Haironyourchest

Interesting. Maybe I'll get one, would be handy for roadside emergencies as well. Would it be seen under tree canopy though? I was reading they have a new signalling gadget out, it's a high powered green lazer, but emits in a flat fan shape, at altitude it's highly visible but not strong enough to dazzle. You pan the fan up and down at the aircraft, and it can't fail to be seen as a green flash, no direct hit required.

I agree absolutely about not being able to effectively monitor a casualty while in transit, and maybe further destabilising said casualty. But I get the feeling that we're drifting into mountain rescue territory a bit. Surely a lot would depend on the distance from the worksite to the nearest roadside or roadhead? In a UK type environment, how far from a road would one ever be likely to work? Yet even a short distance over rough ground might pose problem for a paramedic crew - mountain rescue, no problem, but for your standard 999 call out? I dunno. Locating via whistle would be a matter of course. Strobe beacon, while a great bit of kit for hikers, not really relevant for arb (anyone do arb at night? If so, then yes, absolutely) Having said that, I would still not bother with a stretcher. Assuming a three man team, the incapacitated could still be dragged out if time was a crucial factor. Unless the stretcher was lugged from the vehicle to the worksite before work commenced, it might not be much of a time saver anyway. Smoke flares would be handy for heli-evac though - there are places even in UK where a chopper might be what is dispatched. A lady was airlifted to hospital locally not long ago, we're 90 min from A&E and if the ambulance is on another call...

What a fun thread. Oftentimes it stayed on point long enough to nearly be interesting. Coming back to the stretcher thing - what about those mountain rescue stretchers with the single folding mountain-bike wheel underneath? Two guys could absolutely transport a casualty long distance with one of those, with minimal effort, depending on the terrain. I wonder if part of the resistance to the uber-preparedness mindset is unconscious denial. We think that if we don't plan for the worst, the worst won't happen, kind of thing - not really rational but is makes sense psychologically. Like the anti gun people in America - if they can make weapons go away, then violence and crime will go away too. The ancients used to do this all the time, its called homeopathic magic. Guess what - it doesn't work. There would be no risk of stretchering a casualty out of the bush provided he hadn't sustained a spinal injury. If it was a fall or a crushing event to the spinal area, then don't move. If a cutting or puncturing injury, then why not? If one was working off the track, the medics might not be able to locate you easily. Why slow them down by making them hike into the forest, and out again? Remember the Golden Hour? While they are on route, you guys could be moving to meet them at an identifiable landmark. Also, there may be times when an injury is not severe enough to warrant calling for EMS. A badly sprained ankle or knee, for instance. Rather than do a "Weekend at Bernies" and risk all three of you going down in the brash, further exacerbating the injury, just get the stretcher. One thing about tourniquets - its life or limb, unless they are on for a very short time. A pressure bandage would be preferable, unless its like a severed limb. Has anyone considered carrying smoke flares to aid the EMS in finding your location?

Could be the tank breather valve

Ha that funny, I just got back from a MMA open in Cork (spectating, me) place was full of McGregor clones! I always expected beards to come back but wow. Some savage action in the cage, one nose broken, some blood spilt, great day. Maybe I'll compete next year. My money's on Nate - he hadn't trained up properly last time. Connor needs to start thinking about his film career. I see a Dwarf in his future! Sorry, just checked, I was thinking of Chad Mendes...

I broke the head on my last 131 when it hit the ground - cracked at the compression sleeve where it tightens to the shaft. I think there is too much travel in the "jaws" that clap onto the shaft - thus putting the alloy under constant tension. I modified my next head with a piece of beer can. https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOTIN3eh5N8bCl8SEZTSUUio3gU0sUlbu6jt55M

HT 131 very powerful but fragile at full extension. Somewhat flexible secondary shaft, which is probably a good thing. Never oil the inner shaft - I did and am still paying the price, long story but just not a good idea. When it's retracted it's very robust, savage torque with a sharp chain is unstoppable.

