Kev Stephenson

Please don't ask for a pic of his ugly mug spoiling a glorious view of china.

All the above people who are giving advice need to realise there are numerous different types of concrete posts depending on the manufacturer, telling a novice your way is THE way it is done could be leading the OP down the wrong path. I have used a few different types, some with preformed bolt holes, some with holes for straining wires and some with channels in which the gravel boards and fence panels slide. The latter I have personally found to be the easiest to use but note that from most suppliers the gravel boards are 6ft wide (183cm) and the europanels are 180cm wide therefore you will need to either add a batten to the panels or cut a section off the gravel board. I know this does not apply to the OP who is making the wooden panels. I would recommend allowing 1 hour and 2 people per section. I find it easiest with the channelled posts to install the gravel boards as I go along the fence line rather than do all the posts then try and lift a 40kg board 6ft high the following day. The posts are damned heavy. Lifting them from 2ft down a hole if you need to go a few inches more is damned hard work. Good luck, it isn't rocket science just take your time as there is no trimming a bit off the top of a concrete post if you have set it too high

power to the clock and it's counting

They prosecute for failure to hold a VALID license.

Damn busy!! I went on Saturday and the parking was a nightmare as no-one wanted to park on the grass so it seemed people were just abandoning vehicles on verges everywhere. Once inside there were some good deals to be had and plenty to look at if you were willing to fight through the crowds to get on the stands. I never bother with the air rifle stuff but the rest was good. As with some of the arb shows there is always a selection of people who feel they must go in there full get up, the top end in full tweeds and then the wildfowlers who seemed to be in wellies, moleskins, camo jacket dragging 2 labs or spaniels around an indoor show!!

Concern over recycling 10oz of lead when I can go clay shooting and think nothing of blowing 150oz over farmed fields. I am sure this is nothing more than a publicity stunt

https://www.gov.uk/towing-rules from the above A full car licence already lets you tow trailers weighing no more than 750 kg. You can also tow heavier trailers with a car as long as the total weight of vehicle and trailer isn’t more than 3,500 kg. The fully loaded trailer must also not be heavier than the unladen vehicle.

Very close, part 1 of the above is correct but it is possible to tow more than 750kg on a post 97 license. The total of the MAM of the towing vehicle and the MAM of the trailer must be 3499kg or less with the trailer MAM being less than the MAM of the car. An old neighbour got this is writing from VOSA and it is on their website somewhere. He was allowed to tow his small caravan (900kg ish) with a shogun pinin.

I get mine back tomorrow after having a new pot and piston under warranty. It was in for failure to start and the dealer said if it seems under powered then Stihl are replacing engines on the early models as a warranty job. Will see now if it's a match for a 200.

That explains everything, you are used to sub standard products!!!:001_tt2:

Which bit are you disagreeing with? The price he quoted is lower than the 2 you have given He states 2 batteries, as standard they only come with 1 I said it was high but not rediculous if mint ????????? Paslode are top of the pile when it comes to nail guns, do you buy copy Stihl chainsaws as well??? My paslode did 20,000 nails last year needing nothing more than a squirt of oil each outing. A battery lasts about 1500 nails, last week I did just over 1000 nails in a fence with not one misfire. I need to rely on my kit so buy the best, I would rather buy a second hand paslode than a new copy.

Cracking machines, I bought mine off ebay for less than £300 in it's case (older case, rounded edges) with one battery. A new second battery was ~£35. Pays for itself everytime it goes out in time saved however paslode nails are more expensive than bog standard hammer in nails. If it looks mint then the price although high isn't silly.

It's definately not a box

and employers liability don't forget. There is a big list on the right hand side of the forum, ring them and find out your prices.

I did it full time to start with then at 6 months old started with a nursery 2 then 3 then 4 days a week to socialise the kids and let me get out of the house and earn a bit of money. It seems to work well but I don't make a lot of money doing this as kit sits idle at least one day a week, insurance, etc still has to be paid as if I was full time but the kids alway know they will be picked up from school/nursery nice and early and there are no issues should one be ill or the schools shut for snow etc. I also still have 1 full day off with the youngest for swimming lessons, etc which will change in September when she starts school but even then 2 days a week I will pick them up from /drop them straight to school and not use the before/after school clubs. Everyone does child care differently, there is no right way but the number one is ensuring the child gets the best. I personally don't like the idea of 2 parents both working silly long hours for loads of money and trying to buy the kids love. They are only young once and I feel the more you put into them the more you will get out.

With my Quadchip the chip comes out at a great rate of knots, even the conifer greenery that causes many chippers issues, definately not loading the back first. Gray Git, There is no real weight of chip in the tube at any time, it just directs the chip into the back of the truck and stops those stray bits going over the top rather than carry it. It seemed to be the top of the tube that had marks on it from the chip flying through so definately no issues with the tube pushing the chute down.

Issues with the liberal spreading of wood chip now solved. No need to modify the truck as suggested?? Total cost of the modification was £7 for 1 meter of 6" bathroom extractor fan pipe and it works perfectly.

I'm so old my swimming certificate says 440 YARDS!!!!

I did 5 1/2 years without a fin or bearing as well

Can't quite make out the back handle on that ground saw Mr D!!

I ran until Christmas a 1999 petrol 6" entec. Exactly the same machine bar the engine and I ran it for just over 5 years. They are a sound machine although at 13 years old and with me as only the second owner it was starting to get tired. The person I bought it off had done less than 100 hours on it and I only worked part time making it a relatively low hours machine to start with so go steady if it has been worked hard. They are a good machine on a budget and easy to work on in case of issues or breakdowns with all parts still available from orange plant/timberwolf. The diesel engines are 35hp (I think) Hope this helps Kev

How? 1. Can't make the transit wider 2. Making it higher would mean using more fuel every day plus the chip body is already capable of carrying more than would be road legal 3. There is no physical way to move the body closer to the discharge chute A piece of pipe will cost me less than £20 that is if I can't beg one from somewhere. The truck is fine with TW's and a range of other chippers so why not mod the chipper slightly?

The only negative I have is the distance of the discharge spout from the back of the truck. On a TW150 it is about 2 ft, on the quadchip it is nearer 8ft. This means instead of 99%+ of the chip making it into the back of the truck there is a liberal spreading all around which leads to an extra 10 minutes at the end of each job with the brush/blower. I am looking to modify the outlet of mine slightly probably by simply using a few feet of 8" pipe wedged on the end to stop the fanning of the chip but other than that it is head and shoulders above the entec (timberwolf) it replaced just before Christmas.

I've done more stalking this year than driven birds however I have had some brilliant days on the ducks in the family woodland. Bag of 25 mallard from a flight between Christmas and new year from 3 guns. I also had a cracking time on a let day on a massive estate in the lakes where they put down 25,000 birds a year. We had an outside day following a royal shoot. This coupled with a couple of days given by friends or customers has made for a steady but high quality season.

Steve will post a full list in the next few days