Taupotreeman

Local Council and land owners don't seem to impressed when they get a load of chip with fronds buried in the middle. Better off getting rid of it seperately rather than having to go back and shift a full load of chip from site.

Reckon after the last half arsed efforts with the Husky this one will have to be a fair bit cheaper than the 200T to get people to switch. I fancy having a go with one but not if it isn't significantly cheaper. Better the devil you know in my opion and I'm not splashing out on a saw only for it to fall apart. Tried that with one of those fancy new Stihls with all the supposedly easy chain adjusters etc. What a waste of money.

Owls and falcons are just SO cool.

Can you not just hire a splitter? Get your wife on the controls and you do the log shifting = big pile of split wood in no time.

Something I find helps locating the thorn and getting it out; try using a pumice stone and pumice off all the hard skin. It also takes off the top layer of skin around the thorn which makes it easier to dig out.

Oh, and they've clogged up 15" morbark chippers so I wouldn't risk trying to put em through a chipper unless you absolutely have to. Funnily enough they go through drum chippers much more easily but still come out the other side pretty much intact.

At most of the local council tips now they check the back of the truck to make sure you don't have Flax, Cordyline or Bamboo in the back. It takes ages to rot down and if you get caught hiding it in the bottom of the truck under other greenwaste (as some do) you're in the brown smelly stuff. The fronds do burn though but they need to be dry so it's probably a decent excuse to get a bonfire going.

Apparently, according to the local Maoris, if you leave them stored somewhere until they are properly dead and dry they make excellent kindling. Otherwise take em to the local tip in the back of the truck. They won't even take them for greenwaste composting here because the big tub grinders clog up with Cordyline and Flax fronds.

Nothing at the mo cos it's summer but come winter there's a stock of big daddy Gum, seasoned Oak, Macrocarpa, Manuka, Wattle, Birch and a little bit of Poplar that I'm keen to try. If nothing else it will make good kindling along with some Cypress and Douglas Fir. Soft stuff for the kindling and the hard stuff and native for those cold nights and to get the hot water steaming. Can't wait.

I had one hit my leg when I first started out. Trying to dismantle a large Ash in high winds. I wasn't keen but the boss' brother decided we were doing it anyway. It didn't break my leg but everything from waist to toe turned to mush. Physio and crutches for 4 weeks while the muscle rebuilt.

Yet people still question me as to why we charge so much. After all, it's an easy job, all you need is a chainsaw and a head for heights eh.

Seeing as we are talking guns; can anyone recommend a decent high powered air rifle that'll pop off rabbits? It's not worth my while getting a gun licence as I don't really hunt but a local land owner has given me the OK to go sort out his rabbit problem and it's a good opportunity for me to fill up the freezer with cheap meat.

Cheers for the links and the thoughts guys. The pumice here can be pretty hard on a chain, especially when cutting stuff on the side of a road where the pumice has been thrown up by cars and is embedded in trees. A mate of mine uses an electric type sharpener which hardens the chain but you can't sharpen it with a normal file and the sharpener really isn't portable so wondered how these would go. Sounds like they're not much cop for a bigger saw which is primarily what I'd use it for. It sounds like a lazy way out but believe me, working on the side of some of these unsealed roads here, especially around the central plateau area, you can be touching up a saw every half hour sometimes. Dead Gum is also pretty hard on the chain and there's more than enough of those to go about.

Just saw a TV advert for this thing and wondered if anybody had actually tried it. I don't know much about it myself except that it seems to be a on bar chain sharpening machine. Any thoughts?

Working right over the xmas period excepy for Christmas day. Kit to clean, saws to sharpen, vehicles to service etc and also on call for the local council. Only problem is, being a tourist hot spot, we get all the idiots on the road who seem to think they own it and are bullet proof to boot. No doubt the xmas road toll will be horrendous again. Sorry to be so negative.

For some reason every time I try to upload a youtube video it tells me it's an invalid file but if you have a look at "A Merry Hunt", made me laugh.

Surprised you haven't tried to market those pictures to Hallmark or somebody for chrissie cards. Reckon they'd go down a storm, I know I'd buy em.

Just counted them. Approximately 50+ quakes in NZ since December 1st, all over magnitude 3 and several over magnitude 4.

I found that a large digger and truck works for removing Pheonix Palm if you have the space to work. Beware of the dust that comes out of them as it can contain nasties from bird and rat poop. This can also get on to the spines on the base of the fronds which can cause a bacterial infection if you get spiked by one. I was always advised to wear goggles and a face mask to prevent the dust getting into your eyes, nose and mouth and some heavy duty gloves (gauntlet style) to help prevent getting spiked. I've worked with heaps of guys that have been spiked and some of them have had ongoing problems when the spine hasn't been able to be removed. I just steer clear of the things. One of the worst trees to work on I reckon.

I don't wish to get into the arguements of for or against hunting as I believe it's a no win situation and will continue to go round in circles but I would like to add my personal thought on the subject and without taking issue with anything anyone has said so far on the argument. When I was a good bit younger I was fully against fox hunting, so much so that it affected my relationship with a girl that had been brought up in the country with a hunting background. I have regretted letting it come between us to this day, especially when I see what the ban on hunting has and hasn't done for the practice. I hated some of the practices that went on with the "sport" like cubbing etc but I hate just as much the approach and practices of some of the anti hunt brigade. Many of these so called animal welfare brigade are more than happy to kill or injure dogs and horses associated with the hunt so it seems a bit hypocritical to me. I'm not sure if many of the anti hunt brigade are more against the class that the hunt represents rather than against the hunt itself. Maybe as I've grown older I've just found more pressing issues in the world to worry about but I see no difference in cruelty to a fox dispatched by hounds or a pig kept in a sow crate for its entire life. As I said, this argument could go round in circles.

Yep, sea Buckthorn not Hawthorn though. Felt it go in but couldn't get it out. Was out at Gibraltar Point so couldn't go to the kwaks to get it dug out. Anyway, sat about doing naff all one night and was clenching and unclenching my fist and out it popped along with a load of green gooey stuff. Instant pain relief.

I can't belive it was breaking news on sky news for a poxy little 3.5. Ask the residents of Christchurch what an earthquake is. We get em on the central plateau all the time and if it isn't over 4 you hardly even notice.

I think, with the weather you fellas have got at the moment, no boot is going to be warm. I worked in North Wales for two and half years and the only time my feet were warm was when they were welded to the radiator when I got home brrrrrr.

Drew, do you treat your Meindles with anything? I rubbed some Nikwax type stuff in but didn't do much good. Sure are comfy though, and warm too.

I've got a pair of Meindle airstreams - comfortable and excellent for climbing trees with smaller crotches or a lot of branch walking, a pair of Klimba air tirrols - good for spiking and heavy work, and a pair of aquafell experts which are crap except for groundwork. The klimbas are still waterproof despite not being gortex ( I don't think) but after 7 months heavy use and walking through some deep puddles the meindles finally left me with wet feet. If I was re-ordering today I'd probably chose the meindles....just.