arniecardigan

Need a Groundie for 20th,22nd and 23rd October as I've been let down. Not hard days Potential for future work. Stroud Gloucestershire Interested call Hugo on 07929353641

Try Josh on 07794247886 he's Bristol but happy to travel, good lad I've used a few times!

I lived in Braunton a good few years back and had to move away to get a decent wage as pay even in line clearance was crap! When I first started the best you could get was £30 a day where as in Bristol or Gloucester it was £75 a day! Even working for yourself it was a struggle as there's always someone cheaper as they have zero overheads,farmers sons got a saw and tractor n trailer!! Consider getting a bike or camper and commuting to get a sensible/living wage with prospects, harsh but unfortunately a reality if you want to live in one of the best places in the country!!!!

After much deliberation I bought one about 18months ago, cost a fortune but I parted with my hard earned! It was fine on straight grained stuff but no quicker than a maul or any other axe to be honest, but when it came to anything hard say beech that had been dead standing for 5 years or knotty lleylandii it was rubbish and I mean really rubbish! I had the knack which takes time to get if you've been used to gripping your axe hard but still couldn't get it to work on anything more than birch or poplar!! I ended up selling mine on the Ebay to someone that like me had been intrigued, he got it much cheaper than me and I made a massive loss!! Still it stopped me wondering if it was any good! Just cost me a fortune to find out! Got a Fiskars X25 which is 100times better on the sort of timber I cut which is 90% arb arisings,(don't need the x27 as I've got big shoulders) If you want a new axe buy a fiskars!

Its also listed on Ebay.com(american ebay) not Ebay.co.uk which although not a crime means that it is not covered by UK distance selling rights/regulations and consumer protection so when you pay for it and find youve been screwed over Ebay will not assist in any way shape or form!! I know as I came a croper with that one a few years back after buying a van which turned out to be completely fecked with all the faults deliberatley hidden/covered up!!

I'm looking for a splitter for Billets at the moment aswell, has to be self powered though as I don't have the luxury of either elecricity or a tractor! I was thinking Posch but I'm open to suggestions, cycle time is most important to me as I work fast and dont have time to be waiting while the splitter head fights its way through the log or creeps its way back up!!

I think were going to go down the Billet route as the storage will suit the new yard much better, still going to have to do a couple of heras crates aswell though as we get quite a few rings in aswell, all our timber is Arbwaste!! Thanks for the advice people!!

So that would be a stacked 2.4m which would be far greater than a loose 2.4m! How many bags would you get from your 300m of stacked billets??

I've just been offered a new yard thats totally secure, flat with great access only problem is its smaller than my current yard by quite abit! My current yard has no security is wet, boggy and difficult to work so am really considering the smaller yard for all the good points. My cunundrum is this I will have to utilise all the space to the max and be really organised as there isn't enough space to store cord for any length of time, so do I split into logs stored in Herras fencing made stores or do I split and stack in Billets and then log to order?? Which storage method makes best use of space?? I know theres around 34to36 cubic meters of split logs in a single squared Herras store but how does that compare to a 12ft square stack of billets 8ft tall?? Any advice greatly recieved!!

I'm taking down a whopping great lime next week it a good 6ft in the base, unfortunately not in very good health! Didn't think there was much use for it as its so soft but if anybodies interested it'll be down by Thursday so I can update on condition! its near Stroud Gloucestershire with reasonable access!

If it's only occasionally you need it higher why not get a set of telescopic ladders, nice and light and compact and will add an extra 12ft to the height without going overboard with all the elf and safety stuff!!

What did it cost you with the Honda engine?? Looks like a useful machine!?

When I did my winching course years ago we only ever put the winch as high as we could reach! I've never had a problem doing this and most of my winching is with a 5tonne Tirfor which amazes me on a regular basis at just what it will pull over!

I sell more mixed bags now than pure hardwood! I do 50/50 split of quality hardwoods mixed with stuff like Poplar, Willow and good old Lleylandii!! and I'm in an area full of Log Snobs, however I think its the price they like!

Had my splitter nicked a couple of weeks ago, just at the wrong time of year! What make is your mates?

Seen this type of machine in action and even seen clips posted on other threads on hear but never seen one for sale!! Bargain for someone! Norbeck Log Splitter | eBay Works like this one just bigger and works of electric.

I have a friend that runs a double cab version, it was originally imported for use on the railways as they are the right width to fit the tracks perfectly! he bought it for 2 grand with full hydraulics for chipper, hiab and a tipper! That was a buy and a half and I'm always jlous when I see it!! It now just runs the high sided tipper, it had a peugot 1.9 diesel but now runs a 2.8 diahatsu fourtrak engine and pulls like a train its like a narrow guage unimog!!

Thanks for the kind offer Steve but I have so much to do I will have to get myself a permenant replacement ASAP!! I'm already weeks behind as I'm so busy with everything else!!! Only need about 72hours in a day and I'll be caught up in no time!!

Had my KTM 10 tonne splitter and JCB Beaver Powerpack stolen from my yard last night! Yard is inbetween Cheltenham, Stroud and Gloucester, would appreciate it if people could keep there eyes peeled and ears to the ground! Thanks all.

I used to run teams on the motorway network for the highways agency and used them when clearing overgrown ditches! I did the ditches around Avonmouth with a 25 tonne 360 with extra long booms so I could get to the other side of the ditches. Had a ditching bucket with a finger cutter on the front so could cut the brambles and tough stuff before getting to the ditch, then cut the reeds and take all the silt out. Dropped this behind the dustcart and loaded it with a 3 tonne machine! We used to get loads in and the compressor squeezed the water out the bottom!! Had a 23tonne dustcart with 18tonne capacity and still managed to overload it by 5.5 tonne over the weighbridge, thought something was amiss when the arches rubbed the wheels going round corners:thumbup: Dustcarts have there uses but I don't think everyday use for normal arb work is really there thing!

How would I go about that?? In simple terms please as I've never really done a great deal with hydraulics!!

Oh I know how to split wood Ive done it all my life but after doing 150cube with an axe two winters ago I bought the splitter and for the most part its pretty good! But then if it can be improved then all the better!

Oxdale arrowhead?!

I did wonder about the power but then you look at youtube videos and see stuff with knife type blades run off little chinese 6-8 hp engines and they seem to split with ease whilst using all of the blade! for example where as if I stuck the entire wedge of my splitter on the log in the video it would fail, it would do it using half the wedge though!! I wondered about the oxdale shape of splitting head also as that is arrowhead ish!!

I have a little KTM machinery 10 tonne splitter which has a wedged splitter head, its a nice little machine which is ok as long as you don't put the entire wedge into the log. If you put the whole wedge into the log it'll stop but if you only use the front of the wedge(the half that is infront of the vertical ram) then its great! But I see youtube clips of splitters of 8 -10 tonne force with knife type blades that seem to go through logs far easier than my wedge, was looking at the farmi 36 processor last night which has a splitting force of 8 tonne and will split 4 ways with ease, my splitter wouldn't cope with a four way head yet is allegedly ten tonne force!! So is a knife type blade better than a wedge splitting head? I run my splitter off a 9hp powerpack so is it that the powerpack is not quite powerful enough to push the entire wedge through the log or should I just cut the wedge off and replace with a different design? I'd even thought about an arrow head type of design so it pushes less wedge through all at once?? Opinion's please!!