TGB

And "Tree Kills - Tree removal like a boss" Reckon there's either something missing from his diet and or education. http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/83170102/

An eco-car in racing green - I like it.

I favour Danish for most oiling. But for a gun stock, i'd choose a different oil. If you want a nice smear free finish, apply the oil with a clean lint-free cloth. And polish with a separate lint-free cloth. Tung oil will impart less tint than other oils. There's little difference between BLO and plain LO. The boiled oil is not really boiled but has had steam under presure passed through it. Which some say allows a shorter time interval between coats. I've used both and reckon recoat intervals have more to do ambient temp. & humidity, than paying more for basically the same product. Danish oil will tint but not by much. You need at least two coats to finish. Three for a good result but the first can be thinned slightly, say by 30%. With Danish, the more coats, the deeper the sheen. If you want it fully weatherproof, the golden rule is: Once a day for a week, Once a week for a month, Once a month for a year, Then once a year thereafter.

It takes all sorts and some sorts have money. It's somewhat mad but the world could do with a bit of madness that doesn't hurt anyone. Like Sandbanks in miniature but without the constant building and rebuilding.

Unless the piece to be milled is at hieght off the deck, you may well find yourself in a half kneeling position for the lower cuts. So a comfy pair of knee pads might help. Saves the trousers and the knees alike. A 1" or 1.5" paintbrush and suitable paint for the slab ends. Get them painted asap after stacking, to help prevent them splitting. If you already have any kind of respiratory problems, get a dust mask. If you know someone who keeps rabbits, you'll have plenty to give/sell them. Pre-cut enough stickers for your stacking. Making sure they're the same thickness. It's a bind not to have enough or find some are thicker/thinner. At the end of each cut, don't kill the saw straight away. Lift the mill away and rest the mill's far end on the floor; then give the saw a few short blips. This helps the clear any dust from the saw. Then you can kill it.

Take photos of different barks and leaves at given locations. Then mark locations on simple A4 maps. Get them to wander the mapped area and describe/photo the bark or leaves, (and maybe note the colour of a tied piece of rope or other) at the given points. Then later while they're gathered in a designated spot, you can openly judge who got the most right. Don't tag the locations, as someone might move the tag. But do give a brief description as to what the location looks like, e.g. Large fallen tree on your left and water running over small stones on right, target is thickest standing tree within 5m. Don't set the course in a natural progression or where one location can clearly be seen from its neighbour. Do tell them on the map or by description let them know the total number of targets/locations but don't number them. This will encourage each individual/pair to gain the next location along their own chosen route. And instead of the course becoming a follow the leader, should have people moving in all directions at once. Setting them off at 30-40sec. intervals will help disseminate them. Plus if there's any queries, these can be explained or hinted at during the interval. Also, ask them to describe something they'd either not seen/heard before or something they'd not seen/heard this year. If you have anyone who's got learning difficulties and or will have problems negotiating the terrain. Pair up the whole group, so that those that may have added difficulty are not singled out. A time limit will have to be set but try not to make it a race. As this could directly lead to injury and favour the physically fittest among the group.

Ah a slight flaw in Stihl's march to world domination. While they vaunt their forward-thinking, they've excluded their video from being viewed on an Apple product. So not really interested in the whole pie.

Carbon fibre canoes & kayaks are great for touring on flatwater and sea. Light, rigid for their weight, though pricey. But you don't see ww canoes or people taking them touring where there's going to be rocky shores or long shallow stretches. Why? Well carbon fibre doesn't stand up well to abrasion, being bashed hard by sharp objects, abrased & broken edges are not nice to handle and the nail in the coffin - it can't really be repaired at home or out in the wilds. Yep, you can get small patches but they'll only really repair a short, (a few inches) crack. Now I'm not saying that a CS in contact with high voltage is a common or good idea. But carbon fibre doesn't conduct electricity and tends to explode if high voltage is passed through it. You might reasonably argue, that if the saw came into such contact, you wouldn't want to be anywhere near it. But would you also want to be worrying about the saw exploding? Yep. Gimmicks only go so far. Manufacturers prefer the customer buys spares from them or through their dealers. But a portion of their buying markets, will shop elsewhere if their goods cost more to run than their competitors' offerings.

