Mik the Miller

Apparently .. Chainsaws were first invented for childbirth. It was developed in Scotland in the late 18th Century to help aid and speed up the process of symphysiotomy (widening the pubic cartilage) and removal of disease-laden bone during childbirth. It wasn’t until the start of the 20th Century that we started using chainsaws for woodchopping.

The bar, chain and sprocket (spur or rim) must all match. A narrower drive link will draw through a wider channel but it can catch on the walls and it's not something I would recommend.

Nope, still a family owned business in Wales, and still 'the best' in my opinion. IFOR WILLIAMS TRAILERS LIMITED filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK FIND-AND-UPDATE.COMPANY-INFORMATION.SERVICE.GOV.UK IFOR WILLIAMS TRAILERS LIMITED - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers...

They do feel a bit floppy, the answer is the 'Hard Stihl AV kit' (1138 007 1003), makes a big difference.

Holy cow, it's AMAZING What a fantastic saw. Starts like a dream. Cuts like a champ.. Stunning. Why didn't I get one before now .... ??

Oak takes at least 2 years to dry through to around 20% here in Scotland. Often it appears to be ready but if I split a piece in half the inside is still above 25% I have a store which passes the wind and is protected again rain by a mesh curtain (skip net) and tend too leave it at least 2, more likely 3 years. I burn mostly hardwoods and Oak needs a friend in the stove. For this I use Ash or Birch and occasionally Beech. I love Oak, it's well worth the effort IMO

I don't use Instagram although I can imagine that there is a lot of nonsense on there as it's a Meta owned, American photo and short-form video sharing platform. It'll be full of 'look at me I know everything' types, best avoided IMO FYi, I am not looking to make any of my saws heavier and louder or to "add more sharp bits that reduce effective bar length" however I do aim to make the saw easier to handle and provide a quicker pickup with (if possible) more available power. Reducing the effective bar length is also not on my agenda and fitting the matching, Stihl, outer bumper spike will (again IMO) assist in keeping the saw level when cutting at the maximum depth as well as reducing paint damage to the front of the crankcase below the exhaust.

Needle cage, 7T rim sprocket kit, upper internal cover, rubber guard, bumper strips, chain catcher, spark plug (it's a tiny one ...), exhaust gasket, outer bumper spike, inner side plate, HD2 air filter, 2 filler caps, worm gear and spring ... Extras: Full wrap handle (yet to arrive) Barkbox exhaust cover (Chinesium, also yet to arrive) The previous owner hadn't done a great deal of maintaining, had lost the chain (more than) a few times and the saw was pretty messy and chewed up in parts. A hand skoosher of Gunk and a pressure washer got rid of most of the saw dust, chippings, grass, mud and oil followed by 1/2 an hour of digging out the remains from nooks and crannies etc. It starts and runs as-sweet-as and with a 20" bar is ready to go. Starts much easier than my 660. I will change the 20" bar for a 25 when the chains expire (next year probably) although I like to undersize The first job will be bucking a lime that I dropped and limbed a couple of weeks ago, the owners son wants the rounds for firewood, mine is not to question....

Yes .... No .... i've just bought a used 500i (and spent £250 on bits - inc the full wrap - to get it up to spec)

And they still are ... here's the latest from Stil Customer service. Basically - we won't sell you a full wrap handle because you don't need one. You should only fell trees in zis vay !!! \\ Good afternoon Mr Bartlett, I have further consulted with our Training Team Manager and Field Trainer who advise as below in relation to your comments: Wrap-around handles are a feature most commonly found on chainsaws sold in the United States and Canada, particularly on larger professional saws designed for forestry work. These handles are not available or supplied by STIHL with chainsaws in the UK, largely because there has been no (historical) demand for them. Forestry practices and the types of trees commonly worked on in the UK have not required the wrap-around handle. In North America and Canada, wrap-around handles are often used for felling very large trees, especially on steep or uneven terrain where cutting techniques such as the Humboldt cut are preferred over more common British methods like the standard fell, split-level, dog tooth, or Danish pie cuts. However, it’s worth noting that the wrap-around handle is only beneficial during the felling stage. Once the tree is on the ground and needs to be processed the extra handle can actually become cumbersome, getting in the way and making the saw bulkier to manoeuvre. For this reason, most UK operators prefer the standard front and rear handle configuration, which offers better balance and simplicity for the majority of tasks typically performed in British forestry and arboriculture. There are no plans to import the wrap-around handle into GB and as such I'm afraid that it's not something that would be available through STIHL GB. I trust this provides further clarification into the reasons we do not supply this in the STIHL GB market. Kind regards, Dan STIHL GB Andreas Stihl Limited // Ian did say that they aren't easy to source, he quoted approx 4 to 5 weeks. I think @Stihl123 is right, it would be quicker and easier to import one from a US reseller. I did get back to Dan at Stihl GB and said that his Training and Field Manager sounded like a 'right pair of textbooks' (which is from my 'How to win friends and impress people book') and asked if Stihl would sell me 100 pieces. Which I fully expect them to say "NO" to, after all all, who wants £10K's worth of business handed to them on a plate ?

I had a slightly more sensible response from Dan @ Stihl GB. Still doesn't make a huge amount of sense and I think it shows how much 'out of touch' Stihl GB is from it's customers. \\ Good morning Mr Bartlett, Thank you for your further email. The part you are enquiring about is used on the Rescue Saw version of the MS500i which is not supplied or brought into the GB market for numerous reasons. I am sorry for any disappointment caused, however should our ongoing market research deem a need for this specific machine in the future, we are happy to review it's introduction at a later date. Kind regards, Dan STIHL GB Andreas Stihl Limited //

Thanks. I contacted Ian and ordered one.

Or Brexit ... probably