monkeybusiness

Best bet is to walk away. If you feel so disenfranchised with the guy that’s been keeping you in work then you shouldn’t work for him any more. (If I was him I’d be kicking your arse for dealing with his customer directly by the way, it sounds to me like you are a bit of an untrustworthy dick).

It must be a nightmare for dealers and I definitely sympathise with your predicament. I am not yet convinced that Stihl or Husky offer anything significantly better than what’s available from more mainstream manufacturers when it comes to battery tech though sadly (if they did then we would buy it). If I were you I’d add a Makita franchise to your offering though...

Exactly that. At the last APF I asked the husky guys about their battery technology and they reckoned they had much greater capacity batteries ready to go but were holding them back to counter whatever the opposition brought to market. They reckoned there would be a long time before the current batteries would be superceded. Last weekend I chucked out a couple of old NiCad drills. They weren’t very old in real terms, but are now irrelevant dinosaurs. I don’t trust either Stihl or Husky to not make any investment in their battery tech quickly redundant with new systems. Much safer to spend the money with companies with massive battery-powered ranges imo.

We turned up on the site that forced our hand into battery investment with our 36v Makita (which feels like a toy compared to petrol saws) and another contractor had the top-of-the-range Stihl equivalent (which was what I was going to buy, and which I expected to be miles better than our toy Makita tbh). I used both and they were much-of-a-muchness - the Stihl was definitely no better. They aren’t petrol saws, they are all just motors running chains. Makita have been building that sort of kit along with the associated battery technology for a lot longer than Stihl or Husky so they are bound to be good at it. One of the main reasons I was initially considering Stihl over husky (before Makita was even on my radar) was that the Stihl battery hedge cutter is apparently very good, and I thought that once I’d taken the plunge with a couple of big batteries and a charger for the saw the electric hedgecutter investment wouldn’t be massive. Obviously I wanted the biggest hedgecutter available. It transpired that the Stihl chainsaw battery system doesn’t fit their battery hedgecutter without an additional £150 lead - at that point I did a few reely difffucalt suumms and realised that Makita offered massively better value for money. I’ve since invested in the big lithium ion Makita hedgecutter (for about 60 pence) and it is the dog’s danglies! Stihl and Husky are one-trick-ponies when it comes to battery kit imo.

I was looking at battery saws a few months ago as a client required us to use them on a particular contract. We ended up investing in the Makita system (bought a saw, double battery charger, 4x 18v batteries, and an angle grinder and big impact driver) for less than the equivalent Stihl chainsaw and a couple of batteries. Have since bought the Makita hedge cutter and little top-handle for peanuts and they are all brilliant. I picked up the 18v tyre inflator recently along with the DAB site radio too, and will buy the new grease-gun when it becomes available (and replace my drill etc with Makita when they die). The Makita battery gear is easily as good as the equivalent Stihl and Husky kit, costs less, and the expensive battery/charger investment is much more adaptable. It’s a no-brainer imo.

There is no way in the world that a 10 tonne tracked machine will have any effect on anything 12m underground. Any forces will be dissipated through the soil in the first couple of metres max.

Backflip with a pike, easy peasy!

Not strictly for this thread as fortunately nothing broke - total brain-fart... (Tramampolines are amazingly strong!!!)

Timber handling is hard on kit and will find all of the weak-points!

What sort of chipper is it? Can the drawbar or hopper be easily removed to reduce overall dimensions?

By that logic the only way the hornbeams will come out is if the sycamores stay. I think you know what to do...

How well do you get on with neighbour 3?

If you have the agreement to fell the trees you actually want felling then get them felled before submitting another application would be my advice.

His back ring is designed to take a load, and is rated highly on Grinder...

I heard the term ‘Cisgender’ for the first time last week, and had to google it. I’ve since heard it twice more and am confused as to why we need this apparently new term?...

Nice looking setup! Out of interest what sort of price is a trailer like that new/used in Denmark?

Not sure if GM still do the narrow 1623 safetrak but that is an incredibly versatile machine in terms of where it will go (amazingly narrow when wound right in, ridiculously capable on hills and side-slopes). Until I had a safetrak I honestly considered tracked chippers a waste of time - they generally can’t get anywhere a quad can’t tow a wheeled chipper, and when they do run out of capability they are either very stuck or on their side... Get a safetrak and make loads more money, it will transform how you approach jobs!

Greenmech 1928 Safetrac. Any other tracked chipper is miles behind if the reason for having it on tracks is to get it near the tree wherever that is!

I think you are right. I bought it a few years ago on the back of this forum and everyone raving about them. We had a job that it seemed perfect for (it was) but I was left massively disappointed with the quality (for what is in reality a pretty basic cheaply-made fabrication). I really hope I just ended up with the only crap one they’ve made!

My Stein is ok but certainly not amazing. Very heavy (which should be a good thing) but we’ve had to repair/straighten/strengthen the telescopic drawbar which kinked which was disappointing (as it’s only ever been loaded and pulled around by human beings). The paint and general finish was absolute shite from delivery - it was bought for a job and needed using immediately otherwise it would have been sent straight back for a refund tbh. However - it is a great concept and on the right job is a very good bit of kit. In many ways I’d rather support the people who came up with the idea over others who copy/profit. Hopefully Stein have sorted the quality control... If they are still crap then buy elsewhere though!!!

1928 Safetracs are ridiculous in their ability to go pretty much anywhere if you know how to operate one. Superb design!

Google Lincmaster - they make some decent stuff.

There are also two sides to a story, and there are many reasons one person might assault another. There aren’t many ways to justify publicly slashing on a memorial though.

He’s a brainless thug and locking him up to make an example of his actions is the right thing to do imo. Why the serious assault didn’t receive a custodial sentence is the problem, not the firmness shown to Banks.

You’re not wrong - they should both be jailed.