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You wouldn't normally match a compound bow with wooden arrows as the bow is as accurate as they get, while the arrows are as inconsistent as they get! However, the energy transfer is smoother on a compound and although the peak force is higher than a simple recurve it's still nothing compared with a traditional longbow. From memory, compound is usually up to about 50lb while a longbow is usually over 90lb and up to 150lb, and of course originally always wooden shafted arrows. So I can't see any fundamental problem. Alec

If it's got a pulley system then it's a compound bow. They give a very efficient power transfer and allow you to pull over the maximum draw weight before you reach full draw length. That means there's a smoother transfer of load, but you are still looking at very high forces. I'd be inclined to use a fairly 'fat' arrow, of about 5/16". What are you going to fletch them with? Traditional is obviously feathers (see book referenced above on how to do this) but plastic fletchings, nocks and bought-in points from an archery supplier would make life a lot easier. Alec

3ft is very very long. You want them the length of the person's draw (they should match the person, as should the draw length of the bow as the draw weight of the bow depends on the length). You need to allow for the nock on the back end and then have them just long enough that the back end of whatever form of point you're fitting will just not touch the bow when at full draw. You want a very clean, straight grained timber and cleave them out. Yew is good for bows, but not for arrows. Port Orford Cedar is reckoned to be the best, but Douglas Fir is good. Silver birch is traditional but i can't comment on how good it is from experience. Once they're cleft you round them up. They'll usually bend a bit but you can straighten gentle bends by heating over a small flame and working with fingers. If they go crooked, scrap them! There's a book that's worth borrowing from the library (get it on loan) called The Archer's Craft by Adrian Eliot Hodgkin which gives really good detail on this. There's also Toxophilus by Roger Ascham who was archery tutor to Elizabeth I. The latter is surprisingly practical, although limited content on making equipment, and has the added distinction of being the first book published in English. Alec

There are some decent ones in Greenwich Park, mostly up the hill from the Royal Observatory. Haven't been there for years, but this photo by Stephen Craven gives a good idea:

I've done quite a lot for my own use (probably about 300sq.ft). As has been said, a froe, beetle and cleaving brake are essential. I also use a billhook to trim up the fat bits so the whole thing will lie with a flat face outwards to make plastering easier. 'Froe to the fat' is the thing to remember, i.e. push the handle towards the fat side when it's running out. I've found it makes a big difference how freshly cut the timber is. Really fresh stuff cleaves very easily, which makes it run out more easily before you can stop it. Once it's dry it gets a lot harder (still possible) but there's a sweet spot in between where you can control it but it doesn't take too much force. You can get more extreme correction of run-outs by not just twisting the froe but also bearing down on the lower half of the section. In theory you can cleave a piece into thirds or quarters directly, but I've found it a lot easier to try to divide into equal halves. I can't get anything to cleave width-ways reliably, or into anything other than 'wedges' i.e. radially straight out from the tree. I tend to split the wedge down so it's getting a bit thin on the inner edge, then lay the piece on the ground and line the froe up along it where I want the inner edge of the real width to be, then put the front corner of the froe on the surface, about 8" up from the end and hit it with the beetle. This creates a progressive split up the piece as the froe goes in and the bottom edge tends to break out in line. Do the same again about 8" up from the end of where the split runs to and keep going to the end. This usually gets it fairly straight. Don't try to make lath too long - 3' and 4' are the standard lengths, depending on the spacing of the battens/studs/rafters. I try to make mine just under 3/8" thick and about 1.25" wide. Hope some of this is useful. Alec

Bear in mind that my newest saw is over 10yrs old, but of the ones I've got the 044 is the best all-rounder. Really good from 13" up to 20", OK up to 25" and will tolerate a 30" bar without complaining, albeit rather slowly. Alec

Pretty confident that's a mid-70s 041, as it doesn't have separate on/off and choke switches on the orange top cover as the 051/075 would, and has the old 'log end' Stihl logo, but had a riveted on ID plate, rather than the cast in one of earlier models. It's also orange rather than red on the top as an earlier one would be. 041 is only 61cc and Stihl supplied bars between 13" and 25" for it, so I wouldn't be inclined to fit your long bar to it. I would also definitely convert to 3/8" - I've never understood why the 041 (and to be honest the 051) were supplied as .404", unless it's a legacy thing due to commonly available chain sizes at the time they were introduced. Lower picture in the link below is about right: Model Profile: 041 AV Alec p.s. sounds good!

