Bob The Dog

I was looking forward to the self assembly, which is an option, but after I'd prices up the 25 litres of hydraulic fluid and engine oil, I just ended up paying them £100 to build it up for me.

I have one. It's has a Briggs and Stratton engine and appears to be made very well. I have no complaints, and I've yet to find something that defeats it. The only issue I have is with the additional 4 way splitter attachment. It works fine, but if you let the ram go all the way back while its attached, it catches on the guards and ends up bending some of the metalwork. As I found out! The guys at Rock machinery warned me about this when I bought it. Seems like the guy who made the four way heads didn't plan for the guards! You could either do a bit of metal chopping (didn't want to do that on a new machine), or just be on the ball with stopping the ram on its return. I'm pleased with mine. And it's even better with two people operating it.

I've had access to a lot of willow over the past couple of years. I'm no expert, but there's probably not much that's wetter than willow, especially the lot I've had from by the river. Anyway, a good 18-24 months air drying and it's very good. Starts the fire well. Obviously not as hot as ash, but it's free and very underrated in my opinion. I'll burn pretty much anything I can get my hands on- so long as it's free!!

Where did you get the bandit blades from jonny69? That is cheap!!

New blades were £178 all in from Saturn Knives. Greenmech wanted £216 all in. Not a huge difference, but i'd rather the extra £38 in my pocket! The rotatech blades look to be of good quality, so hopefully they'll last well.

Well, I fitted the new rotatech blades from Saturn Knives this morning, fired it up and offered in a length of conifer branch a good 3 1/2 - 4 inches in diameter. I wasn't prepared for what was to come next! I was nearly dragged in myself! It chips really well now, but you do have to be the manual stress control for it. Had a huge smile on my face because the machine is now doing what I thought it would do, and what it had never done before. So, here's what I found: The new blades were ground to 10 degrees on the back angle instead of 15 degrees. The manual says 10 so that must be right. When setting the clearances between the anvil and the blade, I found that on the old blades, the part passing closest to the anvil (0.5mm gap) was the top part of the blade where the 27 degree grind starts. The cutting edge of the blade was actually further away, so the first part of the blade to make contact with the wood would not be the edge of the blade (hope that makes sense!). The edge of the new blades sit within 0.5mm of the anvil, with clearance along the ground angle, so the edge catches first. I'm considering buying some shims to fit under the original blades and hope that will raise them up and the cutting edge will be in the correct position. Failing that, I'll just get another new set from Saturn. Having spoken to Greenmech tech guy again this morning, he was satisfied that the blade could be ground into the bolt holes, but not too far so as to leave the bolt heads exposed. Hope this helps and makes sense!

I use a Petzl sequoia 2014 harness and distel gecko aluminium spikes. Both were bought without trying on, and both are comfortable enough to wear all day without issue. I used a komet dragonfly on my cs38 and found it really uncomfortable, but I know others who liked it. Like others have said, if you can try before you buy then that's he best option. Unfortunately I don't have a decent Arb dealer nearby, so am reliant on the Internet.

Had one and sold it 18 months ago - and wished I hadn't! Great lightweight saw with a surprising amount of power. would consider buying another at the right price!

Sounds like a good idea! Can't fault Saturn. They've been very helpful and have ground to the angles according to their data sheet. Only hope it is something as simple as incorrect angles. Perhaps on the next grind I'll add a little note to confirm the angles. Thanks for the advice.

Saturn didn't touch the main angle (27 degrees), so I wonder if perhaps the previous owner had them re ground and that angle may also be incorrect? Would have thought the odd few degrees would make such a difference!

Hi Ross. Yeah, having the new set from Saturn ground to 10 degrees, which is what the manual says, and seeing as the originals were ground to 15 degrees by Saturn, I thought it'd be worth a go. I'll send the originals off for a 10 degree grind if all goes well. Bob.

I bought a 2012 cs100 last year. Really good condition and very pleased. Rated to 4 inches which would be plenty for me. Anyway, when I first used it, it struggled with anything over 2 inches and would just knock the wood about, rather than cut it cleanly. Upon inspecting the blades, they appeared dull, so off they went to Saturn knifes and came back all shiny and sharp. In they went and cut well on conifer branches up to 2 inches. I tried today to chip some branches about 2 1/2 - 3 inches, well within the rating, and it just wouldn't do it. Really struggled and was pointless. I checked the anvil clearance, which was 0.5mm and cleaned it all out, but still no good. Spoke with a really helpful guy at greenmech who said that 2013 onwards, changes were made to the blade bed and the back angle changed from 15 degrees to 10 degrees ( I think i have that the right way around!). He was confident that the 5 degree difference may be the issue. The manual says 10 degrees. I spoke with scott at Saturn knifes who said their data States 15 degrees, and that's what mine would've been ground to. So, I've ordered a spare set of blades from them, to be ground at 10 degrees to see if there is any difference. I hope there is, otherwise it'll be an expensive trial! Wanted a spare set anyway. Was wondering whether anyone else had such issues and had managed to resolve them? I'll update once the new blades are in on the weekend. Thanks.

Stick it on ebay and you may be surprised how well it goes. I was watching a 181 last week. It went for just shy of £200 with £20 delivery. I found new ones slightly cheaper on a Google search. People buying on the bay just seem to think everything is a bargain and often pay over the odds for things. I sold a 435 husky a little while ago and wished I hadn't as it was a great little saw for the smaller stuff. May just be worth keeping hold of?