Precisely why the big T needs to win in November. It's make or break time, as far as I can see.

Sounds horrible. I hear Yew can be nasty for blistering scratches etc. I chewed a leaf of Aron's Rod once mistaking it for sorrell - god the pain was fierce. Lucky it came on quick before I swallowed it. Burning acidic pain, nothing helped but it faded after an hour or so.

There's a product called Helicoil which repairs stripped threads, its an insert, you have to drill out the damage threads, re-thread and then insert the Helicoil. Supposedly works well

Just an idea but what about painting a big evil eye on your barn, maybe an inverted pentangle or two, some occult symbols and so on. Hang a few skulls about the place....Gypsis are superstitious non?

I wonder if the "propagating from a leaf fragment" thing was arrived at by laboratory propagation in ideal conditions, perfect soil temps etc? We have loads around here, and I whack it down with a slasher and strim certain patches every year, it never seems to spread. Where other plants have established root systems the knotweed would have trouble getting in anyway, it prefers disturbed soil.

The issue I have with the flow chart, Mark, is that the "Yes" path leads to the conclusion: "Everybody dies - our nukes did not act as a deterrent!" But this is not logiall in my opinion. We simply don't know the outcome of a nuclear exchange because one has not happened yet, and to presume "everybody dies" just doesn't hold water. All nukes are not created equal, even if they were, their effectiveness is more about the delivery system than the warhead itself. When the US dropped the nukes on Japan, it was a last ditch attempt to end a bloody trench war where Japanese civilians were being forced to take up arms. Watch the documentary - the president wanted to surrender, but his officers mutinied, kidnapped him, and basically forced the nation to keep fighting. At that time the Japanese nation were in a simmilar psychological position to the Isis fighters - i.e. total commitment to a martial ideal that would ultimately end in their complete annihilation if they kept going. The bombs were destructive, but less destructive than a drawn out ground war. It took nukes to get it through their heads that they were beaten. We can never know if the two nukes were really necessary. But the idea that we can only uses nukes against an enemy that also has nukes is not logical. If a madman attacks with a knife, do you holster your gun and pull out your knife to keep it fair? In terms of total destructive power, what is the difference between one tactical nuke and 1000 tons of carpet bombs and bullets? War is war, killing is killing. Being killed by a nuke is no worse than any other violent death. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it cannot be put back in. I think the rouge nation blackmail idea needs to be looked at carefully, there may be something to it, maybe not now, but down the road. The cost of Trident is horrendous though..... I believe Britain would be better served by scrapping it and investing in a tactical nuke program.

Forget the filter, hack the intake to accept a flexible hose, the other end of which you then hang in a tree some distance away. Could put a sponge on the end of the hose if you wish. Thats what I'd do anyway. Or stick a large funnll into the intake and cover the wide end of the funnel with lady's tights.

Adhesives sure have come a long way from the auld pine resin mixed with bluebell bulb juice and wood ash....I read they have made a glue out of the tendrils that mussles use to attach themselves with, that's supposed to be the strongest known glue yet. They use it to glue heat resistant tiles onto the hulls of space shuttles apparently...there's such a wonderful range out there, all comes down to the right tool for the job....super glue can be combined with baking soda as a catalyst which causes it to cure instanatniously and also provides bulking aggrigate to enhance strength - tricky to apply it though, and watch out for the exothermic reaction - can start a fire!

Maybe a weak spark, could be the plug needs cleaning and setting, or just a different plug. Try a new one? Carb adjustment, lean the idle screw a bit? Check ignition coil gap. Not an expert, just my thoughts.

