ecolojim

I thought the braids created most of the friction by the way they 'bend' the rope? when you compress the braids with the wrapped portion, the friction is transferred to the wraps, which have less friction and thus allow you to descend

thanks guys. Charlie, you have PM another pondering I had which was actually suggested by Garth was to use the new growth from the laid trunks and limbs, and implant that into the bank, encouraging it to root and filling the gaps between the trees and making a full willow screen and a more stable bank

on the topic of habitat, as i mentioned before, there are water voles in the area, but they are very likely currently put off by the fragile nature of the bank, and the open-ness in a lot of places. We do have a lot of pipistrelles in the area, mostly around the farmyard, but I cant see them having anything to do with the tangled laid mess, I would think it's far too low down so removing it poses no issue. plus, anything standing above 3m would be left anyway so if they use the row of trees as a navigation marker or corridor then that would also not be affected. likewise with hunting perches for our local barn owls. I do happen to know that a couple of those standing rotten trunks are providing habitat for brown rats, but thats not such a desirable thing.

not woodland or forestry per se but im looking at this as an ecological issue and as a management plan of sorts. bit of background scotton beck drains a number of hundred acres of land varying from arable and grazing, mixed use common land, and a number of large domestic gardens. At its termination it outflows into the river Eau which in turn flows to the trent and some 15 or so miles later, the humber. Ive personally seen water voles in the beck from time to time, though less and less recently. Being almost constantly subjected to large amounts of land drainage, ground water and to a much lesser extent surface runoff for a number of years now, and surrounding land being of a very sandy construction and susceptible to erosion by both water and wind, the beck is in a pretty poor state of repair. the beck borders our fields here on the farm for its final 1/4 to 1/2 a mile and lately has made itself very clear that it cant cope with the demands now placed upon it. The following photographs show the state the beck is now in. they are all taken from the conservation strip of our field which is noticeably higher than the field across from it. the other field, which is supposed to be sheep grazing land, is becoming almost permanent marshland. the bank on our side is eroding, the beck bottom is now almost the same height as that of the sheep field. The lack of flow has caused a large amount of flooding issues of gardens further up. As can be seen in the photos, there are hundreds of crack willow (Salix fragilis), many of which are past their best and have failed, some quite dramatically. Most of these have chosen to fail and fall right in the middle of the beck diverting it every which way. the field across is flooded, the bank on our side has eroded at one point significantly (to give an idea of scale, the conservation strip is roughly 25 feet wide, the 'ravine' that has formed is at least 5.5 feet deep. everyone is agreed that something needs to be done and the beck should probably be excavated to some extent and a large amount of material should be removed to improve flow. Dad wants to rip all the willow out and cut it up for firewood, Im wondering if theres a better way. Instead of removing the laid and regrowing willow for firewood) how about shoring up the bank at strategic intervals by implanting and staking the fallen (already rooted and regrowing) willow into the bank face. the roots would spread throughout the bank and improve its strength and the regrowth creating a more consistent bankside screen of trees and providing a ready supply of coppiceable material? To my mind this would largely mitigate the erosion problems faced on the higher side (ours) and should allow the beck to be excavated due to the removal of the fallen material and problem trunks. let me know what you guys think. I see this area and I see nature, but I also see a conflict between what nature provides and what man requires.

according to the brochure i have here for the NP300, the single cab 2wd tows 2t, the single cab 4x4 2.8, the king cab and double cab 3t

what's the plated weight of the ifor? Is it a 2.7/8 or 3.5 tonne or what? whatever you tow it with has to be able to legally pull it regardless of actual physical towing capability I believe. for example most of the jap trucks have a very limited towing capability. most are somewhere between 2 and 2.8 tonnes. I think the ford ranger is 3-3.5 and of course all land rover models are 3.5. this is something Im still confused as to why the manufacturers havent sorted!

parents just put a new rayburn in the kitchen, so the old one has gone to my workshop. SCORE!

always worth a shot. Count me in Please

I particularly like the way the rope feeds on the buckingham. passing the bight of the rope through the eye and hooking it over the back post makes it smooth and foolproof. gets my vote!

having some issues with the flash chat today. issues i wasnt having yesterday... in that I cant log onto it today. It tells me another user with the same name is currently using it, yet theres nobody in the chat room. anyone got any idea whats goin on?

if i were setting up the M7 in a building or a yard, I would be seriously considering the electric powerhead if possible. It's a beast! as for the timberjig, no experience of it, but last newspaper thing they sent me, logosol are still very expensive on the whole. Im buying an alaskan for 'in the woods' type jobs myself. very well priced, and never heard a bad review

wow I never even knew that was there i shall try it out presently

stick me a quick PM for what you might like for it Chris. ive got a knock on one cylinder that shakes the vehicle at the right/wrong rpms. it's either fuel system related or big ends or stuck rings. question is, whether ive the motivation to find out!

oh yeah, and the blasted thing's got engine trouble AGAIN so im now in limbo between find problem and perhaps rebuild engine, and get replacement engine (which I have a quote for but being from a stolen recovered vehicle, am I asking for trouble down the line?)

well here's my 200tdi discovery. things been changing a bit quicker on it recently. to clarify it is used off road, not in quarrys any more, but it does spend an amount of time in the woods and i do a fair bit of green laning and work round the farm.

earn now... in lincs... probably around the 60 quid a day mark or a touch more. fully qual'd... not as much more as you might think. I got my climbing ticket and now im up to 75 a day. need to get my climbing with a saw ticket(s) and some more experience under my belt. the market round here's pretty saturated with small 2 and 3 man operations and very few are taking folk on. Ive started in a different or parallel direction at the moment. If ya want anyone to go climb with on weekends mate, gimme a shout any time. Im not far from lincoln at all. Likewise if ya fancy a beer. grab me on msn some time. I think my address is in my arbtalk profile thing, or just pm me. If you're staying close to lincoln for the time being, riseholme isnt a bad place to learn by any means.

I have a leatherman knife like that, not the multitool. mine has the black covering on the body though. I keep it on the back of my harness as my safety knife. cuts through any rope in one pass. exceptionally well made IMO also have a couple of cheap wooden opinel knives with carbon steel blades. also nice knives

mickey thompsons arent they? or are they maxxis? should be road legal I reckon as for land rover bodies being solid, who are we trying to kid, the bodywork is soft soft soft, its the chassis that's solid, and unfortunately I reckon that chassis may well be bent. if its done that to a 5mm walled winch bumper, it coulda easily done worse to the 2-3mm chassis. bad luck mate. but certainly better than your conscience woulda been otherwise, their fault or not! fair play to you I say, and heres to a quick recovery for you and the 90

is it heck health and safety. they dont want people getting free firewood!

have a quick search mate, this has been covered ad infinitum of late

seven years of bumper crops are on their way ....