blue beastie

Got it Side cover off, spanner on nut at flywheel, and it turned with the slightest pressure. Now to inspect for damage & find the oiling fault.... Big thanks spud, I owe you one

Thanks for the above both Just found my bloomin piston stop that started all this, thanks for explaining how the rope trip should he done though spud! Sounds like you're in demand. I maybe didn't explain things too well this morning. The head is free of the crank case, but the rope is so well wedged between the cylinder & piston that you can't lift it off. I'm not sure how hard it's safe to pull though? I'll have a crack at the flywheel after tea and see if I can get it to move from there. Fingers crossed!

My 390XP had an oiling problem yesterday which I thought i'd fix last night before going to bed - it's now 5:15am and I have a pile of bits on my living room floor that used to be my favourite saw. Tried all the usual flushing the oil tank tricks which didn't work so to get to the oil pump i'd removed the clutch etc. I couldn't find my piston stop so thought i'd try the "feed a piece of rope in there instead" trick. Mistake number 1! The rope got snagged up inside and wasn't coming back out, long story short a bit of it is still in there.... So, off came the exhaust but all I could see through the port was piston and a tiny portion of said rope. Oh well I thought to myself for the sake of a new gasket, might as well pull the head, retrieve the rope, bung a new gasket in and then get back to the oiling problem. The head won't budge. I've removed the four allen bolts that hold it on, disconnected the carb and anti vibe but just can't seperate it and the piston!! Apart from finishing this beer and getting a couple of hours shut eye, what's my next move fellas? Cheers.

As per title, need some loppers for general choppy duties, pruning branches, cutting up for planned wee chipper etc. Long is good, telescopic is better. What do I want: bypass, anvil, etc? What's the difference in finish on the cut? Thanks.

Legend - thanks for posting.

To my mind 2 of the 3 best options have been posted above: Scarpa Manta and Altberg Mallerstang II. I've had my Mallerstangs for 3.5 years now - I wear them whenever i'm not wearing my saw boots - you wouldn't beleive how good they look still. Seriously well built boots made in the UK! If you like the La Sportiva look though they're maybe a bit too trad though.... The other ones i'd be looking at are Haglofs Grym. Spaceage batman materials, rock solid Scandi design, available in a "Hi" or normal height. Having handled a pair I think they'll probably be my next boots.

Cracking shelves there!

Nice lunge half in shot too !!

Ha ha, early Friday finish and i've just sat down with a pot of Lavazza's finest to catch up on this weeks posts - so better count me in as an addict too:blushing:

Hearts, minds AND free advertising this way - it's definately what i'd do.

Pretty healthy adder population on a couple of the sites I look after, so always wondered about this. Especially as I work on my own in some pretty remote areas. One crawled under a pile of branches i'd cut from a hazel overhanging a path I was working on a couple of weeks ago - I nearly picked her up by the tail when I was clearing them away! I saw 4 that day in the space of a few hours, it's how many I don't see that concerns me though....

August and we're already gearing up for snow again eh! I've just put my winter tyres back on the truck. Love the Highlands.

Sorry, only just saw your post! Mine didn't spread at all no but the visible signs of the rash did last about a month. Strangely though it stopped itching about a week before it cleared up. Sounds like you need a trip to the doc!

EVIL ash borer!

Tis good stuff!