IronMike

Had my Spud ported 390 out for a play yesterday, complete with new GB 28 inch bar. Like a hot knife through butter!

Glad I snagged myself a reel of skip chain when I did! Oh, and the GB bar I got is also stupendous mate ??

Top bloke.

I did my FMOC training with Bob Forsyth, of Forsyth Forestry. Top bloke who knows his stuff. He'd be able to advise I'm sure, and could maybe do the assessment and training etc. He is based in the borders I think but travels all over

Hello matey! Ah, the joys of the weather on our little island. Being from the Lakes originally, I’ve grown up in some pretty persistent and crap weather. It’s very frustrating! Not a lot can be done about it unfortunately, aside from having several sets of waterproofs to change into and a good supply of coffee! Jokes aside, my brother suffered from depression. Well he still does a wee bit, but not as bad as he has done previously. I myself faced some very dark times when I was younger, not sure I’d say I was depressed myself, which likely means I was? Anyway, one bit of advice I was given by a community psychiatric nurse was to adopt a mentality using the circle of concern and The circle of influence. Now the circle of concern is big and wide reaching. It’s ok to be concerned about a whole manner of things.... Covid, brexit, husky or Stihl etc etc. Most things in life you face will be in your circle of concern. The circle of influence is much smaller, and rightly so. You can only influence a certain amount of things, and it here you need to focus your energy and thoughts on. I literally reprogrammed by brain to quickly assess anything I’m presented with, it then channels that into one of the two circles. It changed my life. I stop dwelling, I don’t catastrophise or ruminate, I simply decide if there is anything I can do about said thing to directly influence it. If I can’t, it goes into my circle of concern. It sounds easy But took some time to master fully. And don’t get me wrong, there are times when my brain wanders but generally speaking it stays focused. My brother said that me explains that to him and helping him was the most valuable thing he did in battling his own depression. I should’ve charged him ? I know everyone is different though, and what works for one may not work for another. My other half has tried all sorts, but is still an anxiety riddled mess who struggles to get through a day intact. I’ve tried to get her to take my advice onboard but is uninterested in trying. She wants help, but won’t take it, what’s a man supposed to do?! I really hope you can make sense of it all soon. The family move sounds like it has potential. Something to plan towards at least. I’ll catch up with you soon to discuss processor also! Still extremely keen!

I have that exact one. My only problem is I've lost the charger cable! ???‍♂️

I spent years working in outdoor gear retail before getting into tree work. I was a Goretex expert I'll have you know ?? I actually went to the factory up in Livingston, was interesting.

Ps. When I say they were cheap, I mean compared to full price ME gear. They still set me back about £350 for the pair but they are very tough and turn water well.

One of the key things with Goretex is making sure it’s cleaned properly. By that, I mean making sure you use the correct cleaner, followed by the correct reproofer. If you just bang your waterproof in the machine with all you other clothes, using normal detergent and conditioner it’ll absolutely ruin your coat. It’s critical to make sure your machine is clear of regular detergents and there is no conditioner lurking about in the drawer. it pays to take the draw out and rinse thoroughly beforehand, and set the machine off empty on a drum clean cycle. That way you minimise the risk of getting the bad stuff on your nice waterproof. When it comes to the the cleaner itself, I tend to go for Nikwax Techwash, but Grangers is just as good. Hell, even lux soap flakes are better than nothing. You need to put the mucky waterproofs through a cycle with this product. The reproofers can be wash in or spray on. The difference here is one is for “shell” type garments (wash in variant) and one is for garments with a drop lining (spray on variant). You don’t want to use the wash in proofed on a garment with a drop lining as you’ll waterproof the lining too which can affect the breathability. Now one of the Key elements in making the reproofer work well is the application of heat. Putting the garments through the tumble dryer on a cool heat will be sufficient but if your feeling brave you can iron on the lowest setting! This application of heat will restore what’s called the DWR (durable water repellency) or the beading effect you see on a brand new garment. Unfortunately this diminishes over time and the water sits on the outer fabric in big damp patches, this is called wetting out. I think our industry is particularly cruel on waterproofs. The work is intense and hard and often in unfriendly environments. There is also fuel, oil, grease, sweat, blood, gravy, etc that all get on the garments and knacker them. I personally find goretex the best at turning water, but the moment I start grafting in the rain I sweat like mad and can’t stand it. I work in a soft shell a fair bit as it’s not quite as sweaty as My goretex. each to their own really I guess. I bought my Mountain Equipment goretex jacket and over trousers from Magic Mountain. They were cheap and very good.

I could understand the need for discussion if the thread title was- What is the point of Forst chippers?

Productive day for the small but mighty Logbullet. Been a testing week or so, had to replace the glide bearing in the crane last week which was fun. Then I put my back out on Monday so been hobbling around like a cowboy with a dicky belly all week!

