TurtleWoods72

I am so baffled now as to what I want or even need that I might just as we'll stick a pin in the garden machinery catalogue with my eyes closed lol! I kind of avoided the MS171/181 when looking for my first saw because everyone said they were pants, so was looking at an MS231 at the time, when the. Makita was offered by the same dealer for about £100 less, and with more power. I think I paid something like £280 for it brand new from a Makita dealer when the list price was over £600 inc vat. In light of this, which offers best value/performance/build quality, A) MS171 B) MS181 C) MS150 rear handle D) Dolmar CS32 Is the 150 overpriced at £200 more than the Dolmar and almost that over the 171/181?

I saw this in Bike magazine the other day.. I nearly bought a Nuda 900R last year, but went for a sensible Honda in the end. I would love these new Husqvarna's they're proposing, or the Ducati Scrambler. Yum!

I think once I'd come to my senses and realised it don't NEED a big pro saw like the 550XP / 365 I was admiring, the brief swung to a small, light 'flickable' to use motorcycle parlez, saw. The sort of little fella you could leave in the boot of the car for some opportunistic wood that I tend to get offered. I know it's probably a waste of money in all honesty. But for less than £150 for the little Dolmar it's a lot easier oil to swallow than £350 for the stihl MS150 or the £525 365. Wouldn't my 46cc Makita weighing 5 kg be a little heavy for delicate carving work?

I'll have a quick look at those. Can you recommend a stockist? Also, what do they weigh? Cheers!

Last time I just wedged it up against something solid (using other pallets set further to the side) and gingerly cut with the felling spikes up right to the wood. All happens a bit fast for my liking.

As long as you've got a grate for the ash to fall through I don't see why not.

Thus far I've tried several methods. I bought a top of the range Makita AVT Recip saw with the intention of cutting the supporting nails with a metal blade and then sawing up the planks with either it, or my chainsaw. The chainsaw felt a little bit overkill on the pallets and I worried about dulling the chain or getting a kick back as it seemed to skip from rung to rung with alarming ferocity. I think a very small light chainsaw where a lot of operator control is possibly would work well. The recip is very safe but the long bendy saw blades seem to catch on things and threaten to snap off or bend quite readily. It's a heavy bugger to so a real workout, plus the way the handles are laid out means you feel all contorted. I've not used a circular saw on them so can't comment, but theoretically should be good. I used to use an electric chainsaw years many years ago which felt a lot safer than the petrol saw for some odd reason. Sometimes wish I hadn't given it away.

Cider doesn't count mate!

One final thought. Avoid the cheapo 'centrifugal' juicers Argos and Currys sell. They don't yield much juice so you're throwing away wet pulp with all the goodness in every time you use it. Also they heat the juice up causing it to oxidise and degrade. Cold press all the way, with a slow juicer like the Huroms or a twin gear Angel. Centrifugally pressed (spun) juice is ruined within an hour or so of being made, whereas cold pressed juice can be stored for up to 24 hours in the fridge and still retain most of it's nutrient content. By the way, I'm not some juice nut or personal trainer type, I just did a LOT of research after my initial bad purchase of the Wildcat.

It's a Nutri Ninja, I too had one for Xmas for the days I can't be raffled with the juicer (feeding the produce in, cleaning up afterwards can be quite daunting if you're poor on time or tired). You won't be able to do the same things with the ninja as yes, it's effectively a blender, but it does make super smooth smoothies which I favour for soft fruits, blueberries and the like. For the health benefits Joe Cross achieved in Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, you need to be juicing cruciferous vegetables such as kale, spinach, celery, beets etc. for this you can't beat a twin gear juicer like my Angel 5500. I'm beginning to sound like these people who tell you you're wasting your time with a woodburner unless it's a Woodwarm or Clearview. Or the folk who say a chainsaw isn't any good unless it's a pro model Husky or Stihl. You know what, in a way we are probably all right. Do it properly or not at all!

I've got an Angel 5500 twin gear juicer. Works like a rotary screw compressor and gets VERY high juice yields. Videos on YouTube show it outperforming all comers and you can even take the pulp from my last juicer (Wildcat) which was poop and getting more juice out of the supposedly dry pulp! It cost me £799 which seems like a lot, but it's food grade stainless, built like a tank will will outlive me without doubt. I like it because (unlike the wildcat) it handles anything I put in it. Beware, these types of juicers are mainly for hard vegetables like carrot, beetroot, celery etc as well as being exemplary for soft greens like kale and spinach. They are not suited to oranges or large quantities of soft fruit as the juice backs up the fill chute. There is a soft fruit screen available but I just use a Nutri Ninja for smoothies with fruit, as the fibre is the best bit! For greens, hard veg (serious healthy juices) the angel is the finest money can buy, and is much quicker and easier than the ridiculous Norwalk press which is an overpriced car jack! People at work mock me for spending nearly a grand on a juicer, but this thing won't end up in the cupboard under the sink, or in the local tip within 12 months. Juice on, dudes!

