Truncator chainsaw logging bench (as seen on Dragon's Den)

A couple of weeks ago at the Weald Wood Fair I saw a logging system being demonstrated, and pretty quickly realised I had to have one! It's the 'Truncator', which has apparently been on the BBC programme Dragon's Den.

I've made a video review which you can watch here, followed by some still images below.

I've got the Pro version with five 'cups', as shown below. I chose to mount the cups on a separate piece of wood, which in this photo is sat on top of the trestle that comes as part of the kit:

The piece of wood with the cups on it is held down using a couple of ratchet straps:

Once you've loaded logs into the Truncator, you use the bungee cord attached to one of the cups to hold the logs in place:

It's locked in using this beautifully simple little clip - the grooves in it not only grip the bungee cord but also use its tension to force the cord into the clip:

I spaced the cups to cut a 2 meter log into six pieces, with the final piece dropping off into a wheelbarrow:

The other five logs stay sat in the cups after using the chainsaw to cut them:

Then you push the wheelbarrow along and tip the cups so the logs fall into it:

Conveniently, one load of logs nicely fills a large wheelbarrow:

The other option is to use the ratchet straps to hold the Truncator on the side of the trailer:

I've attached some small blocks of wood on the underside of the Truncator to locate it accurately on the trailer:

I still use the ratchet straps to secure it though:

As on the trestle, you load it up with long logs - and you can see here why I chose to have five cups rather than six - the sixth would miss the trailer anyway, so may as well be absent, allowing the logs fall into a wheelbarrow:

The logs in the cups can be rapidly tipped straight into the trailer:

Overall it's an excellent invention, and I'm looking forward to using it more in the spring to prepare logs for the following winter. In my view, the key advantages of the Truncator are:

• No metal parts, so if you hit one of the cups with the chainsaw the chain will be undamaged.
• Cups mounted on an easily available wooden beam, so if it gets worn down over time by occasional touches from the chainsaw it can be replaced easily and cheaply.
• Cups can be separated by any distance, so you can produce logs at a length ideal for your woodburner or stove.
• Integrated bungee cord to hold the logs in place, which can be secured in seconds.
• Very fast to use.
• Avoids the need to pick up logs from the ground, saving strain on your back.

If you want one, you can buy them from truncator.co.uk.

Mike

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Logging in the rain

Fortunately the rain didn't get heavy until lunchtime today, so we only got a little bit wet doing the logging. Paul came in his 4x4 (with proper off-road tyres) pulling Dave's trailer, and we got it parked near the logs.
With four people, four chainsaws, two pairs of lifting tongs and two mauls (splitting axes) it was a pretty quick job.
and before long we had a trailer full of birch for Paul's fire:
On the wayleave some strange orange stuff caught my eye:
I think it's Orange Peel Fungus (Aleuria aurantia), but tell me if you know better, I'm no expert in these things!

Mike

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Firewood and stuff

Tracy's out on her chainsaw training today, but yesterday we went up to the wood to give her a little big of logging practice ready for the course - only very simple stuff though, as she'll be learning how to do it properly on the course.

There's plenty of birch to convert to firewood, such as these logs left over from clearing one of the rides last summer:
We'd striped or chipped the bark on the logs to help them dry a bit, and stacked them off the ground, so they're actually quite dry - but they'll get a lot drier now they're split:
There's plenty left cut but not split, so I have something to do if I cycle up there later in the week...
Time for an update on the pond.... animals have been trampling the dam, but that's OK, the water's there for them to drink, as well as for soaking willow:
The lower dam is getting a decent amount of vegetation on it now:
and the plant in the upper (main) pond is getting on well too:
and there are strange little black things coming up from the floor, no idea what they are:
and a few assorted pictures from the walk back to the car. A coppiced birch (not in the cant we cut last winter, but from last summer) which is being eaten by rabbits or deer:
an interesting fungus on the base of an oak:
and berries beginning to ripen on the honeysuckle - the wood is getting ready for autumn already...
Mike

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Odds and ends

We've been up to various things over the last few days. Most exciting (for us, at least) is that we've ordered two electric bikes! The idea is that this winter we'll be able to cycle there most days, rather than driving. Yes, yes, I know we already have bikes, but it's 5 miles, hilly and has cars going at 60mph - and have you tried cycling that after a hard day coppicing? Anyway, there will be more news when they come, which could be a week or two.

