spudulike

Trouble is that your outlook changes as you get older and holidays abroad, trips to the pub and getting pissed in the garden during the summer starts to look more appealing as the years go by!

MMMM, yes Stuart, not sure what your version of ""CLEAN" is but your saw certainly wasn't as was the 353XP in the picture....you know who you are. I have a 395XP to do now...brand new and a spanking 550XP which is 4 years old but looks new......doing these gives me time to spend on the important bit rather than TWO hours cleaning your 441 - still getting bits of chip out of my hair

No you don't, if you put a grand in to an Equity ISA and after 30 years it is worth £12K, you take out £12k and don't pay a penny in capital gains tax. You don't get tax relief on your pay as with a pension but an ISA is a tax free saving!!! Just don't confuse equity with a cash ISA.

Equity ISAs are pretty simple, you are basically buying shares in a fund that normally consists of lots of shares in a number of companies. You can invest lump sums or make regular savings and there are minimum and maximum amounts you can invest in during a given year. You take your hard earned and invest it, the fund you have invested in should grow over the many years you save for and you can draw your money out and pay no tax on any gains you have made. They tend to be a bit more "interesting" than the more safe pension funds. Personally I would avoid the banks etc and just look at different funds from the big investment companies, Schroeder, Bailey Gifford, Jupiter, JP Morgan etc. They are a bit like a fancy bank account with the main difference being that your fund can plummet if the markets are volatile but they can also make 30% in a good year but nothing is guaranteed and much depends on your investment strategy. Take more risk when young and less when older is the norm! You can instruct your investor to switch funds or pull out funds at any time. Lots online about them and they are a sound long term investment. Do Not Leave it in a Savings Account!!!!!!

Been modding equipment most of my life but chainsaws for around 7 years. Got in to this line by accident after a long time in manufacturing and then a stint in sales. I look at things and think...I wonder what would happen if.........just my way and enjoy what I do despite some of the challenging things that roll in the shop!

The £523K would give an annual pension of circa £26k but most would draw down a lump sum at 55. you then have a good old chunk of money to keep you going until you get your government pension kicks in. Sounds like you have got the right attitude to making the most of early retirement.

Are you trying to date me ................54 so a little bit down the road of life from you. Getting financially stable gives you options later in life - you can make your own mind up whether you work hard, take it easy or just lie back and catch up on your sleep. I think you will be bored if you knock it on the head too early, I would but it is having the option that you can if you like that is important and the lack of worry.

So - you have two opinions, one where you save, build up some wealth over a long period, perhaps retire at 55-60 years and enjoy a bit or R&R. The other where you don't give a damn and just keep working till you drop - it never is that clear cut but these are the two options or somewhere in between. Starting early is the best option, think of the old acorns to oaks adage - the longer the tree grows, the more logs you get! Pensions are pensions and bound by pension legislation but there are other tax free savings out there that can give good returns such as equity ISAs, sure, you pay tax on your earnings but unlike pensions, when you take your savings out, you pay no tax and they are pretty flexible. If equity gives you the wobbles then the housing market may beckon. It all depends on where you want to be once you hit 50-60.....where do you want to be?

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Back on pensions - you should start saving as early as possible, if you leave it to later in life, you have to put away much larger amounts the later you leave it. Don't think of a pension kicking in at 65-67 years, savings/pensions give you the benefit of retiring early and bridging the gap between retiring and getting your own pension supported by the government one later in life. What happens if you don't have a pension - you end up with the bare minimum when you eventually reach an age where you shouldn't be worrying about money.

Time will tell, not sure it will last like a 460/660 etc but lets see!

There is a limit to what tax can be paid by guys washing cars for peanuts and paying a proportion of their wages back to the business owner for crappy accommodation!!! What about the costs on the economy like translators in schools, police and hospitals etc

Spirit and compressor - works for me but find it annoying that owners don't seem able to pop covers off every 6 months and clean their saws!

Another lovely clean machine.....well it is now

The email etc don't show up if viewing on a phone but we have made contact and time will tell!

If it makes a fragile machine, it isn't good. If the weight saving causes no detriment to the lifespan of the saw, it can only be good. The nylon flywheel was a part response to the 066 spinning the ends off their cranks, the beefier crank end was the other improvement.

It must be more than the weight of a carb, they don't weigh that much. Was the flywheel a nylon one like the MS660? Always looked at that as being a decent idea, less inertia, less weight and quicker spool up time! Reckon Stihl have thrown a lot at weight saving throughout the saw!

It still amazes me that some spend weeks sodding around with stuff they don't know about or spend ££££ on parts they don't need and then eventually send it to me and learn the truth. Go do what you are good at and let me do what I am good at!

That could knock the flywheel off balance resulting in worn crank bearings but guess 4 cube a year....it will last forever!

Good, I don't mind a bit of chip and oil if it comes off with a brush and white spirit but this baked on veggie oil is bloody awful!

Shyte in the gauze strainer, split inlet manifold, split fuel line, perforated pump gasket, someone has rebuilt it badly or give it to someone who knows what they are doing. You may have nipped the piston up if you have been running it lean....just saying! Some of the above suggestions are a bit suspect IMO!

I am talking about any oil that has the ability to dry in air forming a coating that no solvent or water based cleaner appears to dissolve - I have had to grind the stuff out with a 4mm drill on some MS200 cooling fins!!!! I may just start sending the manky ones back and put "not known at this address" on the box

Industry rule of thumb is £5K income per year from every £100K in your pension. Best start these things at 20 years if possible as it is a long game drip feed affair!

Had a strange one today, a chewed up inlet port on one side and a mullered piston. Thought about it and bingo.....redneck piston stop, chewed up the fragile part of the inlet port which is also the important timed side and this then cocked up a brand new OEM £50 piston. Now got an unhappy customer who did a load of work on the saw and then sent it in for porting - new top end needed on this one!

Well if you have used the stuff in your saw, you now reap what you sow. I get bloody sick and tired of getting saws in run on bio oil, veg oil or turpentine oil and having to make them look nice for their return after service. This oil takes paint off older saws and sticks like shyte to a blanket! It also hits their serviceability and resale value.......I hate the stuff - fill your boots and keep your mouth closed when using the compressor