You must have a bull-terrier accent then, no?

Thanks RichieR I've had some sage words of advice to curb my enthusiasm and the consensus seems to be that I don't need a 'large pro saw' for the menial tasks I'll be performing. Doesn't stop a person like me from wanting one, especially whole the prices are so low currently, however I've put the thinking cap on for a few more days before pulling the trigger on anything. I'm now leaning towards my 'plan B' which was the opposite, a smaller lighter saw (than my 46cc Makita) which would be more I tune with the lighter pallet processing and garden trimming jobs. Top candidate for £350 is the Stihl MS150 rear handle, which I understand would allow me to explore the dark art of carving also?!

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Great video. Made my knees knock just watching! I feel there's no excuse not to get up a ladder and fix my leaking gutters now... Other than it being cold, New Year's Day, I'm a bit tired etc, etc lol. Looks flipping dangerous even being at that height let alone using a chainsaw, and a top handled on at that. I think I'd either be squashed flat from a fall or carve myself to pieces like a Christmas Turkey within a week! Well done.

Happy new year to all. Peace.

I'm South Birmingham area, but I don't want to trouble anyone because of another of my 'whims'

Oh no, the voice of reason has turned up and ruined the party You are of course completely right, and I should refrain. Now I feel guilty as well

Ok, so this is well within budget at £350 with a 10" bar, could be good for the pallet duties (and my back) and will allow me to explore carving if the need arose... I'm just waiting for everyone to tell me they're a waste of money/rubbish now

I think you're probably right, the V8 Mustang rather than the Ferrari in my incapable hands might be a lot safer!

I'm worried I'm just going to end up buying another of what I already have lol. I think I got the model wrong on my Makita too, I believe it's a DCS4630-45 with a 46cc engine, not the 43cc one I described earlier. Am I going to feel I've bought something too similar to have any purpose for if I go 50cc? My original idea was to either go quite a bit bigger or quite a bit smaller (and maybe try some carving) for the nadgery jobs my recip gets used for clearing overgrown hedging etc.

Wish I could justify the purchase as a 'business decision' like you guys. Since others are also considering taking advantage of these 'offers' can anyone confirm whether they end today, as R&T's website state they are closed until 5th Jan and there is no mention of a limited time offer on the FRJ&Son site... I'd hate to miss out if they all shot up by 10% tomorrow! but likewise would hate to rush to buy, only to find out new models are coming in the new year and prices being slashed on the old stock to make room.. Argh!

Not to sidetrack the thread, but I remember when NFU were unbeatably cheap, I even cancelled a policy mid term to switch my van over to them as it still saved me money even with the cancellation penalty! Last time I tried them for the girlfriends car it was a right pain in the jacksie. After a rather formal 'interview' in a little office (as if we were applying for a marriage certificate) we got hit with the 'you're not gonna like this..' preamble before he gave me a quote over DOUBLE the worst one we'd had!! At least with the Internet these days it's a lot easier to search, rather than the old Yellow Pages and a telephone fiasco of days gone by...

With a lifetime guarantee on the Aarrow it doesn't seem you can go wrong. Are they steel as opposed to cast iron, as I know the a burley is. Apparently they heat up a lot quicker as a result of this material being used but also cool down quicker (obviously). Don't know if this is a factor. Might be worth visiting a few stove shops to see if they've got anything 'ex display' reduced to clear. I bought my brand new Bronpi Zamora that way and saved a few hundred quid!

Ok, I'm pretty sure I'm off the 550/550XP, as I'm not a pro or a feller (I am a fella however lol). The 365 is a strong contender still, and the 241 has reared it's head...... Having owned a Matika for a good number of years I would buy another in a heartbeat, or a Dolmar if I ever see any bigger than 35cc for sale. I take it Shavey imports them from Germany and sells them on the forum? I've read that the carbs and some other parts are inferior on the Makitas to the Dolmars, so if there's no price penalty they would be the better option. I also had a look at the Makitas and when I bought mine they were a LOT cheaper than the Stihl or Husqvarna equivalents, being discounted over 50% of the RRP. These days the difference is negligible..what happened? I know the guy where I bought mine left and all the crazy discounts he'd give without haggling dried up on his departure.. I'm still open to Echo or Efco, although the Emak engines on Efco put me off as I see them in budget garden machinery like clippers and tillers as an alternative to the Honda/B&S engined versions. Any more for any more?