N1ck

What tools are a must for the crank case or can you muddle along with deep sockets etc?

It would just be for my own use and as a bit of project to learn how to do a full rebuild, but wondering if it will end up as a box full of bits at the end of the workbench.

Another vote for the Eder 1800, on our second after the first was stolen. Constantly amazed what it will pull. We usually put a pulley up the tree and run 2 legs of rope out in a 30 degree triangle to increase the pull. It has dealt with some big back leaners to the point where we rarely bother with the tractor winch. Hardly ever use the faster speed. It does wear out ropes and the rope guide on the front of the capstan has been bent and needed replacing. You can’t have slack in the system and the right number of wraps are critical, but we have never had trouble starting ours. Before the Eder I used a 4 stroke winch that was rubbish as it would tilt on its side as it started to pull and then cut out. It also had no clutch so was on or off and would burn through ropes for fun.

I have a 2013 MS261 (non M-Tronic) that I have owned from new. It has all the usual problems associated with the crank - eats needle bearings, destroys clutches, rattling clutch drums, worn oiler arms etc. Because it was always a bit of a dog it hasn't done much work. With the short days I have a bit of time in the evenings for tinkering. I know it is uneconomic to do but I am considering tearing it down and fitting a new crank. My questions are: Will a new OEM crank be decent quality or is there still a risk of picking up one of the old batch with the dodgy heat treatment? Has the bottom end been redesigned on the newer 261 and if so will a new crank fit the old housings? I have never split a crank case (and probably won't again). Is it possible / not a massive pain without buying lots of specialist tools to press bearings and oil seals etc. Is it actually worth it once I have bought a new crank, bearings, oil seals and any other wear parts I end up replacing while I have it torn down (I am not factoring in my time)? Should I just drop the money on a new 261, which I think have sorted out the problems, and use this as a parts donor?

Does anyone have a recommendation for a saw doctor who can re-tip, sharpen and tension Lucasmill Blades? Also, had anyone tried any of the after-market blades? If so, which ones and how did they go? They seem a fair bit cheaper than those from Fuelwood so I am tempted to give them a try.

Can you get airlocks in hydraulic circuits? If so how do you purge them? Also, does anyone know if this T piece on the return hydraulic hose is a shuttle valve, and if so can they get blocked?

We could try swapping the coils although the solenoids operate the directional valve OK so I doubt it is that. To get the feed roller working again you usually need to toggle the rollers back and forth a bit. I'm pretty sure it is wired up OK, the RDS control box came with an extra solenoid for a dump valve but our directional valve doesn't have one so this is redundant. I can't see a case drain on the motor but I plan to disconnect the hydraulic feed and return and rotate the motor by hand to purge the oil and see what state it is in.

So an update. We swapped the modern RDS box with stress control for the old manual electro-hydraulic switch mechanism and we still got an intermittent top feed roller. It's not all the time and not necessarily on large bits, it just stops every now and again. This seems to rule out an electronic problem. Next we removed the top feed roller motor to see if the splines were worn. While there was some wear it was definitely not enough for the motor to slip in the feed roller. My thoughts were a bad hydraulic motor, but opinion seems to be that it would either work or not and this one works intermittently. The other suggestion was that the hood the top feed roller sits in was bent allowing material to jam up inside, but once removed it looks OK. Anyone got any other suggestions?

Yes all OEM just slightly different eras. The RDS control box has replaced a simpler electronic control which just had a manual forward and reverse switch controlling 2 solenoids.

The new control box has a dedicated 3 pin 12v feed. I should think it is getting enough power as the solenoids are working (an orange light comes on). There are 3 solenoids, rollers forward, rollers reverse and dump valve. Our hydraulic block doesn't have a dump valve so that one is redundant.

I suppose I could reconnect the old electronic controls and solenoids to the feed roller valves as this would rule out any interplay with the no-stress - I still have them somewhere.

Yes it's the HD11 hydraulic unit from Farmi and we were running it at 1000rpm.

I was thinking this might be the next step. There is a port for a pressure gauge on one of the feed rollers. I think maximum pressure is 170 bar.

We have recently upgraded our Farmi CH260 chipper so that the feed rollers run off a separate tank and pump mounted under the pto so that we can crane feed it. We have also installed the up to date no-stress control box. So far we are just tinkering with it and haven't used it in anger but we are noticing that the feed rollers seem down on power or 1 or both stop rotating when feeding. This doesn't seem to be the no-stress kicking in. It's a bit frustrating as the feed rollers were always good and strong when run off the spools, we just couldn't use the roof mount at the same time as that also runs off the locking spool. The belt to the independent pump is tight and we are using the recommended grade of hydraulic oil. Could the hydraulic pumps on the feed rollers have air locks or dirt in them? Is there something we are missing when setting up the RDS control box that would cause this? Any advice welcome. Cheers.

I am an NPTC chainsaw assessor and I am required to hold FAW in order to carry out assessments. Ironically, it doesn't specify that it must be + F but that makes it more industry specific - crush injuries, major bleeding, Lyme's disease.

Any spaces available on a 3 day First Aid at Work course ideally with +F. In the past I have arranged my own course and booked a trainer but all the people I trained with last time have moved away or changed jobs. Based in Oxfordshire but willing to travel. Cheers, Nick

I didn't do the work but I know the tree well. I am trying not to be too critical as I know it is all too easy to jump on other Arb work. It was probably a lapsed pollard and 1 of the major scaffolds failed showing signs of included bark, but I personally don't believe this justified the pruning that was done, and it was very hasty without a chance for a more considered response.

Recent strong winds caused damage to this mature horse chestnut tree leading to remedial pruning. I would be interested to hear people's balanced honest opinions? Photos show the tree before, following storm damage and after pruning.

I see Gustharts stock Rock Exotica karabiners, I wonder if they make a D shape autolock that fits in the Hydra?

Can anyone suggest a wide backed karabiner that will fit through the eyes in a Rock Exotica Hydra? I am currently using ovals (Petzl and DMM) which fit fine but it gets a bit congested with the spiderjack, but my Stein and DMM non ovals won't fit. Thanks

Here's a video of a guy who made his own jig that uses the hydraulic log clamp to angle the cant over. Very neat but probably beyond my fabricating skills.

Is anyone sitting on a jig for cutting feather edge cladding or shingles that they could be tempted to sell? I have a couple of jobs coming up cutting cladding. I normally just cut parallel square edge or waney edge cladding but one of the clients are keen for feather edge and I would like to be able to offer this in the future. It is for a woodmizer LT40 but I know a number of other manufacturers make them. Ideally it needs to clamp to the bed and be able to angle the cant over every other cut. I have seen a few home made jigs but I don't have the time or skills to fabricate something. Cheers Nick

Has anyone got pictures of this sort of setup or similar 50mm ball hitch on the clevis. I know I can turn the clevis bar upside down to adjust the height and a rough measure against my shin suggests it should be about the right ride height give or take.

Right, I want to tow the alpine on my ifor flatbed trailer behind the Valtra for short journeys between sites on the road, but still want to be able to tow it behind the Hilux for longer journeys. Options are 1. Swap pick up hitch with clevis bar and replace the 50mm ball hitch on the ifor trailer with a ring hitch. What weight are drop in clevis pins rated to tow? Are there different diameter ring hitches, would it be compatible with a standard ball and pin hitch on the Hilux? 2. Fit a pin with 50mm ball to the clevis bar, but I can't find any that are rated to tow more than 2000kg 3. Get a 3pt linkage tow hitch with 50mm ball, this is arguably the best option as towing height can be adjusted, but it is not legal on the road! Any other suggestions would be welcome.

No not me, I have a 400.