Bear Valley just launched a new bag for climbers gear. 70l capacity I think, about £80. Looks decent, however, I’m a forester so have no idea if it’s any good for a climber.

Did anyone get to this auction? https://www.farminguk.com/news/over-70-classic-ford-tractors-offered-at-on-site-sale_56754.html

I got myself an Olfi OneFive Black (I think) Was about £150 all in. Really impressed with it so far. Good value and quality.

I’ll leave this here, just in case it’s been missed by any fans of the original film (which I am, it’s absolutely superb!)

I picked up a pair of Treeme ones of Gumtree when I started out. They were great, cost about £40 and had hardly been used. In stark contrast to the pair of Haix Protector Forest 2.0 gti V6 Sport Lux Touring Performance ones I’m buying tomorrow that are far north of £200 ?

Why you haven't developed your own version called the LogoSaul I'll never know mate! ??

There is a fine line between over use and under use of the chain brake in my opinion. I’ve seen a lot of freshly qualified people using a saw all slamming the chain brake in at full chat. They say this is what they were taught, and another annoying habit is they all seem to run the saw at either tickover or full chat. Never in the middle, never using the throttle and feeling their way through stuff. I’ve always maintained that getting your chainsaw tickets is like passing your driving test. You learn how to do it properly after you pass! Ive been working with some newish folks these last few years, and try to get them into good habits rather than bad. Using the chain brake correctly is on one of those habits. I say to folks, especially if they’re green, that they should be using it a fair deal. If they stop cutting for even a few seconds, put it on. They need to get into the habit of doing it, then once they are happy doing so, they will learn when it’s acceptable/sensible to leave it off. One lad I worked with recently, on two occasions, Had saw in hand and revved up then realised his visor wants down so took left hand off saw to flip visor down whilst chain was still running. He was someone else’s groundie but I told him straight it was very bad practice. He learned from it. But the flip side of that is I often pick up a saw to use after someone who has years of experience with them, and find the chain brake off. I always put it on when finished, and the reason why was in case someone else came up to use it after me, as it was the safest way. But like leaving your car in gear with no handbrake on perhaps? If someone else came to use it they might be miffed to find it like that? I guess it boils down to personal choices at the end. I know what I am happy with, and what I deem safe and necessary. Others have different views. I had a chain brake fail on my Mk2 550 after a few months also, so maybe some crap ones about. Prior to that, I’ve done about 2 in neck on 9 years.

I’ve been using Sena for about 5 years, courtesy of a tip off from @Gray git as he was using them. A revelation, a proper game changer for arb work. Anything you end up with is better than not having the ability to easily communicate with climber and rest of team! I have the 10S and recently got the 50S. The 10S has been good and reliable, I have a clamp kit on a set of Peltor ear defenders to use whilst operating the Logbullet or in a tractor or digger as they are less bulky than wearing a helmet. I also have a clamp kit on a Husky lid for brashing works. I have fitted my 50S to my Protos lid, easy peasy. Self installations are a doddle, and I recently got a good tip from a mate that using a round file to cut the channels for the wires in the ear defenders works well. I’m away on holiday otherwise I’d post some photos. Ive mentioned it numerous times before, but a website called Sportbikeshop is the cheapest place to get Sena from.

Sena for me too. Got 20S and 50S, both excellent. Buy from www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk for best price.

Question for my fellow 572 owners. Bar oil adjuster...... does yours adjust in the traditional way? By that I mean, you put your combi spanner in the slot, and you can turn it to one of three positions, low, medium or high? the reason I ask is I have just collected mine from the local dealer after going in with issues relating to the above. They were remarkably quick vs most people’s experiences of getting things repaired! Now more fool me for not checking, but after I was reliably told it was sorted, I appear to have the same problem. That is unless Husqvarna have changed the way the bar oil is adjusted on the 572. Mine turns and turns and turns and eventually comes to stop in either direction, but this doesn’t seem right to me. It’s different to every other saw I’ve ever owned if it supposed to be like that. I wanted to check with other 572 owners to make sure I’m not losing my marbles, and before I ring them back up and give them both barrels down the phone for wasting my time again.

Speed isn't always the answer though. When I had my incident I was going downhill and gaining momentum very quickly. It went from 50 to 65/70mph very quickly. I slammed the auto box into semi manual and knocked the gears down. The engine breaking slowed the rig sufficiently enough for me to regain control. Then I soiled myself a bit

Looking at video again, it might actually be a Shogun! In the video it looks like he has a wobble on as he passes. Speed is clearly the biggest issue here but I wonder if when he pulled out to overtake the vehicle filming he started the wobble then?

Reminds me of my own fishtailing adventure I had with the Logbullet earlier this year ? I must’ve been close to losing it, scary shit!

Managed three consecutive days without failure mate, fingers crossed! ?