TGB

You ask for a quote, they estimate the risk and calculate the premium and you decide whether the premium is acceptable. If it isn't, you go to the next company. If you want to insure a red car. The insurance company doesn't insist that you get a respray to a less accident prone colour. Or insist that you get all the other red cars in the locale resprayed too 'before' they'll insure. And you just know they'll wriggle out of any claim, "Sorry. You're not covered, as there's a 'y' in the day of the week when the event occurred."

Well, if you don't ask, you don't get.

Is that a bit like having a football through the window and thinking, "If only my neighbours hadn't moved their van. I wouldn't now be looking for a glazier. And I wonder if they can just leave the van parked out front on a permanent basis."

Husky 550XP

I can understand about areas around sink absorbing water, even after several applications of oil. If timber is going to be soaked on a regular basis, (such as canoe equipment or the like; the golden rule of application is: Once a day for a week Once a week for a month One a month for a year And then once-twice a year every year thereafter. Thinning the very first coat by approx. 30%. Any crosscuts need special attention on each application. Maybe around a sink wouldn't need quite that amount. But several coats and then nowt, just isn't going to do the job.

Not sure about the spooky defenders but I like the lid.

Elderly family members of mine needed some pointing done on a low but long wall. Just here and there, not the whole length. I would have done it for nothing, providing they paid for materials, maybe 2 bags of cement and sand. There was also the need for a mild bit of pruning of established plants, to enable better access to the back of the wall. But nothing more than would normally be done for over-wintering of said plants. Instead he gets a jobbing builder acquaintance to do it on a day rate. This scum tore out a 25' run of lavender that was still in bloom, 5 standard roses, an 8' dia. ball of honeysuckle and a whole 30+' of peony border that was over 25yrs. old. Didn't ask before he cut the lot to ground level. He then dug what remained and dumped it on their established herb garden. Oh. And he mixed up in a bucket, instead of using a mixer, because as he told them, it would be easier. Took 5+wks to trash their garden and brush over the wall with weak cement. God only knows what they paid. I did ask but I think they were embarrassed that they'd been taken for a rough ride.

Halogen. Plenty of light, plenty of heat.

Not sure I'd feel at ease knowing the neighbour is gaining an unnamed pleasure from ogling a neat stack. Each to their own. As to a 16" to 14" replacement. Yep. That's the reason why. However, I wouldn't consider it until the bar really needs replacing. No point paying out if you don't need to. Besides, doesn't sound like you're cutting day-in-day-out, so a little slower once in a while should be bearable.

Kayaking cags - the open top ones can be can be thin affairs and showerproof for stuff like flatwater paddling. Or right tough dry-cags, with full tight fitting latex seals at the wrist & neck with over protection; and a tight fitting neoprene waist & stomach seal with over protection and 100% waterproof. Neither type are restrictive restrictive of movement. But Goretex and the like work best, when the inner surface is warmer than the outer surface. So if it hammering down and cold or snowing or you may well go full immersion and your core temp. is good and warm, the material will be working the way it's suppose to. But if you're toastie on the inside and it's just light rain or not even cold outside, then inner moisture will buildup and it's going to get clammy. I think though, that paddling cags are best left for paddlers. I've spent many hours, even days at a time in them. Only disrobing to sleep sleep, (or tend to bodily needs). And while even the best dry-cags & dry-trousers or dry-suits are great to be in hour after hour. I wouldn't want to work in one! A flatwater smock or jacket might be doable but still have all the above, not including the latex & neoprene seals. But I still wouldn't want to work in one. I've cut firewood for a small evening fire, strung hammocks and made rough camps in both types. And if you're sheltered from the wind or not going for a dunk, you get pretty damn hot, pretty damn quick in a paddling cag. You almost ache to get the waterproof gear off and wriggle into a sleeping bag on a rock slab or the luxury of a hammock or bivvi.

