Bob The Dog

I used my L200 as an anchor for winching over a not too big conifer a while ago. Whilst it managed it, the truck was moving more than I was happy with. Even though there’s a good bit of weight in the vehicle, the 4 tyres on the ground don’t provide a massive contact area (probably a sheet of A4 size on each corner), and once that initial friction breaks, the vehicle will continue to slide. Unless it’s quite small stuff, I tend not to use the truck as an anchor these days.

Sweet chestnut is ok in a stove. It’s spits a fair bit and burns quite quickly I’ve found. I usually mix it with other stuff, but happy to burn on its own too.

Tried it once on the Greenmech and stripped the torx head out of the first bolt I came to (as Mark has said). I now always loosen them with a breaker bar kept at 90 degrees to the bolt, having cleaned the bolt head, and tapped the torx socket into the bolt head with a hammer, and then wind them out from there with an impact driver to save a bit of time. I wind them back in with the same impact driver but only til they nip up loosely, and then a torque wrench to finish them off.

I’ve recently bought the Milwaukee M18 top handle. It’s not so compact as the Stihl, but has bags more grunt. 14” bar cutting through 10/12” Ash the other day without any issues. Boxing Day deals weren’t to be missed. Came with 2 x 8ah batteries and charger for £479, which is an awful lot cheaper than the Husky T542i that I was initially looking at. I haven’t had it long enough to comment on longevity, but the build quality looks good. Battery life, same as most, will suffer if cutting lots of big stuff, but I was impressed by how much work it did. The throttle safety is a bit awkward at first, but no issues after a couple of hours with it now. Definitely worthy of consideration.

My mate has one in his garden, overlooking the amazing views down towards the hills of south wales. He could do with a heater in his though! Also saw some on top of a hotel in London last year. I think they’re around £10k fitted.

That’s why I went for the big boy. I was worried about buying something that wouldn’t perform as I wanted. the torque sticks seem to have mixed reviews on accuracy, but if you’re backing things up with a torque wrench then I’m sure you’ll be fine. Saves over tightening things!

I tend to put mine on the lowest setting to avoid any risk of damage when doing things up. Given the torque figures that makita claim, I imagine there’s a good chance of damaging wheels and bolts if you were a bit keen on the trigger. I guess it’s just about being sensible with it. I only ever use it on more substantial items and use the impact driver (Makita DTD152)for more delicate stuff, like taking off chainsaw clutches etc. I only bought it to make changing the leaf springs on the pickup a bit easier, but have used it loads since. Removing mower blade bolts is a doddle. Don't have to hold the blade whilst trying to loosen the bolt with a standard socket set. Instead, the impact just frees it all up nicely and whizzes the bolts out. Handy when on my back underneath the finishing mower taking those blades off for sure!

I have the Makita DTW1002 1/2” impact driver (bare unit). All my other kit is Makita so have batteries already. Great for wheel changes etc, but definitely use a torque wrench for the final nip up. It has far more grunt than I need in reality, but after all, overkill is underrated!

I’ve been using it for quite some time now and it seems good. A decent price when buying 25 litre barrels.

Rebuilt my 346xp (2013 with grey clutch cover) a couple of years ago using a Meteor cylinder and piston. Ordered from Garden Hire Spares online as L&S Engineers only had genuine items at a fair bit more money. It’s done a fair bit of work on the Meteor kit and runs really well. Good luck 👍

That’s a good suggestion. Sticking sliders will cause a squeal, but those should’ve been noticeable when changing the pads? Interestingly, Brembo advise against copper grease on the backing plates and suggest squealing could be down to misalignment of the pads. Copper grease needs to be kept away from rubber seals and slide boots and it can cause them to deteriorate.

Copper grease on the backing plate? I fitted brembo brakes to my L200 and they squeal at slow speed. Brother in law also fitted Brembo to his Mini and they squeal too.

Not really. They’re doing the job of trying to keep people safe on the roads. They’ve done the right thing, have established no likelihood of driving during the process and let him go. And taken him home too! Drink drivers cause misery all over the country, and I’m glad the police are out there taking positive action.

.177 for me too. I have a Weirauch HW100KT which is spot on as far as accuracy goes. I’ve found it a nicer feel than the AA S410. It takes a 14 round mag which is enough for an evenings shooting. Never had any issues with stopping power as the accuracy allows consistent head shots. Like most things, calibre will be a personal choice through personal experiences.

Worth considering other makes of trailer too, unless you’re a die hard IW fan. I have a GD105 caged and it’s great, but it rattles like crazy when unladen, as IW’s seem to. I also have a Nugent flatbed and it’s quiet as a mouse. Build quality is very good too. Definitely worth considering if you can find one at the right price.