Should I shred or should I burn?

[TomB]

Too long means chainsaw.
Splitting big stuff means big axe and perhaps a maul. Smaller stuff a froe and lump hammer. For trimming off the twigs and thin branches a well sharpened small hatchet.
Any easy freehand axe sharpening advice needed?

PS forgot to say - I've got a 14" Makita electric chain saw too. Excellent bit of kit for the occasional user like me. Handy to have 2 chains so one is sharpened while you use the other. Sharpening £10 locally - much better value than my feeble efforts, I just don't do it often enough

£10 to sharpen a chain!!!!?
Get someone to show you, Jacob, It’s straightforward. Maybe start a chainsaw sharpening thread…

 

[akirk]

we have this one:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/mac-allister-mis2500-2500w-80kg-hr-cutting-shredder-220-240v/354fgunder £90 and surprisingly good - though a bit slow… chewed through an 8 foot deep laurel hedge once I had cut it down…
only issue is little ridges on the plastic chute exit which keep jamming, but 30 secs with a multitool fixed that!

 

[MikeJhn]

Have not had to sharpen a chain for a few years now since I put on a Oregon power-sharp self sharpening system chain and guide bar, sharpens the chain in about ten seconds: What is PowerSharp® ?

 

[GuitardoctorW7]

I use a Bosch, one of these Bosch AXT Rapid 2200 Corded 90kg/hr 2200W Electric Shredder | DIY at B&Q

It has been abused and had several blade changes but it still keeps going. I put all the shreddings into my compost bins and it will take a 40mm branch with leaves so long as you feed gently. When it starts to become hard work then you know it is time to change the blades, each blade is reversable so another pair of cutting edges and don't bother trying to sharpen. Also only buy genuine Bosch blades because they are what makes this machine work.

For collecting the shreddings I use a plastic flexy tub.

I've got one of these to give away. Needs a new blade, but is easy to change, and they're double edged so you just reverse them when one side wears out. West London if anyone's interested.

 

[Jacob]

£10 to sharpen a chain!!!!?
Get someone to show you, Jacob, It’s straightforward. Maybe start a chainsaw sharpening thread…

Have had a go but I don't use it much and don't get the practice!
OK with axe and other edge tools.

 

[Cooper]

I can't offer any proper solutions but its good to know I'm not the only one who faces this problem. My shredder is very noisey and has to be unblocked so frequently that I give up halfway through the pile of prunings and get left with a massive pile that dries out and becomes impossible to feed through. My solution was quite cheap. Homebase had an offer for one of those dustbins with holes in for £16. I had a lovely day burning 1/2 the pile. I have covid at the moment but when I'm better I'll burn the rest!!
(Sorry the picture is sideways.)
Martin

 

[Jacob]

Have not had to sharpen a chain for a few years now since I put on a Oregon power-sharp self sharpening system chain and guide bar, sharpens the chain in about ten seconds: What is PowerSharp® ?

Looks good, if it'll fit your saw. Oregon PowerSharp 40cm Chainsaw Chain & Sharpening Stone Pack 3/8
Or perhaps not you also need Oregon PowerSharp 16

 

[dickm]

Got a couple of (secondhand!) shredder/chippers, an ancient Alko 2000watt electric and a generic chinese petrol one. The electric one is quite quiet and with care will cope with inch-plus diameter stuff as long as it's not got masses of side branches. These need trimming off with a billhook. The petrol job has an imitation Honda 6.5 hp engine and copes with stuff up to about 2" with care. Neither likes wet stuff, which tends to bunch into lumps. In total, they cost me less than £250 if memory serves me right; had the Alko 20 years at least and the petrol one for 10 or 12.
There must be decent sized models for hire if you don't want to spend secondhand?
Recently had five big conifers felled professionally; did lust after their Timberwolf chipper, which just ate 4"plus branches without hesitation.

 

[Adam W.]

I can't offer any proper solutions but its good to know I'm not the only one who faces this problem. My shredder is very noisey and has to be unblocked so frequently that I give up halfway through the pile of prunings and get left with a massive pile that dries out and becomes impossible to feed through. My solution was quite cheap. Homebase had an offer for one of those dustbins with holes in for £16. I had a lovely day burning 1/2 the pile. I have covid at the moment but when I'm better I'll burn the rest!!
(Sorry the picture is sideways.)
Martin

There you go Martin, I hope you recover swiftly.