Not seen anything like that. But since Husky test run their equipment, (well saws, strimmers, brush cutters & blowers at least) on Aspen. I seriously doubt they'd have a problem with a customer using Aspen. As for Stihl, well have the branded product of 'Stihl Motomix', which is the same stuff near as damn it. So again, I can't see them having a problem with a customer using Aspen. Bottom line though, if a dealer/manufacturer wants to wriggle out of a warranty repair claim, they'll find an excuse. Just run the saw on what you want and don't worry about a possible apocryphal piece of paper.

Less power but less weight too, the MS241 is a snedding and small fell weapon and excellent firewood saw. If you'll come to the full-on orange, the 550XP would be a comparable changeover. Or the Echo CS-450 or CS-550 or maybe even the CS-501. When you say "dead", you sure it's not fixable at a reasonable dealer cost. And if the price is too high at the dealer, perhaps it's time for a DIY rebuild.

Flipping heck that's tidy stacking. You don't work for the.Habitat catalogue by any chance? Nice saw for firewood. You mention the added PPE but if you haven't already got some, I d add a pair of either chainsaw trousers or chainsaw chaps, (trousers are easier to work in). As mentioned, wood with a dia. the full length of the std. 16" bar, may be a little slower going. But if you're not cutting that size often, it should be fine. When it comes to replacing the bar, (if you think you can get by with something a bit shorter) getting the optional 14" bar would be worth considering. It's the ideal length for the saw.

Nice work - not seen one like that before.

So they left the duff 550. That's rubbing salt in the wound.

Nice shiny tins.

Not much good for filing afterwards. But retrieval is easy. Either just invert the can or Blu Tac on the end of a thin stuck should get it.

Nice work.

Wouldn't mind taking a flame to some of these. Yesterday I was in the woodland I'd recently made a beech safe in. The owner is away for a month and will collect up rounds etc. when she gets back. So I just stacked them up by the side of the path. Now to get to her place, you have to go along 2-3mls. of dead-end road. And the beech is another 3/4 mile down a rough track. The main gate is freely accessible by her neighbours, who she allows to ride their horses. There's a small gate at the far end, which leads eventually to a farm. On the way up the road, I kept seeing the bits of split wood, which had evidently fallen from a truck. As I passed the beech on my way to another tree, there was split wood in piles of nets awaiting collection. So either her neighbours have been helping themselves to more than a bit of kindling or the fairies have come from further afield. Not much I could do. But whoever had split and netted the wood, will now have to search for their ill gotten gains. And since it's now been transported to her place, which is separate from the woodland, I doubt that they'll find it. Now there's a lot more wood thereabouts but at least some of it will be burnt in the correct stove. So much for open access and good neighbours.

Haven't had a nozzle crack yet... but there's still time. I do like being able to decant both fuel, (Aspen) and bar oil into the new style, without having to prop the can at an angle, so the funnel does fall the one side.

Lived abroad for a while in my 20s and liked it as such. But the reason for me being there, was not my choice. I was there to please others. If it had been my choice for my reasons, I may well have stayed there. Lived in a number of places around the UK. And there are definitely some places I liked more than others. That has something to do with the job I was doing at the time, something to do with the people around me and the scenery & quality of life. Some places were living to work, others working to live; and one or two got the balance just right. My present situation is not what I thought I would have chosen but I am obligated by position in family and I chose to abide by this obligation. So while I will contentedly remain, I also understand, that at this point in my life, (for an unknown period of time) I cannot move on from where I am. I know all that is vague but it covers the basics, without being specific.

Hope you'll be ok when all is done. That's a bind to say the least and with just enough time to realise what was coming, was not going to be good

I knew I was doing something wrong.

I can see that a chain that lasts longer and is not so fiddly to sharpen, would be a good thing. But I've wondered the same thing. I know someone with a 171, who runs the std. fitted chain. And while its up to the very occasion fell of small stuff, for anything over 100mm its underpowered.

Interesting indeed.