Haironyourchest

My understanding is you are wanting to sharpen the gullet of the tooth as well as the cutting edge. This is not necessary, as the only part of the tooth which is cutting is the 1mm or so which is proud of the depth gauge. The rest of the tooth is really just there to support the top edge. The gullets do need to be dressed occasionally, as they help channel the chips and dust out of the cut. Sound to me like you are doing it right. Is your chain cutting well? Are the depth gauges filed to the proper depth? That's my understanding, if I'm wrong, I hope someone will correct me. Cheers, Hairy.

Woodworks, if you haven't bought the tirfor yet, consider a ratchet lever hoist as an option. They come in 500kg, 750, 1500kg, etc similar to the tirfors. Same price as the tirfors for the same pulling power, or maybe a bit cheaper. The advantage they have over the tirfor is they are chain not cable, so much much easier to store, to clean and to transport. Also more compact. Chain also "less" dangerous if it fails. They come with a really short chain, but rated chain in common sizes is cheap. They have an overload clutch option as well, for extra bucks. One of them with a dyneema extension rope "might" give you more versatility.

Dude, do yourself a favour and read/watch up on proper rigging practice. I don't want to come across as being short, but there's so so much that can go wrong when you got a steel rope, pullys, shackles, strops and so on, and you put 1600 kilos on it. If something gives, heads can literally roll. Guys are killed every year by failed winch cables while doing 4x4 recovery. Each and every component of the pull must be rated - nylon straps degrade from UV, chain can get twisted, etc etc, all of which lower the working load limit. Read up, and be careful!

My understanding from the days when I too worried about this issue is: 1. Leaving petrol in the system = gummed up carb. Maybe. 2. Draining the system = dried out and cracked rubbers and stiff diaphragm. Maybe. 3. Draining, then running a bit of aspen through the machine and leaving the aspen in, and probably using that same aspen to stat the machine next time, assuming it hasn't evaporated = best practice. Maybe. Reading up on Stihls rubber component tech, it seems they are pretty resistant to petrol, and ethanol. It would be more a case of the carb clogging with varnish. Would think all the top brand rubber would be the same.

My two cents: no moral problem. Wait till you set up on your own, then go back and photograph the fences as they are now. Who gets to say who owns the morral right to the images? Surely if anyone does it is the landowner who actually owns the fence! Its your handiwork, I say its your right to use the image. Your employer could also have a right to use the image, but I don't feel that that right is exclusive to anyone. Anyway, who will care? It a fence, not a Hollywood motion picture.......If your employer has a problem with it tough titties.

What about a 201 back handle with m-tronic? 3.5 kilos, 35cc, no vibes, very easy on fuel, pulls a 14" bar no bother. Not the robustest saw maybe, but so light, just a joy to use.

Stihl all the way. Plus their file holder system is boss. Don't know if Oregon has a similar system - think not.

What I thought as well! Surely you could have just tied the legs of a pair of rousers and stuffed in a few kilos (vodka?). Even if you had to sit with in on your lap, beats £150 charge!

Steve, the only niggle I have with the site is I can't get photos to upload at photos - only URL. Addresses. Some members seem to be able to post photos and some not. Maybe the problem is my own web and computer setup, I don't know....

I've heard reports of BASE jumpers/pargyder guys having their fillings heat up when they climb to the top of the big transmitter masts. Looks like a smallish one in the picture. Probably nothing to worry about. Wouldnt want it outside my bedroom window.

....or you could do that.... Hey, if it works, who cares if its a placebo?

True, this. I really hope your shoulder gets better, but one must also be willing to face facts, if facts are what one has to face. Shoulders are notoriously difficult to fix. Muster your resources and get deep needle acupuncture, seek out a reputable homoeopath, take the kelp and krill supplements. If nothing works you may have to look for different employment or sub-contract able bodied people to do the hard labour and manage them. Not what anyone wants to do, I know. Let this be a lesson to those of us who still have sound shoulders, to take care of our bodies. Best of luck mate.

