Gnarlyoak

Blimey PeteB, where have you been hiding? As discussed several times on the forum both last year and again this year, many Eucs it seems have been unable to withstand days or weeks of sub zero temps that the UK has experienced during the last two winters. Cordyllines too, have been very badly hit, all the ones I saw that had managed survive last year seem to have karked it this year (including my parents). But in North Mcr. today we felled a very dead Cordy and just 4 houses up, on the opp side of the road but roughly facing the same direction was a another much taller Cordy which was a picture of health!

As others have already advised, get yourself some proper training. When you have received some training gain some experiece with an already experienced climber. Because the best training in the world does not instantly make you a competent and safe climber who is also capable of undertaking tree work. After your training it takes patience and practise practise practise....... In direct answer to your question though, no responsible climber would climb a tree without a secondary work line. This is usually a short length (approx 3m) of climbing rope and referred to as a side strop. This is used to tie yourself into the tree when advancing your mainline up the tree and is also used to help you get into and maintain a safe working position. Get trained, be safe and stay safe.

Maybe immigration caught up with him, and assisted him on to the plane home.

Erm, embarrasingly its even more prozaic than that. This is what happens when you decide to start up and rev your saw without the clutch drum and brake band in place, is usually accompanied by jagged bits of ally whizzing round your garage and follwed by an expensive repair bill Doh! All is well thanks Martin, apart from the saw obviously, could have got a new rope and a pair of chainsaw pants for the cost of repairs. Bloody annoying. Grrr Been on a little job jolly up in Cumbria recently with a couple of your other "old boys" Frank & Alex. Hope all is well with you and yours in the sunny Algarve. All the best mate. Regards, Rick

Thanks again fellas. I am walking away from this one, bullet bitten, she's on her way back to the shop to be someone elses headache. I'm always prepared to "have-a-go", but I'm not afraid to recognise my limits, and step back when necessary. (Quote from: Megatron. Depending how bad the damage is it might be cheaper to find someone who can weld it? Or sell it on ebay and invest in a new saw. Unless you have already bought the parts) Yes parts already purchased, would love to replace saw with new but funds not availalbe to do that. Welding not an option given the amount of damage which does show up a bit better in these photos. Thanks again for your helpful advice.

Cheers Spud/Megatron, I think, you've well and truly peed on my chips chaps!. Had'nt realised or appreciated the amount of rigmarole involved in replacing crankcase. Naively thought it would be a few bolts to undo, pull the crankcase apart, replace new half, replace gasket and then bolt it back together it again. Bish bash bosh, and Roberts your mothers brother! All genuine Stihl parts sourced from Stihl dealership local to me. To be fair I did ask them to supply me the parts and I would fit them myself to try and save the cost of having them fitted by them. Of course if they had warned me about what I was facing (a near impossible task in my tool shed from the way you guys describe it) I may have bitten the bullet and coughed up for 3-4 hrs labour plus VAT. But if its as bad as you describe then it looks like I will be taking it back with all the bits and leave it to one who knows, and resigning myself to having another chunk taken out of my overdraft limt. The bank account is all one way traffic at the moment. Whilst its not clear from the attached photo, the reason why I'm replace the crankcase in the first place is that the ally casing around the top and upper right hand side of where the clutch assembly sits, is shattered; broken! An expensive mistake that I will definately try to avoid making again!

You can in any EU country. Switzerland had the good sense to remain independant and outside the EU. Wish GB had had the good sense to do the same! That said though, not sure what the score is regarding British nationals living & working in Switzerland. Unless you're a banker with a cache of stolen nazi loot & gold bullion, in which case you're welcomed with open arms, no questions asked.

Now you're just nit picking Mr.Bell. Or should that be nip ticking judging by your avatar.............

Greetings all, I am in the process of trying to replace the right hand (clutch side) crankcase casing. So far I have removed every part, bolt and clip that I can find, but I'm having no luck in actually removing the casing from the body of the saw. Bit stumped now, clearly I must be missing something! But have no idea what!! Is it something on the opposite crankcase (starter coil side)?? I've attached a pic of where I am upto, but can anyone tell me what else I need to do . I was about to get the "hammer shaped" persuader out, but thought I'd ask on here first before I wreak havoc upon it......... Many thanks, Rick

I'd be up for it Rob. Either day is good for me. Bit if I had to pick one day or the other, then it would be the dryest sunniest one! Hope this helps.

