AHPP

Occasional user, not owner. The Forst ST6 infeed is rubbish. I'd want to know the ST8 is better before ordering. Engine better though. The old Timberwolf 190 diesel was intimidating; the new 280 petrol is considerably less so, hits the no stress easier, throws worse. Consider the petrol if you have cold enough weather to make diesel engines inconvenient and are open to supercharging it.

North Americans are used to good chippers.

The general lack of 4wd vans is maddening. They're such an obviously useful thing. I've been considering hawking myself to Volvo to design them one. Minor downside is that I'm not an automotive designer but I think I have some good ideas. Internal combustion engine drives front wheels, electric motors drive back wheels. It's a hybrid so you could tick all the bullshit eco boxes for low emission zones etc and more importantly provide real utility for when a van needs short bursts of high power and/or high traction (off road, out of a steep driveway, pulling a tree over etc). Plus you'd have on-board batteries for charging tools. And I don't know for sure but I suspect the easily variable power and regenerative braking of the rear wheel motors could be used to greatly improve towing. Unfortunately, I also suspect the automotive industry is happy to sell a tree surgeon both a van and a 4wd pickup when the tree surgeon only needs a 4wd van.

Thank you, Mick and Mike. And now for the opposing view, Sviatoslav Tulin.

How old do we think that is? 700?

I’ve never understood taking dead weight when you could take something useful. A massive picnic would be my first choice.

Three of us bounced the back end of a VW Polo round ninety degrees the other day. I did suggest picking it up with the fk off crane lorry we were moving it for but the bounce was actually quite easy. I reckon three or four could bounce the front or entirety of that little red thing no problem. Or drag like Paul said. My petrol capstan would move that with the handbrake on.

Say a cat deposits 100g in your garden, 200 days a year. That's 20kg. Far more convenient to procure 20kg of equally or more odorous shit from an animal that lives six thousand miles away and then spread it on your garden yourself. But why stop there? Spray the inside of your loft with exotic guano to deter native bats. Tether a bald eagle in your conifer hedge to ward off pigeons. Infest your wife's crotch with common fleas to displace bothersome pubic lice. Be the master of nature.

Not my bag. I’m like this normally.

On the contrary, I looked 10,000 years into the future as a minimum whereas Murray was worried about brambles for as long as it takes him to fell 4 hectares. None of it matters though. Gaia bless.

Oh don't get me wrong. It's fine and I'd use it if I had some but it's easily replaceable. There's still some about too for people who want it for niche things.

I imagine whoever experiences the profit or loss is taking it as seriously as it can be taken. As for the environmental worries, keep an eye on it for 10,000 years. See if it sorts itself out. Worry then if it hasn't.

Have you got any lorry based grapple saws in your area? That would have been an ideal job for one, snipping the limbs and tops off working up the drive and dangling a climber cleaning up stubs on the way back.

I wouldn’t call it a crisis. It’s just change. Things come and go. Man plans, god laughs. Etc. It’s pukka firewood but nothing special beyond that. Probably more like a crisis if you’ve invested money in a crop of it that you’ll not recoup.

It’ll all work but I handled some new Makita stuff a few weeks ago and it felt crap and plastic. The Dewalt drill my neighbour has is very strong and a friend has the darling little 10.8v set, which I would have in a heartbeat. I happen to like Milwaukee but out of Dewalt and Makita, Dewalt.

Aye. That if he can. Otherwise just try it. It'll either work or it won't.

Nice gaff. I’d personally just use it and be ready with a wet towel the first few times in case it’s blocked, catches fire etc.

Closer to 20” but that was very crudely measured. I’d have guessed 2’.

With the sucked in stomach look too?

Maybe it was the target for trenching shovel throwing.

I forgot to put that in the opening post. Not only are these unusually big, they’re unusually healthy. Aware those things linked.

An unusually stout birch measuring approximately four Screwfix catalogues DBH. I have seen other big ones but never bothered to take photos or mentally record the sizes. Anyone found bigger than this one?

Or whatever it is. Spotted at the end of Marlborough high street. I’d be very interested to slice though it to see how the grain runs etc. Any observations or guesses?

Hope someone has the presence of mind to turn a blower on you.