My neighbour uses one in the woods, heavier than yours, bout 2 tonne, four wheel drive and double back wheels. Its unstoppable.

Have you checked the manufacturer's load rating, hitch rating etc for your machine? Then assume that applies to flat level ground.

Maybe he's the new Jon???? Welcome to the forum Kit, this place is full of history. Hope the tree climbing thing works out.

Discuss it with your insurer I would have thought. I suppose if the members (kids?) Have the benefit of a fall arrest system and competent minder there wouldnt be too much to object to.

That odd feeling when your nuts retract, sphincter puckers, stomach does summersaults etc? When faced with clear and present danger, imminent threat to life and limb? "Pick up yr hod an git up the scaffolding ya big girl ya!!!" I dunno, I always go with my gut these days. The true test of manhood in my view is whether you got the nuts to say "No boss, sorry, I just don't feel comfortable doing that" - and stand by your words. There a lot of brave men out there who are not brave enough to be scared.

I never ware one for chainsawing, simply don't experience dust, period. Chips, yes, but too big to get past the nasal hairs. Ripping dry hardwood, yes, but I do that kind of thing once in a blue moon. Im more concerned about the fumes and atomised chain oil. Switched to low-emissions equipment and using rapeseend oil bar lube, reckon thats safe enough. For any king of fine woodwork, i.e. sanding, jigsawing, planning etc I want a mask.

It was, yes. Dead right about the small jobs. I've been told that most car accidents happen within a mile of home (who knows if its true, but sounds like it could be). I think the only way to never let the guard down is just to ingrain the habit of risk assessment in everything we do, from the smallest action up, so it becomes automatic. The auld fellers around here are paranoid about injuries, they always warned the young lads to "Never run in a bog - Always have a stick with you - Never walk behind a cow etc etc!" and they were right. No ambulance in their day, no cellphones, no health insurance. And precious little chance of timely rescue in parts of rural Ireland and parts of the UK as well.

I find that as time goes by, I derive more and more satisfaction from doing things properly, efficiently and safely. I like to approach tasks like a puzzle, or a crime scene - identifying hazards, mitigating them. Not saying I am always successful in this endevour, but I try. Was reading a thing about adrenaline junkies - extreme rock climbers and the like. Apparently they are as a group, anal retentive when it comes to the planning and prep side of things. Really, the opposite of recklessness. Those studies that show the effects of fatigue on driver's reaction times, mimicking almost exactly the effects of alcohol. I firmly believe that tiredness is a huge factor in personal safety at work.

Clever. Gotta remember that one! Near misses, how many we all have had, and how many were we unaware of? Recollecting some of the stupid stunts I pulled in my teens and twenties, Christ , Im lucky to be in one piece. Pure dumb luck. And the thing is, a lot of these times, older and wizer heads were watching the shenanigans and didn't see the danger either. I remember cutting logs into firewood with my grandfather - a guy with an adamentuim skeleton. I'd hold the log on a sawhorse while he cut the end off with a 254xp, then feed it along, cut, feed, cut, feed, until I was holding a stub of a log, maybe a foot long, on the edge of the horse, and he'd make the last cut, halving it, with the chain whizzing like four or five inches from my hands. Yeah. That's the safety ethic I grew up with. The internet has schooled me.

