monkeybusiness

A new customer has asked me to try and sort out her fruit trees (Apple, Damson, Malus) which are being decimated by Tortrix caterpillars for the 3rd year running (I haven't seen the trees previously - I am taking her word for it with regards the historical problem). She reckons that this year's infestation is the worst yet - all emerging blossom and leaves on the group of trees is being instantly destroyed by thousands of caterpillars, and she has had no fruit for the last 2 years. Aside from letting nature take its course through bird feeding etc, what other course of action is available. My thoughts run with spraying with a pesticide, but what is currently available that will be effective here? The physical pesticide application is not a problem, I just could do with some help/advice on what to use. Cheers!

Chainsaw carvers love big lumps of Sequoia - can you get a tractor with front loader to it? It will save you a massive amount of cutting/clearing up if you can get it away in big lumps!!! Post something on the carving forum and see if anyone is interested.

I agree - that would look spot on!!!

I totally agree with this - they make big money second hand and there are dealers selling new ones with decent discounts (ring Morris Bufton and Co in Ludlow and speak to John - he'll sort you out on a new one for not much more than they make second hand).

I'm amazed that you don't do everything you can to check the provenance of what you're buying - a quick phonecall to the manufacturers is all it takes. Please don't take this personally, but your relaxed attitude to what you buy helps drive the market for stolen plant and machinery. If people were more diligent at point of purchase it would limit the outlet for hot kit. If you do end up buying something that has been stolen then it will be taken off you if it is discovered by the police (unlikely I know, but not unheard of). I saw one of those police camera programs and they pulled a guy on the motorway and took his ifor off him as the laser cut chassis number had been plated over and a jockey wheel bolted on to hide the work - a very professional identity cover up. However (and I was amazed) the copper knew what he was looking for and confiscated the trailer. Plant manufacturers will be able to tell you what numbers should be where - if it isn't 100% then walk away (and ideally call the police - some poor sod maybe seriously out of pocket somewhere because of what you're being offered).

I've never been fond of Vermeers but that has to be the koolest looking chipper ever!!! The guy feeding it looks a bit scared/out of his depth in the video though (but he does offer a bit of scale!) I'd like to see it chip something big though, make it work a bit.

Supplying/using your own log splitter, or working for someone using theirs?

The Brian James looks the mutt's nuts - has anyone got one?

I've got a 12x6 ifor tipper and it's one of the most useful bits of kit in the yard. It'll carry as much as you can get in it (put the cage on and fill it to the top with beech rings and it loves it!). If you take the sides and headboard off you can put a landy 110 on it (which is handy as they keep breaking down). It might be a bit overloaded at times but it looks right and nothing ever breaks. I wouldn't personally buy any trailer second hand - you can throw 1000 quid at new tyres/brakes/bearings etc if you're unlucky. I don't know anything about the atlas trailers, but I do know that ifor Williams hold their money very well for when you come to swap it for a new one (which you should do before it needs tyres/brakes/bearings).

Ms361 - my favourite ever. I reckon the 560xp might be better, but so far 2 of the 5 we've had have gone back (pretty poor average I'd say).

Threatening to use his solititor - he sounds like a brown trout to me...

Cos I'm normally fixing something else the lads have smashed up instead! The chippers get serviced on the hour clock - grease every 40 hrs (blade attention if necessary), full service every 100. If there is a blade issue in between it is usually because someone has decided re-bar looks like a branch. It probably doesn't sound it but I am very sympathetic mechanically and I spend a lot of time on machine/vehicle maintenance. Blade life is one of the reasons I run GM chippers - the disks last for ages without attention.

We regularly run disk-bladed Greenmechs for 100 hrs between oil changes before even looking at the blades and they keep on chipping efficiently with no problem at all (although the chip quality can be quite poor at the end). I agree that super sharp blades make any machine perform amazingly, but the drop off in performance with the GMs is negligible - if the machine starts struggling it is usually because some tool has put something hard through and taken a chunk out of a blade (but even then they'll still chip!).

