leafcut

Fleabay-lots of "copy" stickers available there I believe.

Not necessarilly. Its become trendy for local councils to want to be rid of running local allotments-a relatively new system is in place with some allotments that they are self governing and have full autonomy from the council under a lease, this frees up council staff and gives allotment members a free hand in the governance/running of their site. Find the telephone number of the allotment secretary who,if your lucky can guide you where/when to tip. Someone has probably tipped excessivly or in the wrong spot. Allotments are a great way to dispose of chip as well as local farms, stables, nurseries etc.

Dewalt 36v-top end quality with lots of features,(you only get what you pay for-buy cheap-buy twice).

Its good to see you in agreement, that little more length can make all the difference. I havnt found the saws performance lacking at all and in comparison to similar sized saws running on 18" the 346 & the 550 clearly out perform them.

I havnt used a bar smaller than 18" on my 346 and to be honest I havnt needed to. I found this bar/saw combination perfect, being just long enough for those thicker bits when needed and light up a tree when the top seemed a little small for the job at hand. The speed was excellent with a well sharpened chain-"horrible"- definately not, suppose its something of a mind set, maybe if I had used a shorter bar prior to fitting an 18" my opinion would differ. My 346 and the new 550 are my most used saws both on 18"-outstanding.

Looks like a very powerfull rig. Excellent for those hard to get to places, low impact or less so than a forwarder, seems great for a small scale woodland management crew. Of course a seat would be nice but probably not practical-blokes like their toys.

Wish you were up here in the north east-most of our woodchip is "disposed" of to gardeners etc and given away for free. We dont have a central collection point where local arborists pool together then divide the sale..never mind-we shall see what comes next year.

Stihl no coffee machine tut tut, we could all have a good natter with bickies and Chris could do the washing up lol. Seriously though, the showroom and upstairs stockroom is excellent-well lit, spacious and warm, well done to Rob and the lads...Nick Pearson, Timberline-Roe Ltd.

PM sent Fern...Nick.

Good one lol.

Although only two weeks old with a lot of use, my 550xp with an 18" bar is phenominal. Designed as a forestry saw, used for arb/tree work it is a gift from above. I also run a 560xp on a 20" bar which is just as impressive although a touch on the heavy side for a lot of snedding. The 346xp I believe is also a good contender, I ran an 18" bar on that too on factory/stock settings and a very impressed. Just as some brand new cars etc develop multiple faults this will still occur with chainsaws-its the luck of the draw I suppose. I would put my money on a new 550xp...Nick Pearson, Timberline-Roe Ltd.

Well-my new 550xp has now been used every other day for the past 2 weeks or so. I have cut a great deal of wood from conny bashing to 10" beech, and numerous dia ash. This saw is phenominal-it is better than the 346-the ergonomics to start, then the rev boost is extremely responsive especially when snedding. Although only two weeks old it starts virtually 2nd or 3rd pull. My brother came up last weekend where we were cutting numerous lengths of fallen ash for firewood and winching out with the portawinch. Tim has only ever used a small stihl 181, he had also bought a 550-he was utterly gob smacked at its performance..I had to get him to slow down as he was clearly enjoying himself..once he had sussed out undercutting on the thicker lengths there was no stopping him. The fuel consumption is quite high but what do you expect from a saw thats operated at full tilt for x minutes. Simply put-I am well impressed with the 550xp, and now feel a little guilty when I see my old 346 lurking in the corner lol...thanks for your input...Nick Pearson, Timberline-Roe Ltd.

Deserves all he gets-seems hes cutting corners at every turn-bet the HMRC have their eye on him now !!-also looks like hidden cctv surveillance at the well used fly tip site..

My 346 is simply the best saw I have ever used-with an 18" bar there is a wide range of thickness it can cover. Its weight is only apparent after a hard day up a pole when I start to get arm lock. No-my 346 stays with me-if the 550xp is up to par the 346 will be a back up/firewood saw. Like I said before-the 550 must be some saw if it can out perform the 346-we shall see...Nick Pearson, Timberline-Roe Ltd.

I love my 346xp, I have ordered the 550xp also and hopefully things will work fine. Watching the expression on a collegues face when first using the 346 was a joy-the cutting speed with an 18" bar is phenominal-the 550, to be better than the 346 must be some saw-I love huskys anyway so I am naturally bias. My brother has just ordered the 550 also and were both bucking and winching out logs using the portawinch from a steep valley next weekend. I will be able to give a reasonably good update on its performance after that...Nick Pearson, Timberline-Roe Ltd.

Its a joke/windup-even says its not for real at the bottom of the fleabay page.

If I found any of my staff was even a drug user never mind "using" on the job I am afraid its hit the road Jack. If there was an accident and it was known I had condoned drug abuse in the work place I would be in it too. Bad press/unreliable/criminal even-after the money and effort that goes into setting up your own arb business the thought of it being ruined by some druggy appalls me. Not only do drugs have a serious detrimental effect to the user, this can also spill over onto other reliable staff. If a lad has had a little too much to drink the night before he can carry brush all morning and wear it off. I would rather pick a lad up for work if hes over the top. Trees, chippers, chainsaws and tools mixed with drugs is a super cocktail for serious injury and or death. I have first hand experience of class A,B & C drug abuse-horrendous. Stay safe...Nick Pearson, Timberline-Roe Ltd.

i dont think that is unreasonable at all, as in all commercial activities a change from the norm will invariably lead to an increase in price-most things being so competitively priced-cutting firewood included. I would just be mindfull that the increase shouldnt be too steep as you will want her future custom-folk always like to know there getting a "good deal" if you get my drift...Nick Pearson, Timberline-Roe Ltd.

Looks like its a new 550 then chaps-thanks...

I can feel a spend coming on. What chain/ bar combo do you use on the 550 ? >

Im running a 20" on my 560 XP, which is fine but a fair bit heavier than the 346, is the 550 around the same weight as the 346 without any bar/chain ?...Nick.

My brother went to a Ray Mears seminar at Darlington recently and Ray used a video clip of young ladies in bikinis etc running around operating saws during a competition involving jumping over obstacles sawing logs etc, as a bad example of H & S, although told third hand, the mind just boggles at the scene. Wether there was any safety input would be doubtfull, no doubt a 10 out of 10 on the spectatorometer lol...Nick Pearson, Timberline-Roe Ltd.

Hi all, my most used saw is the 346 xp,18" bar,does what it says on the box. However: I am under the impression that the big boys at husky dont make this model anymore and that the relatively new 550 XP has replaced the 346-is this true ? and if so how does the 550 perform ? anyone using this saw-comments would be helpful, thanks in advance...Nick Pearson, Timberline-Roe Ltd.

I had a wifey ring me at 7.45am on a week day, had just got up and was washing, said "can you come and have a look at the conifers in my front garden straight away", she only lived around the corner, I didnt even have a mouthfull of coffee and was straight round, she wanted two small leylendi and some bushes inc roots removing from the front garden and a couple more from the rear. Could use the portawinch with an anchor in the front garden but the rear was a dig out job. Wanted the job done yesterday as the house was going up for sale. Because she was nearby and knew my Ex wifes friend ??? I gave her mates rates discount and slotted the job in for 9am the next day. Champion- a couple a hundred up. Phone rings less than an hour later- she cancelled the job stating she had got someone else in just to cut the connies down instead of the stump removal for £50. Jump she said, I said "how high"-never again will I jump for a potential customer-I didnt even get a thankyou-that was 4 months ago and she still hasnt sold the house-price is probably too high. We live and learn, regards...Nick Pearson, Timberline-Roe Ltd.

Another GOOD post there.