Charlieh

Id call apex ecology. Based in N staffs and specialise in bat work 👍 Apex Ecology APEXECOLOGY.CO.UK

Stuart the aspen bio was the single worst bar oil I've used. Destroyed loads of bars. Make sure it's ok in the drums as it can go like jelly if not used up quickly. Tbh the stihl bio was the only one we ever got on with but at wear was always at least twice the rate of mineral oil. We had to switch back to mineral on bigger felling jobs especially saws like the 560s and 500i as the bio doesn't lubricate well enough on the faster saws. If your switching flush the oil tanks out on your saws with petrol as they don't mix well

No specifics but escape routes must be clear, properly retreat to a safe distance, watch for limbs in trees around the felled ones sheding, no manual wedges, Jack's or ratchet wedges only. Mechanized where possible, use winches to pull over to remove cutters from risk areas if needed. They barber chair like no tomorrow. And get them down sooner rather than later as they aren't fun when the start to go backwards fast. We are trying to avoid swapping sides of the tree so powerful saws that you can chase the hinge with, using bar length that allow you to cut from one side. Above all don't rush them spend the time assessing the tree. The canopy will give you a clue even in winter. Look for any signs of decay in the trunk. Even if you peel some bark off if you suspect it's dodgy.

Get into the local machinery dealers round you Stevie and find one who stock granit parts. They stock just about every type and can show the dimensions in the parts book so you can match up to exactly what you need

Vavja jussi is about the best. The Chinese/cheap copies aren't well made and all seem to develop crane issues early on. Just make sure when your talking about moving at reasonable forward speed anything that loads itself won't be greatly stable. If it's only smaller volumes then the logic trailers you hand load are very good and will tow anywhere you can get the quad to and stick a bit more speed running back to the yard.

not used the RSL but used a couple of other brands, the TMK is a great bit of kit, we run a TMK300 on my Kubota kx161, and its spot on straight from the box. If I was going out to buy one I would probably go for the 200 just due to the weight saving at full reach on the smaller base machines. We used an intermercato on a couple of ha holly clearance and tbh I wouldn't rush to get one. Blade kept coming off, wouldn't touch the size material it said it should put us off running one for a while as was slower than 2 lads on saws would have been.

Cheers for that. Don't need bigger tbh the factory one works really nicely could just do with them being a pair. They are the best shaped spikes I've used on a saw in a good while

Does anyone or any of the dealers have a part number or give me a price for the outside spikes for the 500i Cheers Charlie

Wider every time on sphagnum and peat. As wide as you can. If your on the clay then it's grip you need. I run a couple of sets on my alpine depending on the ground. Best compromise is a wider tyre with lots of grip (new basically) if the rims are 20" duals are available 2nd hand as a fairly common size for telehandlers and the like back in the day. I picked 2 sets up reasonably cheaply and these can run old tyres as they are just for flotation. Size is 16.0 r20 or 405/70 r20 in modern terms

we cut 2.5m 3m and 3.7mtr depending on the straightness of the timber, the site conditions and extraction method. If your using the major pull them all to your loading area as poles and cross cut them there if the ground will hold up and you don't have a forwarder. Remember 3.7s mean a less cutting Beware of the timber being very unpredictable. Also best requesting to see info from the woodland owner e.g correspondence from FC relating to the permissions as even on sites with severe dieback you should still have some dialogue with you area officer if your England. the volume could be quite significant so its worth considering getting a machine in for the extraction as the novelty of loading the atv trailer will wear of pretty fast

Frank Alviti at Ludlow, turned a rotor around for me in 48hrs and was significantly cheaper that has been quoted even with having it shipped back. Make sure the pto shaft isn't bent as that can also give significant vibration if its been bowed. Is the flail a Dragone? as they are well made

Im currently working on a site where we could do with pulling a lot of firewood sized material to areas where we can skid with tractor or mini forwarder. Has anyone used these smaller 2 or 4 stroke winches seriously in anger. I estimate we could be dealing with up to 100tons per winter. I've spoken several times with Treadlight forestry about the docma winches and that's the way im looking to go. I just wondered if anyone else had used one extensively day in day out on larger jobs. Especially running several chokers on for short wood, and as a haulback for the bigger winch

For info meetens are not a quick company to deal with. Was told parts were in stock, having chased them for a couple of days now I've just been told they are now coming overland from Italy so I won't see them till next week now

Thanks all. Meetens have fixed me up with a set of rings I've had to order a used cylinder from the states as it's got all the bits I need at sensible money. The triad has a different valve set up but thanks for the offer it's very generous off you.

Before i end up ordering some bits from the states, I need some bits for a kohler magnum 18 is there a good contact in the UK that has stocks of parts? Cheers Charlie