green heart

My favourite splitting axe was a 10lb Earthworks head, on a 36" shaft, purchased way back in the 80's. Whilst it was a bit on the heavy side, for a then 16 year old(!), there wasn't a lot of logs it wouldn't split. Unfortunately it got stolen, with my landrover, and I've been unable to get a direct replacement, as the Shropshire foundry has long closed. Anyone seen an old one for sale ? Looking on an American 'Outdoor power forum -best splitting maul no axe' , I see there's even a 17 lb Sotz monster maul -tho most seemed to prefer the X27, or lighter axes. Suppose that'll make me another X27 customer, then !

Eggs, I paid £13k back in November, for a tidy 2017 Boxer, with 75k miles, high L4H3 in silver, after our transit crew-cab 'died'. The previous owner (a fitter) had bought it for his planned camper conversion -but not started on it. Oh, and it drives just like a car -vastly preferable to the old transit, in almost every way.. apart from the absence of of drop sides ! Even the front wheel drive aspect doesn't seem to be too bad, in light mud. Good luck with it !

Well, I'd be strongly inclined to wait just a month or so, before buying the current models of Makita saw... even if you already run their tools. I was over in our local saw dealer's today (who also happens to be a long-term Makita agent), who confirmed the next 56v Makita top-handled saw will (finally!) be coming out, in the New year. Apparently it will offer a massive increase in run time with the new 56v batteries (which when I picked one up, didn't feel any bigger or heavier than the previous units, as mentioned previously in this thread) but are twice the voltage, obviously !). Even if you don't plump for the new improved Makita set-up, I reckon there might likely be some good offers on the existing range, in the next month or two ? Slight De-rail warning : I am also quite surprised to understand all of the Makita 2 stroke powered saws and tools are going out of production next year, to be replaced by cordless tool options . I guess others on here must have mentioned this previously; but I was suprised -Makita make some pretty good saws ! I'm not really sure how anyone's supposed to have enough batteries to be able to power an equivalent 60+ cc saw or say, a 40+ cc brushcutter for a working day, but, hey... Seems like the age of use-able cordless saws is finally dawning, for better or worse. I believe its the same for Sthil's chainsaws, except they are keeping their professional range of 2 stroke saws in production -for now, at least.

I just wondered if I've got the oldest small chipper here, still -occasionally- in use after 22 years, I think ! It only really gets used when we can't shoe-horn a bigger chipper in, these days -but could this be a record ? It's a Cramer 450, on a solid steel trolley base, with an 18 hp Kohler, purchased from SCH at Ipswich. It must have done a few hours, over the years. Never had to touch the engine once, apart from plugs and the usual consumables, occasional bodywork/exhaust welds. With new blades and chipping 1" - 3" wood, I think it's as fast as our Timberwolf ; happily takes 4", and produces clean chippings. Could be a bit lighter to pull around, but hey !

Hi, I rather think it was Court engineering who bought up all the Dolmar spares in the UK, when production ended. I can find their contact number, if you still need it ? Also, I've also got a 133 & 166 -both good, except for each of them needing a new coil. Haven't been able to locate spare one's or find any alternative ones so far. . just in case anyone here knows anything useful ? ? (Would be much appreciated!)

Haven't sprayed Asulox in years..but distinctly remember it was best applied at the point in the summer, when the very last tip of the fronds was only just un-curling. Certainly not waiting for the senessence to start.. ( around June I'd guess ). Using a suitable adjuvent or sticker might make a significant improvement to rain-fast timing and efficacy, too. The addition of a blower unit and operator or misting/ making use of a following breeze, further improves penetration into the target area. If working on sloping or uneven ground (this tends to be normal!), then pre-walk your intended spraying route without sprayers and PPE gear on first, so you have some chance of spotting/avoiding rabbit holes and any other hidden natural trip hazards, etc. Also, always avoiding spraying on hot/very sunny days and investing in an air-fed spraying helmet and light-weight disposable spray suits were useful purchases. The novelty of looking like an astronaut wore off in less than ten minutes ! Hope that helps.

Yep, I have an old Parmiter on a 35hp Ferarri, though it wouldn't be any use on gate-posts or very dry ground, I can't imagine. Also it's much slower than a modern contractors driver with a 300kg head, obviously .

