Brushcutter

Yea came up with the idea a little while ago. If you have front linkage with spools you could do the same out front, well if you have front spools you could make it part of the weight box. Be about twice the price for a Valtra. It maybe worth buying a valtra elsewhere and sending it to Wilsons for conversion. Then you can choose your crane as they put a 560TL on eveything. I think the 560 is about 18+vat the 570 is 19 and the 580 is 21. I'm still clinging to the dream of a 8050/8100 with a 570TL roof mount. Will have to more likely get a 570 on a 10 tonne euro trailer.

If its really wet make sure you get a good brash mat down. It's probally stating the obvious to you but it really makes the difference. I did some forwarding for a member on here who clearfelled a small block of Norway. Sold all of that for sawlogs, fencing and chip wood. I felled about 15t on Norway on Saturday thats going for firewood.

Riko UK :: Mechanical controlled forestry winches See what price a new one will be. It will be a good guide for a s/h one. See if they have any as well. A grand might get you a 6.5 t winch. The EA sold off some of their fransguard a little while ago. They were a little overpriced.

Bigger is better but really you won't need more than 5 tonnes for that. Consider getting a double drum if you'll be doing a lot of winching. Igland are the Rolls Royce of winches but if you get the price list from Wilson make sure your sitting down when you open it! It was 14K for a 9tonne double drum! For cost/performance ratio i'd go for a uniforest. Have a chainsaw holder and lots of bits to hold kit, also a chainbox too. Electrohydraulic is great, power assisted rope out is great especially when you have 60m of cable to drag out.

I think you mentioned a Harvester head in another post? It would work quite nicely on this tractor.

I'm not sure but i think Stephen Blair had one of these. Not a Botex crane though think it was Kelsa. The 8750 is a big tractor best part of 200hp so not really in the woods nippy like the smaller 6400 or even the smaller 8000 to some extent. If Wilsons have put the crane on they've probally wighted it up. Although looking at the picture it doesn't look like it. I've had a go on a 8100 with a FMV roofmount. That has front weights and wheel wights. Its quite a heavy tractor. I'd put a front weight block on it, set of front and back wheel weights and water ballast tires. Maybe a bit of belly balast too. The 560 is a fantastic crane pitty with a tractor that big i'd of wanted a 570 or 580 on it. You'll always lift more on the trailer than on the roof. But roof gives you much more versatility. The 560 will lift 2.5 or 2.8 on the trailer. I think you'd get 1.8 maybe 2 on the roof. You could make some stabliers legs to go on the 3pl that run off a spool for extra stablity with the roof mount/

Uniforest winches are very good. Fransguard are good but i have a love/hate relationship with it. Igland are the Rolls Royce of winches but thats reflected in the price. 5 tonne winch would have 5 tonne of pull on the winch line, obviously using a snach block you can make that higher. Thats a 6.5 tonne fransgard winch. Once the logs are up to the plate you hook the skidding chains up on the plate and it picks them up off the deck. Bigger logs its best to leave on the cable or they tend to break the chain holders a bit. As far as i'm aware the butt plate will lift what the link arms will lift and what the chains will lift. Biggest thing that i've skidded on there is a 18' 30" oak log. Coped well. Done several short ones in big withs wich the winch can pick totally off the deck. Thing about winch upslope is the butt end can dig in meaning you need more pulling force. You can use a high block in a tree but then you may be lifting rather than pulling. Don't dig in that way.

Check out the Riko winches. Might not be as cheap as a second hand one but you'll be suprised how much winch your money will buy you. I'm impressed going to replace the Fransgard with one next year.

Looks ok. Thing about ebay saws is they can look fine but can have scored pistons and never run right. I have had one dodgy saw from ebay but to be fair i got a good stone cutting saw. But i generally steer clear now. I think the 0xx changed around 2000. My 020T is 1999 so it was after then.

25-30 quid a tonne would be what i would be looking for.

Yes they do. Had a look as well. Guy round our way has a big stump grinder mounted on Valtra T130 and flys through stumps like they're not there. Did cost some 30k for the grinder though:blushing:

Yep 346 comes with the 1.5mm as standard. I once set up a tree to do a split level cut with a MS200 and then wondered why my felling bar wouldn't fit in the cut:thumbup:

I'm with NFU by far the best insurer i have been with saved a fortune from my last one. Think it depends on the NFU office your with on how good they are to be honest.

Nice video! How tall was that tree because it looked massive. Nice felling cut at the end.

Few threads in the firewood forum about what to do with poplar. If you can sell it as firewood, you'll be quids in.

I did a Sycamore end of december 28 or 29 i think there was loads of sap and buds were looking like they were about to open.

Its the series that brought you "did you know that dolphins are gay sharks"

Yes i'm afraid i am. I just think its great.

I hurd that too. Ages ago it was in FBT. I was mine every week because they get fility on the forest floor.

New series tonight. Any other fans out there or have i just admited something really bad?

I have the D90. Truely fantasic camera but i'm quite a Nikon fan be my third Nikon camera. I've not played with the D5000 as it wasn't out when i got mine. The move mode is a feature i don't really use but its nice to have when your doing nice fells and stuff. It has a good point and shoot auto mode and auto with no flash which is really useful. Other pre programed settings such as landsacpe portrate ect. Good manual mode with easy to find settings. I tend to use either apature or speed modes. Worth having as it you can grow into it as your skills and confidence in photography grows. The motor is also in the camera so there is no not having AF on lenses like the D60. As for lenses i have 17-50 F 2.8 which is good, not used it much yet but it can make background blury realy well. 18-105 VR F3.5-5.6 this is my fave the VR is great. Did some ace pics at Duxfords Flying Legends this year with it. Covers the zoom ranges well. If i had one its what i'd get, well i'd fet 28-300 but thats a grand so this will do. 55-300 bit specialist i fiond. Good for wildlife and airshows but not found many uses for it yet. Nikon 50mm 1.8 - fantastic for portrates and at 100 quid well worth having in the kit.

Check the washing instructions. I think some ones can be others can't. I know fabric softner is a no no. Its all about about keeping the chain clogging fibers in the right place and not fluffy. You won't be the first person to wear dirty chainsaw trousers.

I think tractor parts are much the same. Not really needed that many parts apart from wing mirror glass and a wing mirror box, which at 90 quid weren't cheap. However when the PTO went it was 1500 quid for the parts and labour, which considering it was 1 guy for nearly 2 and a half days wasn't too bad. Wilsons have a baby Valtra in A95 like the one in my profile. There a little snug inside but they make great little forestry tractors. a little over budget at 15k prehaps?

12k will get you a nice tractor. Wouldn't get a MF390. Fendt are nice theres a little tiny one round here that i want a go in. For that money i'd get a Valmet 8000 series. 8050 or 8100 for that sort of money. Big cabs good ground clearance. Around 120hp so can but a reasonablely sized chipper/mulcher on it. Auto difflock is a nice feature on them too. Due to the increase for firewood they're somewhat after.

Phone around a few firms/conservation charities and see if you like the feel of outside manual work. Then i'd go to a local college and do a CS30 maybe 31 too and get some more experence working with a firm. Jobs seem to be hard to find for guys just out of college at the moment. Everyone wants to climb or fell massive trees but no one wants to rake/sweep up or neatly stack timber.