traditional ropes

[Andrew]

What do BaE systems use to maintain the Victory down at Pompey ?.

[Fredxx]

Yebbut - will the resident birds care over a little discolouration of their 'house'?

[Fredxx]

I'm sure they would be fine with any nails after the wood was sawn?

[TimW]

Maybe you would share your insight? Or are you on the normal Rod Speed thing?

TW

[Fredxx]

My experience is that after 20 years in the elements, even a galvanised screw would have been pretty well wasted away.

[Andy Burns]

I wasn't thinking of the wood the birdhouse is to be made from, but the next generation of tree to be chopped-down and sawn after the birdhouse is gone.

[Jethro_uk]

I'd guess whatevers cheapest to maintain ? After all, there's zero chance the ropes will actually be needed to haul sails. (Unlike the USS Constitution)

[Martin Brown]

Neither will an iron nail (and it will eventually rust away).

Do not use a copper one though.

My nest boxes are hung on nails.

[michael adams]

Indeed and possibly you regularly clean them out as recommended so as to remove dead nestlings, old nests, and flea infestations. . And so can remove the nail once the nestbox is no longer required thus satisfying the biodegradeable requirement, after all.

michael adams

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[Dave Plowman (News]

What are you making the boxes from? I assume no wood preservatives etc, so I'd guess most natural ropes will last just as long. ;-)

[TimW]

From pallet wood provisionally. I wouldn't expect them to last very many years. They aren't actually bird boxes and they can be quite heavy.

TW

[williamwright]

Nothing you do in a public space can be immune to any sort of accusation. Someone will always find fault, no matter how careful you are.

Bill

[williamwright]

You will be complicit in the clearance of tropical forests! (It's surprisingly nice wood though. I have a stack of pallets and the wood comes in very useful.)

Bill

[TimW]

Exactly!

Tim w

[Tim Lamb]

Hmm. My last lot of OSB came from Estonia. I suspect pallet wood comes from a similar temperate evergreen source.

[TimW]

I have been slowly learning how to get them apart without splitting the wood. Do you have any good techniques?

I have found cutting through nails and punching them out much easier than trying to extract them whole or to prise the pieces apart, but I have run out of old blunt hand saws to do the job with. They become toothless and too blunt after a bit. Some people use a power saw - a sabre saw? but I don't have one.

TW

[williamwright]

I cut the heads off the nails with a thin blade in an angle grinder or dremmel, cutting at an angle just under the head. The wood then prises off quite easily. Obviously I try to minimise the area of damage to the surface, but I'm often planing a mm or so off so it doesn't matter too much.

Alternatively, sometimes the nailed ends can be cut off, and they become waste.

I think you have to have the attitude that you are harvesting only the cream of the crop. I use the waste for my garden firepit thingy. The big blocks are ideal for that.

My son has made garden furniture and planters from pallets. The first step is often to repair the pallet, sometimes using wood from other, poorer, pallets.

The main tools for this job are a fairly powerful jig saw with a long blade, and a reciprocating saw. And a hammer. And pincers.

Bill

[Dave Plowman (News]

I was cursing a delivery firm for leaving the pallet. Since it was wet, I left it outside. Gone by the next day. Good to know they get used. ;-)

[rick]

Hemp or jute would suit, and reasonably common.

[rick]

Hemp or Jute be good for a few years.