Billhook

We had a massive Ash tree down across the only road into the village. The gale was still howling but since it was on our property I had many calls from villagers who needed to drive out for various important but not emergency issues. I was not keen on faffing about with cones and signs due to the wind and the risk of more fallen branches. There was a long queue on either side and it was fairly obvious to everybody what I intended to do with the Teleporter. I grabbed the offending limb which has broken off with the impact so no chainsawing was necessary, and tipped it back over the fence into the field . I then put the muck grab on the deck and scraped the road clear enough for single file traffic. The traffic conducted itself sensibly and all was well. On reading this thread I see I must have broken every rule in the book and probably should serve a lengthy prison term but when the Police car finally turned up a really pleasant policeman took a brush out of the back of his car, helped clean up the bits and pieces and praised me for being a good citizen

Useful snippets of information thank you, keep 'em coming!

We have just ordered a SM 70 because of your faith in the machines! So I will come after you if it does not work out! I thought that I would make use of the bagger where possible and try and drum up some local trade but failing that we have a Clearrview 500 in the office. I only go in for a short time so I want something to heat the room up fairly quickly and judging by the sample that Welmec gave us this would be perfect for that job. I saw the tractor PTO driven version first and I thought that the machine looked a bit fierce, running at a high speed and the 10hp petrol would be more gentle as well as economical. I did not opt for a road transport kit as I thought I would take the machine in the large Matbro grain bucket down to the woods and just let the loggings fall into the bucket. When there was a load just tip in into a ton box on the flatbed. This is if I found it too onerous to sort out the bag filling on my own. Would be interested to see how you find the best way of using yours. I was wondering if the branch logged material might be a viable alternative to charcoal on a Summer BBQ. But the main thing we will feel good about is actually using the material that would otherwise be chipped, burnt in the wood or left to rot., as you have said.

I agree, it is a shame to use the Lucas for firewood, but there is a bit of logic when you have trees like this that are too big to chainsaw easily, and have too many faults and branches. Then you have to deal with the rings which means a lot of lifting and manoeuvring and splitting. With the Lucas waltzing through the big trunk, cutting 8x8 lengths they are easily loaded with the forklift and then presented to the Palax Combi to be sawn into lengths that will fit exactly into the Clearview 650. Loaded with the conveyor into one ton potato boxes so there is no heavy handling or axe work. When stacked neatly in the stove they can last for 10 hours when shut down. Most of my Lucas work is like yours, cutting usable lengths of 3x2 or4x2 for general repairs or joinery I am much more picky than I used to be when selecting timber for floors and furniture, and this happens more rarely as I have no floors left to do and no room for any more furniture! Have you ever used the lap (bevel) board attachment? I have not, more of an Australian/US thing I suppose.

Perhaps you could put a Trailcam with night vision hidden in or nearby the potentially vulnerable trees to identify the guilty?

So what would you charge for a nylon sack of that material perhaps down at the local garage, maybe advertised as enhanced kindling??? 20 nets perhaps to a cubic metre? So £60 divided by 20= £3?

I know that you mean about the small stuff. It takes longer to set them up even if you do three at a time. With a large tree you can do so much more with one set up. Do you ever quarter saw? I usually do not bother I found the slabber was ok once I had worked out the winch for it but after slabbing a couple of trees and accumulating a stack of slabs I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do with them. I can make a couple of tables but then I am short of ideas, and it is a real faff changing from slabber to swing blade and back again. With the swing blade there are so many options and it is so quick.

Whereupon I encountered a bloody Flint stone twenty feet up in the middle of the tree. There were quite a few Sparks and it neatly removed all five tips. I knew it was too good to be true, sun shining, engine starting first pull, blade cutting keenly

You beat me there Skc, fantastic recovery there and right on the limit of the saw. What a superb bit of kit the Lucas is. Yours either looks quite new or you have been looking after it well! I had a go at the other tree today and quickly recovered some 8x8 lengths until I reached this point

It was a hopeless case for planking or slabbing as there were parts that were starting to rot. I have cut it into 8x8 inch beams to put through the Palax to cut to a size that fits the 650 Clearview stove. Although not good enough for anything else there is still a lot of useful firewood in that tree. I have just been cutting another similar sized tree today. It always looked healthy and was in leaf but it blew down across the road in the last gales. Very lucky nobody was underneath it at the time. they are both full five foot width of the Lucas in places but probably average four foot diameter. the Matbro 270 could not even lift one end of the tree and it has a capacity of 2.7 tons. [ame] [/ame] D7 Caterpillar to the rescue [ame] [/ame]

I had to wind the Lucas up to maximum height and walk along the top of the tree in the beginning. It only just cleared at the sides as well

We had a chimney like that next to where we lived. It was part of a unit built in the First World War for refining shale oil from a sand and gravel pit. (nothing much new is there!) My dear old father sat all day in a deck chair waiting for the big moment with his clockwork cine camera while they struggled to fell it. When they did manage to do it he was sound asleep. Certainly woke him up though!