I've had a 550 for nearly 2 years. Starts well when cold but has to be left ticking over for 30 seconds or so to let the autotune sort itself out. Once that's done its a real flyer. Starts very well when warm. Don't use the decomp button and it fires on one pull. It's only ever troublesome on two occasions. When it runs out of fuel and I don't use the primer before pulling it over. And when my mate Gary tries to use it!! It went back to the dealer and had a new breather? installed as a recall, which apparently caused starting issues. May be worth having yours done if it hasn't been already. A plug in at the dealer will reveal any faults. And just the one year warranty as I inderstand. Good luck with it.

The West Midlands forestry commission don't issue permits (previously called gleaning licences) for fallen timber any more. Apparently it's due to health and safety. However, a friend in the Forest of Dean recently bought one for about £50, and I think it lasts for 3 years or so. There is a limit on what you can pick up and take away - 3" max diameter, and no more than 3 feet in length. No cutting tools and no trollies. Seems a bit pointless really.

The recommended clearance is 0.5mm between the blade and the anvil, which isn't a lot! Be mindful however, the that part of the blade which passes the closest to the anvil may not be the edge itself. I believe the closest part on mine was the top edge of the bevel on the ground edge (if that makes sense?). Once the blades are in and torqued down, loosen and lightly retighten the anvil bolts and just use a hammer to knock them gently up or down, with a feeler gauge in between the blade and the anvil. The guy I spoke with at greenmech uses a long length of 0.5mm thick metal which covers the whole blade in one go.

Thanks Spud. Managed to get the job done this afternoon. Took about an hour as I was pretty careful with the dremel and didn't want to ruin the covers. The cylinder bolts were done up as tight as I could get them with a long hex key and additional lever, so hopefully it'll keep running! Started and ran like a dream. Tested it on a large willow trunk with a 28" bar and full chisel chain and it pulled very nicely. Obviously I'd like a bigger saw for that bar, but can't spend any more at the mo (as a rule, I only run a 20" bar on this saw). Overall, the job was a lot easier than I expected, so thanks for the help and advice.

Silly me! Hadn't realised there was a transfer cover on the clutch side too!! Therefore the cylinder will have to be lifted to gain access. Just wondering whether there were any issues with loosening the cylinderbolts, lifting and refitting the cylinder, or is it just a case of tighten everything back up and it's as good as new? Thanks.

Sounds like it's worth doing then. Thanks.

Was just wondering whether anyone had any success, or horror stories with converting the 365 into a 372? I know there are some old posts on this site, but being a relative newby I may well have missed something. Anyway, I've had a tinker tonight and have managed to remove the transfer cover without lifting the cylinder (really wanted to avoid doing that). Took the starter side cover off, then the plastic flywheel surround, and had access to the 2 lower screws securing the transfer cover. A little bit of fiddling and out it came. Seems that the grinding /polishing of the vertical baffle is quite straightforward with a dremel or similar. Just don't want to ruin the saw, so would welcome any views or advice. Thanks.

Recently bought a rock machines venom 22 ton for £1500 (optional £100 build up price). Comes with a 4 way head and the standard single head. Nothing it won't go through. Had originally limited myself to £750 for the 12 ton version but glad I went this way. A lot of money but well worth it. Does horizontal, vertical and tows too. Briggs and Stratton Vanguard engine, so what's not to like!

Love my sequoia. Just like an armchair!

Had a look at loads of splitters, from electric to petrol driven. I initially wanted a rock machinery 12 ton horizontal splitter at £750, but they were out of stock and no idea when more would be in. In the end, after loads of YouTube surfing, i went for a rock machinery venom 22 ton splitter which does both horizontal and vertical, which I find really handy depending on what I'm splitting. Tried it out on some really big knotty conifer trunks and it was like a hot knife through butter. the type and size of wood I suppose should dictate the type of splitter. I have seen some terrible efforts with the smaller electric ones, on some not so huge pieces of wood. I can highly recommend the one I have, but at £1600 incl the build up, it's an awful lot of it's just for home use!!

Having read the manual first, I wasn't exactly sure about the anvil clearance and how I went about setting it all up. Following the discussion with the greenmech guy, it was actually straightforward. The machine chips really well now with sharp blades. I'm waiting for Saturn knife guys to get some cs100 blades in so that I have a spare set. I think they were £60 each plus vat, whereas greenmech want £90 each plus vat. Perhaps there's a reason for the extra money, but I'm gonna try the cheaper ones first!

Bit of an old post, but just thought I'd add to it. Bought a used cs100 recently and needed the blades grinding. Thought it'd be a nightmare, but actually went very well. I soaked the torx bolts in WD40 overnight, cleaned the torx heads thoroughly, and used an old torx bit with a hammer to shock to bolts first. I then used a t40 torx bit with a breaker bar, which gives plenty of leverage, allows the torx bit to stay square in the head, and I can also apply downward pressure. All 12 bolts came out like a dream. Probably helped by the previous owner using copper grease on the threads. I read somewhere a while ago that it's always the last bolt which causes the trouble. That's because (apparently), when all the other bolts are released, the retaining pressure increases on the remaining bolt, making it much more difficult to undo. Therefore, I tend to slacken and re tighten all bolts first and undo each gradually to alleviate this problem. Works for me! When I reinstalled the blades, more copper grease was applied, and following advice from a helpful chap at greenmech, i torqued the bolts to 30nm instead of 35 as per the manual. Fingers crossed for next time! Great grinding job by will and the guys at Saturn knifes.