monkeybusiness

For added French craziness, the following day there happened to be a motorbike hill climb (that really doesn’t do any justice to how extreme it was - the hill is enormous, uneven, loose and too steep to climb!) half an hour away in ski resort called Bernex. Basically it it was like real life Mad Max - I couldn’t tell if there were any rules as to machinery beyond having two wheels and a massive engine. Nitrous oxide and bonkers home-made spiked tyres were the order of the day, along with rivers of beer and enormous testicles. Failed attempts (99%) had the bike recovered by a full on forestry skyline! They weren’t playing at it - this was a very professional event with amazing live video footage and instant replays on a monster screen.

Couple of vids

Some interesting kit on show Ultimate root ripper! One for PeteB and Jase Hutch

I have a cousin who lives in Morzine in the French Alps (not a tree guy, he runs a cycle tour company). A couple of years ago he told me about a redneck show (his words) he’d been to in the neighbouring town - Les Gets. I instructed him to let me know when it was next on as it sounded right up my street - it just was and it didn’t disappoint!... It is called Les Cognées and it’s a skidder race (surely the greatest idea anyone has ever had?!) held over 2 days every other year. A couple of colleagues and I blasted out on a motorbike road trip and had a right laugh. Unfortunately my phone died at the event so I didn’t manage to get loads of pics but there are a few below that should give a bit of an idea of what it’s all about - they have trade stands too, and a whole world of beer to ensure everything is nicely lubricated.

Did he buy that bargain 1928 with the black bonnet?

Mint show - my phone died so didn’t get many pics but the French run some proper kit and this event is based around a skidder race. It makes the APF demos look like a women’s institute lunch! Today we went to a motorbike hill-climb called ‘Impossible Mountain’ - Mad Max machines with nitrous oxide and tyres with massive spikes trying to get to the top of a hill you genuinely wouldn’t walk up. They had a forestry skyline rigged to get the bikes that failed (99% of them) back down. Proper redneck stuff - best trip ever!

I’m in Morzine at a mega forestry show (les Cognees) and my cousin (who lives here) is in the process of having a wind blown spruce cleared up (with perfect access, you can get any vehicle you want to the tree) and it is costing 3000 euros. Is all French tree work crazy money?! I could genuinely do the job and save him money commuting from the Uk!!!

I’ve got one I’d consider selling - am in France but will be back next Tuesday if you are still looking. Give me a bell on 07970188050 next week. Cheers, Dan

Don’t be put off by the round blades - if you are the one paying for the blades they are better in every single way!!! Once they start to lose their edge they can produce slightly untidier looking chip, and the earliest machines using these blades weren’t hugely refined which has possibly tainted people’s views towards them. However, a round blades machine will still fill a tipper/blast to waste etc in no time, customers still want the chip for their borders, biomass firms still buy it, the chip still disappears into woodland floors/hedge bottoms. The blades last for ages (especially when compared to square blades), still work when dull (we’ve actually continued on and finished jobs after accidentally chipping rebar on more than one occasion, which is exceptionally cruel on the machinery but round blade flywheels will keep on chipping...), they can be turned a number of times (which takes no time at all) thus prolonging their life, and only two out of the four tend to take the majority of wear which further reduces the costs. There is no need to set up the blade/anvil gap - bolt them in and earn some money! I’ve got a 1928 safetrak that has done well over 3000 hours and is still a front line machine - this one for sale above looks an absolute bargain to me (so much so that I might buy it myself tbh!).

Bargain!

Have a look at the Arb Association one - free to members and does what you need.

I’d have felled if at the bottom whilst he was up there - tight old bastardo!!!

I used the Makita saw this week and it is perfect for what it was bought for. There was a Stihl 200 electric saw also on site and I thought the Makita performed equally as well. It feels like a toy, but cuts just fine!

LGP Eddie converted a forestry winch to run off a hydraulic PTO, and I think Gray Git also did possibly? Not sure how good/bad the conversions were, but they may be worth touching base with.

Let’s get back on track!!! Little digger with some bigger stuff!

I reckon my 6 tonner would fit in there perfectly...

Yeah, plenty of room. It’s on 550mm tracks which are wider than the standard blade but I had extensions made (that bolt on) taking the overall width to 2.4m - slightly wider than the tracks. It all fits in the JPM no problem. The 8 tonne Cat is very tight width-wise, on standard rubber, but does go in. Weight-wise, the 6 tonner doesn’t actually put too much on the hitch on that trailer - you have to move it a fair way forward before it transfers any weight at all onto the tractor.

Bunyipben - my Takeuchi in the pic below is a 6 tonner, and the trailer is 14 foot (4.2m). It is loaded conventionally in the pic. The Cat is an 8 tonner in the same trailer and has to be loaded offset as you describe to get the rear overhang down (in fact, simply to get the bucket/end of the dipper onto the trailer bed to secure it for transport). This offset arrangement would be more difficult with the trailer you are proposing as the ramps would restrict options. I’d think you could move a 6 tonner on that trailer as your tracks should easily park on the flat, the blade may be on the slope but that’s not a problem. There would probably be a considerable implied load on the drawbar at Matt has suggested, and the boom would certainly hang out of the back. Can you not get the seller to get pics of a similar sized machine loaded up?

Has it laid an egg?!

Whether I renew the 260 or not I’d still look at the 3 tonner as an addition, it’s not dependant on the sale either way. I’d just take the 5 year 0% (which isn’t how I tend to work, I prefer to buy stuff outright but that is literally free money!). I agree 2 diggers are better than 1!!!

Ha ha, I’m considering having both tbh... I’m testing the market with the 6 tonner - if it sells then I’ll put more money into a new one, but if it stays I’ll happily keep it as it is a great tool! I’d rather trade up than give the dosh to the tax man tbh, but I’m not desperate to move it on. I’ve been advised to stick it on Mascus as it’ll more than likely sell abroad pretty quickly apparently. We will see!

Hey ho - I needed the saw before Monday and this deal gets delivered tomorrow (which Amazon don’t offer).