Quickthorn

we've got "7719", then "1858 134OUJ"; the last one's probably the part number. It is a power match replaceable nose bar. Looking again, if the tensioner pin went into the back hole, a 68 link loop would probably fit. I wonder if someone before me drilled extra holes to get their 64 link loops to fit??

This is the best picture I can take with the camera i've got. Although you can't see much, there seem to be 2 sets of tension adjuster pin holes. I don't know if that's normal on Oregon bars (never seen it before), but the ones on the right look bodged; the oil hole at the bottom looks like it's been altered with a hand held drill and twist drill..the picture doesn't really show what a mess it is. I'm wondering if this bar's meant for a Stihl, and it's been hacked to fit the 262.

I picked up a 262xp a while ago. The bar's some sort of Oregon replaceable nose, 18" and the 3/8" chain on it has 64 drive links. I want to order more chain, plus a loop of ripping chain which will also be used on a 390xp with 18" bar. The only thing is, everything else (262xp owner's manual, owner of the 390xp) is telling me that I need a loop with 68 links, not 64 like the one fitted to my 262xp. Even my 357xp manual says 68 links on an 18" bar for 3/8" chain. Any ideas which one I need? Clue: the bar I have has been hacked at the powerhead end, with oil holes drilled out into slots etc..makes me think this bar has been bodged to fit.

Steve, do you rate that deck? I've got a separates system: a Dual 505 turntable, NAD 3020 amp and Kef cantor speakers, all of 1981 vintage (it was the classic entry level system at the time). The next step up would have been a Rega planer deck, but I couldn't stretch that far; I wish I had, because the Dual wasn't much kop, and now it's broken. I haven't heard my vinyl in years.

1998 262XP. I've not had it long, but it compares pretty well to my 09 357XP for a lot of stuff. There is a slight problem with it in that it sometimes overheats if it's flat out for any length of time- no idea why as yet.

..and everything else he's thinking about.

I've got an Aladdin Stanley, which has had a 3.5 ton truck drive over it with no real damage. Bought that about 8 or 9 years ago, and it still worked ok last time I used it, a few years ago. recently, I bought a Judge wide neck flask, for stew. That was rubbish; it started off alright, but it must have lost it's vacuum, because contents that are boiling in the morning are luke warm by dinner. It lasted less than a year To replace it, I bought a Thermos wide neck; when I opened the box, I found it was identical to the Judge flask ..except it's got Thermos written on it. It's still working so far, 3-4 months in, but we'll see...

That tool's called a drivall by some. Be careful with it, because sometimes you can lift it a little too high, and if it catches the edge of the post wrong, it can come back and nut you! This happened to a mate, who was fencing on his own, using one to bang in posts. Next thing he knew, he was lying on his back with the drivall on his chest and a lump on his head - he reckoned he'd been out cold for about 15 minutes or so..but he just got up and carried on. Planting whips can be dull, but you can get to some nice sites, and it's good to see them years on. This site was in the middle of nowhere, no roads visible...10,000 mixed broadleaved to plant...the second photo's the same spot as the first, but 8 years on.

Thanks for the input, kev. What you say puts it in a slightly different light. My insurers are quite specific about business descriptions on my policy, and training isn't included. I'm pretty much a one man band, and often fall foul of the minimum premium thing. That £300 would have covered me for 10 days, but not much use if I only get 2 days work per year. The easiest thing for me is to not do training; I don't like it anyway. The only trouble is that, the list of things I no longer do because of insurance costs is growing...

That's interesting.. I've looked into getting one of these. The price list they sent (it's dated 2008) for the lowest spec 2090 with winch was £7400; if you wanted the better suspension and spikes on the tracks, it's £8385 on this list, and they quoted £1260 for the timber cart. It would be good if they had got cheaper! Having said that, I've heard that they wear quite well, still going 10 + years later. We had a demo..not on the hilly site we wanted..but the version he brought easily dragged a half ton ash log around. The 9 hp version is quite quick on the flat, too. It can squeeze through almost any gap you can, and it doesn't leave much of a mark where it's been, either. We had the demo in a nature reserve, with the reserve manager watching. He was happy with the impact it had on the site, and they really do not like ruts and other damage at that site. I'm trying to get ERDP funding to buy one myself. I've had to put a business plan together, where I've compared it to other small scale stuff, like Alstors and quads with trailers etc. It compares well on cost per cu. m extracted, especially on steep sites with short extraction distances. I'm sure people like Xerxes and Jaimie are the experts on using it, but let me know if you need stuff like outputs, running costs etc.

If you've put petrol down the bore and no luck, I'd be thinking about ignition. You can sometimes get a good spark with the plug out, but no spark under compression. Some mechanics have a test plug, with the gap about 4 times what it 's supposed to be. If the spark can jump that gap, it will jump the normal gap under pressure.

