Mr. Squirrel

The guys asking for guidance, don’t be fooling him into giving his money to Notch. I can see how this would be really useful. I’ll often switch between single and double, but when that means removing a double leg tether it’s a bit of a pain. Also means basically dismantling your system up a tree. So I was thinking about something like this just the other day. As others have said though that flop is no good. Stiff tethers all have a rubber grommet/similar to keep the wrench up a bit. This just helps to ensure that it engages correctly and quickly. In your setup I could potentially see a situation where the wrench doesn’t engage or inverts and releases the friction hitch. Potentially? A chicane seems a good option for on/off use and it is super smooth with a hitch. Downsides are bulk, and I don’t really like that it’s got a metal ‘tether’. Good option though.

What rope are you using? I have some kmiii max used near daily for about three years before I retired it as it got so stiff. Tough rope though. Others like fly and velocity are also pretty good, not as hard wearing but nice in the hand.

I’ve had the evo for about a year now and really rate it. it’s expensive, but tbh they all are. I paid ~1.5-2k for an aeroklass that leaked horrendously, wasn’t particularly well built and there was quite a lot of unused space in the back. In comparison the rsi is solid, pretty much watertight and with the tool drawer and a side storage locker makes a really practical use of space. Honestly think it’s better value for money vs aeroklas/truckman offerings. The locks are solid, a bit dry at first but an occasional squirt of ballisto keeps em sweet. Only issue I’ve had is that the locks are angled up slightly and freeze shut pretty easily. A splash of hot water/coffee sorts it out though. No issues with the gas struts either, seem good. It’s built to last is my impression, take your time building and fitting it and you shouldn’t have any issues. 100% recommend.

See I find cobra an absolute fankle. You’ve gotta have tape, scissors, a blow torch, spreader, sleeve, shock absorbers… then getting the tension right is a pain. All you need with Gefa/Gefa style is tape and scissors. Never really used a fid. I also don’t believe the shock absorbers in cobra/boa are actually any use. No data to back that up, but my inclination is they’re nonsense. Never observed a problem with the rope to sling contact.

Looks like Gefa or similar, far better product than cobra and boa imo.

Why are you using fid lengths? Surely if you have the measurements there you can just make the eye a bit smaller?

Thanks for your input 👍🏻

Socialists and dictators are different things, dumbass.

Him being president was a nightmare. Such a nightmare that it continues to this day. Don't talk like he wasn't all that bad. Don't be that guy.

Odd, I used a positioner for years, often on a single leg and never had any bother with cam springs. Have you done this repeatedly?

Apologies for not replying, missed it. Sounds like you’re sorted anyway! I had a similar issue with the bolt on brand new distels, I sheared a torq head and thought drilling and tapping it might be an option. A ended up ruining a brand new gaff and didn’t want to buy a pair so asked them if I could buy an individual. They had a new gaff and replacement bolts to me within a week no charge. Really nice folks. Distel4lyf.

I’ve noticed the battery releasing a few times now. Not dropping out, but a ‘first stage release’ if you like. T540i with 200x batteries. Considering doing as others have and putting a releasable strap around the battery unit to make sure it can’t come out.

Had them since November and so far really rate them. Far comfier than any other chainsaw boots I’ve had in the past 15 years. Great for long days in cutting boots and on spikes. No issues with spikes either. They’re still no alternative to a light pruning boot for silky jobs, but they are really nice, for a chainsaw boot. They are odd to put on, but you only put your boots on once a day and the tabs seem solid on mine at least.

Yeah that’s what I’m talking about too. The first side is easy. The second, if it’s possible, is witchcraft.

For a single eye, I can understand it. You could just pull the whole tail out of the cover, locking brummel using both ends and then pull it back through with a long wire fid. The second eye would be a different kettle of fish.

Just saw this. How did you locking brummel the core + cover? Or did you do an exposed core locking brummel? Good results though, was it practical in use?

To splice commercially isn't, to my knowledge, financially feasible unless you're working for a shop basically. However that's not to say it isn't a very useful skill to learn. 'the splice rack' on facebook has loads of info and files you can download. There's a bit of dick waving too but there's some good info there. A lot of books and downloads reference fid lengths rather than lengths, which can be a bit confusing as you don't really need the fids they're talking about. You're better off using a wire fid. The wooden hand splicing booklet is a nice, reasonably straight forward instruction guide for double braid splices. The first few will probably be a nightmare, but be meticulous and tidy with your measurements, and pretty much everything you do, and it should all come together fairly easily. A splicing course is also really helpful for picking up pointers. And be precise. I can't stress enough how important that is. The Wooden Hand - SPLICING BOOKLET | The Wooden Hand TREEKIT.COM THE WOODEN HAND | SPLICING BOOKLET Beautifully produced hand illustrated Splicing booklet. Hand illustrated...

You're comparing it to a device which most certainly was poorly designed, and presumably went through woefully inadequate testing before being released to the market. The zigzag hardly took much of a concerted effort to develop critical faults. I've not had my hands on a RRP, but I've seen quite a number of people having issues with them. From what I've seen I'm not convinced by it being purely a maintenance issue. If it is, then it seems quite a sensitive device for an industrial environment. Just my 2p. It does look like a really cool device and I'd love to pick one up, but the jury is still out as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah I remember reading about two guys business types over there who had a bet on for who could fell the tallest tree. You can bet it wasn't any use felling a 100m+ tree in the middle of the woods. Plonkers.

From what I saw of the issue it appeared that some fairly minimal internal wear was the culprit. Not sure how cleaning would help that? Seems as though it's a fairly small, but significant design issue with the steel spring wearing on the aluminium body.

I told the client that if they can sell it for that, please give me the buyers number. I look forward to retiring 😂

Some varying opinions then. I’ve told them I can do something with it anyway, would be a fun project. Unfortunately some pesky joiner has told them the stem is worth £7k though, so they’re now planning to get rich off it 🤦🏻 Funnily enough he isn’t offering them that…

Hey folks. what are your collective thoughts on making outdoor furniture, benches and the likes, from freshly milled oak? I have a client with an oak down that wants something done with it; but can’t really be bothered waiting years. I thought milling 2-3” thick and building it green would probably be passable. Interested in others opinions.

Ditto what others have said about just cracking on. Sometimes all of the sudden panning and kit in the world won’t help, and you just need to get on with it. If you can’t get out of it, get into it.

Interesting idea to use coffee as a filler. Never come across that before. Do you use it just for the dark colour, (it certainly looks good), or is there some other benefit as well? Aye it's all about aesthetics really. Personally I really don't like the look of resins with dye/sparkle in them. The coffee soaks up but also stains the resin, so the resin doesn't stand out. It sands down really nicely and for a natural looking texture/finish and is spot on for what I look for in a bit of furniture. Tried it out years ago on a bit of cherry which would otherwise have been for the log pile and loved it. Been doing it ever since. Not wildly different to using some sanding dust mixed with glue, but sometimes trying to hide obvious flaws just makes them look 10x worse. Use the finest ground coffee you can find, espresso spec as a minimum. I went to a friendly wee coffee shop and asked for any old unusable beans ground as fine as humanly possible. Work fast 🤙