alexm

Yeah, the thing is though the hole in the oil tank is metal! The existing cap gets tighter on its own (it's a common problem, either the plastic cap expands somehow, or vibration tightens it) so you need a screw driver to release it. I thought replacing the cap with the flip up handle would be the way to go.... but I can't even fit it!

Hi there, I just bought new oil and fuel caps for my 346xp. They are genuine Husqvarna, the new type for the 550xp but they are meant to fit 346xp as well. I got the large cap for the fuel and the small cap for the oil. The fuel cap fits no problem but the oil cap is too tight to fit. Has anyone else had this problem? Would widening the hole work? Cheers, Alex

My mate strimmed a load and came up in a rash of tiny blisters. It left discolouration on the skin for months too but I suppose he could have been particularly sensitive.

Agreed. I think health and safety has almost got to the point where people will no longer take responsibility for their own welfare and everyone else suffers as a result!

Wear gloves too obviously, the sap can cause blistering in sunlight, similar to hogweed!

We have a soil remediation division at work and they cleared a large area for a school playing field. As there was some significant earthworks involved to level the area and therefore large machines on site anyway they decided to dig it up and bury it on site at 10m deep (if I recall correctly!). Because of time constraints I think it worked out more effective than individually injecting stems. The hole was absolutely massive! If your client is willing to spend money to put in membrane then maybe he would be willing to negotiate some sort of shared cost with the neighbour to treat it properly then the worry and potential future impact will be removed? (Although as above he probably shouldn't have to!)

Looks like it! Ragwort Fork at Mole Valley Farmers

Leylandii gets me bad... Itchy red bumps which last for two weeks. Cut a leylandii hedge once with bare arms and everywhere the sappy ends touched skin turned into a welt. Never made that mistake again! Antihistamines and HC45 cream helped!

+1 It's thin enough to dissolve the resin but not so thin as to be able to damage plastics and paint like more volatile solvents (acetone, thinners etc). Spray on and allow it some time to soften.

Another rescued from a pile of old buddleia chumps I was clearing up

Getting back on topic, couldn't there be a danger of enough fibres getting stuck between sprocket and chain to effectively over-tension the chain and do damage somewhere (e.g. bearings or shaft)?

+1 Good effort getting it re-balanced too... often times there'll be something invisibly out of whack and they wobble even though everything appears to be back straight

I was hoping for super powers but all I got was a sh*tty hand

We get a lot of woodlouse spiders (Dysdera crocata) here which are another on the list of indigenous species capable of delivering a bite as their mouthparts are designed to crunch through woodlouse shell. This one took a dump on my hand

Beautiful bit of wood that, any idea how old it is? It'll look stunning with a nice oil finish!

I went mad last year and bought it in Northern Ireland

+1 Leyland 4/98TT engine with garrett turbo and minimec pump tweaked to 90bhp

It's a TEF20 (diesel). I reckon the diesel's punch a little bit over their weight when you consider they are only rated to about 26-30 bhp but it's a heavy old engine with a lot of inertia. The log splitter is an Oxdale PTO400 so it has it's own independent hydraulics run off a PTO powered pump. This gets around the low flow rate of the tractor hydraulics as someone mentioned above. The chipper is an Echo (formerly Bearcat) sc5540. It's a non feed 5" chipper/shredder combo. I bought it as a fixer-upper... it had spun a bearing and was seized so I sorted that out and fitted new blades. I've only tested it on small stuff so far but I think it's fair to say the tractor would probably struggle on big stuff as it's right on the lower end of the recommended power for the chipper. You'd probably have to feed it carefully to avoid bogging the engine. I've since rebuilt the tractor entirely so I'm waiting to run it in a bit more before trying the chipper again. In theory I should have a bit more poke now after the rebuild though.

Like this? [emoji3]

Fergie doing a bit of splitting today

Easy to say from the comfort of the computer chair I know but unless it was arterial (bright red and spurting) the chances are a pressure dressing would have sorted it but the important thing is you got the bleeding under control and got him to hospital so job well done!

I'm a stalker too. Mainly in Somerset but I have stalked all over the UK and do an annual trip to the Highlands. I've done DSC1 and 2 and have 5 of the 6 UK species under my belt.... just Chinese Water Deer to go! It's the reason I originally did my chainsaw tickets actually, was doing some ride clearing for deer management purposes, erecting highseats etc. and the estate insisted all the paperwork was up to scratch (even though I wasn't directly doing it for financial gain). Glad I did it tbh because it has opened other doors.

They are a bit heavier than that I think, nearer 40kg each from memory, as they're 19" wheels there's a bit more room behind for the weights!

Well spotted! The three extra nuts on the wheels hold the weights on the back

Thanks, the ground's not mine though, I took it round a friend's house!