Keeping SWA members better informed


Ask the Forester


Buying land with grants


What happens when you want to buy woodland that's been clearfelled and may be covered by FC grants or licences?


The tang is the long thin piece of metal on which you fit the handle. You peen the tang like a rivet


Handling billhooks


Ian Swain on how to mend a billhook


I’ve recently acquired a nice old Elwell billhook. It’s in good condition apart from one thing - the handle is bit loose. Soaking in water overnight works as a temporary fix, but it seems a poor long-term solution. Do any of the other SWA members know how to fix this properly? I’m assuming that I will need to peen the tang over a wee bit more, but I don’t want to proceed in haste and make a big mistake. Peter Chandler


If the looseness of the tang is very slight then peening it over a bit more may well help. To do this it’s a great help to have a heavy bench vice with soft jaws. Protect the blade with sacking or thick card. Clamp the billhook blade very tightly, with the handle uppermost. Using the rounded peen of the a ball peen hammer, give a series of light be firm blows to spread the end of the tang a little more where it passes through the washer. If the tang’s end is just bent over (probably on a non-original handle) then you may still be able to tighten the handle by using a punch to bend the tang a little harder into the handle. A good application of linseed oil


26 Smallwoods Spring 2010


after this helps to feed the wood and keeps it from becoming too dry. However, I really would resist the temptation to soak the handle in water. This makes the wood swell and tighten, but it can damage the structure of the wood, as it crushes the fibres (within the ferrule and against the tang) and leads to long- term deterioration of the handle. If the handle is a bit looser,


perhaps with a visible gap developing between the tang and the handle at the ferrule end, then replacing the handle is the only proper cure. This is quite possible for someone with patience and a few basic tools to do at home, but you might want to try it out on a tool that is not too valuable first as it needs practice to get it right. Otherwise a blacksmith or tool dealer might do the job for you. The main difficulty will be finding a nice ash handle of the correct pattern. If you can use a lathe you might be best turning your own. If you cannot bear to be parted


from your old handle (some fit the owner perfectly, and get a beautiful patina), you might be able to save it by dribbling epoxy resin down the side of the tang to fill the gap that has appeared. I would stress this is only to eliminate the looseness, not to hold the handle on!


Ian Swain restores and sells hand tools through his website www. theluddite.com and at shows. His website features a list of tool books.


I am in the process of buying a woodland. Most of it was clearfelled a few months ago and I'm told that if I buy it I might 'inherit' some obligations around access, replanting and managing it in a certain way because the current owner received funding from the Forestry Commission.


To deal with the general topics first, the purchaser must find out from the vendor, usually via his or her solicitor, what Forestry Commission Grants or Permissions have been received by the current owner and the obligations that go with them. The vendor’s solicitor should make sure than any obligations for grant or felling licence conditions are transferred to the purchaser, if he or she will accept them. If a purchaser is unwilling to take on the responsibilities, then the vendor remains responsible, even after the sale. There is a Successor’s form on the FC website to enable the parties to tell us who is to own the land after purchase and which schemes or parts of schemes the new owner is willing to take on. It is the responsibility of the parties to agree the transfer of the obligations. A felling licence now goes with the land and any valid


permissions are available to the new owner. If the previous owner has felled, then the replanting conditions fall to the new owner. The new owner must replant, or maintain planted trees as stated in the licence conditions. He may apply for or take on the Woodland Regeneration Grant offer. If the new owner takes on the obligations of a previous


grant scheme, then he or she is entitled to receive any further payments due, provided the conditions are maintained. Access is a particular one to watch as the period of obligation can extend for several decades depending on the value of the grant paid. In addition, if the new owner will not continue the access provision, the seller is liable for a reclaim of grant paid. Management agreements, such as a Woodland


Improvement Grant (WIG) and Woodland Management Grant (WMG) can be taken on by the new owner, and provided the remainder of the contract is adhered to, the new owner can continue receiving payments. If he or she does not wish to do so, then the seller may not be subject to a reclaim if the payments received will stand as improvement work in their own right. This is often the case with WIG where payments for specific works are spread over several years and the work items are not interdependent. If an owner has fulfilled his WMG obligations for, say, two years, and the new owner does not want to continue with the agreement, it would be terminated with no reclaim paid, provided that the FC is kept fully informed. Bob Evans, Forestry Commission


www.smallwoods.org.uk


What are the options for tree shelters?


What are the different types of tree guard one can buy?


