John Mac

Great set of pics, nicely taken. like the look of the college, I lived in Middle Littleton near Evesham for a while, I didn't know that the college did tree training! anyway, very nice indeed.

We've never met, but I wish you well for your recovery and in your future. In 2013 I had a major life changing disaster, after which it was unlikely I would work again, never mind up trees with chainsaws. Things change, I recovered, we emigrated and now, slowly, life begins again. “No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place.”- Zen Proverb

You can come for a holiday here and skin some palm trees, I might need a youthful climber soon!

Most of what I'm doing here is pretty light work, pruning palm trees, fruit trees etc so mainly using a little ms171, gutless but light and a 200t with my ms 291 for dropping whole palms and laurels etc, so really I suppose I would only be running under light loads so maybe veg would be ok. I think the key seems to be pure rapeseed, I'll try it for a while in the 171 and see how we go! Interesting replies, thanks very much

Same here in the Canaries, no one takes any notice of qualifications, you just get on with it. I haven't been asked for anything even from the Council!

Considering one for lopping palm trees. I think Echo are very under rated.

Hehe, funny thread. I remember getting properly refreshed in the pub at lunchtime when working in a sawmill, then putting the band on backwards on a giant Stenner band mill. Took some doing.

We have lots of orange and lemon trees here in the Canaries, very similar climate to California and Florida, I imagine. Anyway, you should take away all dead wood and if you can, lighten the canopy to let more light through and encourage good air circulation. Don't take too much off the canopy as the leaves protect the trunk from sunburn. As previous poster said Lemon trees are hardy and benefit from dead wood removal regularly. Plants 1m tall shouldn't have more than about 20 fruits. You should prune it back to a central leader or to a modified central leader shape. You can also espalier them, which looks nice too. You asked about crossed branches, they should be removed to prevent insect and disease problems at the crossing point, also they only thicken the canopy and prevent good air circulation. Citrus trees show layering of interior branches, which will die, which come from the development of the canopy as it layers upwards. If you have a picture of the whole tree, it would be helpful.

Thanks for the replies folks, it's something I've never had to worry about before, but I've always thought that veg oil would do something nasty to the insides of my saw! I guess car engine oil might be a better short term alternative. Last thing I want to do is try to buy a saw out here......

Hi All, I live on the island of Fuerteventura and after 'retiring' in the UK, I'm back on the tools doing a bit of domestic tree surgery here on the island. One of the big problems here is getting anything, particularly bar oil. I've never used veg oil before and I wondered if anyone has used pure veg oil in place of regular bar oil. Previously when I worked in the UK I just ordered gallons of the regular Stihl stuff and never gave it a second thought, but now I need an alternative, at least for the short term whilst I can find a stockist. I'm only running a ms 171 and a 200t for up the tree and a ms291 for ground work. Thanks in advance.