 

[johna.clements]

I can't offer any proper solutions but its good to know I'm not the only one who faces this problem. My shredder is very noisey and has to be unblocked so frequently that I give up halfway through the pile of prunings and get left with a massive pile that dries out and becomes impossible to feed through. My solution was quite cheap. Homebase had an offer for one of those dustbins with holes in for £16. I had a lovely day burning 1/2 the pile. I have covid at the moment but when I'm better I'll burn the rest!!
(Sorry the picture is sideways.)
Martin

That's the way I got rid of my old shed plus a small tree. The stump took a few burns to disappear.
You can get a hot fire going in one of those bins because of the air flow. Which means you can get rid of a lot of timber in a smaller space. But if you get it too ho;, which I did, it was glowing red, you will destroy the galvanizing.

I found it easier to use on a level surface

 

[MikeJhn]

Looks good, if it'll fit your saw. Oregon PowerSharp 40cm Chainsaw Chain & Sharpening Stone Pack 3/8
Or perhaps not you also need Oregon PowerSharp 16

They are very very good, you need the chain which comes with the sharpening stone and the bar which has the holes in the end to attach the sharpening tool, the convenience of them can not be compared, lots of different combinations to fit most chain saws, I converted my Stihl over ten years ago and would never go back to a conventional chain.

 

[Jonm]

Yesterday I cut down a load of stuff. Local tip now has a booking system, managed to get a slot for car and small trailer, heaped the trailer high, tied it down, remainder in a bulk bag in the back of the estate. I do have a tip (HWRC should I say) nearby.

In the past I have waited for bonfire night (fair number of close neighbours) to burn stuff. Cannot do that now as I have built a house on the plot so nowhere suitable to store and burn.

 

[sawtooth-9]

The process of taking down large dangerous or unwanted trees - is just like a production line.
It needs the right equipment

1 A small and a large chainsaw.( Small to cut the canopy Battery powered, larger to cut the thick branches / trunk about an 18 inch bar )
2 A chipper to deal with the canopy.
3 A way to transport the cut sections ( Tractor )
4 An hydraulic splitter ( about 18 tons )
5 A place to stack and dry the firewood.

We have just taken down about 50 tons of "Pest " trees which should keep us warm for a few years !
I have several " trunks " which weigh over three tone apiece , one weighed over 8 tons ! so not easy to cut.
So UK , I think what I see is small stuff and easy to deal with.

 

[Jonm]

The process of taking down large dangerous or unwanted trees - is just like a production line.
It needs the right equipment

1 A small and a large chainsaw.( Small to cut the canopy Battery powered, larger to cut the thick branches / trunk about an 18 inch bar )
2 A chipper to deal with the canopy.
3 A way to transport the cut sections ( Tractor )
4 An hydraulic splitter ( about 18 tons )
5 A place to stack and dry the firewood.

We have just taken down about 50 tons of "Pest " trees which should keep us warm for a few years !
I have several " trunks " which weigh over three tone apiece , one weighed over 8 tons ! so not easy to cut.
So UK , I think what I see is small stuff and easy to deal with.

I think you Australians have gone soft. In the 60’s I lived in Australia for 2.5 years, my father was in the Royal Navy and was stationed there. I went to the Sydney show and watched the wood chopping and sawing competition. Axe cutting slots in tree to put a board in to stand on and repeat to get to the top of the tree then cut through the trunk (they actually used poles similar to telegraph poles but thicker). Then there was the sawing, two men on a saw cutting through a hardwood trunk, about 3 ft diameter, took them about 30 seconds. The winners were two Tasmanian brothers. None of this chainsaw and hydraulic splitter nonsense.

 

[Jonm]

I went to the Sydney show and watched the wood chopping and sawing competition.

Something like this

and this, perhaps not quite 3ft.

 

[gregmcateer]

This shredder from Screwfix - works a treat
Mac Allister MSHP2800D-2 2800W 100kg/hr Shredder 220-240V

 

[johna.clements]

Something like this

and this, perhaps not quite 3ft.

View attachment 144332

All you need to do is pay the airfare and the job will be done in 30 minutes.

 

[trvlr]

Mount field make a decent shredder. B&Q stocked them at one time, and likely they’re available from online sources as well as outlets similar to B&Q.

I’ve had mine about 10years or so, and it does a good job.

They were originally UK manufacture, but they I’ve seen comments that they now bring in from PRC…; and some suggest not as well built as previous…

 

[TomB]

Mount field make a decent shredder. B&Q stocked them at one time, and likely they’re available from online sources as well as outlets similar to B&Q.

I’ve had mine about 10years or so, and it does a good job.

They were originally UK manufacture, but they I’ve seen comments that they now bring in from PRC…; and some suggest not as well built as previous…

I have a Mountfield too, though it might be one of the more recent ones.
It’s fairly slow but it does the job.

 

[alz]

Just had a 60ft conifer tree felled as it was too near neighbour's house. Now logging for for woodburning stove and will leave to season.
Having a large garden, decided to use the branches to build a "cave" for my grandson, a big lean-to structure in corner of a large drystone retaining bank. He thinks it is great, and it is amazingly weatherproof.