainsaw (under supervision) before buying, and I think you are wise to leave the big tree felling to someone else.

As I recall, for felling purposes a "big tree" is defined as one with a diameter 1.5 x the length of the chainsaw bar... or is it 2.5?

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sat Sep 20, 14 10:13 pm Post subject:

I will definitely leave the trees to the professionals and their toys. I just want something that will cut small firewood coppice, and chop it into lengths that will fit in my stove. Leaving me with hands that are functional and not take all year! Four to six inch diameter logs, at a guess.

The smallest chainsaw I've seen is 8 inches, although I had six in mind. However, it's the brushcutter that is most pressing - it looks like stihl has the most votes.

There are a few mature trees onsite - a couple of field maples and sycamore, two big hoarse chestnuts, a couple of ash trees and one medium oak There is also a TPO. I am hoping to coppice them for short term use, but that is by no means certain at present.

I think I will need a mower to give the trees the best chance and for the rest of it. I am also hoping to plant truffle infected trees and I think they need mowing (capital permitting) I would also find a small trailer and possibly a harrow useful, so a mower that would also tow those things would be very useful. Any recommendations?

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