A positive attitude is one thing, but this seems to be tipping into pure hubris. Firstly, your idea that it's "your" waste would not be shared by the Environment Agency. Their position is that the waste belongs to the person who is giving instructions for the work. If your customer wants a tree removed, they are the ones who are discarding the tree, so it is their waste, which you will be carrying. It's been covered many, many times before on this forum alone. Please don't bother to argue, or suggest things like "buying the waste for a penny", or anything else like that, just phone them up and find out what you should be doing. Most people on here would regard working without public liability insurance as immoral: accidents are unforeseen by definition. How do you know what damage you or someone working for you might cause in the future? I'm thinking along the lines of serious injury to third parties, not just the odd bit of garden fence. That's why most of us are covered up to at least £2 million plus. If you have a partner working with you, you are employing them, and working without employers' liability insurance is illegal. However healthy you think your attitude to risk management is, you need employers' liability insurance by law.. I can't help thinking that you've seriously overestimated what cs31 etc gives you. It's a very basic test that you can control the saw, can do some basic felling techniques and have minimal underpinning knowledge. It barely begins to cover a fraction of the eventualities you are likely to meet. If you think that it's taught you everything you need to know, then you're in the wrong frame of mind.

Thanks for the input. In the end, I told them that I would get the cover required (£300 - minimum premium, equal exactly to the amount I'd quoted for the training), but it would be added to the invoice; by this time, I'd already spent a day or two on visits, letters, advice, etc, with no income to show for it, so I didn't feel that inclined to give up a further weekend to do the training for £0 profit.! They decided not to go ahead with the training.

I don't know the ins and outs, mikey, but from the few times I've been involved in anything, a change of use needs planning permission. An example: I asked a farmer if I could rent enough land to put a container on to store tools and do saw maintenance in. He said yes providing I squared it with planning. They decided that storing tools would be change of use and would need pp, and sent me a huge form to fill in, to be sent back with a cheque for £120..this was just to ask!! I'd have thought that a firewood business would fit in with a farm, if you do need pp. It just depends on the mentality of the planning officers involved. If I were in your position, I'd try and get a mate to phone planning control of your council, and ask about a hypothetical firewood business ie don't give away the fact you're doing it already.. Not trying to scare anyone, but that's the way it is nowadays..

Peter, that looks pretty good value for £250. It's an impressive site. I've tried doing this myself. Even if you think you've got time, it takes ages fiddling around to get the most simple site sorted, especially when you're trying to learn as you go on.

I hope you get your new engine for £500. I was looking for a 300Tdi plus gearbox and ancillaries to replace the n/a in my 110. The local LR scrappy wanted £2,000.

That's what I thought, Ian. If they were arranging the course and taking the profit, I would've thought insurance would have been down to them. They didn't see it like that. At the very last minute, they told me they wanted me to carry the insurance can. The extra premium would have been £300..exactly the amount I was being paid to do the training !!

Another factor, as far as I know hasn't been mentioned - planning permission. It's a bit hard to keep a new firewood business quiet..all it takes is one informed neighbour to get the hump with the noise (or even one of your competitors for that matter ) and you're out of business if you haven't got the right PP in place. If you're in it for the long term, and it's your only income, sorting this out should be job 1.

The irony is that the thing they want to conserve - the woodlands we have in the UK, and all the wildlife in them - are the way they are because the woods have been worked for thousands of years.!

When do you need them for? I might be able to help, but not til after Christmas.

At the moment, yes..but so many people are jumping into it now, thinking they are going to make a fortune.. In the future, margins will be a lot thinner, so the only outfits that will make money will be the ones turning round huge volumes. My 2p.

A while ago, I was asked to give a few day's hedgelaying training for a local authority. It was on one of their sites, they were promoting the course, booking people on and taking their money, providing tools; my job was to turn up on each day and teach, for a day rate. It was non-vocational, inexperienced trainees and using only handtools. In this case, who should cover the insurance, me or the local authority?

I used to make a lot of this, never seem to find the time now. I used to use about 2 lb sloes with around 1/2 lb sugar with 1 litre of gin (the recipe said 1 lb sugar, but that was too sweet for me). Sloes would be frozen, then thawed, then added to the jar with the sugar one layer sloes followed by one layer sugar and so on, then the gin on top. I'd seal the jar, then shake it regularly. Stuff make now is ok by Christmas, but if you can keep your hands off it til crimbo 2010, it'll be a lot better. You can use vodka instead of gin..and if there's any sloes left, I've got a great recipe for sloe wine, if anyone's interested..

Thanks, Andy

I suppose you could sell small quantities locally, just undercut them slightly. It would be interesting to know what they buy them in for..does 50% of retail price sound about right ?