Dean Lofthouse

Constitution day on Saturday Mike. :wave: At least that what it says in my diary.

I can see that going through a lot of replacement tips the way he keeps punching the concrete

I took both the seal and housing and the gasket off and put genuine LR back on. I think if I'm right there is a felt or similar packing up either side of the rear bearing block which is what I think is leaking. Mind you, it's twenty years since I was a Landrover Mechanic, things move on :wave:

The rocker cover on this is also leaking oil. Doesn't look too good for the reputation of the recon company. I kept the exchange engine back when I found the leak and have still got it, but it's been sat outside since, probably full of water now. If anyone wants one to use as an exchange engine they can have it.

He wouldn't give a Castlemain 4x for anything else

I put a reconditioned engine in my defender 4000 miles ago. On initial start up it pee'd clean engine oil out of the hole in the bottom of the bell housing. Straight away I thought, pilchards haven't align the rear engine oil seal properly when they built it. One day later, gearbox out, new rear engine oil seal, aligned and gearbox refitted, it still peed oil out but a little less and it took a few days to appear. Now it's leaving black spots of oil on customers drives and I've lost patience with it. I think they haven't either line the main shell housing up right or haven't packed it right. Either way it's a big job to do. So sod it, it's coming out and getting replaced with this one off ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200222087180&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D200222087180%26fvi%3D1 Just going to take it out, whack this one in and sell the other, or may whip the sump off and check the packing in the main rear bearing. May be a cheap recon engine going soon, just bedded in nicely. Can't afford to mess about with your work vehicle, anything mine needs, it gets. But in my opinion, there's nothing less proffessional than leaving an oil patch on a customers drive, apart from dropping a tree onto their house of course.

I tell a lie, there's two. One outside a school and the other is a face carved into a stump (private house). I don't go past often but S_T_S does Kev!!

Theres a similar Monolith at Meltham, Huddersfield.

The spikes are designed for walking over timber on the floor. They wouldn't be used for working on trees unless it is a take down, but then you would have your standard spikes on anyway.

I was thinking of emailing the video to Bandit and telling them how I have been ignored by you know who. It might be that I have to pay for it sorting in the long run, but I am going to have a go at forcing some customer service first. What sort of money would you be talking Ed, PM me if you want and I'll suggest a partial refund to Bandit as a gesture.

You know where the manufacturer posts glossy vids of their machines in action? They perform brilliantly, smooth as silk. The vid below is of todays chipping with my Bandit 65XL, if you watch the vid and note how often the bottom or top roller jams. It gets to the point where the wheels jam with nothing going through or just a little twig. This happens with dry or brittle wood that shatters into bigger splinters. Todays was a half dead horsechestnut and some bits of deadwood. It got to the point where I nearly gave up trying to feed it with deadwood. Hydraulic pressure are all up to spec, nothing wrong there, I am putting it down to a design fault as I have so many people report the same thing happens with theirs. This happens with the bottom door open or shut BTW [ame] [/ame]

Yeh, just gone back and looked at 2.30. You have got eyes like a poo house rat David. Positioning should have been a little higher, he was cutting above shoulder height which, apart from anything else makes it hard to retrieve the saw from the cut slot if it takes it with it a little. I find putting undercuts on branches from the MEWP doesn't give you any warning time. If there isn't loads of tension on the branch I like to go straight thru from the top which gives a little more time to slew out the way. That's my preference but I'm sure we all have our own way. But yes, on the point of 2.30 it did look a little dodgey, wouldn't say it was kick back, looked more like follow thru when the branch suddenly popped, tried taking the saw and he yanked it out the slot. It's good to see the good with the bad though.

There's a Brilliantissimum where I am which is one of the oldest examples in the UK. Tree twitchers come from all over the UK photographing it. I think it is on quite a clay soil and obviously thrives on that. I'll look at it this week and a feww others I know of to see if they have any signs of the same. Looks like whatever it is is affecting the nearsest to the supply route, you'd think if it wasn't getting enough water the edges would go first not the centre which, IMO suggests it's something the tree is taking up My favorite tree though

Never seen that before Peter Ford transit keys growing on a tree. Cool :wave:

That's the exact reason it is done, to get as far away from the branch as possible. I even lean out of the bucket or have one hand on the slew button and one hand cutting. As sson as the branch starts to move slew away from it. One hit from a branch in a MEWP and your dun for. See your point Monkeyd, but there is a reason for everything. It is against the written down way of doing things yes, but most of them that do the writing aren't in the bucket at 95ft

I try not to absiel on mine. I carry a leather glove and take the full weight of the rope and release my lockjack completely, so the only thing wearing is the glove

I find Microsoft Picture Manager is dead easy to use the resize function. You can right click the thumbnail, "open with" Microsoft Pcture Manager. Click on Edit picture at the top. Resize image on the right hand side. Resize to what you want then "save as" and rename it so you don't lose the original.

It's a bit too intellectual for most, got some big words in it.

I am getting an endoscope anyway. I use one a lot but borrowed for engine fault finding. My idea originally was to check hollows and holes in trees for "any" type of wildlife pre felling. i would imagine then you would be on the wrong side of the law saying you were disturbing nesting birds. My definition of disturbing would be slammimg into the ground from a great height. Sometimes you really do feel you can't do right for doing wrong.

There's nothing wrong with getting to know the Local Bat group and having their number to hand. I would still attend Chris's event whatever happens, even if it's only for the beer tent he's laying on. Ehh!! I hear him scream. :wave: I have always found bats interesting and would like to get more involved. I have tried creating habitat. Such as leaving broken branches in my wood and wedging open cracked branches. Always eager to learn

Is registration complex Chris

I agree Andy. I have taken many trees down with cavities and niches, which I would rather check first. If I did spot bats then the tree wouldn't come down until they had been sorted properly. If in the past I have been unsure, I have lowered carefuly the section of wood and left it on the ground over night till the next day. I would much rather be able to whip up the tree and carry out a visual inspection prior to works. I would be devastated to think I had unwittingly disturbed a colony or even a single bat. Sometimes the law is a little too specific

Nobody has an Endoscope??

I'm originally from Queensbury near Bradford, which ajoins Mountain village. I used to have snow tyres on all year round because the amount of time we didn't get snow wasn,t worth taking the tyres off. I can remember three double decker buses in a row buried under a snow drift outside my house. The mountain boasted being the highest village in england and queensbury had the highest church spire above sea level

Sorry S90i http://www.navman.com/Navman/Templates/productinformation____69516.aspx I've got the Tomtom Go700 and you have to pay for a lot of extras, ie updates etc