doobin

Just change it to a normal tensioner.

I wouldn't worry about it, as soon as you start mowing regularly they'll be gone.

If 13" & 14" are too short, but 16" too long, then may I suggest you are perhaps a touch fussy? Seriously, I'd go with a 14" 3/8 Picco. As poster above says, thinner kerf equals more productivity. Maximise this further by going for 1.1mm gauge bar and chain rather than the usual 1.3mm HTH

A roller will do the opposite of direct it below ground surely? When I had mine, you changed the skids over to work below ground. All I'm saying is that it wasn't a finish you'd be proud of, even if the grass could take with the large amounts of wood mulch incorporated. What's the finished spec supposed to be like?

Half of nothing is still nothing!

I'm not sure if it would be suitable for grass seeding afterwards? Mulchers tend to leave quite big lumps even when set to run in the soil. They don't so much condition the soil as mix the mulchings with it. It'll still be a very rough finish. Maybe with a big roller over it afterwards though?

Speedhump. Problem solved. Cheques in the post, right?

Yeah, but you know what lives all around Billingshurst.... they have to be on their guard around there. Still, I'd rather the gyppos tried to take it to the tip than just dumped it on the roadside.

You can have a loading ramp installed as an extra on any Ifor flatbed. That's the route I'd go.

£500 will get you a back actor for the linkage. Very slow compared to a mini digger however.

Couldn't agree more. We need them to be intimidated, not the other way around.

Love it! As I understand it, the issue is that there is specific legislation covering chainsaws, and CS units are the only accepted qualification. Although there is an exemption for agricultural work on the land of the owner.

With me it was like this (subcontractor to contractor working on local nature reserve): Him: Ok, so start on Monday. Oh, have you got any tickets? Me: No Him: Well I've told the Trust you have, so if anyone asks? Me: Got it. Straight in to felling 1000+ 8-24"DBH birch trees on open access land. Scary! With a borrowed 023. Took me a while to get the hang of a felling cut, but I was a natural by the end This was only around 7 years ago BTW

It's oft said, but necessity truly is the mother of invention! I bet they're easier to stack than with a forklift too.

If that dumper will travel than a 3/4ton mini will too. Much easier.

Ahem... To do this correctly, one should always use alliteration.... For reference... I'm sweating like a 1) Priest in a playground 2) Nonce in a nursery 3 Gerbil in a gay bar 4) Geordie at a jobcentre HTH

You sound like you know your stuff as regards sweet spot and optimum cord length. So how do you not get wound up by the flexiblade becoming that little bit too short almost straight away? And then throwing over half the length away because it's no longer efficient? Bump feed for me all the way. The wall is a good trick when running without a guard. One tip I would add if using a thinner line/bump head is to wear it down slightly too much, then bump it out once. This avoids a weak point where the line enters the head and has been stressed by running against the wall.

Small bump feed head and 2.4mm round line. Minimum of 40cc I'd say.

I'd avoid Echo, had one once and it was pretty pants. If it's for gardening etc, get SH86 handheld, great with vac kit for work on steps/yards etc, and you don't want to be strapping on a backpack every five minutes to blow a bed you've just pruned off. If it's for clearing up after a big takedown, lots of sawdust stuck in a lawn etc, then a BG600 is the only way to go IMHO. Awesome power, but excessive for most applications. Whatever you do, don't get a Stihl BG/SH 56. These are probably the source of Johnny Walkers 'knuckleshaker' comment- the anti vibe is a third of that on the 86 series. HTH.

You don't need a van. A car is cheaper for insurance, etc, stick a trailer behind it and away you go! Basic tools should be a combi tool with strimmer and hedgecutter attachments (or one of each, hand gardening tools, a barrow, a blower and a sprayer. Good money in weedkilling. As stated, your boss will find someone else. That's the way it goes.

Then I would say Tanaka pay more attention to the real world that their machines will be used in than Stihl do! Why does that not surprise me?

Then I retract my earlier statement that I wanted to try some! Thanks for the heads up!

Indeed. A decent bloke can leave the grass in a windrow ready for a machine like a digger to clear up.

Why is it the same length across the range then? Rev up an FS85 with the cord the 'correct' length and try it in a bit of light grass. Then do the same with an FS400, especially one with a smaller head on it. The FS400 is at the top of the rev range straight away. No need for it to be there, it's a waste of petrol. A chainsaw operator constantly at the top of the rev range would be told to stop messing around and actually start cutting.... A decent operator can tell when a machine is about to become overloaded, and will avoid bumping the cord out that much. As mentioned before, there's a sweet spot. Point is, that sweet spot is a lot different on an FS400 to an FS85. But the 'proper' cord length is the same. Surely then an FS 85 used for anything more than light grass trimming will be subject to the same or even more wear as an FS400 with the cord bumped out a bit more? I know which sounds more overloaded when being used in typical long grass. I think it's operator error with 95% of the machines you see if you're attributing the damage to the longer cord. Too much cord, and a bad technique. Basically no mechanical sympathy

For the chip spout, I'd use the windpipe of the scumbag who nicked it.