I wonder how many Arbtalkers have Mora knives? I just bought a Mora Companion MG in High Carbon, really thrilled with it. Have been using it to slice my onions, and literally the best slicer in the kitchen. Messed around in the woods with it a bit. Not the most heavy duty blade, but really in terms of achieving the optimum I think its outstanding. The one thing that I keep marvelling at is the sheath - its just so well designed. Plastic, but I like that. £11.00 Back in the 1800's a working man would pay a weeks wages for his knife. https://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/399-Morakniv-Companion-MG-Knife/

Funny thing about religions.....They always seem to start off with the intention of bringing people together, convincing everyone to adopt the same values and social norms. Which is nice, for a while. Until people realise that they can't have wars with each other anymore because they're all "on the same side" - which then necessitates a schism and sectarianism so wars can happen again - which is really what humanity is all about. Nothing like a good war to get the heart pumping. Deny it all you like, but our ancestors were open and honest about it. Genes is genes I say. Hell if it wasn't for me worrying mum, I'd strap on my army surplus vest and go help out the Kurds against Isis. Same with politics. There will always be haves-lots and have-lessers. Party politics is about keeping the other side in check. If the politics isn't about money, then its about "values" which is just watered down religion..... When it comes to middle eastern muslims killing each other because the other side are the "wrong" kind of muslim, thats really just ancient clan war in disguise. American Dems v Reps is simply the continuation of the civil war, but with more civility. Worlds a simple place...when you're Haironyourchest....

If you're going to flush the tank you might consider going the extra mile and removing and ckeaning the oil pump and surrounds as well. There are a few good YouTube vids - Donnyboy springs to mind. I would flush with white spirits and reuse for cleaning creasote brushes or whatever. Half fill the tank, close, slosh around, leave sit a while, slosh some more and empty - repeat a few times. Then retrieve the filter line with a hooked wire, change filter, fill with white spirits again and run the saw a while to flush the chanells and pump.

Grinder sharpener. Gave an hour faffing about with a work hardened chain yesterday, trying to file off the hard metal with a diamond hone to get the file to bite. Ruined two files, then remembered I have a Lidl grinder system. Two minutes - problem solved. That, and a stump vice. And the Stihl file holder system that does the rakers at the same time. Combi can with push spouts. Air compressor for cleaning.

The old way was to mash up a fly agaric mushroom with some milk in a bowl, sprinkle with sugar and leave on the windowsill. I have often wished windows came with a slight camber outward and upward, with a small hole at the top to allow the flies and wasps to escape, as they always seem to be trying to.

Diesel. And if anyone with a clipboard and yellow vest shows up, you're the homeowner.......Not really. Strong roundup will kill brambles forever. Saplings should be pulled up or lopped right tot he ground or they'll bother the strimmer for years to some before the rot.

The 10 Ton capacity must refer to the Gross Maximum Ve-hical Weight - ie. it presupposes the driver and passenger each weigh 500kg. Plus the fuel - another 500kg. Plus lunch and soda pop - 250kg per person. So the payload is only really 8 tonnes. Would they be short tonnes or long tonnes? I heard the USA tonne is a bit lighter....Easyliftguy?

Speaking for myself, I found that going from a smaller saw to a much larger (55cc to 95cc) I become more methodical and steady in the work. The vibes and noise and raw power demands respect and I treat the saw like a live hand granade. That is until I become desensitised to the machine and start using it with confidence. I think there are two forces at play. 1) A smaller saw gives the user a feeling of more control and therefore more confidence - confidence is good, but too much can lead to slack-arsedness. A very small saw can allow us to slip into bad working positions, overreaching, one handing, and so on. 2) A big saw can make us feel more vulnerable - this is good because it makes us more carful, but too much of this feeling can make us afraid and fear reduces our confidence and control as well. - so really, there is a balance there somewhere where the most efficiency and safety is to be had. A small saw may not cause as much damage as a big saw, but does it make any difference when either is easily enough to kill and maim?

Was just up on a hired micro digger for a day last week, 0.8 toner JCB. Gas craic altogether, but just not enough power and so slow to track. Felt very unsafe on and ground that wasn't perfectly level, but then realised at day's end the tracks had "retracted". A feller wouldn't out-dig it though....did a day on a 1.5 toner and it was vastly superior, but for narrow in between trees jobs, the micro was a gift. Id rather a micro skid steer though - they can take a backhoe attachment as well and more versatile.