TGB

As far as I'm aware, they all allow the chain to move freely. Skyland are advertising theirs at £5 inc. VAT. I've used the smaller ones and as mentioned the 'Oregon' one. They hold the bar steady and firm. No problem holding a Husky 545, 346 & 460 and MS171, 260 & 880.

Saw one on 'Amazon' a while back for £8 but didn't buy it then. When I did get one, they had gone to £12. But I've seen them for just over £6 elsewhere. I got an 'Oregon' one and although good, is somewhat bulky at: 125 x 77 x 15mm and 423g.

Yesterday_ left in rain, got to site and it's sunny, dry and warm, (only 12mls away). Got back to to find it hadn't stopped raining all morning. And it rained throughout the night too. Damp now with cloud at 1,700ft and light drizzle. But at least it's warm.

You can bet the gear has been split and the truck either resprayed or stripped for parts by now. I do hope you get the stuff back though.

Solids are better if you're cutting in dirty/tough conditions, e.g. mud, earth filled stumps, ice, etc. But they wear the chain quicker and take more power to rotate the chain.

Revolution and the guillotine worked for the people on the ground, not so good for the high & mighty.

Thames valley has more money in general and probable more conservative voters. Somerset by comparison is sparely populated, so less voters to pump for votes.

I reckon quite a number of people think a tree can only be brought down by a straight fell. Why then pay someone to do what nature will do for free. And hopefully it won't hit anything on the way down. Plus someone has bound to have told them it's valuable habitat, besides they're used to it being there. Better a dead tree than no tree.

Broadly similar. You're on the right track I think.

Why not put the forklift points at the bottom. Bit more stable when moving it, especially is the day was windy.

No photo but I'll draw you a picture. It has a handle at one end, an engine roughly in the middle and bits of metal that swap places with other bits of metal at the far end. Oh, and it's capable of making a lot of noise.

If you're cutting commercially in Wales or on FC land, then you must wear gloves with CS protection. If you're not, gloves then become a matter of personal preference.

Forecast was for gale and gale we got - thankfully without any rain.

Have to show this to a guy I know. Who took a whole year to plant 2,000 trees and for some reason, he thought he'd worked hard. Not really on the ball I think. Seen him fell oak and ask for firewood, then leave them on the ground, complete with limbs for 3 and 4yrs., simply because he couldn't be bothered to process them

Snow clinging on at 1,800ft but it's drying. Mean temp. has increased but the wind is gusting at gale force.

Seen one as a dump truck described thusly, "They don't need roads. They make them as they go along."

I didn't attribute HMS's answer as poor service, perhaps I was only one a few buying from there. Can't expect a shop to keep stock in the hope that a few people might want it. But I knew you are the only supplier to them; so to tell me they were sourcing a different supplier, did not inspire me to hold my breath. When I'm down south, I've an 80mls. round trip, so I get enough for a number of months at a time. I ring a stockist a few weeks before I think I'm going to run out, so I have some leeway and can arrange a schedule. I would've happily bought from HMS again but for the uncertainty of their answer. With just 2L remaining, I needed to know for sure that the stockist had or was going to have stock when I needed it.

Mix of rain and light snow but not sticking below 1,200ft.

Most had thawed by midday. Now back to the less confusing rain.

I stand corrected. Anyone got a straw hat I can eat...

Just over three weeks ago, I rang Hereford Mower Services. I was going to be on the area and had got my last 'A 2T' from there, "Sorry, we're out of stock." Never mind I thought, I'll ring back in a couple of weeks. Rang on Monday and got, "Our buy-in price has gone up. So we're looking for a different supplier." I took this to mean, they weren't going to stock it in future. Looking on Aspen's website, I found the next nearest stockist to my present location, was 'Mincost' in Lydney. Different direction but only two miles more than a trip to Hereford. Gave them a ring and they had plenty. So picked up 5x 5L in the afternoon. Great service, plenty of general stock and polite helpful staff. I'll use them in future me thinks.

Aspen is expensive enough, without wasting it before it's even entered the engine. Hasn't he noticed how much fuel he's getting through? Some people shouldn't be let out on their own.

It's raining as normal but the rain is white and collecting on hard surfaces.

I know someone for whom the idea of chain sharpening, is something to be done rarely and really badly. Even after the latest attempt at sharpening, the saw still rubbed away at the wood. The fact that the rakers are hardly ever filed doesn't help. This person has had formal training but still fails to sharpen at every attempt. I glanced over the other day and wondered if this time it would be done right. 30mins. later I observed the saw rubbing its way through another branch. Some while later, the 'frustrated cutter' gave up and went back to dragging brash. There have been offers to sharpen the chain but really there's little point, as next time they touch up the chain, in all likelihood it will be blunted yet again. I often wonder why this person doesn't have a go with the 'PowerSharp' system. Ok it might not cut as fast as a normal sharp chain. But it couldn't be nearly as poor as the present chain and the ineptitude of its owner. I went to school with some people, who after years in metalwork/woodwork, could still not file in a straight line or chisel along a marked line. For some people, working with their mind is the best they can do; for some, working with their hands comes naturally; for some, the two can be easily combined. But for others, sheer enthusiasm gets them through life. The 'frustrated cutter' falls into the latter category; just a pity enthusiasm doesn't get the saw through the wood any quicker but perhaps the 'PowerSharp' system would.

Viewing on iPot Touch via app and both date & time are still there, (upper right-hand corner).