Not if the saw is secured to the MEWP bucket with a lanyard. Which it should be should be at all times for the very reason that if it should slip from your grasp under any circumstances, then it cannot dash itself to pieces or your workmates on the ground. From my experience I have always started the saw outside the bucket, having pre started and warmed up the saw whilst still on the ground before accessing the mewp. Personally, I think that the MEWP bucket is such a confined space, wether working alone or with an operator or colleague, that it safer to start the saw outside to reduce the risk of harm or damage to any of the occupants or equipment. But thats just my humble opinion.

Yep there is a difference. Getting a discount on the purchase of a TV before the transaction has been completed is perfectly acceptable. Asking for a discount after you have purchased the TV taken it home and installed it, will see you rightly laughed out of the store. Quoting for tree works, and agreeing to do it tomorrow when the customer says you've got the job if you can knock of 10% and I'll pay you cash is acceptable. A customer "accepting" your quote and having the work done, who then turns round and says I'll pay you now and knock off 10% discount in my favour is not acceptable.

"Not gonna change a thing", ....... my soddin arse! Wots the bloomin point of trying to win the lottery if you're not going to change your life. And it could have been me! I was only going to waste it on wine, women and song. Ah well, s'pose the vineyard in Chile, the brothel in Amsterdam and the purchase of Girls Aloud record label will just have to wait until I win the next big rollover.

If its a dead tree in a conservation area, can it be monolithed? Just a thought. It would be better from a conservation perspective, no...?

Try Fletcher Stewart in Stockport (0161 483 5542). I went in last weekend and bought a full set of AV annular buffers for my MS200T over the counter so I know they did have them stock. Sorry can't seem to find my receipt, so can't give you the price, but I know they are a lot cheaper than the fleabay price on the above link. Total bill was about £25 for a full AV set, sprocket wheel and a spark plug! Speak to Nigel on this site, one of the owner/directors, he may even post them free for a big up! Hope this helps.

Hmmm maybe. I also reported it to Stihl UK customer services. Got a nice email from them offering their thanks. Just waiting for the truck full of freebies as a token of their appreciation.....

Ahaa, got ya. I'll definately take that on board, that would look much better, much less contrived and more natural looking. Nice one man, thanks or that.

By this I take it you mean tip end / flat face where the final reduction cut was made yeah? So I need to make this pointier (?) is that what your saying? If so, is there a special purposeful reason for this or it it just from an aethetic point of view? Thanks for your input.

Nah... don't believe ya Rob. Maybe it was a bit of twig fracture pruning or a bit of test run... But these pics are over a year old.....

Nope and you never would have guessed it either, limb was situated about 30ft up the stem, in full leaf and looked nice and healthy. Situated right next to estate yard we working out off at the time. Left a nice clear yard at 4pm one afternoon, returned at 8am the following day "Eh, where'd that tree come from?" "ahhh" "oooh" "bugger!" "Right, we'll park the van over that side today then, shall we....."

Last year I had what was for me a rare opportunity, to try and attempt to create some coronet cuts whilst dead wooding a large oak. The tree was located in the corner of a pastural field adjacent to the A556, and part of the Tabley Hall estate, nr. Knutsford. The reason for deadwooding in the first place was for dreaded H&S issues The esate ( its a Crown Estate, therefore owned by HMtheQ) did'nt want chunks of dead wood dropping on their tenant farmers, or their machinery or livestock etc. So the idea was to try some coronets to try and replicate and replace the nice deadwood habitats that we were cutting off. Anyhoo, these are a few pics of my attempts, which include some slits and slots provided for the wee beasties and micro organisms that like that sort of thing. I hope they pass muster with the more critical conservationist minded amongst you. I would gladly do more, so any tips on how they could be improved upon are welcome. Though the opportuinities to do so are few and far between. Ho hum.

Sweet chestnut, Tabley Hall, nr. Knutsford, Cheshire, April 2010. Last shot is of the roof of the internal cavity that could comfortably accomodate two hairyarsed tree fellas!

Here are some vet oaks from Tabley Hall, nr Knutsford, Cheshire. Taken in Apr. last year.

Large sycamore decided to shed a large limb overnight. Pics taken last summer, and don't really do the size of it justice until you see the mobile phone on the butt end of sheared limb! Proper skull cracker that would have been!

Aye, you can get a couple here :- chainsaws stihl ms440 | eBay UK Reported it to website concerned.