UK Tree Care - http://www.oak-wood.co.uk/uktc/
Paul
My authority owns a Sibert DMP -digital micro probe- with with I've been
carrying out investigations for the past year. Good bit of kit. For those
who don't know it the machine is basically a high tech futuristic looking
electric drill. Drill bits spin at some 9000 rpm, is blunt to start with
(so no worries about false readings as they are used) leaves a drill hole
about the same size as a furniture beetle - I've tried it out around the
house in old beams & the boss can't spot the difference from the beetle!
You'd be hard pushed to find the hole again in a tree, I use drawing board
pins to keep track whilst on site.
Data recorded is fed directly to a laptop or Psion in the field - basically
records three columns of data into excel - distance drilled, force applied,
and nos of rotations per 0.1mm of forward advance. This is then converted
into a graph (by software supplied) to be viewed. Graph scale can be
manipulated to give 1/1 or whatever gives easiest interpretation.
Sound and soft/decayed wood easy to decern, grades of incipient decay need
more interpretative skills and on those trees I've left up - sorry I don't
know if I got it right! But if one goes and plays with it in a wood yard it
is amazing what you can detect.
You also get to see the annual rings. In conifers and ring pourus trees
these stand out very clearly - softer timbers like poplar give less clear
annual info. In Douglas I've noted the thinning pattern, in Lawson dated
root damage, I've tried to use it to age trees, but it remains difficult to
be sure the drill pases close to the biological centre!. I've also used the
machine in conjunction with our historic buildings bods to prod timbers in a
newly rediscovered 14th century timber frame in an old shop - most of which
we could then confirm was sound.
Standard probe is 375mm, though they can be had in a variety of sizes up to
1m, the longer ones can be bought and used at any time (distinct advantage
over some other devices).
I'm impressed with it and would be happy to talk it through with anyone
seriously considering buying, and add that I have no connections with the
company except as a customer.
all the best to you all for a happy Christmas,
Dermot
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Hawksford [SMTP:phawksford2000@xxxxxx.co.uk]
Sent: Friday, December 17, 1999 11:43 PM
To: uktc@xxxxxxxx.com
Subject: Decay Detection
UK Tree Care - http://www.oak-wood.co.uk/uktc/
Re: Resistograph v Shigometer
A bit of good and bad in both? Arb Journal etc.....
Which aid/tool would you go with? Are there better
machines? and do we all envisage the obvious
culmination of the two or more... maybe for more
precise readings? How many UKTC subscribers actually
use this equipment on a daily basis or are these
machines reserved only for extreme cases of
arboricultural self-doubt/litigation cases or for the
simple padding out of one's report?
To everyone on the planet (without bias; Ian) - A very
Merry Christmas - Enjoy a prosperous and Mega
Millennium! Rock & Roll with CPD for 2000 and
beyond!!!!
Paul H.
____________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk
or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie
______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to uktc-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxx.com
______________________________________________________________________
Free Holiday Offer from MyFavoritiePC.com!
Get a Free PC with a 3-year subscription to the Microsoft Network. New PC
features 400MHz Celeron, 32 MB, 4GB HDD, 40S CD, 3D graphics and 56K
modem. Come to http://www.listbot.com/links/myfavoritepc for details. Act
Now!
______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to uktc-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxx.com
______________________________________________________________________
PARTS DIRECT from sears.com
Order the Right Part, Right Here, Right Now. Search our comprehensive
database by model for parts, owner's manuals, diagrams, schematics, and more
online. Shop http://www.listbot.com/links/sears5 for over 400 manufacturers:
Whirlpool, GE, Maytag, Frigidaire, Sony, Kenmore, and Craftsman!
