TArrryan

I have been contacted by a client who wants a large area of brickwork painted with a stone ageing paint to encourage lichen and micro organism growth. Its not something I have ever done before but I know the paints exist, I just cant find them!! Any help in locating the paint would be greatly appreciated.

ill do it for free

....you stab yourself with a fork by accident

leaf blower and thermite or KNO2 if I'm running low

I take my hat off to him, It was impressive until he started throwing them up, then it was nothing short of amazing!

Bought a brand new MS361 for my first saw about a week after i got my license and one day before I was made redundant!!

Thanks for your help everyone, with this new knowledge I will have a closer look next week when I visit. Might even make a special visit, looks good to the client too! Thanks once again and I'll report back asap

will fire work

I belive the aphids will be gone by now but I know i should be looking for cast aphid skins and black fungal growth that grows on the sugary aphid pee

I haven't trimmed this hedge yet, the previous worker did. no aphids as far as I can see. ohhhhhh I just remembered something important, the neighbour cuts his own side as far as i know, two different people cutting but the same symptoms on each side!!

soil has been moist all year here. there is a second length of conifer hedge on the other side of the garden that's in perfect health. if its a disease I have to try and protect it too. Edit: The only area that's been poorly trimmed is shown, other than that I can only pick flaws in a few uncut shoots. It looks close but there's a good 1-2 inches of healthy growth in it... where its not dying of course

Hello again everyone, I have been asked by my client to investigate why thier conifer hedge is dying. as the pictures below show it has developed spreading brown patches all along one section of hedging leaving the opposite side (bottom pic) virtually untouched, although there appears to be some yellowing to the left of the ancient dead patch (I believe the previous gardener got overly enthusiastic with the hedge cutter) the first and second pictures were taken about four weeks apart, the spread is quite dramatic! the side shown in the pictures is quite sheltered, the neighbours side shows exactly the same level of die back but is more exposed and on a mild slope. the ground isn't perfectly drained but its by no means wet or soggy, the soil is quite fertile and mildly alkaline. however the hedge had survived on it for many years to date! I can see no signs of fungal infection on the surface and no signs of pests, there's approximately one conifer every two or three feet. I'm expecting to have to recommend its removal, I don't see any way it can be saved, and unless I discover its cause of die back I cant suggest a new hedge or fence yet. Don't think I missed out any details!! Thanks for your help

I would normally go with B unless I'm given instructions to do diffrently. if they wanna pay more I'm happy to remove the more major roots too.

is that your climbing line or is there a rope/cord entering the tree just above the included section! possibly a contributing factor?

why do i think of the smurfs when i look at that...! dam good job though, far better than any i have ever attempted

I plan to visit the museum soon! Ill be making allot of notes and taking allot of pictures. Your right, it is a barking idea. however its a plan that will challenge me and push my limits forcing me to learn more. its not fun if its easy thankyou for your suggestion, I'll look into torsion bars with greater detail soon, I have just finished exploring the idea of leaf spring layouts etc, I have plans for a adjustable Hydrogas suspension unit for each of the 10-12 road wheels, pressure controllable from within the drivers compartment using a mix of pneumatics and hydraulics. hard to explain my idea here though!! in its simplest form I suppose I'm using a pneumatic pump to fill the hydro gas tank and then topping up the pressure with hydraulic flow to my desired pressure, theoretically it should give me zero to very high Pressure. I have a plan to use lead ballast, it will also allow me to balance the tank so its not too front/rear heavy. however you have reminded me of another Idea I had, It involves a cylinder with a heavy weight inside, by moving the weight forwards or backwards you can shift the centre of gravity to your liking. I have the think it should allow steeper banks to be climbed (or sheer banks | ) as the extra weight will be applied to the front end pressing it into the bank. ha ha the ideas i think of while working!!! originally I thought the drive train would be a pain in the arse, but after thought the only hard bit I can think of is creating a watertight seal to the drive sprocket, I can send the power from the engine to a lorry differential, from there the power is split between the L & R I'll need the think of a strong braking mechanism to provide skid steer on either side of the diff, from there it should simply be a matter of sending the drive straight out the side to the sprocket (I think a suitably large flange cut up will suffice to start with) hmmm is it possible to take two brake calipers and mount them in such a way that you can fit two or more on a brake disc? might burn out quickly or last longer as the strain is being shared by 2-4 calipers!! I have many years before I can go ahead with it though I wont be allowed to build a tank on the drive at home!! Ill just have to plan and brainstorm my ideas for now On topic again!! I have bought a 100L (plus two 12.5L pockets) bergen to hike in, I cant find my old bergen and my little bag isn't up to the task, might as well get use to one now rather than later

well I have always had a fascination with engineering, i might seem a little over my head but I wanna design and put together my own tracked vehicle I know it would be extremely difficult but that's why I don't plan to build one for a good few years yet (or until I move out !!) instead I spend my time planning and brainstorming ideas, parts like the engine and gearbox are too complex for me to build first hand but integrating it will be fun. then of course I have tracks, steering, drive train, chassis/body, suspension, etc etc What I'm having trouble with right now is the hydro-gas suspension, I have the pneumatic/hydraulic side roughed out in my head so I can have a variable suspension (hard and soft, higher/lower) but I'm having trouble putting together a actual suspension unit that will be strong enough! vertical motion aint a problem but horizontal will tear my ideas apart (and I have allot!) go on, tell me I'm mad like everyone else does!! if anything its the planning, designing and testing I really enjoy.

: not a problem, we all have out moments. anyone got a idea what my second sponsored charity should be?

Totally agree, Its a regular moan from me about people talking to me while I'm wearing them. Its made worse by the fact I wear my earmuffs while I'm not even using the saw I just so use to the silence I forget I'm even wearing them. I have one client who I do work for on a yearly basis, she is housebound now because she refuses to go to the doctor, believes herbs she grows in her garden will save her from arthritis!! I had great trouble getting away from her to start with until I discovered the timer on my phone has the exact same ring as my ring tone! simply set the timer and wait a while until It sounds like my phone ringing, quick apology and say goodbye I think you get use to cutting conversations short after a little while, like many tough tasks in life, they become easier with practice.

a Magnolia I recently pruned by 20% after flowering reacted very unexpectedly, Instead of dropping its leaves one by one as it goes along it suddenly decided to drop all old growth and replace it with fresh!! didn't affect flower production though

I see your point and I didn't mean to sound the way I did, only I can prepare myself psychologically, however I'm open too all ideas regarding training. I know the basics of what I'm doing but there is always a better way of doing it and I wanted first hand advice no amount of reading can provide, the advice of people here has proved invaluable, everyone here has my deepest gratitude for thier advice so far!! nice job you have there, I don't suppose you deal with the tank side of things do you? I might have to pick your brains regarding a little project I have in mind later on oh and I completed my benchmark test run In a new time today, ran 35% / walked 65% 2 miles to the beech in exactly 20 minutes with 35lb, knocked 3 minutes off the previous time, completed the return in 28 minutes (walking only) and knocked 5 off Ill make the test run longer as I get fitter

boat house maybe?

Anyone who buys a house in that condition needs thier brain checking!! A house isn't something you impulse buy unless you have a massive amount of capital behind you

Impact driver Fantastic tools to have!!

I picked up a adder by the tail the other week as well.... shame it was missing a head, seems the local kitty got hold of it, evident by the pile of vomit containing bits of snake and kitty chow next to the body!!!