scotspine1

It happens in this vid at 9.30, watch the rope belly down as the piece drops off the stem. Great footage - [ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tq1p4xc1GtM]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tq1p4xc1GtM[/ame] Rigging Errors vid - In the first clip of your vid why would you remove the slack from a piece so high up? In the second clip, could those groundies milling around in the background have been put to good use by using a control/tag line to stop the piece swinging about wildly? Its very hard to judge the exact trajectory of a big piece your letting run, I've seen walls, fences and a greenhouse getting demolished when the guy running the ropes has misjudged the weight or wraps. Nice vid again Reg, thanks for posting.

powcaddy, never buy any vehicle from a farmer or builder. There are thousands of crewcab pickups being sold by yuppies who bought them as SUVs and businessmen who bought them for tax reasons, they've never been off road or towed anything. Farmers 4x4s have spent most their lives off road. As for the d22 issue I've owned a 54 Kingcab version from new, its now on 70,000 miles and been towing almost everyday, it has not needed one bit of maintenance other than oil change/usual service etc. The problem with the bearing in the conrod could be confined to a single small batch. I know a landscaper who has a d22 from new 53 plate with 110,000 on the clock no problems. If your put off by the d22, what about a Mitsubishi L200? or Daihatsu Fourtrack? you can pick up low mileage 2001/2002 Fourtacks for the £2000/£2500 mark, excellent vehicles that are rated to tow 3.5 ton. Many of them have never worked a day in their lives.

I agree Mesterh, but would you recommend felling if the fungi was the cambium killer Armillaria mellea in the same abundance as the Merip and there was some mild dieback in the canopy or would you Picus and Air Spade root etc further investigation?

I found the same difficulty when preparing for the exam with marking instructions and past papers not forthcoming. I find it very concerning that the Arboricultural Association does not help arborists in such an obvious and structured way, it makes no sense. Surely past papers should be in the public domain and marking instructions provide transparency and a clear understanding of HOW they mark. The marking is clearly subjective which therefore suggests, one marker's 4/4 could be another marker's 2/4. Where is the consistency? How can they expect people to do well if they dont provide the tools to support learning? I was disillusioned by it. .

lol, Ed's so fat his blood group's Dolmio

Very true Matty, I came pretty close to buying a 338 when the carb went on a new MS200 after 3 weeks. Since the carb was replaced, 3 years ago now, its been excellent, not a single problem. As for the whole profit thing, Husqvarna are doing exactly the same. Seen the plastic covers on the handle of the 385xp fall off after a couple of months exposing the trigger mechanism to saw shavings and dirt etc.

Having used the 338 on some big pruning/removals I wouldn't say it was a waste of space at all, its an excellent little saw, its just that the Ms200T feels better to use, especially on bigger diam branches/stems etc.

Highclimb, There's a select group of people within the industry who persevere with the Husqvarna 338xp, there could be many reasons for this choice, but insanity is the main one. I dunno, maybe they'll let you know.

Highclimb, if you really want to know about chainsaws, you have to visit the 'Chainsaw' forum at the US website - Arboristsite.com, those guys know everything there is to know about every chainsaw ever made, including the junk you can buy in B & Q(Ryobi, Homelite etc). Its a busy place, easily more than 100 users on at anyone time...so you'll have to phrase your question well, and keep on top of the your thread or it'll disappear pretty quickly. Arboristsite.com Never met anyone in the industry who has a 'fave' saw, but you'll be hard pushed to find any serious tree surgeon/logger using brands outwith Husq and Stihl, Jonsered(Made by Husqvarna) and Makita/Dolmar get pretty close with some of their mid range/bigger saws. You'll find out pretty quick that 99% of climbers use the Stihl MS200T in the tree and wouldn't even think about trying anything else. Hope this helps, good luck.

Sorry Paolo, my mistake, would be good if you could get the leg loop pads in three different sizes as well? A smaller climber is getting more for their money in the way of support from the legloops, any plans to make those leg loops solid and wider like the Kolibri? Hows the batten attachment going?

