Matthew Storrs

Few more, the last 2 were my old digger tb016 doing some riverbank revetment works last year using materials (Alder) cut from the bank- drove in some uprights and tucked some trunks behind and then backfield behind using weave willow and tons of silt which we dug out from deposits the river had left after years of flooding.

2nd picture, the backround trees were the river bank trees we felled, opened the river right up and hopefully should be more inviting for salmon spawning now.

Nice job we've been on recently About 800 meters of river bank scrub/trees to clear leaving any large specimens, big Oaks etc, digger was ideal really as we could fell any leaning trees straight into the river and just pull them up over the bank into the field. Tak lifted some fair chunks of timber.

That'd do nicely:thumbup1:

Never been, but Australia sounds like a good candidate for this title, beaches, weather, loads of space, intriguing flora and fauna, not too many people and they still drive on the right side of the road and appreciate a good cup of tea.

Whats the maximum size digger you can get on a 7.5tonner legally- am I right in thinking much bigger than 3 ton( with buckets etc) and you'll be over your payload?

If your looking to lift big lumps of wood, id avoid zero swing, friend does a lot of stonewalling (big lumps of granite on Dartmoor) he reckons his zero swing 5 tonner (hitachi) isn't much better than his 3 tonne standard swing Kubota, zeros just don,t have the weight out far enough behind them.

keep tipping them into a big pile at the yard- push them up with a tractor until I have no space left then set fire to it on a nice dry day.

To be fair, I wouldn't turn my nose up at any of the mainstream mini diggers if they turn up at the right price- base it on the general wear and tear and condition of the machine rather than concentrating on which brand seems to get the best reputation. There is no doubt that takeuchi and Kubota will hold their value the best. The main reason I like Taks is that all the body panels are metal, doing tight woodland/scrub work in a small digger invariably the panels get knocked around a bit so metal ones don,t crack- but they do rust... Also find the hydraulics to be very smooth too operate- and of the 2 Taks iv had they have cost me bugger all in repairs, very tough it would seem. look at the tracks/sprockets, wear in slew ring and bushes, these will all be good indicators of how well the machine has been looked after. Engines don,t tend to be stressed too much in a mini digger so normal checks aside I wouldn,t be too worried about that, if the rest of the machine has been looked after chances are engine will have been too. I'd like to try a Hanix or Whacker Neuson- both these machines seem to be getting a good reputation, I was looking at a 2t Neuson the other day, seemed well built and they seemed to have a good counterweight design and good rear overhang, which is good really unless your working in very tight situations.

Big Takeuchi fan myself, im on my second now. Bad bits about them are poor paintwork, possibly have a bit of a reputation for wearing quickly on the bushes, I personally put this reputation down to them being a very common hire machine and generally getting abused/lack of grease, I have always over greased mine and never find wear to be a problem at all. both tb016 and 125 are cracking machines, but im disappointed that the new 228 (replacement for the tb125) is now too heavy to tow legally so when it comes to replacement I think the kubotas kx61-3 &kx71-3 will be an option.

Cos after 6 months iv done about 5k miles so reckon its about time for a change for a 300tdi doing a lot of heavy towing? 1 million miles- wow that must be a record for a small engine.

Can,t see any issue with a 1.5 tonner. you could put one on a tipping trailer with a load of attachments and still be well under 3500kg. 2 ton diggers plus start to get a bit more awkward depending on towing vehicle.

personally I would say rotator grab is a waste of time on a 1.5 digger- particularly just for arb work. just get a fixed 3/2 tine grab, and with a bit of practise you'll get any log where you want it. I stack up tons of timber with mine. much cheaper than a rotating grab and more versatile too, you can grub out roots and find all sorts of uses for it- not to mention avoiding possible complications regarding hydraulic plumbing for the rotating bit. with regards towing, I tow a 2.8 ton digger round on an ifor flatbed with 500kg of attachments in the pickup bed of a defender 110. im not going to lie and say it does it with ease, but its been coping fine for a year now and it is all legal too.

Tempting stuff if its that good- but it'd cost £150 per oil change every six months? compared to the standard havoline stuff I use which costs about £40 per change. If it really is that good I guess the extra £100 would work out in favour.

iv climbed a few tree forestry plantation trees 100ft plus spruces and firs, just for the buzz, I tend to wonder into the plantation away from footpaths and away from any bother, yet to have any bother but that's probably because I haven't been caught yet!

are you allowed to run a tractor on red if you are undertaking agricultural fencing for famers? what happens if you then do a fencing job for someone who isn't a farmer?

Christ- glad I don't have kids, sounds awful:laugh1:

id get the 395, I have one and only very occasionaly wish I had a 3120, 395 gets used all the time whereas I can just see a 3120 sitting in the shed waiting for its 'time'.

Pretty much sums up my thoughts today after trying out several different Teles in 2 different shops. The quality (very good quality IMO) and playability of the American standard Tele was always consistant. The Mexican made ones I tried varied considerably- 1 was excellent and I thought it rivalled the £1500 American 52 reissue in nearly all aspects. tried exactly the same Mexican in another shop- yuk yuk yuk. poor paint finish where neck joins body, loose volume knob and played horribly (probably needs a decent setup for this bit to be fair). I think I will shell out and go for the American standard tele- if I can find the right colour/maple neck somewhere! plus you get a nice hardcase with it.

Tis only a 120kg hammer- it could handle up to a 200kg weight I think, but I like the lightweight one for working on steep ground and boggy stuff. It can struggle a bit on strainers tho if the ground is hard going hence the need for my auger/combination arrangement. The amount of jobs iv done where I would never have got the tractor there- reaching over walls/ditches on top of banks etc, woodland.

Nice, I do like fenders with maple necks, are they Americans or Mexican made? If Mexican- how do you rate the build quality/tone etc? Also after a nice smallish valve amp- mainly country and blues- any suggestions? I think the VOX AC15 might be on my list to try.

Im currently trying to think up a system where I can have the auger on my digger at the same time as my postknocker, the auger will fold out of the way under the arm when not in use and I plan to have a diverter valve on the hoses so I can just flick a tap to use either the auger or post knocker. I think it should all work well if I can get it right. That way I can predrill holes prior to knocking in strainers etc on hard ground- should help them go in nice and straight...

Awesome- proper 80s photo:thumbup1:

True, but I reckon if you in rough ground and you need to get gate posts all nice and plumb etc you're better off spending the extra time with the auger.

Im going guitar shopping tomorrow, for a Tele, iv read excellent reviews for the Fender(Mexican made) Baja classic telecaster, but used own a beautiful (American made) Tele standard, now im buying again im wondering what difference the American Teles have over the better quality Mexicans like the Baja? They are both made by Mexicans after all!!