I recognise the question you're asking, but maybe an alternative perspective. You're looking for another saw in the same size bracket. Once done, that will give you three equivalent saws. Do you have anything in mind for them, or do you use saws at all? (not meant in any way negatively, just interested in whether the entertainment is in the fixing or the use, or both). If you're actually using saws, one thing to consider might be to look out for a bigger one to extend the range of what you can do. If so, I'd keep an eye out for a siezed 044 which should turn up in the right price bracket (mine was £98!). You might then need to get someone to do a pressure check on it before you start dismantling (or set yourself up with a pressure testing kit) so you know what if anything leaks, and then give it a go. It's a good, solid model, pretty handy for up to a 20" bar and the parts are readily available. Just a thought. Alec

I have done, to an extent, to see what it's like. I cleft the sweet chestnut tile battens and cladding support battens for the extension (several hundred of them), then hewed them down to a sensible section before running them through the thicknesser to dimension. I have also hewed one 6"x5"x13' beam from the round as the piece of elm wasn't straight enough to do any other way, and hewed a couple of 8' lengths of 4"x2" oak for studs, having cleft the log in half first. I wouldn't say it's been too bad, but I won't be doing it when I'm in a hurry! Alec

What kind of scientist are you? Alec

We might have the necessary camera - we've been filming laser melt pool solidification which is pretty quick. I'll ask. Alec

Thanks Nick, got it

Hi Andy, Is there a generic way to report things to Admin? I couldn't work one out when I was looking previously - so I just contacted a single Moderator which was reliant on them being online. Thanks Alec

I'm entirely with Spud on this one (who was in fact the person who put me on to the fact that you can get away with nipping up the rails - since which I've sorted out a couple of my other older bars). Alec

On the subject of bar maintenance, there's a couple of other things you can check while you're at it - again, not things to worry about, just good practice which you may already know. One is that as the bar rails gradually wear down they form a burr - you can feel it as a rough bit sticking out either side of the rail. It's easy enough to take off with an ordinary flat file. The rails don't always wear evenly so it's worth checking that the rails are the same height on each side from time to time - stick a set-square over them, but remember to take the burr off first. The other thing to check is that the chain doesn't wobble from side to side in the groove. You're fairly unlikely to get this problem if you're just cross-cutting firewood to length. If you do, to be honest on a short bar it's probably easiest to just to follow recommended practice and buy a new one. You can in practice nip up the rails a bit (Stihl don't recommend this but I have done so with no problems). You want them so that the chain just runs through with no sticking. If you make it a bit too tight you can open them up again with a flat bladed screwdriver. You then need to check very carefully that there are no cracks in the rails and check regularly for a while to ensure that none have shown up. If you see cracks the bar is scrap. Hope this helps, but again it's not things to worry about, just things to have a quick look at when the bar is off anyway. Alec

I wouldn't worry about it. Stihl bars are decent enough quality and will cut a lot of wood before they wear out, particularly if you keep the chain tension right. To get the most out of it, turn the bar over so it runs equal amounts of time each way up, so it wears the top and bottom rails equally. Do you have one of the Stihl type depth gauges for setting the rakers? If so, the end prong-shaped bit is designed to run down the rails and scrape the gunk out, which also helps. It is graduated, so you run it along the rail and find the shallowest part. Once this is shallower than the recommended depth you need a new bar, but it won't go suddenly so I wouldn't worry about keeping a spare bar. Alec

I don't think I've ever actually seen a playstation, let alone been on one. I was doing it by sound - there's a click audible before the first visible movement. Alec

Depending on how comfortable you are with plunge cutting, I'd be inclined to plunge cut up the middle, widen the cut out a bit while trying not to break through the side, then split the edges with wedges, driven in to the top face. Once it's in half, I'd do the same again to get it quartered, maybe again into 8ths, and then saw to length with the bow saw. It will take a while, but be manageable. I've done this to a couple of fair sized apples. Alec

0.17 seconds so far!