I was using Oregon, then tried Stihl. But the Stihl while ok, is on the runny side. I didn't use any more of one than the other but found sap and sawdust harder to remove with the Stihl. So I've gone back to Oregon and will keep the Stihl for really cold days or when I can't Oregon.

Ah. I see the sense in it.

Avg. UK doors are 6' 6" and you add around 6" of architrave. I don't know what French doors measure at but if you take the door as being 2m and scale it against the tree, then the tree comes out at 27m to 27.5m.

Fitted a brake-band to the 545 about five weeks ago. The old one and new one are of the same split end design. You can guess where the old one snapped and I'm guessing the replacement will snap at the same point. I didn't know there was an upgrade/better designed band. Will have to get one of those next time round. Are there different part numbers for the two brake-bands?

I know someone who was getting a regular 8.5Mbps with BT. Upgraded his package for a quoted speed increase and immediately dropped to a best of between 1.7 to 3.2Mbps. Three weeks later, after complaining every day about the discrepancy and getting nowhere fast. He changed back to original cheaper package and the speed increased to around 11Mbps. When I'm down south, I get a wifi connection between 2.73 to 5.85Mbps. But in the sticks up north, I vainly dream of such heights. Where the best speed I've ever got from BT on a wired connection, has been a dizzying 1.2Mbps and the norm is around 0.73Mbps. As I see it, regardless of how far you live from the nearest exchange. If you don't live in a city or within a dozen miles of a motorway, then lighting beacons and pigeon mail is going to offer the fastest comms route.

This RHS link will help you out: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=568 There's also remedies in the lower section. Whatever it turns out to be, I'd remove affected leaves & twigs and burn them. I wouldn't put them in with compost or leave at the foot of the shrub.

Cont... Having said that, you may be happy with the Echo 450. The Echo 550 might be a tad on the heavy side but you'll not be lugging it six days a week. I think the Husky 550XP as an occasional saw, would be overkill on an expensive scale. But if you aspire to greater things, then perhaps the 550XP is the one for you. Though it'd be more at home felling 'n' snedding, than ringing up all day.

If you're not going to be cutting every day, (like me) but need a decent saw, that can easily cope with a 15" bar, you may wish to add a Husqvarna 545 to the list. Having said that, I'm sure you'll be happy with the Echo.

Same as round these parts too.

As has already been said, he'd be buying the whole job from you. Him wanting prices from your suppliers is irrelevant to what you sell at. Perhaps you could itemise your weekly grocery, as that supplies fuel for the body to complete the work. Also diesel costs to & fro the dealers' to get materials. No. I reckon your prospective customer, is just that, prospecting. Armed with your figures, he intends to go to your suppliers and bargain them down. Then do some of the work himself and for the other stuff, grub round for a cheap job. Give your normal quote in your normal manner. If he's not satisfied with the way you choose to run your business. He's not the customer you want and walk away.

Hit the nail squarely on the head there.

Much as I agree with the second paragraph and the first may well also be true. I always run my saw on Aspen and my Husky combi has only ever had Aspen in it. So in my case at least, it's not the fuel to sealing washer issue. Why on earth do Husky mould their cans, so the threads are incomplete on both sides? So the thread is not continuous, which then allows the spout to slip sideways on fitting.

Yep. 40-60mins. each way, once to drop off, plus once to pick up, plus a phone call to ensure the job is done. £15 for C+R is still a good deal.

I've used two Stihl cans with 'non-spill' spouts and both have dribbled on the way to filling the saw and while filling the saw. At least with the Husqvarna combi, when things are lined up right, you get the full, well almost 5L in the saw. Not over the saw, over the ground and sloshing around the spill-box in transit.

545 has a similar build to the 550 and come with the black filter. Most stuff gets caught on the outside, with not much making it through to the inner. And only small amounts of tiny dust getting all the way through the filter. I tend to clean the filter at the end of each day's usage. But the I don't cut everyday.

Mine does the same and does have the sealing washer in place. You've got to get the nozzle on the can exactly plumb.

He waves his hands over the saw. On tough fittings, he may utter mystic incantations of old. And if he's still searching, may look at the workshop runes for guidance. Other than these mysterious ways. He's got an encyclopaedic knowledge of what goes bang, was is missing when it's not going bang. Plus the means to make them go bang, pop & burst into life, in a way the greater make thought not possible.