Rob D

You have to do 2 cuts using a boring method with the mini mill... .... not for the faint hearted!!

Nice and looks good with the waney edge. I love the contrast you get with yew between sap and heartwood....

I wish we had elm down here..... Such a lovely timber to work with.

I'd say selling 1 saw a day for £150 profit is hugely better than 20 a day with £10 profit (or even £20). There's all the card charges, wrapping stuff up, doing receipts etc etc., more talking to people, much higher costs, more chances of mistakes. But of course paying a cheaper price for the same saw is going to result in happier customers especially when the back up service is good. But by this rational in the end there would be no local dealers and just a few huge dealers left. Again I'm not saying that's a good or a bad thing - but that's the way it would go.

The mark up on spare parts for chainsaws is tiny totally different from car manufacturers. Spare parts are expensive to buy because the manufacturer charges big time for them so the servicing guy makes very very little. I would hazard a guess that warranty work is also paid less then 'normal work'.

That's some good points. But you can still compare the two as per aftersales service of a chainsaw, getting spares quickly, speed of repairs, information provision etc.

I didn't want to add that to an already long post! But will now stick my neck firmly on the rail track! Ditto - look at all the threads/posts where we complain about people under quoting, etc etc... Yet this thread seems to clearly demonstrate that when we are the customers we do exactly the same thing - i.e. forget about loyalty to your local dealer go for whoever is cheapest. There's nothing wrong with this at all but you can't then expect your local dealer to be happy about it.

The internet and shows have changed the way chainsaws and other 2 stroke machinery are bought. It's good for us the customers as = cheap equipment. I feel a bit for the dealers though in some ways. If they try and make money on a saw they won't get the business. If they price match they won't make any money. Look at it from the other point of view. If you quoted for a hedge job and the customer said "sorry but this other fellow will travel a 100 miles and is £150 cheaper". Then a week later said customer calls and says "he's made a bit of a mess of it can you come and finish it off properly" would you be somewhat annoyed? Yes I know he's a Stihl dealer and has an obligation to repair Stihl products but can you blame him for being annoyed? That's not excusing how he behaved as it sounds like he was throwing his rattle out..... Perhaps the end is in sight i.e. internet buying and returning stuff for repairs by post. Maybe that's the future despite manufacturers trying to prevent it.

Used an ankalad system for years and found it to be very good. Can be a bit fiddly with the buttons at times but as said with someone on the bottom very handy.

I use Oregons smallest pull cord on a 100 ft reel with a big shot and it's excellent. No knotting or tangling or cutting through your fingers!

I'll be there Les and up for some food as long as I sell something!

Some serious heavyweight posting going on here! But very informative thanks

Excellent look forward to seeing it Put a reminder up when it's on.

Wonder what all these things will cost in 20 years from now? And what the price of diesel will be?!

Great set up and the chainsaw mills look excellent especially the carriage one

If it was every night it's totally different to being a one off... They stopped after 50 mins which although not half an hour it's not a long time. Most people work during the week so weekend is the only time you can do DIY. I presume your 2 year old runs around the garden having fun screaming and doing what 2 year olds do. What would you do if your neighbour asked you how long your son will be playing in the garden for?

Get some pics up as well Chris. This is an Alaskan job if ever there was one.... don't worry about moving the log just get it milled where it is in situ.

Let's have some pics and it'll give a better idea of advice what to do with it!

Good stuff - sort of agrees with my thoughts on skip link in that it works better with the older, big torquey saws. There still is prob a place for it with modern saws like the 880 for instance in very soft wood e.g redwood, or using a 30" bar where the torque isn't so vital.

As said in the comments it's a shame no one took any film or pics on their camera that could be used in evidence to convict these people.