We've also been to Bodiam castle, as it's a local attraction and we had a 2 for 1 ticket. Well worth a visit, if you're into castles:
Interesting to see the notice in the car park, about how they expect it to be underwater in 50 years due to climate change:
Kind of brings it home, eh? I'm glad we're doing our bit by producing low-carbon wood fuel from our woodland...

Friday night we went to the wood with Joy, Jason and Lauren to watch badgers. While we were waiting for it to get dark, Lauren practised her whittling skills:

And Jason perfected his badger-disguise haircut:
Oh, and I took the remains of the old shelter down, all that's left now is a dry patch on the ground: As the light started to fade we headed off for our badger watch and all lined up in the path:
Sadly we didn't see anything other than a rabbit though. We're going to try putting some food out for them - we've been told peanut butter is a favourite.

Today was wet, but it dried up mid afternoon so I went up to the wood to do some logging and splitting, ready for a certain firewood customer. They have an open fire, so need the birch rather than chestnut, so I started with this messy pile, and brought a couple more logs over from nearby:
For the logging part I used my cunning little saw horse, made from the stump of a tree I felled in the winter. I just used the chainsaw to cut a V in the top of it: I spent a couple of hours alternately logging and splitting with the maul, finally ending up with a stack of firewood:
It's always somewhat depressing how little space it takes up once you've finished! I'll now leave it in the sun for a few weeks to dry...

And finally, a nice picture of a leaf:
Mike

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Tracy's first go on the chainsaw!

Today was the day Tracy got to try out all her new chainsaw gear!

I'd given her a bit of a safety briefing at home, and she did very well, starting the saw safely and doing a bit of logging. The main idea was for her to get a feel for it prior to doing the training in a couple of weeks, so she'll only be doing simple stuff until then.

When looking for something to practice on, we remembered this tree, which I think must have been damaged during the oak felling and ended up hung up in an oak, with the stool lifting up. Time to take it down to give it a chance to sort itself out, and also a chance for me to try out the new Husqvarna 570 we bought on Monday.
It's a great saw! The 346XP we have is good, but this is bigger and more powerful. It even has two exhaust vents! ;-) Here I am doing a bit of snedding with it. It goes through the wood like a hot knife though butter, and sounds good at the same time:

Here's Tracy doing some logging with the 570, though she used the 346 the rest of the time:

Before long it was all tidied up:
With the growing tips down where we could see them we got a good picture of the chestnut flowers:
They have quite a distinctive smell up close! (and give Tracy hayfever for a couple of weeks each year...)

We did some other stuff too. including tidying up some of the produce so it's in a fit state for customers. Here's a new log pile, with some long straight poles behind that I'm keeping for myself:
Tracy also discovered the difference a sharp chain makes to a saw, comparing the brand new 570 to the 346 with a fairly blunt chain. I was put to work sharpening it:
Tracy had a go too though, and she'll have do do the whole maintenance thing on her course in August!

We took a quick walk over to the pond, and found this under the oak tree:
Any ideas on what bird hatched from it? We've not found a good egg ID website yet...

There was also evidence of rabbits or deer on the ride to the pond. This birch stool had been growing like crazy a few weeks ago, but isn't looking so great now:Still, while they're eating that they're not eating the chestnut or oak! Suppose they have to eat something anyhow, and it's nice to have them around.

The last thing of interest was Tim's logging machine. He'd left it coupled up to a small tractor, which had been powering it:
Judging form the pile of sawdust under it, it had seen some use! By the way, the black stuff here and in past pictures from sawmilling is not oil or anything else nasty. It's caused by tannins coming out of the oak sawdust.
Mike

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