I can remember supplying an Elm wash basin, about 20 years ago, that a guy down in London wanted for his posh bathroom. It had a lovely grain, not unlike walnut in some respects, about 18" diameter, with no surface treatment of any kind. Sadly have no contact details for the customer, to ask if it's still functional. Not sure what effect soaps etc, would have on the bare timber tho. Elm is supposedly stable in water -I believe roof gutters were even made with planks of it. There should be some folk on here, up in Scotland or the North, that should be able to find a suitable diameter section, I would guess ?

So this is one of the most expensive types of insurance, for obvious reasons.. but I wondered if anyone here knows of a Domestic Insurance policy, that has an optional extra cover, for tradesman's tools ? It wouldn't cover theft from site or vehicles, but give some (relatively inexpensive ?) protection against burglary . The Co-op only recently ceased offering new policies with this type of cover, apparently. Our local NFU office/vehicle insurers were, um, helpful as ever... ! Our PL and EL insurers ( Bartletts ) said they could offer say, £4K of "all risks" cover -for just £240 -but it comes with a £500- Excess ( which feels so high as to be barely worth bothering with to me ). We've had a few bits and bobs stolen from site or our yard in Cheshire, over the last 30 years, and therefore just avoid leaving tools there or take it on the chin... but wondered about the domestic insurance cover mentioned above . Any thoughts, please ?

Pfanner vents -or Husky technical extreme . The latter being better value for money, in my opinion.

Hmm.. Good luck with that... I'd be very surprised if the flow-rate on a 6 ton machine was sufficient to enable the flailing of anything over 2" diameter woody material -but happy to be told otherwise ! -Think you'd need something more like a 13 tonner to do that ? What about using a tractor and long reach hedge cutter for the bulk of the work (easier availability), and then hand-cutting and chipping the remaining 2" and-over willow stems ?

Whilst I absolutely agree with some of the several previously mentioned, very useful advantages of cordless saws ( and looking forward to buying a sthil/husky/makita/other saw, battery and bits sometime soonish ), I think it's also worth mentioning that: Cordless batteries do tend to loose charge capacity, with regular site usage and age..so treat the re-charging life quoted with a some caution, perhaps ? Batteries will need daily recharging with daily use, obviously -so it's a bummer if you turn up with your team to a job, to find someone forgot to charge them last night..bring petrol back up tools? Some rechargeable batteries have a habit of simply 'dying', if exposed to heavy frost inside a building or vehicle. Battery recharging may very occasionally result in thermal overload (and a fire ! ), if dropped, damaged or overheated -or for no obvious reason! Climbing saws (and their batteries) naturally get a good few knocks...so, recharging needs to be done well away from anything flammable, just in case ? Yes, I learnt that lesson last year.. Cheaper ( identical looking ), counterfeit batteries have a much worse record for suffering thermal breakdown, apparently. I think cells made by Panasonic, Samsung and who else ? seemed safer. You will be tied to a particular manufacturer for all your other future (cordless) accessories. Not all manufacturers sell spares for cordless saws, I understand. I dare not mention any names! So could we not organise our own home-grown consumer comparison, of the most popular cordless saws and batteries, for the benefit of those interested here , perhaps ? Just to produce a simple standardised set of trials and key stats, in the form of a results table ? A timed field test comparison would be good too...with video. Needless to say, I don't have the first clue how to organise any of the above...but it's possible someone might point us in the right direction ? -or just remind me about putting my head up ?

I was looking at cordless chainsaws again recently, and was hoping to find something like a 'Which' style technical comparison of the cordless offerings from Stihl, Husqvarna, and Makita somewhere on here, or the internet...without any success... anyone spotted anything useful ? Was surprised to see the 36v Makita had a faster chain speed than the Stihl MS 161T ( 24m/s against 16m/s for stihl ). Also noticed the new stihl with typical battery weighs exactly the same as MS 201T, so no great advantage there either ! ☹️

Yes, Beech hedge lays (and typically responds) fairly well; though you will need to take great care at this size, unless you can find someone with previous experience of this type of situation to guide you , at least initially... You will likely find it considerably slower than your previous hedge laying work-rate. I'm assuming you have had some hedge laying training, experience and are a reasonably competent chainsaw operator -and climber ? Also, is it possible you can practice on another similar sized section of hedge, else where -it tends to look really obvious, if someone's 'getting their eye in' so to speak..

