doobin

Something like this led strip light | eBay in cool white will give you a good spread of light with little shadow if wrapped around the room.

Is backfilling a hobby of yours? If you're smart you can do as I do and use a 20KG breaker with a long blunt chisel to tamp a post in with minimal effort/space required. For 5x3s I use a 5" and am prepared to take a smidge off the side with the coon spoons. Petrol auger is pretty accurate, sometimes on tough ground I do a pilot with the petrol auger and 2" bit, then bore her open with the digger and a 6" bit. Re backfill material, I had good results with crushed chalk on post and rail in clay ground. Dirt cheap and of course it consolidates to form a solid plug around the post much the same as concrete if you do it right. Don't say I never give you any useful advice you lot!

Hell, I'll even do the legwork for you! Here you go, NZ supplier!: Sperian Sync Stereo Earmuffs - Class 5 - Hearing Protection - Accurate - HSE Safety

In-ear headphones? For god's sake get with the times mate! Howard Leight | Sync Stereo Earmuff These are the dogs danglies. £40, no batteries, awesome sound, good enough to use in the house when chilling to tunes also! If you have trouble finding those, Bilsom do a good range also- Howard Leigh used to distribute them but they're made in Oz so should be easy for you to get hold of? Bilsom Radio HV Ear Defenders. Forget the expensive ones and the cheapy chinese ones. I've used em all and the two above are the best by a county mile, in terms of quality for your money.

How old was your model? The Stihl site says MSE220 vibration levels are 2.3/2.5- this compares with an MS362 at 3.5/3.5. As we are currently using 034 and 036 chainsaws, I was thinking we'd have to double check we plugged it in it would be that gentle on the vibe front! So you're saying this saw would be about 034 power level? With a 13" .325 bar on, that would do me just fine Cheers Steve.

Hi, Does anyone know if: A. The adjustable head for the HLE 71 is different to a regular petrol Stihl hedgecutter head, except for the 125 degree fold rather than 135 degrees? Is it geared differently perhaps? Will this head fit onto a petrol model? B. Will the electric motor drive something like a chainsaw head or brush head? Is the shaft speed the same? Thanks.

If so, what petrol Stihl would you say it equates to in the real world? Thanks.

The technical term (at least for Stihl) is 3/8 Picco I believe.

A 251 flies with a 12" 3/8p 1.1mm bar fitted, so the same on a 261 would be awesome for coppicing etc. I love 1.1mm, I find the thinner kerf a real advantage with polesaws and small saws like the 181. I also find it much quicker to sharpen due to the lack of metal and oddly, more tolerant of poor sharpening techniques/odd sized cutters. Anyone else find this?

Sure you've charged it properly? Did the ammeter read high then slowly come down as it charged? How long was it left dead for? If more than a day you may have goosed the battery. For a new battery, use your local motor factors. Take the old one to them and they will do you the best price on a replacement that will fit and do the job. Don't involve a dealer unless you like paying over the odds.

Do a search bud, tons of info.

I could do with a customer like that! How much do you charge per metre?

I had visions of a 1m3 load plonked in the middle of a 1.6m3 trailer! Bags do give you the chance to offer a cheaper load where you might have lost the sale before (not due to being too expensive for what you get, it's just 2m3 is a lot of wood for most customers) and do more drops at once.

Bit pointless if you don't mind me saying? If delivering just loose in a trailer you really need to sell them by trailer volume or the customer will think they're being short changed when they see what to their eyes is an underfilled trailer. I really think you will find bags a cheap and easy soloution to seasoning, handling and delivering, as well as being an easy concept/volume to describe to the customer.

By hand. Once you have hold of the bottom of the bag (via the sewn on loop) tipping them is easy.

The vented sacks have tipping loops for you to grab at the bottom, you just flip them off the side of the trailer/truck onto the customer's driveway, and keep the sack.

They'll still stretch when you take them out of the box and again when you load the truck. Then the customer will ask where the rest of the bag is... Best to just price them at what you know they actually hold.

It is normal, however HMRC take a dim view if you do all of your work for him, and in that case you really should be employed. Technically you should probably be employed if you work under his direct control and are not responsible for putting any shoddy work right in your own time. But work is work these days, and if you can turn your hand to many things and do a good job then being a subby can be a good way to start your own business.

Just charge for the vented bag accordingly, it's easy enough. I did notice that my new bags are noticeably more 'perky' than the older ones- this pattern does of course repeat itself in other areas of my life....

Tell us a bit about your current way of doing things and how much per year you want to do?

IMHO you'd be wasting your time doing your own tickets. Let's take stock- you're a farmer, you have a farm/contracting business to run- is it really worth your time to swing about in a tree? Great if you enjoy it- maybe keep it as a hobby? You also have big kit, some one which by the sounds of it is already timber related. And I presume you are a reasonable businessman, even if subsidised by the state (only messing mate, there's plenty of folk on here who are farm based) The obvious route is to get insurance which covers you for anything tree related. Then find yourself a decent couple of subbby climbers to hire in as needed- think of it as hiring in a specialist machine for a specific job- why pay to have it sitting in yard (hazy anology to training yourself/doing tickets) if you don't use it much? IMHO you'd do better to be the man on the ground, putting the job together, using your contacts, premises and big kit to do it efficiently, and get someone skilled do the donkey work up a tree.

Slabwood is a piece of piss to cut, all you need is a decent chop saw. Not much in the way of justifying kit required. Depending upon distance I would look to either take a lorry at a time, or if local leave your trailer there for him to load as he goes then pick it up, process it and return it (or ideally leave another trailer there when you collect). The less times either of you you have to touch the wood, the better value it is for both parties.

I just bought the telescopic shaft section from a pole saw for £230, all bases covered with only one engine! Which can be sold after warranty finishes and replaced at minimal cost/loss. Won't suit everyone but for the extremely varied yet not always regular work I use mine for it's ideal.

Yes, but I thought it was last nights rogan josh making an appearance! We got a little but not as bad as you by the sounds of it, no trees down here in Cocking/Bepton. Sat in the tractor cab for about twenty minutes yesterday PM though as I'd have drowned if I opened the door, bloody hell didn't it rain?

Stubby, we're miles away and we've the South Downs between us and Hayling!