I know nothing about mogs but is there not something in the cab indicating what revs for what pto speeds? This is common on a lot of tractors. If not, either google or someone on here will undoubtedly let you know. Does it not say in the operators manual that should be on site with the machine at all times.........

It looks an interesting harness, but I guess once the bridge gets worn the whole thing is then scrap? I can't see how you could replace it? I'll answer that myself now reading about the product properly - those conecto rings are the answer and look very clever... (Sorry for jumping the gun).

Most PTO driven machinery is designed to run with an input speed (ie pto speed from tractor or mog) of either 540rpm or 1000rpm. If you have a powerful enough tractor/mog it is possible to run an implement (ie chipper) requiring 540rpm input from a 1000rpm pto output, but you obviously need to run the pto at approx. half speed, which in turn requires half engine revs from the driving machine. You need to find out at what engine speed your mog delivers 540 or 1000 rpm at the shaft and whether your chipper requires 540 or 1000 rpm input to work out how many revs to give it. If you do run the chipper at 540 rpm off the 1000 shaft at half(ish) speed (which it sounds like you are) then you should expect a lack of torque and the subsequent reliance on your stress control. Give it a try on your 540 output at correct revs and see if the performance improves (it should!).

As Hama said. The reason you get straight growth from the roots is because the root stock is standard Hazel with the contorta grafted on to it, and the root stock can throw up suckers if it is under stress.

The swivel loops are wider and flatter than the rings I think - I don't recall experiencing the issue since I fitted mine.

I think this is standard for MS261s - the fault appears to be impossible to rectify and keeps re-occurring. I know of 2 saws that have seen very little work in their current ownership as the warranty work takes forever (which in itself is almost understandable, as this is an extremely busy time of year for machinery dealers' workshops and I believe warranty work pays them peanuts). I would suggest using the saw regularly now you have it to see if the problem comes back whilst it is still covered by warranty (hopefully it is) - if it does then demand a full refund as the machine is obviously not fit for purpose (and probably steer clear of this model of saw in the future). It's a shame that this design fault exists as the 261 is great in every other way!

Get a petzl swivel instead of your ring(s) - you only need the little one as it will take a large karibiner (but make sure you install it the correct way round, as there is a rivet head that needs to be in the loop attached to the bridge or the krab won't fit properly). They don't seem to stick and also help prevent rope twists.

If it was given to you for free I wouldn't complain too much - pop burns fine once it is dry (that's why they make matches out of it). Oak can smell like that sometimes too. Once you get it burning all you'll smell is woodsmoke!

Drill with stainless hardware ideally, and think about how you load your fixings (ie don't straight pull on coach screws as they will rip out, load them at 90 degrees). Also make sure you have decent distance between your fixings so the tree doesn't treat them as 1 wound and codit everything in between them (reducing the strength of the timber you need to hold your fixings). As Hama said, long term well placed drill fixings should get stronger as the tree grows around them. Be clever with the amount of support you need - minimise the mounting points where possible to reduce damage to the tree and remember that trees move in every direction at the same time - don't try and rigidly secure 2 ends of a beam to separate parts of a tree (or trees) as it will probably fail. The tree will grow around drilled fixings, but make sure you don't choke the tree with ropes etc, and allow space around trunks and branches for decking/roof structures (can be sealed with neoprene) as tree growth will damage these. Cobra etc are great for tree bracing but I personally wouldn't try to amalgamate them into treehouse builds - use steel cable with wire rope grips and either eye bolts or threaded bar all the way through the tree with eye nuts. I have seen Cobra/Boa work loose, and I wouldn't want to be near/on a treehouse supported by that! Get it built and show us some photos!!!

SOME?!?! As in more than 1?! And you're still feeling down??? I'm not sure tree work is going to fix your melancholy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where did the other posts go?

I reckon someone may have had a fire at the bottom of that tree in the last couple of years.