To be definite it needs the check on how the pot is held on and the layout of the plug and decomp valve (if fitted). If it turns out to be an 051 they're good with 3/8". It's a slogger not a racer but will cut all day and they're pretty good for milling on stuff up to 2ft. The 051/36" Alaskan/36" x3/8" bar and chain works quite well. Alec

I'll have a go at describing the differences between the possible models: 075/076 normally have a manual oiler button, near the front under the chain brake (can't see one in your picture). 076 has a square shaped case around the starter handle - 075 is more lozenge shaped. 051 can have either shape of case and doesn't normally have the oiler. 051 has a different placement of the plug and decomp valve to the 075/076 (and the pot is held down with socket head cap screws whereas the 075/076 both use long studs. 041 has only one 'switch' on the top (orange) case bit. It's not an 050 if the top case is original, as the model number was cast in. The surround also looks too 'orange' rather than the old 'red' Stihl colour. Alec

I'd be careful not to overprice this one. It's basic labouring. There's no skill, no training and no artistry required. There's no no fuel cost and no real wear and tear on tools (except a spade, shovel and broom). True - if you have a lot of tools and training you're covering those costs, but you can't expect to cover them against jobs that don't warrant it (if a lawyer took a second job as a window cleaner they couldn't expect £200/hr just because it was their normal rate). The going rate for unskilled labour is little more than minimum wage. I would be surprised to be paid more than £10/hr for this kind of work, and be pretty certain someone else would do it for less. The other way around is decide how much it's worth to you and price it at that. If you get the job, you're happy. Alec

OK, several questions there. Firstly, can you post a picture of the saw from the top, and another from the fuel tank side - that will help identify which model it is (may need more but I suspect not). Oh, and also one pointing inside the back handle to show where the spark plug and decompression valve are placed. Secondly, the numbers 3/8" and .404" refer to the pitch (distance) between the drive links - these are the bits on the chain that stick down and engage with the drive sprocket on the saw, and the sprocket on the roller-nose end of the bar. They have to match, so you need to change either the one on the bar or the one on the clutch (or get a different bar). Worth having a look at how worn they both are before deciding which to change. If it's not an 075 then you may want a shorter bar anyway. Alec Alec

There are too many factors here to answer the question accurately, but firewood is about £2/actual cubic foot (as opposed to hoppus), which is a reasonable starting point. Alec

You may already know this, but when you've got it, if it won't turn because it's seized, don't try putting much force on, just take the plug out and stick some diesel in, then leave it a few weeks. If it still won't turn with gentle pressure, take the pot off and check the crankshaft turns (which works so long as you're not stuck at TDC), rotate it so it's as far out as it will go and try gently twisting the pot, rocking both ways. If it still won't go, heat up the pot with a hot air gun, as hot as you can get it, twisting as you go. Once it's as hot as you can get it, give it a bit more force. If it won't go at this point, my next move is to put the pot back in place (spaced slightly on blocks if it's stuck at BDC) and, since these ones have the plug in the top, put in the biggest diameter wooden rod that will fit (shaved down bit of oak usually in my case), rest it on the top of the piston, mark how far in it goes and give it a sharp whack with a wooden mallet. If there's some movement, leave it soaking in diesel again for a bit, if not, I give up! Using hydraulic force via a modified fitting in the plug hole works very well apparently, but I don't have the necessary fitting and to be honest I haven't had a stuck engine yet that didn't yield to some part of the above. Alec