You shouldn't underplay the size issue when it comes to tree climbing harnesses. Take the Treeflex, which is a well designed harness, it comes in three sizes, but the actual legloop pads and back pad are the same size through the range, its just the webbing that is longer/shorter. It'd be interesting to know if Buckingham are actually going to be making the back support pad and legloop pads bigger or smaller in relation to the sizes. TreeFlex - Buckingham Ergovation -

sorry slasher, yards full, that chestnut's punked anyway, try the Allander sports centre in Milngavie, hear they're looking for replacement sponge for the gymnastics area.

Slasherscot 'slashes' his prices and ends up making peanuts to feed his monkeys. Seen those bags going for over £100 - Loch Lomond/Drymen/Stirling area.

Been to Arran once for a weekend, great place to visit, its like Scotland in miniture with its own highlands and the excellent Victorian tree plantings at Brodick Castle. Only downside is that it feels like the mainland, there's too many trees on Arran. If you want the real hebridean experience you have to visit the Island of Islay with its pristine beaches, six whiskey distilleries and excellent fishing and seafood, just dont go in the winter unless your as hard as nails. Kilchoman Bay on Islay - What kind of softwood is it anyway? Spruce?

Dean, that lopping attachment the 'Sintung' is not made by Silky Japan, it was produced/manufactured by Silky Fox the UK distributor. Apparently they approached Silky Japan about producing a Lopping head for the Hayauchi and Silky Japan said they had no experience of that type of mechanism or technology and refused to go ahead with it. Silky Fox then manufactured the 'Sintung' and are selling it under the Silky banner. I also bought one that wont return to open position, its a basic design fault, guess thats what happens when you dont know the technology or mechanics of the product. I'd like to see a decent lopper attachment for the Hayauchi like the Jameson lopper.

Why is this a priority for an MP? Slasherscot(scary name), can you guarantee all those trees were going to die? how do you know they wouldn't recover? or is it out of your control, just carrying out orders from above.

'Love the way you get the noise from the hinge on each clip.. ' Thats just Windows Movie maker auto sound mix 50/50 music and video sound. 'is the tree in the pic thread on there?' Yes, its still standing in one of the felling shots towards the house - Douglas Fir, never had time to video it being felled though, pity, the stripped out spar was about 60ft. 'Particularly liked the way you spear planted the handsawn branch @ 31 secs' Takes years to learn that technique, that branch is now the replacement tree, its doing well what with all the rain. 'I use that rope to fulcrum point technique (10 second mark) a lot with heavy leaners against the hinge, keeps the weight off the hinge and so keeps the hinge intact.' Yep, excellent technique for felling a side leaner, if you notice in the vid there was a roof under the lean of the tree, came down really nice, well away from the roof. 'did you do the felling with a silky too?' Yes, saves fuel. Takes a bit of time though.

Someone suggested I put this on the forum, but it aint going in the Video forum as its just a bunch of random clips from the last month. Hope you enjoy - [ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HKPbBmTswgs]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HKPbBmTswgs[/ame]

Excellent work, if your gonna do a hedge, might as well do it properly, great mobile platform complete with stool for a well earned rest, the easy lift harness works then. Great job.

Yeah, hows that going?

Ed, Be careful you dont fall into the marketing myopia trap, this is where you convince yourself you have great product and that everyone is going to want to use it, when in actual fact the demand is minimal. Sir Clive Sinclair thought everyone would want to use a C5, he was suffering from chronic marketing myopia.

No.......I haven't. Is it good?

The problem with treequip's helmet for climbing is that the visor sticks too far out in front of your bonce, so you end up hitting it on branches, ropes etc when looking about the place. Looks good for groundwork though. Although having a black helmet is just stupid if your on the ground, this can be easily fixed though by taping on bright yellow electrical tape down the centre top. On the Petzl Vertex and Ecrin Rocs the visor lifts up almost flush with the top of the helmet. Doesnt stick out half as much as treequips helmet or Huskys etc. Thats my tuppence worth, pretty pointless really if you consider the credit crunch and all that. Some people can't afford to heat their homes properly.

Anyone ID this tree/timber?

The large Buckingham Portawrap is very easy to use, runs smoother even with larger diam ropes, is a better design and construction than the ISC copies.