I seem to remember that you are not allowed to mow your lawns on a Sunday in Germany. Does this apply to chainsawing as well? Are there not also other rules about no big lorries on Autobahns on a Sunday?

Is it four wheel drive? I cannot see a post about that or any sign in the picture. If it is then some weight on the front would help, if not then as much as possible on the back without hindering the steering ability. I would not like to venture into damp woodland with 2WD. 4WD would also help controlling the tractor downhill with a load behind. With that in mind, is that a roll bar I see over the bonnet. Bilke-user gives the scenario of being pushed downhill by a six ton load with a right hand bend. Classic jackknife and overturning situation with six tons of logs completing the job. The tractor may have a special brake hydraulic coupling linked to the pedals. Best to look for that first before the spool valve option. What is the make and model?

I think you may need some fast rope training! [ame] [/ame]

I am a farmer and have always understood farmer's lung to be caused by the particles from damp mouldy material such as hay and wet corn. A sharp chainsaw should not produce much dust unless the tree is rotten, but generally you can find a spot to saw with the wind in your favour, The sharp Lucas Slabber working on Holm Oak produced a vast amount of dust and I had to wear both dust mask and goggles. I wear these for yew as well and generally just the goggles with the Lucas sawing Ash with the swing blade and the Palax processor (Headphones on the Stihl helmet as well as the mesh shield) The advice from us old'uns to all you invincible young'uns is not to take chances with your eyes, lungs and hearing as well as not taking chances with your fleshy bits (that includes trips to Amsterdam!)

I am trying to think think think what all those little boxes are meant to mean that you have posted and also Mediplogs uses. Thinking outside the box, box clever, tick box, living in a box?

All of the above is worth repetitive reflection. I always thought that one of the best ideas from the farming Health and Safety was to tie a bit of baler twine on your door in a neat bow to remind you as you leave to come home safely for the sake of your family as well as yourself. Over the years on the farm it always seems to be the silly little things which cause a serious result out of proportion to their threat. Just not having a tidy workshop or yard and not picking things up that will trip you up. Just fumbling about in the dark because you haven't had time to change the light bulb. Just doing one job too many at the end of the day in fading light when you are knackered

I felt a bit of a planker when it would not move!

It can even happen to a litt'un

I have a Palax 600 Combi and often feeding awkward shaped Ash limbs and have the same problem so I dsiconnected the auto trip and now have a foot pedal so I can see that the log has landed correctly before starting the ram. I fitted a three phase electric motor for yard work which is so quiet and easy, but it still can be driven with the pto in the woods if necessary without changing anything. I fitted and manual winch to lift the conveyor up for transport. I made a drawbar and detachable wheels for towing on the road with a car. I made a simple manual roller feed table so that I can bring back a load of 10 foot logs straight from the woods with the muck grab which can then be tilted and the grab gently lifted to feed the rollers. Seems to work well and cuts out all the manual lifting of the past.. I welded a single splitter to replace the standard four way for larger logs. Made it out of old D7 dozer blade wearing part. Made a T handle to make adjusting or removing the splitting blade easy. Yep, after twenty years with the machine I am now happy!

Friends bought me a ticket to the England Ireland match on the 27th Feb. This is the only fixture that I have not seen before, so looking forward to it.

Large Ash fell across a ditch taking powerlines down with it. Wedged itself in the ditch so tried to lift one end out with the Matbro 270. which has a 2.7 ton lift capacity. [ame] [/ame] Daisy Etta 17 tons of Caterpillar D7 came to the rescue. Still needed the forking lift to lift the tree over the lip of the ditch [ame] [/ame] Job done, Several earthworms unfortunately may have been harmed on this recovery mission. [ame] [/ame]

You have a short memory Jon, I showed you "Sandringham Sydney" in "Show us yer tractors" some time ago http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/picture-forum/10361-show-your-tractors-206.html#post1264354

To my trusty Sandringham Six, six wheel drive Stage 1 V8 with crane and tipping body. Bit thirsty but very useful.