Couldyajust

Last tree planting job I did was 2 years ago 17,000 mixed hardwood whips with bamboo canes & spirals. Very steep ground & shale slopes (previously sprayed by helicopter as nothing else could get there) too steep for a quad to go more than halfway up the easiest slope (no chance on the shale slopes) so had to carry everything up on my back, nearly had some nasty falls, got away with relatively minor injuries though. Trees far too close together & planting under canopies of mature trees in places (not allowed to fell any pre-existing trees) so insufficient light/water in places to comply with rules for the grant customer had. STILL HAVEN'T BEEN PAID 2 YEARS ON so not planning to plant anymore in foreseeable future. Have seen the site since, looks like around 80% success rate on growth.

Perhaps it was removed due to complaints from google users saying every time they searched google for "BIG BUTTS" instead of the pics & videos they were expecting they could only find links to your thread.

The link should be.... http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/lounge/64821-mendiplogs-your-inbox-full-thread.html But that doesn't work so you'll have to talk to Mr Bullman nicely to see if it was backed up.

That one does have an original ECHO bar on it at the moment, name hasn't quite worn off yet.

FR Jones has some husky chain at the moment, limited range but a good price, approx 15p per link inc VAT. Husqvarna Chain reels

You could always get one of these new thief resistant saws instead. On a more serious note I would go with the Echo & invest in a shorter bar to go with it. If it is an Echo branded 18" bar that comes with it then keep hold of it as they are very high quality bars & it will come in handy when you upgrade to a bigger Echo saw.

Also worth thinking about footwear if you haven't already. A good pair of steel cap boots (can't see a need for you to spend extra on chainsaw boots for occasional use of a saw) would offer your feet some protection & will probably come in handy for other things too.

Utility is more scrubby stuff and overgrown hedges rather than trees. Depending on the company you work for you may be put under pressure to butcher as much as you can as fast as you can to get clearance rather than doing a tidy job on anything. You should gain experience of difficult trees & rigging though. I had zero job satisfaction doing line clearance and railway work but did gain experience doing it then switched to alternating between hand cutting in the woods and domestic both of which I prefer and that is primarily what I still do now although I also do a bit of strimming, hedgecutting, agricultural & digger work too as you have to be flexible to guarantee all year round work in this area if you are self employed.

Is this the Katanaboy or did you get yourself another Silky?

To be honest any of them should do the job in your circumstances you just need to decipher the description to work out what protection they offer & decide what you want to spend. Type A trousers protect the front of the legs only. Type C protect all over The class rating you need is determined by the saws you typically use somewhere in the manual it should tell you how fast the chain travels if you are not sure then post your saws make & model on here & someone is bound to know. Class 1 products are tested with a chainsaw speed of 20m/s. Class 2 products at 24m/s Class 3 at 28m/s Cut proof gloves are not necessary if you have a saw with a chain brake that is used correctly in my opinion but I am sure others will disagree. Some suppliers offer PPE kits (trousers or chaps, gloves & a helmet) which may work out cheaper. I give away my old PPE to domestic saw users when I replace it (subject to the condition it is in) there may be people in your area that do the same.

A couple of people round here have them don't think they have much experience with them though judging by the results on some of the neglected farm hedges they have been used on. Almost as much mess as when the railway sends the flail cutters out to clear the banks, hedges butchered loads of badly split branches, big chunks of branches clogging ditches & scattered all over the edge of the fields. Wouldn't be so bad if they could be bothered getting out of the excavator & clearing the mess up after themselves but it works in my favour as I have been asked to tidy up a lot of neglected agricultural hedges (hand cutting) since people have seen the results of the flail cutters.

OK I will have a word with the local dealers first see what they have at the moment. Will probably have a reel of the H42 from you at some point though once I get through the reel & a half of Oregon 73LGX I have.

I have one got the log jaws with it too, comes in handy for all sorts of things a bit heavy if you need to carry it any real distance though.

I am not stupid enough to register or pay for a full report either but this is what it claims about me which does actually sound reasonably accurate.

I was just looking at your shiny new things & noticed the Husqvarna chain reels. Are these 3 the only ones you will be stocking or will you be adding to the range? Just wondered as the price is pretty good at 15p per link (inc vat) but the next reel I am likely to need is something equivalent to Oregon type 72 chain (3/8" 050) which you don't currently have listed.

CS8002 - Used on a daily basis, incredibly reliable. HC341ES - Erratic use either have loads of hedges all at once or none for months. Incredibly reliable, really good finish but struggles with thicker material/neglected hedges so I also have a HS86R which is unreliable & leaves a poor finish & a HS246 attachment for my 026 which will go through anything but leaves a poor finish. Once the thicker stuff is cut with whichever Stihl hedgetrimmer I use I finish off with the Echo. PB750 - Only comes out for the bigger jobs as a hand held blower is normally sufficient, always reliable, tons of power have to be careful not to lift poorly laid slabs or tarmac with it. Never needed parts for any of them.

When I save wood for turners I leave trunks in pieces as long as possible & avoid cutting too close to any knotty bits or burrs as they are generally what the turners are after. I then cut lengths up as requested by the turner if they prefer me to do it for them. Usually give them a marking crayon & leave them for a few minutes to decide where they want it cut.

One of the dealers near me sells Dolmar in addition to Efco, Makita, Shindaiwa & Stihl products. They have said they are thinking about dumping Stihl due to the number of warranty repairs & increases in spares costs they have encountered since production moved to China. In the short term they have increased the range of Dolmar products they hold in stock while they decide whether or not to continue stocking Stihl or to switch to another manufacturers products.

Can't we have the other one for a change, I'm sick of seeing that video. [ame] [/ame]

Personally I favour reliable tools that are up to the job I need them to do & require minimal maintenance. Low spec Chinese imports don't fit that criteria.

They really sell themselves on their site saying what fast efficient climbers they are (no mention of qualifications so no idea what if any training they did) then all the dismantles and reductions they post photos of seem to be cuts made at whatever height they can reach off a ladder. Just seems odd there is no pictures of them actually climbing trees. Tools include a Timberpro topper, Timberpro 62cc saw & a Timberpro hedgecutter. Not tools you instantly associate with professional users.

There are a handful of turners & millers I will set aside wood for it works on the basis that they tell me what to look out for, when it comes up if they want to view or buy the wood they turn up at the time I set make an instant decision/offer. If they don't turn up or won't give a straight answer as to whether or not they want it then it gets logged up. Storing bits of wood on the off chance it might sell at a later date is not worthwhile.

A couple of years ago a farmer employed me to go along his riverbank & certain hedges reducing all the ivy covered trees. He wanted them left covered in ivy for the wildlife habitat it provides but reduced sufficiently so that if/when they drop they would not catch overhead cables or block the full width of the river. Horrible job to complete but he was happy with the end result.

Distance selling has probably also gone up with the increased availability of cheap Chinese toppers such as the Timberpro. TIMBERPRO 26cc 10" Petrol Powered Top Handled Chainsaw Reading through those reviews I think the competence of the end users is easy to determine. One review from someone who said they recently started a tree business intrigued me so I looked up their website & company facebook page, here are a couple of photos showing just how competent they are. The saw they bought. Showing off their climbing skills with it on facebook & their website with what they describe as a "Massively overgrown Xmas tree dismantled and removed."

Mine seems to be indestructible only thing I don't like is the idle adjustment on the carb being a thumb screw as have had 3 different people over the last couple of years say "what does this do?" or similar whilst fiddling with it when I ask them to pass my saw or when they ask to have a look at it.