monkeybusiness

Will do. Jon - the winch should be delivered this week, I'll stick a couple of pics up when it arrives.

Really? Linkagesdirect quote £2703 for a 3.5 tonne linkage for a Deutz 150 (it is the only one they list). Are there any other suppliers that you know of? Cheers

I have been thinking about that and in reality it probably is the way to go. It just adds 3k to the cost...

Good skills - you've done well buying that for less than £400!!!

How much do you want for it as is? PM if you prefer.

Great - please do John!

County - that looks like a great find! Jon - have you got a link to the ea winch (unless you are in the market yourself)? I can't find it myself?

I'm sure you are right John - the only thing that concerns me (and it is only slightly) is that the EA Ulrich winch that initially got my onto the idea was mounted on a big modern John Deere but was set up running off its own PTO driven pump. I suppose that the EA approach doesn't have budgetary constraints though - if money wasn't an issue then that would be the ultimate solution in reality!

Hi Nick - thanks for the info. I had been told pretty much the same by a fella with an ex-EA Ulrich for sale (very nice winch, but well over £5k without the pump and tank!)... I am hoping the Ulrich I have sourced will run OK off my tractor's hydraulics - it is fitted with PowerBeyond which is (apparently, although I have not used it myself yet) a high flow, high pressure on demand hydraulic supply over and above what the spools send out. I am certain that the tractor will supply enough pressure to run the winch, but the flow may be a bit slow - slow winching won't really be a problem for my application as it is not going to be used for production forestry. That's what forestry winches are for!

If the oil is 'pressurising' the hydraulics are probably sucking in air from somewhere - check all connections between the tank and hydraulic pump (there may be an inline suction filter that isn't sealed correctly, allowing air into the pump).

560 will pull a 20 fine, but not as well as a 362 (it seems to work very well on the Stihl IME). I know that people will say a 20'' bar is too big for a 60cc saw. 1 - it isn't (possibly it was in the old days ie. ms360 etc) 2 - if you are taking it into a tree you want something light, not a 441 etc etc. I cannot comment on the Echo as I have never used one.

We've got 362s and 560s - I prefer the 560 but only upto 18'' bar. If you want to pull a 20'' the 362 spanks it.

Any pics?

Sounds good - does it need a ground anchor or is the tractor heavy enough to hold it?

10.4 tonne Ulrich (apparently same company as Boughton). Hopefully it hasn't been sold to someone else!

Not yet Jon - I have found a bit of a monster from some big military vehicle but haven't had the time to get it yet. There will be a fair bit of head scratching in terms of fitting it too I reckon - once done I'll stick up some pics!

Looks like fire damage to me. If the customer wants it down then why argue? They are obviously worried, and you aren't convinced enough to talk them out of it so get the big saw out! In reality, the base of the tree is partially compromised and there is a house within falling distance. You could recommend further in-depth investigation, more than likely followed by a reduction and future monitoring/work, which would be sensible if the customer was keen on retention and was willing to invest in the tree's future. If they are already set on removal then I wouldn't lose any sleep felling it personally (if all relevant permissions are in place etc).

I had exactly this with sawdust build up. I have also had 6 pairs where the sole has split in one or both boots along the side where the steel plate sits inside, all after less than 6 months wear. It is difficult to complain too loudly as Haix and/or their dealers have replaced them each time but I can't bring myself to buy another pair unless the design has changed as it is now embarrassing. This is unfortunate as I really like these boots - they are otherwise very well made and extremely comfortable.

Sawhorse looks great though!

Check the end of the crank isn't scored/damaged where the needle roller bearing runs. If it is then that will be likely be the answer to most of your problems (but is hugely expensive to repair unfortunately).

So's this! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmh-ew1swD4]Monster Energy: Ballistic B.J. Baldwin - #RECOIL - YouTube[/ame]

I charge £80/hour (plus VAT) to chip others' arisings as a filler-in job, but that is with an operator and we don't chip anything undesirable (roots, fences, anything that might have nails in, sweepings etc). I would imagine that your entire hedge would easily be chipped in an hour if it is stacked ready to chip and you can get the machine near it - if not the costs quickly escalate. If you can have a fire I would do so if I were you.

Arborisk were excellent with me, and competitive at renewal.

I've got an 11 tonne KTS trailer with the 6.7m crane, and I think it is excellent! I have never done it yet myself, but the crane comes away from the trailer very easily for 3pl mounting (I think it is 8 bolts to undo from memory, which you release once the crane is held by the 3pl). My only concern (and I would imagine it would be the same with any equivalent set up) is where to mount the spool block when carrying the crane on the 3pl. At present I have the spools mounted on a frame that attaches to the top-link holes on the tractor. I went down this route for ease of removal when swapping between the trailer and other implements. It is still an awkward job to do on your own though, as the spool block and hoses are cumbersome. The spool block is theoretically designed to hang off the lower window frame, but I'm not sure what tractors would allow that either. The hoses will almost certainly foul on the top link when 3pl mounting, and it is a heavy thing to hang off the window frame there. If I was going to use the crane on the 3pl I think I would look at a different mounting solution for the spoolblock (probably inside the cab) and fit the hoses with quick release couplings, to allow easy crane removal. I think it would be great having the crane on the linkage though - if you go down this route with either option please put up a couple of pics.

I thought that - particularly second time around. Sounds like someone doesn't like you (or you have a poor mechanic)...