Dean Lofthouse

It did cross my mind that I am trying to educate a bunch of redneck hobo farmers

The tolerances on the splitter are huge, hence me modifying it. The side sliders have a gap of something like 3mm which seems really sloppy, I'm making new bushings to bring it down to 1mm play. The problem with allowing too much gap is when it twists to take up the play it ends up running on the very edges of the bushings, tighten up the tolerances and it runs on the whole surface of the bush spreading the forces over a larger area, so increasing the service life I've used dry lube on the mewp from new and there is no visible wear whatsoever

The site is on a slight slope with a drain trench dug at the bottom, the water stands only feet away from the drain because it cant get through the clay soil to the drain and the clay soil layer is only a foot or so thick. Land drains underneath the soil dont work either because the same happens the clay is too dense for the water to penetrate. It is suggested that once lime is added, organic material should be added ( which could be in the form of woodchip ) which I presume is to keep open the structure or feed the worms

I have only started to use it on the splitter, it was chris sheps machine I dont know what he used on it I already know the benefits of using dry lube which is PTFE and graphite based, ptfe is a huge amount better, slippier and has a better compressive lube properties than grease, but doesn't pick up grit like grease You only have to look at carbon brushes in your drill to see the properties of graphite, the linear footage covered by the brushes over a copper surface spinning at 30,000rpm must be thousands of miles

I think your right Dave just found this: When adequate quantities of lime and water are added, the pHof the soil quickly increases to above 10.5, which enables the clay particles to break down. Silica and alumina are released and react with calcium fromthe lime to form calcium-silicate-hydrates (CSH) and calcium-aluminate-hydrates (CAH). These compounds formthe matrix that contributes to the strength of lime-stabilized soil layers. As this matrix forms, the soil is transformed fromits highly expansive, undesirable natural state to a more granular, relatively impermeable material that can be compacted into a layer with significant load bearing capacity. In a properly designed system, days of mellowing and curing produce years of performance. The controlled pozzolanic reaction creates a new material that is permanent, durable, resistant to cracking, and significantly impermeable. The structural layer that forms is both strong and flexible. and a good explanation here: http://www.lime.org/LTStechbrief4pdf.pdf It's really good to know if anyone has got a yard with is clay based soil there can be drastic drainage improvements simply by adding a bit of lime ......wow !

Thats sounds good, the only question is once it has broken down the clay particles does it become a permanent thing, ie it turns it into "normal" free draining soil

There's a big grassed area down at my yard which is clay soil and always wet through. A Farmer told me to put lime on it to improve drainage, says it expands the molecules and helps Does anyone know if this is true, is it temporary and do you have to keep applying it and will the grass tolerate it

Thanks but I'm absolutely stuffed now, tommy soup and two slices of bread.....may even need a nap to sleep it off

Our lass is working so I've had to put y own dinner on

I actually believe you !!

oils even worse for attracting grit

Dust and grit will be in there too, you just cant see it. Unless grease is in a sealed enviroment, it will pick up grit blown about by the wind and then act as a grinding paste. It is now recommend for telehandlers, mewps or anything with a boom or slider to not use grease and use dry lube therefore doubling the life of the nylon bearing plates If you got some of your grease and put in under a microscope it would look like someone had stuck a minature quarry in there

Ever since these were introduced I've heard nothing but bad things about them. The dealer will probably be ok about it, they don't get chance to thoroughly check and test drive every car. Good Luck

What happened to the good old days when we could just inspect our own stuff and replace an obvious freighed winch wire or worn shackle. What worries me slightly is if there is a genuine claim is all this butt covering going to end up negating the claim in some way. After all, a loler or any other certificate is only really valid at the moment of issue, the minute you walk away it's useless

Tony, if I tidy up I can never find anything This splitter doesn't go horizontal, I wish sometimes I had something to move and lift the rings

Whatever you do Pud, stay away from Largs and if you do end up going through Largs, dont let on you know Stephen Blair

I had one of those last week David, bounced off the back of the landy parked nearby

I bet you've all got a lump hammer in the footwell for hitting the starter motor on your tractors

OOoops

Hahaha, you pair of Farmers you

I thought Stevie had bought that one

That would be a better system, it's a right pain trying to hold a log in place whilst you get the knife in place to hold it. Trouble with grease Dave is it collects grit then acts as a grinding paste

Stripped down the logsplitter because when I was using it the other day it caught on something on the up stroke and ripped off two catches which hold up the hydraulic cylinder. It turned out the plastic wear sliders behind the knife had worn and the screws holding it on caught and dug in. You can use nothing to lube the post and sliders and replace when they wear but I use a dry film lubricant same as I use on the mewp boom. The good thing about dry lube is it doesnt gather grit and dust like grease does, it's similar to the graphite Whilst I have it down I have notice some brass side bushes have worn as well which I haven't ordered because when they are in situ there is a bit of slop so I'm going to modify them by replacing the brass bobbins with solid nylon sheet which will be an exact fit and will cover the whole surface instead of four little points like the bobbins and be an exact fit so taking out any side slop. While I have the thing in bits I am also going to modify it to operate one handed. After carrying out my own riskassessment I have come to the conclusion that it's safer holding an awkward log with one hand rather than trying to keep it in place with your knee or hip or belly I dont agree with two handed splitter operation

That'll look well sprayed up Dave

dean all I am saying is that if you make a comment like ive just ruined this thread by saying what i said then i am going to justifiably treat it with the contempt it deserves, by reflection, by Karma, you reap what you sow. YOU had a direct dig at ME !!!! Dean, you picked up on the ONE point that I made from a personal level, that stinks of pure antagonism as far as i am concerned because you stated you was interested in all UNTIL you read my ONE personal addition to my post! You had a go at me !! say what you like, wether you mean to or not, your post/s are often antagonistic rather than debate, otherwise you would back up your argument with something other than just your opinion, am i wrong? I do at least give a detailed response often with pictorial evidence to reiterate my point. I dont need pictorial evidence to state the obvious and state FACT, you obviously have to try and justify things with pictures, all of which BTW back up my points and once again I am trying to justify myself to a guy who cleary has no intention of discussing mans connection to trees throughout the ages even pre dating organised religion, why? why should i bother rplying when this is going to go on and on as a "personal thing" I aint interested in that, come and talk, but please keep it to thread and not personal. Tony you are obviously not reading my posts or you are choosing to ignore their content, I have very very clearly explianed myself on this thread and the other, you are obviously choosing to skip over the information not to your mindset, which is really concerning me If you wish to keep things from becoming personal dont make comment like this: I have implied in prior posts to ancient mans knowledge of trees which fell on deaf ears The above comment is detracting from your thread and very antagonistic, please dont try and swing the blame across to me when you yourself made the personal comment