MattyF

I have never seen a crank in two half’s !

Not sure either how it’s caused joe , makes no sense if you think about it other than if your spinning on the swivel it’s putting twists in the rope ..I know if I was to do multiple large trees through out the day I would be swearing on the last one ... just seems to encourage massive twists in the rope .. fine if you have the time to lay out and get the twists from stretching 40m of rope between climbs but that’s not the case ... I know I’m not imagining it as other climbers have said the same whilst using a swivel. Give us a shout when your up mark and I’ll treat you in the crown or Cheviot for that swivel... will be interesting to see if it doesn’t make a difference on a single line.

I love elm ! Try and save any scraps I have lying about , finally got these through the mill the other week And an old cherry log

You ever had issues with ropes hockling at all james ?

Yep ... they had a sale on as well that seems to have gone! I’m not entirely sure about the saws though , whilst the 660 sounded a beast even though the seals need doing I’m doubtful about the quality .. just does not feel like a stihl.. need to use it a bit first , basically was going to tach it rich and use it on a mill with a 25” bar so it does not get hammered too much.

I have played around with swivels in the past on my bridge DDRT and not got on with them , found for some reason it caused the rope to constantly hockle and made self tending and descent a nightmare.. was thinking about giving one another go as I’m now climbing pretty much all SRT but before going out and spending just curios if any one is using one SRT and still has problems with rope hockling ?

Yes that’s exactly what happened.. is that the symptom of bad crank seals high tick over and even higher revs ? The saw idols and revs ok just high! There is a guy up the road who was a Forestry commission saw tech and still has the proper tools to fit them ... stupidly I didn’t take him up in his offer ! I’ll be going around in a few days !

Sucking in air like it is running lean ... through the crank seals ... it’s ok , first time I’ve really played with a bigger stihl so interesting to see how they work.

So finished the saw ... idle is high and the saw absolutely screams ... I think I’m gonna have to re do the crank seals again .. clutch side did not seat right but pushed it in with a screw driver thinking it would be ok .. can’t think of any other reason the idle would be so high.

So when did they add the SRT floop on the boots ? Didn’t notice it on the above photo. Looks a good idea but don’t want to tear the arse out the boots clipping the haas on.. any one using it and hows it holding out.

Need another set now Dan !

No Mate, don’t think I’ve ever put grease on husky ones so it’s a new one too me... I took them back out looks like I’ll have to order another set , you literally could not move the crank .... not sure what I did wrong so I guess it’s back to the u tube videos to find out.. I’ve done a couple with your supervision before so know to get the big copper mallet out to destress it like that 372 I forgot the bolt on!

Quick question I’ve put the crank seals on and now the crank is difficult to turn, I’ve de stressed it and it was fine ... I’m used to huskys but it should move a lot more freely ??

Aye not worried about the chip it was if I tried to get the bearings out and the case disintegrated! Stuck the cases in the oven and with a g clamp and a bit of flat elm they popped out beautifully ! Spent ages with a can of wd 40 and a compessor and could still see and feel swarf in the bearings so feeling happier they are decent stihl ones in the machine now ...

Also would the seal on this side be put in first?

So today the kit arrived just having a look over , bearings are full of metal swarf, it looks like they have fitted them and then decided to tap out all the screw holes , I have some genuine stihl ones and wondering if I should replace them ... thing that first concerns me is the crank case seems to be made of cheese How is the best way to get the bearings out ?

Wow ... We bored of been racist sexist bigots and now moved on to tearing up people bodies ?

Brought some tractor style tyres for the l200 .. great for this shit weather and off road but has doubled fuel consumption.. did not think that would be possible by changing the wheels !

Been using the cheap ones for about a year now with no problems , I had one unit break /crushed but what happened to it would of destroyed a senna but it cost peanuts to replace.

I would disagree ,step cutting and learning cuts properly so they don’t brake off premature is safer.. it is not acceptable in any way to cut and hold ...that is an industry standard , not saying I don’t do it but it’s in no way unsafe unless the op is out of control... the problem is as soon as a saw user does his nptcs and goes out in to the industry and see every one else cut and holding they see it as the only way And neglect to hone any other skills further or give them a second thought usually with the exception of handling timber because that’s a lot easier than dealing with branch wood. You can quickly set up 3step cuts not have them brake off premature and use two hands too throw them accurately and not damaging the tendons and getting tennis elbow and a range of other ailments in wrists etc from cut n Chuck and it really is a simple skill to learn and faster imo , I’ve seen fellas watch and either think it’s some witch craft and be pretty impressed but it’s really simple... or what a c%#t .... Try not to overlap cuts and make the cuts double the thickness of the branch and go side to side instead of in board or out board unless on small branches as the leverage will just brake them before you get a chance to grab them... if you need to do big bits that you can barely hold then they should probably of been rigged in the first place.

540xp and ms 150 are my go to Climbing saws , can’t stand the 201 and the 200 is unreliable and has bad anti vibes.

Last time I used a silky fully on a reduction...I stick with the ms 150 to tempting to cut and hold with the silky

Silkys are more dangerous than one handing ! I try not to use the things any more as I seem to get complacent and inevitably get idiot rash . I still don’t see why step cuts can not be done predictably unless there is extreme weather. I would not cut a branch I could not cut n Chuck with a step cut any thing bigger needs rigging or you end up like this .. Had to go back up and finish it for him , a proper mess ! Seen it happen so many times , cut and hold done badly isn’t worth the risk.

Practise makes perfect... step cuts hold better side to side , try and do them with the width apart from the cuts double the stem diameter when cutting branches with foliage , if I am dismantling a tree I will set up say 2-4 or more different branches with step cuts and brake them off individually after putting the saw down , it’s quicker than cut and hold.

Waiting for a 066 a few weeks now since ordered .. got some genuine stihl bits waiting bearings and rings , should be a bit of fun over Christmas and keep me off the beer.