Matthew Storrs

Yes I imagine that whether it is a post knocker or a 4 in 1 bucket they'd be about the same in the wet. Actually I don't think they are too bad if it's just mud but essentially hard underneath the problem I think would be boggey ground like peat etc. I have a smaller tracked digger which I would use for these kinds of jobs. When I think of most of my fencing jobs there is nearly always digging or grading to be done so thought the 3cx would be a good option I think the protech P22 mounted on the front would be best as it's nice and close in and reletively lightweight (800kg).

Yes, I like the idea but in practise I don't think I could get on with that setup, I work mainly on my own so could be hard getting the post in straight, I'm not sure the vibrating ones have the same kind of power and traditional falling weight types. If I mounted one on the front it would have all the controls on The knocker itself so I can get every post nice and straight with adjustments etc.

Yes I remember seeing pictures of it. Do you pull it behind the tractor on a trailer? This is the main concern at the moment is travelling with it on the front on the road not so much because of the weight but more the visibility and it would stick out the front som way- that said I'd be happy to trade the knocker in for a side mounted variety if I thought the setup would work.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, what I'd like to do is remove the 4in1 bucket (which I think weighs little less than the postknocker I plan to mount) and in its place put my wrag swing round model on instead. Problems I think I may encounter is unstabilty and when travelling on the road the mast may block a field of vision to an extent. But on the face of it id have thought it could be a good setup as the back actor can still be used whilst on site and I can position as a counterweight if on steeper ground. Downside I guess is not sure if it'd be much good if it the ground got soft..... Thoughts would be appreciated

How many people now have that scene from Wayne's world in their head!

But if my arm must be twisted- il have a Jaffa cake please

But mincpies. Sorry to say but iv yet to have a homemade one which I prefer over shopbrought

YEs, that one certainly looks more controlled. I think it depends what sort of work you are doing, your link would definitely be better at scrub clearance and thinning etc but the one I linked to would have the edge for more arborial/sectioning trees etc with the 360 rotation and a more nimble machine in amongst canopies etc.... Iv yet to get a price

Watch this. I'm well impressed what a small machine is capable of- on the right job and a good operator id say they are well worth having. Im looking at one for my 3 tonner for all the scrub/blackthorn clearance jobs

I saw 2 Takeuchi tb125s on Mascus the other day both with excess of 8500 hours and apparently still in good working order. My own Takeuchi tb125 has 4500 hours, it smokes a little more on start up than a new one and there is a bit of play in the kingpost but It honestly dosen't feel much rougher to operate than a brand spanking new one and it has barely (needed a new thermostat at 3200 hrs) had a spanner to it in those hours, hoses and new tracks aside. It is worth noting that a national plant hire firm had it for the 1st 3000 hours so its not had an easy life with them or me. The key is regular servicing of ALL fluids and filters and a heavy hand with the grease gun. Just judge each individual machine when you look at it rather than concentrating too much on hours. check track motors are both tracking straight, wear/roughness in the slew bearing, pins/bushes, these are the components that can be abused easily whereas the engines on minis generally purr along powering a pump and isn't worked overly hard. IMO- based on operating cost per hour- it is probably cheaper to buy new. They hold there value so well that if you keep it for 3-4000 hours and sell it on it is likely that it wont cost you much if any in repairs/downtime and you will get a healthy return to sell it on at this stage and let someone else have the problems that may start to appear.

Agreed, on the face of it it does sound a lot, unless there was something like having to break out old concrete/negotiation utilities etc, there would be quite a big price increase if it was 8ft high as they'd need at least 10 foot posts and plenty of concrete to stop it blowing over with that kind of height, check the specs and get another quote I'd say.

Which model digger is it, as many weigh more their paper specs suggest, a quick hitch and 4ft grading bucket is 100kg etc. Tri axle would be nice but not sure there is anything that will take bigger than 2.5t legally. If you want maximum payload than Bateson trailers make a stripped down plant trailer which has a 2900kg payload.

