Billhook
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Everything posted by Billhook
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I suppose it could be a furtive Mistle Thrush, but unlike any other I have heard and I would expect to have seen it. Two of us have been working in the woods in the last weeks and on three or four occasions we have stopped work to try and see it but never have. The man I work with is an ex game keeper and he is no wiser.
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I have heard Mistle Thrushes all my life and yes they can be sometimes non melodic but at this time of year I would expect to see a relatively large bird in the tops of a tree or at least flying away from me. I tried to follow the sound and it keeps moving but I never see the bird Blackcap much more tuneful warble, white throat the same much more musical Nuthatch is loud enough and furtive enough but it is not quite right unless as I said they have different accents in different places
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Dithering over which little old tractor
Billhook replied to Mr. Ed's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Forky it is then! Or when your thumb is hit by the spinning steering wheel it will be Forkit! -
This bird has been following me around the woods. I never see it but it is as loud as a Thrush. I am not bad on my bird ID I suspect it is a Nuthatch since I never see it and it is very furtive. But it does not sound quite like the Nuthatch on the google recording. Perhaps it has a Lincolnshire accent! There are a pair on our bird feeder so I know they are about, but I have never heard them sing from there. IMG_0749.MOV
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Brilliant last year of his life, what more could you wish . Made the century, knighted by the Queen, caused all that money to go to the NHS. Served his country many times over above the call of duty.
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Dithering over which little old tractor
Billhook replied to Mr. Ed's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Another one using the Wiltecon a front loader -
Dithering over which little old tractor
Billhook replied to Mr. Ed's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
https://www.wiltec.de/professional-forestry-tongs-for-tree-trunks-up-to-720mm-pulling-force-1500kg.html Seems to have gone up a bit in price since I bought mine Thought of a name for the Tractor, ” Forky “. It has a muck fork on the loader It is the 4000 model or. 4K in shorthand It should be worth well over 4K when you fit the power steering! -
Dithering over which little old tractor
Billhook replied to Mr. Ed's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
It also pivots 360 degrees which is useful when trying to position on bearers for milling -
Dithering over which little old tractor
Billhook replied to Mr. Ed's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
I found these German made Wiltec tongs are excellent as generally you can pick up a big log without leaving the cab Here I am lifting a log which weighs 1.5 tons verified by my scales. But this is with an eight ton Matbro which can lift nearly three tons so do not try this with yours! I think the tongs were about £150 -
Dithering over which little old tractor
Billhook replied to Mr. Ed's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Another thought is that the £325 will easily be recovered by increasing the value of the tractor should you sell. It is important to give her a name! You may find plenty of suggestions from the helpful folk on Arbtalk! -
Think you had better put in a compass and port and starboard navigation lights! You will be coming across the Irish sea to visit us I can see!
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Dithering over which little old tractor
Billhook replied to Mr. Ed's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
I also spent much of my working days on Ford 4600 which we bought new in 1978. It had power steering which was perfect and a nice tractor for lighter precise work like drilling sugar beet as well as being man enough to help pull a five ton trailer in bad conditions when we were harvesting. As Khriss says to save your twisted wrist or bruised fingers it may be worth spending £325 on a kit New Power Steering Kit for Ford / New Holland Tractor 4000 4600 WWW.EBAY.CO.UK Mounting Instruction inside. KIT CONTAINS: Mounting Flange, Power Steering Cylinder, Long Rod, Hydraulic Pump, Oil Tank, Pressure Tube, Inlet Hose, Emptying Tube, 2 Tie Rod Ends... -
I thought that seven grand was quite reasonable compared to say a Honda Quad or certainly the 15K Gators and larger heavier versions. The full cab seemed ridiculous 3.5K so I just bought a sheet of polycarbonate for about £100 and some large P clips to attach to the frame and a plywood roof, fine for our needs.
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Think I would call that one an Ass rather than a Mule!
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You have exactly the same problem as us. No way could we work in the woods or the steep grassland in this weather without making the kind of mess that would take years to put right., So the Mule gives us the opportunity to carry on working rather than sitting in the kitchen drinking endless cups of tea and reading all about how many people have died today.
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Dithering over which little old tractor
Billhook replied to Mr. Ed's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet but I am fairly sure that the Massey 35 had a live pto operated by a two stage clutch and I hope that the Ford has an independent pto which is much better so good choice. We ran Ford tractors for over forty years having had John Deeres and Masseys before. Always seemed to have a reoccurring weaknesses with the Deere (engine) and Massey (hydraulics and Multipower transmission. Fords always seemed more sorted. Hope this gives you confidence and good luck with your good choice -
Like 'cos it's far out dude, cosmic, mind blowing, tangerine dream and it's free, man! ( If you can grow it!)
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WWW.WOODLANDTRUST.ORG.UK
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That is interesting. I know my father spent a lot of time finding different sprigs ,some from his brother's farm in Norfolk, and also went around with his pocket knife trying different methods, sometimes lifting bark and binding it, other times just shoving it into a small gap, but the secret may be having to pass though a bird to start the process. He just was perplexed by his brother in laws garden in the South where it grows like a weed and is treated like one as it seems to overwhelm some trees.
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Exactly what my father did forty years ago with success. I was just wondering if the Mistletoe has a lifespan shorter than the tree. He planted some bamboo in a wet area which lasted for thirty years ever increasing until one year the whole lot suddenly died for no obvious reason. Could Mistletoe be the same? And why is it so difficult to grow above the line between the Wash and the Severn?
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We have had this sprig of Mistletoe on a Poplar for maybe forty years. The tree seems healthy. Does Mistletoe have a certain lifespan? I remember my father trying to put Mistletoe around the farm. He read up about the method and went around a load of different trees but this was the only one that grew. I think that he read that there was a line from the Wash to the Severn Estuary above which it was rarely found. Anyone know any more? Perhaps a couple sneaked down at Christmas and had a snog under it and gave it the virus!
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Good advice thank you
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Glad to hear you have that level of confidence in them. We did have an idling issue with ours from brand new. It was idling too fast on the new injection petrol and no adjustment we tried made any difference so we sent it back and a new throttle body was fitted, apparently costing over £1000 though glad to say not our money. It is fine now and I have heard that ours is not the only one. Been using it today to haul rounds out of a steep grass field so wet that if you jumped out of the cab you were likely to end up on your bum. No problem for the Mule and I think a lot of it is the quality of the tyres which seem to be self clearing of mud.
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Fair comment, and if you are cutting in the same place all the time it would work well. For me the ease of fitting all the bits into the back of my truck and taking the sawhorse to different locations is the deciding factor. You do have a bit of flexibility on the width of your cut simply by cutting closer or further away from the uprights