Three of the best- known shelters are made by Tubex, Acorn and Ansini. In offering biodegradable shelters and a recycling service through Agric-Cycle, Acorn (www.acorn- p-p.co.uk, right) claim to be the 'greenest tree-shelter manufacturer'. Their Shelterguard product is said to provide a balance of protection and good light transmission. They also make mesh guards and other protection for young trees. Ansini (www.spiraltreeguard. com) produce spiral tree guards (below) for protection against animals and herbicides. Tubex are arguably the best-known brand, and have recently created a new website which explains their range of products (www.tubex.com). According to Ken Broad's Caring


for Small Woods, tree shelters need to be 0.6m high to protect young trees from rabbits, 0.75m for hares, 1.2m for sheep and roe or muntjac deer and 1.8m for red, fallow or sika deer. They are not a replacement for weeding, indeed any weeds that get caught inside a tree shelter are likely to choke the plant. To plant a tree with a shelter, clear a patch to bare soil then plant the tree in a slit. Drive in the stake and place the guard over the tree, inside or outside the stake, fixing at two points.


Opportunities to buy and sell products & services Classified Ads Shelters Classified Ads


Classified ads are free for SWA members, for the first 20 words. After that they cost £1 per word. For non- members, ads cost £30 for the first 20 words, and £1 per word after that. Send your ad & cheque (payable to Freshwood Publishing) to Freshwood Publishing, Ampney St Peter, Cirencester, Glos GL7 5SH, or email your ad to swads@freshwoodpublishing.com.


Opportunity for Green Woodworker/Forester We are organic farmers in Gloucestershire with 100 acres of woods, including overgrown ash and hazel coppice. We sell firewood and charcoal and are opening areas for public access. If you live in a vehicle/yurt and are looking to establish a woodland craft enterprise, we offer part- time forestry work and abundant materials. Chainsaw certificate essential. Contact Will on 07976 423076 or email on willcmaster@aol.com.


Conservation Work Week Come on a Trees for Life Conservation Work Week in the Scottish Highlands! Prices start at £70. See www.treesforlife.org.uk for details.


Coppicing Courses Weekend coppicing courses £95 at Ravenshill Woodland Nature Reserve in rural Worcestershire. Contact 01684 574865 or visit www. malverncoppicing.co.uk.


Woodland Lover's Perthshire paradise Comfy log house in wildlife-rich woodland. Watch deer, red squirrels and many birds from the window. Hand pub, restaurant, shop and fuel. Wilderness walking from doorstep. Sleep six. Visit www.glenderby.co.uk or call 01383 729618..


Woodland Skills Centre in North Wales runs courses on woodland crafts, including coppice and green woodwork, and a range of other traditional crafts. Contact 01745 710626 or visit www. woodlandskillscentre.co.uk.


Woodland Services. Chestnut fencing, mobile milling Call 07811 852704 or email smelltheflowers2004@yahoo.co.uk.


Mobile firewood processor For hire with operator in West Surrey/West Sussex area. See www.traditionalboundaries.com or call 01483 527923.


Woodworking Workshops in Devon Five days, Monday-Friday, 9am- 4pm, £250. Learn basic skills in furniture making. Go home with a masterpiece! Contact 01647 252410, www. countrysidecrafts.org.uk.


www.cherrywoodproject.co.uk Courses in green woodwork, charcoal, hurdles, coracles and more. Check the website for details or call Tim on 07921 361484.


The Dendrologist


The quarterly newsletter for a federation of tree interested people. Annual subscription. Send £10 to: The Dendrologist, PO Box 341, Chesham, Bucks HP5 2RD.


Churchwood Valley Holiday Cabins Wembury, South Devon. Secluded self-catering timber cabins in beautiful wooded valley near the sea. Abundance of birds and wildlife. Pets welcome. Contact 01752 862382 or visit www. churchwoodvalley.com.


The Ecolodge A simpler way to relax. Set in its own woodland and meadows. Sleeps four. Contact 01205 871396 or visit www. ecolodge.me.uk.


SWA Views and opinions expressed by authors and advertisers in Smallwoods are not necessarily those of SWA. All rights reserved. The contents of Smallwoods may not be copied, stored, reproduced or transmitted, in whole or in part, by any electronic or mechanical means without prior permission.


© Small Woods Association ISSN 1473 - 0081. SWA is a registered charity, number 1081874, Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee, number 3919849. Registered office: Green Wood Centre, Station Road, Coalbrookdale, Telford, Shropshire TF8 7DR. 01952 432769.


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