Recently a local man drowned in the bay near his home, not far from shore. He and a mate were rowing out to an island in foul weather, when their vessel capsized. One of the men managed to swim to a rock, where he was rescued later, suffering hypothermia. The other man’s body was found the next day. My initial thoughts when I heard this news were “Life Jackets??” Word of mouth reports say the unfortunate man had not been waring a lifejacket (I don’t know about the survivor). Further reports say he was also waring waders, as the plan was to go duck hunting on the island, but I don’t know if this is true. It is certain they embarked on their expedition in foul weather - the beginning of storm Gertrude. This was a very capable guy, a multi-skilled, physically strong, hyper-confident, pillar of the community. He had done this excursion many times before without consequence. So what when wrong? As I pondered this, I came to the conclusion that many of you reading have already reached. Multiple things went wrong, simultaneously. To paraphrase: the catastrophic accident was caused by a convergence of small mistakes. No lifejacket Foul weather Waders (maybe) If any one of these factors had been present when the boat overturned, he might have made it to shore. But with each additional layer of error, the chance of catastrophe multiplies. 1 mistake = 1% chance of catastrophe 2 mistakes = 4% 3 mistakes = 16% 4 misakes - 64% You get the idea (Im just trying to paint a picture here, making no claims of scientific or statistical accuracy, by the way) I guess most of us have a passing knowledge of system failure theory. It's out there and anyone who does dangerous manual work will have come across it. Anyone in construction, will at some point have done a safety course where it is mentioned, etc. Im no expert, but essentially its the theory that several small things going wrong, cause a a big accident. Sometimes the small mistakes are not identifiable as such when they occur, and only become obvious in hindsight. Therefore, most industries have checklist systems. Take public transport for example. Before the driver boards his bus, he must fill out a checklist - tyres, lights doors etc and so on. The vehicle DOE test is another kind of checklist that tries to eliminate risk. Its a great Idea, and very necessary, but we can’t all live our lives ticking boxes. In the rough and tumble reality of a sector like Arboriculture and forestry, the checking needs must be a mental mental habit. That’s all well and good. When we have the time, we can check each piece of our gear, like we should. Make sure the ropes are rigged optimally. Be sure of footing, perfect work position, rehearse the plan of action and so on. And so we do. But what about when the pressure is on and the weather is turning? We can reduce risk, but risk can also come from outside. Some trees carry a higher risk than others. Some sites do to. Some cuts are riskier. A guy can crosscut straight logs all day with a sharp saw, in his yard, in a jig, swearing flip-flops and shorts, while driking a beer, with minimal risk. But when the ground is a rocky bog, the logs are a twisted pile, and the light is failing, the risk goes up exponentially. It is then that we must recognise the increased level of risk and take measures. The only measures we can take, realistically, in most cases like this, are to abandon the work, or work with extreme mindfulness and caution. And that’s really the whole point of this thing. We are all capable and confident people, like the fellow who lost his life in the bay. Sometimes our confidence in our abilities blinds us to small mistakes and unnecessary risks. Most of the time our skill and experience overcompensates these risks, but the accumulation of small mistakes multiplies by a cube function and it only takes a straw to break the camels back. Lets be aware of the unseen risks - like fatigue and complacency. Im posting this really for the benefit of lurkers and non-members, as anyone who has done forestry work professionally will already be familiar with the theories contained herein, and I wouldn’t want people to think I was teaching them to suck eggs. There are others on this forum more eloquent then me, who can say this better. And I hope they will.

or a heavy machete?

I find a good dollop of ethanol based hand sanitiser in the pits pretty much kills any smell for the day. My guess is it sterilises the area of bacteria to such a level that they take a good long while to build back up. Easy to reapply during the day as well. Would you not wear lycra wicking layer and a warmer top layer?

Im one of those people who get behind the slow-coach and stay there, relaxed and happy that the aggro is all going to the car in front of me, content to lollygag behind my scapegoat. Of course, I always leave enough room for cars behind me to overtake and move in between me and the lead car, if they so choose. There's just something magical about going slow, listening to your tunes, sucking on a red bull while chewing a nicorette, no need to rush. If I find myself at the head of the column, I get agitated, and will pull over regularly. If Im stuck on a motorway, I just suck it up and drive, just shy of the speed limit, in fine whether, and about 80% in foul. The crazy thing is, people are still passing me out, flagrantly ignoring the limit anyway. And they seem to expect me to drift onto the hard shoulder to let them past. To hell with that....I've built my lifestyle around pacing myself, and I will not be chivvied. Amen.