I thought the kx61-3 was 2600kg operating weight? That's was the specs say- I'm quite interested in this digger as it's lighter than my Tak tb125 which is borderline legal on my LM106. The Ifor LM106 I believe is the highest payload trailer that I for make- it weighs 620kg when flatbed mode with no sides,ramps or spare wheel. I use it to transport my 2.8t digger all the buckets and any thing else go in the back of the Landy and it sits nicely on the trailer, being short its pretty easy to get the load distribution right and iv never had snaking with it. If you have a lm106 with caged sides and ladder rack there are very few times I have ever needed anything bigger (apart from long timbers or pipes etc). I know if I had anything longer it would be a PITA to get into fields etc off tight Devon lanes and the like.

Not necessarily a bad thing- especially on tippers, what's an extra 100-200kg if it has the build quality to back it up. The Nugent trailers I have seen at shows look really good- this would be my brand of choice if buying now - and that's coming from an owner of several ifor William's!

On the face of it, charging by the hour seems to be fairest as everyone knows where they stand- for labour only this may particularly be the case and i think on long term jobs it can also be a good way. Where I have an issue with it is for jobs under a day, I know what I need to make a day to cover my costs and earn a living, if I go out to do a job by the hour with my digger, if I nail the job by 3pm the only person who is happy is the customer- for me there is no more time in the day to get to another job taking into consideration travel and loading up to eat- therefore I have not made enough in the day to cover costs. Also I spend half an hour in the yard before and after a job greasing up and loading the machine etc, I'm happy to do this 'for free' if I know I will be getting a days work but not to go and do some piddly little job for 2 hours somewhere unless it's conveniently en route to another job.

I think it depends on how you charge in the first place, if you have made a point of charging x per hour then charging x whilst your sitting around having lunch may not sit well with customers. This is another reason why I prefer price per job- so there's no petty quibbling. At the worst if I am doing a days digger work it's X per day and that includes breaks- if the job takes hOur longer than the 'day' then I don't chArge more than my day rate and vis Verza. Personally I can't stand hour rates- it can get very petty and someone usually ends up feeling hard done by. I have 3 rates, 1- a small 1 hour type job that gets charged to include travelling, 2- a half day- which allows me to do another half day elsewhere, or 3 a full day- charged regardless of what time in the afternoon I'm finished be it 3 or 6pm.

Agreed, iv just spent some time reading about the COs time at Dartmoor prison (not that they were actually prisoners). Sounds pretty grim with several of them dying from Pneumonia, no doubt from their excursions in the quarries Or wall building on the moor in grim winter weather etc. They had some skills I'll give them that, some of the still standing walls they did are to an incredibly high standard. Slightly disconcerting that I'm finding bits of bone (not to mention small glass bottles in amongst the wall, hopefully just sheep bones!

Thanks, it really isn't the sort of walling you want to look too closely at, it's a job just to get digger in position without sinking a foot or 3. It's on Newtake land just outside prince town. About 100 meters left to do

Few more

Oh, did attach more pics, not sure what happened there

Interesting (and awkward) walling job I'm on at the moment. Was built originally by conscies during 1st WW whilst they were staying at HMP Dartmoor. Many of the stones are between 500kg and 1 ton and I'm struggling a bit with my digger so God knows how they did it back then! Probably not the prettiest walling iv done- its mostly Peat bog and sitting water so not the easiest conditions to work in

Got to be a pretty small market really, might be fine as a sideline or even bit of a hobby to begin with, I just don't think there is either enough timber in the right situations to be viable against more commercial sawmills(ie non mobile) Beau I can think of a few Mobile saw millers on Dartmoor alone and I don't think anyone of them exactly consider it their main income.... Negetivity or realism- you choose!

It could be a good way of doing it, but even in the same weight class they can have different size pins and hydraulic couplings etc which could be annoying if you only are hiring for a day at a time. Most contractors have a thumb or grab with there machine now- not as fun but it may be easier to get an owner op in for the day...

Different ways of looking at it I suppose. I don't charge for big kit unless it's being used and when I do I just add it to my base rate. That way it makes me more competetive on smaller jobs and if I haven't got enough days using the machine to pay for it then I probably shouldn't have it in the first place. All running costs are part of my base rate though.