georgejones

As an old geyser and drawing my pension, I was delighted and flattered to note that I am referred to as a "Junior" member! I must draw this to my wife's attention. Taking it easy? You must be joking. I still work at least 10 hours a day, often more. You can imagine it annoys me to see lazy people who don't work at all. I suppose I'm getting cynical but, there you go, I'm entitled to be. George

My visor allows small stuff through. My Stihl helmet is fitted with a steel mesh visor that has 130 rectangular holes per square inch. Unfortunately this helmet does not give me enough protection. Occasionally (and once is one time too many!) a very small particle will get in (either through the mesh or around the sides or top - I can't tell which) and the first I know about it is when something is in my eye. Not good. I think it happens when I raise the saw above shoulder height. I know, one isn't supposed to do that, but I don't suppose I'm alone in that. Clearing woodland and pruning trees doesn't help. I would like to purchase a proper arborist helmet as this might offer better protection. However, I have been unable to find any information about the mesh size of visors in arborist helmets. The various suppliers seem to keep this secret. Can anyone please recommend a good arborist helmet with chin straps, close fitting visor and a mesh which is less than 130 per square inch? Hope somebody can help, Thanks, George ps. I'm very pleased with my Forest Master 17 ton log splitter, so thanks everyone for your advice. It goes through knotty stuff really well, so it just suits me. If anyone else wants to know about the cycle time, as I did, it's worth noting that the manufacturer's figure is based on the ram going full cycle, from one end to the other, and back again. It isn't necessary to use the machine like that because, due to the configuration of the controls, you can easily shorten the cycle by stopping the ram in any position. The advertisers have forgotten to mention that! This means that you can reduce the cycle to as little as 5 secs when handling shorter stuff. Given that knowledge, I would have purchased the 22 ton model which is twice the weight but apparently slower. The newer 20 ton model works in both directions and the manufacturers claim a 13 sec cycle, which seems a good idea, because it is the ram returning which wastes most time. But you would have logs falling off at both ends which could be a bit of a mess. Another way to speed things up is to use a 4-way splitter axe head. I made one to suit the machine and it works just fine. If anyone wants to try my machine, just get in touch. George

Thank you, Chris. Sorry for delay, I was in the woods. George

You have confirmed what I thought, which is a pity. Some of the videos posted by "our cousins over the pond" are entertaining but outrageous!

Thank you, Chris. That is very informative! I think I understand now. I haven't been able to find a machine that has a cycle of less than 16 secs (presumably that's sharedbetween the forward and reverse movement?). What do you think about 16 secs? The Timberwolf (USA) video seems faster than that, but I can't buy one in the UK. George

Thank you for your prompt response, Chris. Whoops! That's a bit like the UK firm Timberwolf being nothing to do with the USA firm of the same name selling excellent logsplitters. Perhaps you could take a look at the product on the website? It states a cycle time of 16 secs. I queried this with the supplier (why is the 17T version faster than the 22T one) who told me that the 17T machine has bigger hydraulic pipes. The link is: Forest Master High Quality low Cost, Trailer Mounted Petrol Log Splitters Hoping you can shed some light on this, Sincerely George

I would really like to get hold of a Timberwolf log splitter, but it seems that they are not available here in the UK. The Tiomberwolf seems to beconsiderably more efficient than anything else - and USA prices are much, much lower than those in Europe! Does anyone have a suggestion, please? I have contacted the suppliers in the USA about their exporting one to the UK, but they can't do this. Hope someone has the answer. George Jones

Can anyone post a review of the Forest Master 17 ton log splitter please? The website states max diam of log 10 inches; this doesn't seem much for a 17 ton machine? Is the ram sturdy enough for the job? Does anyone out there have one, please? I would go for the 22 ton version which is twice the weight of the 17 ton one, and therefore stronger (?), but the cycle time is much longer - 28 secs is a long cycle. I suppose the machines are less expensive than others because they are imported from Slovenia or somewhere like that - and you have to assemble them yourself ? Hope you can advise me, George Jones