maybelateron

Morning all, Hope it goes as smoothly as the last one did Stubby. Can't wait till Monday to have my stitches out from second carpal tunnel op, then cabin fever can clear off.

Morning all.

Morning all, Dry at present but rain possible/likely. Maybe get the lawns mowed/maybe roll the top field before it gets too firm. Bottom field is already too dry for roller to make any difference. Hard to believe after all the rain, but true.

Yesterday my neighbour was using his BCS two wheel tractor, Honda engined. It stopped running while in use, not sure why. After it wouldn't start he decided that because the engine oil was black he would change this. It has an oil bath air filter on top of the carb (presumably for when rotavating in dry dusty conditions), so he decided to top this up generously. So generously in fact that oil ran into the cylinder. He then found it would not turn over on the recoil start. So he takes the recoil cover off and uses a metal bar to try and turn it over. When it would not turn over he called me to help. No, I won't be lending him any of my machinery.

Absolutely. And that sums up why these days I decline to provide a chipping service to people who have done the felling themselves, or had a "tree surgeon" in to do it. The former don't know the difference between barbed wire and a tree branch, and the latter don't give a monkeys.

My phone is the quietest it has been in years. We are 95+ per cent domestic. Still got the regular trims booked in, and fortunately not a problem as I'm getting older and not wanting/needing to work full time. Until now, I have always felt the domestic sector seemed pretty stable, in that we rarely work for younger customers in smaller properties, ie we work mainly for older customers in larger properties who are more financially secure.

Morning all, Raining here. Think I'll sort all my tax return details for the accountant today.

When I proudly told a friendly local competitor I had ordered a new 18m spider mewp he wisely asked what I thought I would need soon after. Said I didn't know, and he replied a 21m mewp! When using a mewp for dismantles I think the outreach is at least as important, if not more so than max height. A few times I have managed to get the last few metres off the top of the tree, whilst out of "direct reach". I have fixed a pull rope with the AUS poles and hook, then got the ground crew to pull it away from me and the mewp base; obviously needs a favourable drop zone, and only done with sensibly sized and weighted bits of crown.

Good afternoon (12:02 now), Dry here again, only gentle pottering this week for me. Looking forward to return to gentle duties next week once stitches removed from hand.

Absolutely agree. It takes a bit to make me dig my feet in in situations like this, in this situation I would argue my case all the way. The hire company cannot defend their lack of actions, ie blades utterly blunt and the all important setting of gap between flywheel blade and anvil has been completely neglected.

Leaf shape would fit for that but the green is a bit too bright for Whitebeam I reckon. That said, if it has only just come into leaf they may pale down a bit?

Hand is pretty good thanks. No chance of hosepipe ban (although we probably had the wrong size of raindrops all winter), as I will be pumping water up from the well under our front lawn.

Morning all, Lovely day again here. Bit of one handed lawnmowing to do, then watering the recently seeded grass.

Morning all, Fine day here too. Might be warm enough to sit outside with a book.

I rate it highly. Before I converted my 2511T to Panther I manage to bend the original bar more easily than I would expect. No problems since I changed over in Sept 2023. I carry a spare bar on the van. I have found it greatly improves the saw's performance. I find it very difficult to get a good result sharpening the really small chains, so I just fit a new one and recycle the old metal.

Thanks Doug, and morning all. Lovely blue sky here. Sitting outside and reading books mixed with doing VAT return today.

Morning all, Off to get my second carpal tunnel decompression done this morning, under local anaesthetic. Looking forward to getting rid of waking (literally) every 1-2 hours and having to walk about to stop the tingling and burning it causes. Have a good day all.

Can't you just sort it in the morning before we go off to work boss?

My previous mewp was a 1996 Aerial K16T which some may regard as a dinosaur. It had 16m height, 8m outreach, 24v battery power and Kubota diesel power. Very solidly built. Minimal safety switches - just sensors on each leg to check pressing on ground, and a sensor so you could only adjust legs "when the boom was fully down". In other words, much more at operator's discretion (OMG, I didn't really say that did I?). Now I have a tracked mewp with more ability but more safety hoops to jump through. However my new machine does have the option to cut the wire seals and bypass all the safety settings - ideal to get it back on the trailer or off the level crossing etc. Then get main agent to sort out the underlying problem. Stuart, suggest try contacting CMC lift via? [email protected]

So true. Over the years I have seen too many guys operating kit with what I call "mechanical contempt" on a bad day, or "lack of mechanical awareness" on a not so bad day. "Well I was feeding the brash into the chipper and chippings were coming out the other end". "Did you not think the unusual noise and smoke were telling you something?"

If you are intending to keep the logs in the bags I do hope they are fully seasoned. If not you will fine only the top layer or two are any good after storing them. I learnt this the hard way many years ago.

Just underlines how essential it is in this trade to be able to use spanners etc. I have come across some guys who are great at climbing but have no mechanical nouse. OK I suppose if you don't want to run your own show.

Hi Stuart, I couldn't access the link you put up, I guess it was a photo. I have attached a photo of the trailer I move the mewp on, unloaded I'm afraid. It is a Bateson 35CP tilt bed, £5,500 + VAT this January, direct from Bateson. I load it so the basket partly overhangs the rear of the trailer. This is so I can get the tracks in the best place for balance. It would fit with the basket at the front over the a frame, with no overhang, but I would worry about the basket touching the tow vehicle with extreme angles when reversing. Prior to this trailer I was using a Meredith 7 Eyre triaxle, with wheles under and detachable ramps. Really solid build, but a more tedious job to load/unload, and more potential for accidents when doing so. The Bateson is very quick to tilt with a hand pump (have to move mewp back a little first to ease the load on the pressure release valve in the pump). Both trailers are 16ft bed length. Triaxle is 6ft6 bed width, tilt bed is 5ft wide. I would say they are equally stable towing behind the Hilux, but both would have bulllied my Disco 2 above 45mph. On the other hand Disco was shorter for better shunting around. Hope this is of some help. What mewp have you settled on? Charles

Morning all, Fine here, rain due midafternoon. Just what I need, having put down grass seed yesterday.

I don't quite understand what you mean by this. My spider lift (18m height, 11m outreach) is 400kg heavier than my previous road tow one, which was 16m height, 8m outreach. I would go for the spider every time. Reasons: Once off the trailer it is easier to move around on site. Being tracked as opposed to single axle it can cope with softer ground. Only option if trying to work in cemetery - can position between graves with a bit of thinking. Definitely recommend a trailer with a low bed - full width ramp, or better still hydraulic tilt bed.