Ty Korrigan

Half way. Stuart

@Mike Hill Thank you for that. Keep you posted. Just ordering bits now. Stuart

Not sure I can, it is the chassis the engine is bolted too.

Gonna give it a wang myself though a Facom removal set is €150. I've watched the Youtube tutorials and think I'll stay away from the budget tool sets. My crew is running a sweep stakes on whether I get the bolts out... I paid a local engineering firm to remove other broken loader arm bolts a year ago and replace with hardened ones. Bizzarely, they didn't do these which popped last week. The peacock is in love with my Solis, I presume because of the colour. Stuart

Nothing of the kind available in our area. The work isn't too onerous and is well paid. Besides, I have a well found fear of losing clients to indiscreet sub contractors. Prefer to keep work in house rather than let too many share a slice of my pie only for them to steal any future pies... Stuart

Old thread but current project. Regenerative pruning of 64 Lombardy poplars at a manor house North Rennes. There were many more though butt decay has caused losses and damage to property. The tallest unbroken line of 10 are 30m+ measured with climbers rope and a tape for the felled tops. Stripped to bare poles, they should very quickly develop a vigorous, uniform growth thus keeping the character of the manors main entrance route whilst being less of a threat to neighbouring properties and lines. I've been working in this park since 2011 and will be monitoring the regrowth annually. The client well is aware of the pros and cons of this work and prefers to retain rather than remove. Stuart

On the odd occasion I've been rushing and given the fuel tank a shot of Aspen bio chain oil, I've given the tank a rinse or two but have then been treated to the smell of grilled sardines afterwards. I don't think Aspen is 100% veg based. Stuart

The queens are still present, they leave the nest late Autumn. This being France not the UK. We know this from the traps set which are only catching workers right now. In the Spring the traps catch the emerging queens, that being the most important period for trap setting. When we went bust in 2018, we sold the yard to a local bee keeper and it is from him we developed the passion for bottle traps. Last week I pruned a few branches in exchange for 5kg of honey.

In the Mayenne, no-one hears pigeons scream...

Last Summer one pest guy couldn't reach a nest with his system so my French climber (he who got stung today) donned the neoprene suit, gloves and headgear which was really awful in 28C, unwashed smelly, heavy, sweaty and climbed to where the nest could be treated. He almost passed out from the heat and fear that day as the hornets where bouncing off the face screen in fury. We've far fewer this year due to the cold wet Spring in Brittany and late frosts just when the Queens came out of hibernation. The traps we put out for them have had hardly any takers either. Grenadine syrup and white wine mixed together in clear plastic bottles. A down side to climbing after the nest is destroyed are the fat larvae which as so soft that they breakup on the branches as they fall leaving an unwholesome mess for a hand. Todays nest was really very small as they so get to the size of those large paper ball Ikea lamp shades. No other comparable scale of measurement comes to mind.

Most are not in the nest but out foraging. Once the nest treated, the pest guy knocks it out of the tree with his injection wand and signs the area a no go for 24 hours during which time the now homeless workers disperse, presumably die of exposure and depression. The pest guy always parks away from the tree and dresses in his neoprene suit before approaching. It's a scene played out several times a year for us and in the future I'm sure Brit arbs will have the pleasure of dealing with them. As gun control here is a bit looser than the U.K we've had clients or their friends shoot the nest rather than pay for pest control as not all communes finance it. Obviously not in built up areas...

I 'might' have thought twice if it had been commune work in a public place but there again, I am pretty daft...

Yes, we did consider the risk as being near zero being at the bottom of the garden of a remote maison secondaire. Thank you for your concern though.

We knew that and enjoyed our dicking around from afar. Another Arbtalker already wagered via messenger at lunch that you'd have something contrary to say if I posted.

I was stung 7 times on the head, back and shoulders in 2016 resulting in an ambulance trip. It is a regular stinger mechanism though.

Well todays job lasted as long as it took for the climber to reach his anchor point. A scream and our man rappelled out of the tree at a breakneck speed, smoking hot zigzag and ran for his van. Stung on the hand and cheek, shaking and panting with shock, he eventually calmed down with a coffee, paracetamol and filthy rollup. Unable to close his hand and with a swollen cheek, we settled for petty revenge instead of a mornings work. The owner of this second home once informed, organised pest control but we took matters into our own hands with a Big Shot and a plentiful supply of gravel. Van parked close in case of an attack, we had the satisfaction of scoring from a suitable distance several direct hits on the football sized nest which absorbed the stones but stayed largely whole. If the nest had been full sized then we'd have seen it beforehand and saved this tree until pest control had visited. The local commune finances the cost of extermination so no charge for the client. What with rampant OPM, PPM and Asian Hornets, raging across France, those offers of work at Lidl look more and more attractive. Stuart

I canceled todays climbing, high winds and rain. Rain blew over by 10:30 but the winds remain high Very much a gamble trusting the French weather service. I'll go hedge cutting this arvo instead. Stuart

Duel purpose but one of those has been solved by fixing the oiler on the 500i which suffered a lack of lube using a 90cm bar. My interest was piqued by the site of that lonely 800 on the top shelf, a machine I had thought long sold out. Milling was the other reason. I occasionally work with @tomtrees I think he is called on here though he rarely visits Arbtalk. Tom lives some 30km South East of me and runs a Peterson mill. He'll either collect logs or mills them at my clients. However there are always some lovely logs just too impractical to extract economically unless in rounds which is a shame or too small for Tom to justify getting involved so milling seems the way forward. Be a great learning experience too. I do recall that wise old sage Mendiplogs saying that his 660 was better than the 880. Also...and importantly, if I can win time on even a few jobs each year, ringing up just a bit faster like last Fridays oak, I can get home to my kids earlier rather ringing up by headtorch or going back the next day. Stuart

I saw a 'poil lisse' Fox terrier in town last week. It looked very much like a larger Parson Jack with a longer nose. Stunning hound. Stuart

Well, I blew out the crud, shone a torch, used a worn round file and tappy tappy tap tap. Turned the screw and WHOA! Immediate flood of oil leading to a well lubed freshly sharpened 90cm bar. I've put the 63cm back on a turned the screw back. I'll keep an eye on the oil/fuel usage rate. Thanks for that advice. Stuart

Same image but redacted. I've an 11sec video too but Arbtalk won't do up loads. Stuart

Mad little feckers, all over this oak stem we felled for the commune. Never seen them before and here they where in the dozens. Gave me the willies at first until I realised they were just mimics. Stuart

Thanks for that advice lads, Any more detail on this oiler stop punching? Knowing my luck, I'd end up putting a hole in the crank case...meh! Stuart Oh, should I buy that 880 anyway and put it on Arbtrader for £4k?

I've come across an 880 in stock. I'll not pay that price though (£1250 plus vat) I'll get a better deal from these guys. Or... should I go for an 881? I'd use it for milling in the future but mostly it would sit on my shelf as they all seem to do until I get jobs like last Friday's oak. @Luckyeleven managing to find the only nail with a 90cm bar on a 500i 500i runs the bar fine but much too dry, the oiler can't deliver enough flow. Stuart