Matthew Storrs

My experience of WBP is that it warps and delaminates unless the edges are sealed oreven better capped. You can get aluminium U capping strips that fit snugly around the edge and keep the laminates together and the water out. i did a chip box like this once and it outlasted the cabstar!

That’s a thing of beauty, congratulations and enjoy!!! Is the Engcon quite heavy- it looks quite a lump on the end?

Where abouts are you in the country? iv got mine from CBL and found them very good to deal with in the past- another reason why I went for Tak as our local Kubota dealer doesn’t have a great name. The other machine I was very keen on was the Yanmar sv18. Lovely machine but because it was nearly 2 ton I felt it was gettin too close to the 2.8tonner I already have. I think my top 3 sub 2 tonners would be Takeuchi, Yanmar and Volvo- Fraid the Kubota doesn’t get a look in at this size for me but people become loyal to brands so everyone will say something different!

I agree. Sometime I explain but almost feel generally they either don’t have a clue about the reality of the job, or that as you say you feel like your over emphasising everything to justify the higher price. Largely it depends how much I like the customer and the job!

Forgot reliability. I believe they are both typical Japanese reliability. Iv had 3 Taks and barely put a spanner to them except hoses,tracks and usual servicing

Ok- I feel I’m fairly well qualified to answer this question. iv just ordered a new Takeuchi TB216 with a cab. i went to look at a Kubota kx018 as a comparison. It doesn’t touch the Takeuchi in my opinion. I really wanted to buy the Kubota because I have had Taks for 8 years and felt like a change. But I was disappointed, the Kubota which had 600hrs on it felt jumpy to operate, the bucket won’t contact the blade unless you offset the boom (which is a faff in the flow of things). The cab was nice, probably the best thing about it. The Tak has a much bigger blade and stronger design. Also the blade will go down much further than the Kubota which means you can level yourself on very steep ground. Kubota was £800 more than the tak and I felt it didn’t have anywhere near the build quality- felt plasticky. Resale wise- I doubt there is much in it- they are the two top brands in this size category so you won’t loose out with either. Don’t get me wrong, Kubota make some top machines but between these two models i’l take Tak any day. the older Taks had a bit of a bad (or good) name for being incredibly basic and very much the self hire choice, but they have completely revamped their lastest machines and their cabs are nice places to be now. hope that helps.

Hmmm, I have no button like that on my Dorado. Could be the 4wd with just a different pic then mine. Some Dorados are equipped with front PTO- it’s not the button for this is it- even if it’s not actually fitted...

Well I’ll keep you updated with my experiences of the Makita. End of the day I wanted a cordless SDS drill so bought that and the Makita as a bare chainsaw (no batteries) cost only £140 odd. I ended up buying 4x 5ah batteries so should give me enough battery power for most small jobs. much as I like the Stihl and Husky, they are much more expensive, perhaps for good reason, if I like the Makita enough I might look at a S or H to replace my 550xp. i hate fumes and noise, so hoping I’m entering a new era of saw use!

Thanks and that’s great to hear. I have bought a Makita simply so I can share batteries with drills etc and it’s only going to be for landscaping type chainsaw works, this is my first venture into the world of electric chainsaws and I can quite see if I like them I will try and replace my petrol saw too- sounds like Stihl are being very innovative with the battery backpacks etc so will certainly keep an eye on your product range.

Yes I agree- I think in practise I can’t be doing with the faffing around off the coffee machine much as I like the idea! Shame they don’t do a sandwich toaster- wouldn’t say no to one of them at work. would you say the radio is pretty resistant to water- not pouring rain but could I use it in the mizzle?

For the same money as the Husky 536Li I can buy a Makita with 4x 5ah batteries and charger,a decent bare Cordless SDS and still have money left over for either a site radio or the Makita LXT coffee maker- well, work shouldn’t mean no luxuries!

Yeah, I must admit I’m almost completely lost now- Iv spent most of the day trying to work out how the voltage rating effect the power of the saw. Some saws claim 80v, yet have a tiny 2ah battery, surely it’d be flat within minutes? From my research so far I think Makita is the best value for money with the added bonus that loads of other tools can run off the same batteries. Top of the range Husky 526Li with a 36v 9.4ah battery would probably be my first choice if I was intending to replace a petrol saw with it. But I have a 550xp so would always use that if I had a lot to do. The Makita will be ideal for fencing and clearing the odd tree I reckon.

254xp was my first saw- still got it , and so has it.

Thanks, but definitely needs to be a chainsaw- inevitably il end up using it for cutting big stuff too

Well, this is the problem- all my other cordless tools are Hitachi, however I am in the market for a site radio, cordless SDS de

A review on the Makita, a bloke said he got through 5x 5ah batteries doing an afternoons work. 1 battery lasted 30x cuts. Hmm

Well someone had better say something sensible soon cos Iv got nearly £700 worth of Makita cordless tools in my shopping basket so far and having had a few might click buy now, figure I must as well make the most of the batteries and get a load of other tools at the same time!

Yep- just looking at the Makita. I like the fact that I can share batteries with other tools.

As the title- I fancy a cordless saw. Main uses will be on and off type work- fencing- hedgelaying- general farting about. i have pro saws for proper work so just want something durable and reasonably capable of the above work, preferably with good battery life. not necessarily fussed about traditional chainsaw brands as long as they work well. Any suggestions? Thanks

Kill him with kindness! ‘Thank you so much for letting the council have a look at my shed to make sure it’s all above board- you’ll be pleased to here that it is but nevertheless I don’t know how I would have done it without you, i’ll be sure to return the ‘favour’ someday’ or something along those lines

Nice one- you and Felix should hook up!

I know there are a variety of trades on this forum with most of us something to do with trees/landscaping/forestry and firewood but does anyone run another buisness alongside which is very different hairdressing/welding/investment banking/cleaning/carpet laying/ who knows!!? what with the climate to contend with and other seasonal aspects like bird nesting I wonder sometimes how easy it would be to have 2 businesses on the go, even if both are pretty modest in size.

Anyone use a polytunnel? I’m thinking of getting a fairly modest size- more or less gave up growing veg in open raised beds as the growing season is so short where I live that success was usually fairly limited! Not to mention cats and the like coming in the night and sh**ing in the newly planted carrots. Thinking a poly tunnel might be the answer...

Average rainfall? That does surprise me, Met office said the other day that Devon was the wettest county in England through March and that it was the 4 wettest March on record. Everywhere is still saturated really round here, ‘orrible! Maybe average rainfall but it certainly has felt like a long drawn out winter.

Sounds like you have some lovely kit! i sold off all my ‘nice’ guitars 10 years ago to start my buisness, leaving just my trusty Ibanez RG270 as it was worth far more to me than its monetary value. However last year I bought this little thing as I have a 3 year old now so keeping it quiet in the evenings is the order of the day! Phenomenal sounds can be got out of it. Reverb like you would believe