Potentially another really useful resource...especially when working out of our usual area of work . No suggestions for improvements that haven't been made already...but, can you give me a quick buzz one evening? Thanks Nick 07973 701 898

This sounds a bit petty, but it really bugs me that after climbing day, I always end up picking bits of sawdust off my socks, boxers, etc before I can walk through my front door....or have to sweep up the trail through the house later.. Is it one of those facts of life I just need to accept? ( no, I don't have a waiting Mrs to do this for me ). I've got to the point where I just drop my trousers and socks outside the front door -suppose I'm lucky in having broad-minded neighbours! The boot-lace hooks on my chainsaw trousers (Husky extreme technical!?) are about as functional as a chocolate fireguard. Is it 2018, or is it just me?

Great thread... I remember a job in a posh part of Manchester (Didsbury), where we left a nice straight Beech stem, around 5 tons in weight, lying along-side a private driveway, about 30' from the entrance gateway. Safe enough, I thought... Sent a friend with his Wood-mizer to plank it up, only to be phoned up from site, and told it had somehow "vanished" into thin air !! ☹️ After a big article in the local papers at the time, and some subsequent local enquiries revealed that the culprits were none other than -just wait for it now- Manchester city council !!! The then manager of the Arb team was called Mr S. T. Leaf ( I'm not making it up, really!) refused to say anything about it...but settled costs in the small claims court, a few months later. Never did find out the actual background, to why a council truck had craned a 5 ton stem out of a private property!

To respond to your queries, in the best way I can ( sorry I'm rubbish with computers!) : We were advised 10 years ago, by the truck garage/supplier, that the Iveco crew-cab hook-lift was regarded as ' a passenger carrying/multi-purpose vehicle' and as such, was 'exempt' from the requirements for an operators licence. I was surprised to see this even applied to a larger 8.5 ton crew-cab hook -lift that they had for sale, at the time. Sorry I don't know how to post a useful link to the gov't small-print, I'm afraid...but I just easily checked it again, on the Government website. Otherwise, there are some impressively knowledgeable folk on here , who will be able to verify this (I trust!). We find the crew-cab facility is actually really useful .

Hi, We've got an old hook-lift with a couple of drop-side bodies -a really useful bit of kit for tree and landscape work, that we've had for over 10 years now. It's an ex-local authority 5.2 ton Iveco with a crew cab, which gets around the need for an operators licence. Great for moving compact tractors, chip and loads under 1.5 tons

Does anyone know why the light-weight hand operated Lug-all winches with webbing, rather than steel cable, seem to be virtually unused in this country? They seem like a really useful thing to carry in the back of a truck, for that occasional sticky situation, that you didn't bring the Tirfor for... Only 7kg with 3 to 6m of cable and a 1 ton pull.

Oops! Forgot to add my number 07973 701 898

It's an old unit made by Simon Engineering -we've got a couple of them. Had a 12 and 17m unit for 20 years or so! Not been made for a good few years now; but still reasonable things for the occasional little job. Motors can easily be damaged by hydraulic seal leaks...I think the all-hydraulic control units are supposedly a bit more reliable. Give me a buzz if there's anything specific you want to know.

I can vividly remember being felled by a mere windblown hazel, just a 2" limb, nearly 20 years ago...it was quite straight, lying on the ground, partly covered in the bracken. No apparent stress. As I cut, it flung the 254 saw casing up into my face with such a force that I was knocked straight over, onto my back. The much more terrifying part was the split second sight of the 254 mid-air, returning down towards me.. It missed me the second time -and I was quite relieved to get away with just the mashed nose ! And few stars and expletives..

Looks very like Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria hetrophylla) to me...not quite your average saw-log !

I'd second the suggestion of using cow-mats: they are cheap, very light, easy to move around, 8 foot by 4 foot size, with plenty of other handy uses.