sandspider

Did you ever get this sorted? Mine's not oiling now either! Bar grooves and oil hole are clear, oil filler cap vent doesn't seem to be blocked...

I was quoted £1.47ppl yesterday, albeit for a baby tanker due to access issues, and this bumps the price up. Hopefully oil prices seem to be easing now, so we'll just turn the heating down and wait a week or two. 🤞🤞

If it's split small, and stored out of the rain with decent air flow it should be fine.

Sorry to hear that, J. Looks like she had a good and full life at least.

Another vote for Kris Harbour, he seems to know his stuff with energy from water (and wind and solar).

Just saw a tree fall in the wind across the road from us.

What make/ model is that? I've only ever used horizontal electric splitters, which are probably worse than vertical.

Thanks, useful to know the cheapy Chinese splitter lasted a good few years. The oxdales do look rather good, but for my level of usage I can't justify the cost, even second hand.

Thanks Paul. When you say large diameter, how big are we talking? I've got some big, ugly logs knocking around...

What model have you got, Hairy? Thanks

Thanks folks. I was hoping to spend less, but I guess a cheaper machine won't be as good? (And wouldn't be an unbadged version of a Rock splitter for example!) Two speed (quick cycle time) would be a good option to have, and a ram stop is essential.

Hi all Toying with the idea of getting an electric splitter, as my wrist is too bad for much axe splitting now. My wood supply comes from my land (personal domestic use only, but ~10m3 or so a year), and is often gnarly big bits, so would be looking at a 6 ton or stronger splitter. (I've borrowed a 4 ton splitter and stalled it on various knotty bits, even when trying to nibble away at the edges). So, I was looking at a Forest Master or perhaps a Handy or even a Titan - something with a reasonable name. But eBay keeps suggesting things like this: Log Splitter 8 Ton Fast Electric Hydraulic Wood Timber Cutter 2200 Watt Motor WWW.EBAY.CO.UK Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Log Splitter 8 Ton Fast Electric Hydraulic Wood Timber Cutter... £100 or £200 cheaper. Is this much the same as the branded versions underneath? I imagine after sales service would be poor to non-existent, but I also don't think there's too much to go wrong with a log splitter, so if it's reasonable quality, I hopefully wouldn't need after sales service. Or are these Chinese splitters a waste of money, and I should spend more and get a decent one, or get a second hand forest master? I'm sure someone here has tried the Chinese jobs. Cheers.

Thanks, will have a look.

Hi Ian Do you sell a "basic" splitter like the Rock ones, as I only see full on processors on your adverts? I don't have the budget for a processor, but am considering a splitter...

Many thanks for that folks, especially Alec for that veritable essay! I will read through it all again and inwardly digest. The trees are actually growing through plastic weed membrane, but the grass is fighting back and overwhelming the plastic. I will mulch with cardboard and wood chip / manure again. The trees are mainly apple, and I won't prune the plum, cherry etc. until summer. (If at all - the apples are bigger). I will try bending some branches (interesting to know about the grow / fruit branch angle relationship), and a few larger cuts to the main branches rather than tip pruning too much and see how it goes. I've also looked up Stephen Hayes and that looks useful, easier to follow a video than try and replicate text / articles here in my paddock without internet signal! I have one semi tip bearing tree (Lord Lambourne IIRC) but mostly spur bearing. I'm also looking for a not too intensive management regime, so renewal pruning with occasional spur pruning might work. Several of my other trees also have twin main leaders, so I will cut back one or both of them and aim for a manageable goblet shape. Interesting times! Thanks again for taking the time.

Hi all I've got a small mixed orchard, planted about 5 years ago, mainly on MM106 rootstocks. I've lightly pruned the trees in the past, but think I need to do a heavier prune this winter. Below is a photo of the largest and most unruly tree. I know to prune dead, diseased, dying, then any crossing branches, and can do that. However, to get it to the open goblet shape I think I'm aiming for, I think it needs more. Marked in red is what I think would be about right (cutting back the longer sections so we can reach the apples on the remaining branches and opening the middle a bit) and marked in green is what I'm toying with doing for a harder cut back and to guide the tree more towards the goblet shape. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I think there are a couple of pruning specialists on here... The green option looks quite drastic, but might be worth doing to get the tree into a better shape for the future... Thanks.

An alternative route is to turn off your phone's GPS at all times, turn off Google assistant so phone doesn't listen to what you say. On balance, the services google etc. provide me are worth the small amount of (often false) information I let them have!

🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺 Got it all back together eventually, and the bastard works!! It holds fuel, and it still runs as well. Hooray. (I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to get it back together again correctly) Thanks for the help, folks.

I think I've figured it out, thanks. Primer bulb and hose ordered. If I can't fix it, I'll be back with more photos! (The hose that I thought needed to come out of the bottom of the tank / under the handle seems to be some sort of breather hose - it has a screw in the end. The hose that has broken goes into the grommet under the carb, top of the tank, so easier to get to). 🤞🤞🤞

Ha, fuel runs out before oil on mine, and it must have cut 50 odd M3 of wood over the past ten years! For the princely cost of £70 odd. If you were closer I'd probably have it! 😊

Got the carb off, and there's a plastic plate under it, part of the body of the saw and not removeable. Having said that, I seem to need to replace the other fuel line, not the one that goes right down to the base of the handle but the one that goes through a grommet under the carb, and that I can just about get to now. To be continued! I've got screws and plastic bits all over the garage, and not sure I'll ever get it back together and working! Skip is always an option, but I'll try a bit longer before I give up and buy a new saw...

Thanks spud. I did try getting the carb out, but it seems to be attached to the engine via some sort of solid gasket? I undid the screws I could find and the carb didn't shift a milimetre. Will clean the crap off and have a closer look tomorrow. Also, the fuel line seems to run right down under the carb into the tank, pinched between handle and back of the engine, and I'm not sure if would be possible to access it without taking the handle and tank off? (This is the first chainsaw I've tried to dismantle and I may be missing something obvious...)

Thanks OSM, that's handy. Looks like there may be a hidden bolt at 60 I've not managed to get. Maybe. Maybe I'll just buy a new battery saw! As for the airline, you're right! I'm not a commercial user, domestic only, but it could do with a clean while I'm there

Hi folks I need to get my saw in half, so I can replace a broken fuel line from primer bulb to tank (roughly following green line on pic below). But I can't get access to it as I can't get the saw into two pieces - I want to get the handle and fuel tank assembly off the engine and main body of the saw (at the red line on the pic below) so I can get at the fuel pipe. I've undone everything I can find - the trigger linkage is still in place, but that's not the issue. Somewhere there's a bolt or something holding the two sections together (though they wiggle and flex). I've not taken the clutch off - I don't have pullers or anything and think that might be beyond my skill anyway! But presumably there's nothing holding the two bits together under the clutch? Am I an idiot? Am I missing a bolt under all the saw dust or something? (It's a cheap Chinese saw, badged Spear & Jackson, but it's served me well for 10 or more years and I'd like to fix it if it's not too much of a faff...) Thanks.

If you can get out a deep chunk of ground with most of the roots I can't see why it wouldn't work. You'd leave some deep holes and need to thin the oaks in their new home in future. But can't hurt to try?