waterbuoy

Like Hank I have the cheapo base unit from Makita which has been used/abused for about five years. I tend to use it just for changing wheels on the Land Rover (only 145-150Nm) and rope grips on cableways etc. It can save an hour or so when changing a set of four wheels, just remember to set them to the correct torque afterwards. IN other jobs I tend to use it more for undoing than tightening up - unless it is something really repetitive.

I thought it was maybe the Jehovah's witnesses setting forth to deal with surplus chrimbo trees!

Bit of a 'holy thread resurrection' but we are needing comms for two people working on opposite sides of a river - up to 120m apart but with direct line of sight. I see that the pro-coms get good reviews and are specified to work over that distance. My question is whether or not this is the case in reality? Also, are they still the dogs danglies or is there a new kid on the block? Thanks in advance.

Again, I agree with everything you say - but sadly our local authority (and school HT) don't. Until this week there weren't even any notices on the changing room doors - they are separate but next to each other, with no locks or security measures on either door (for each sex). Many of the girls are now using this as an excuse not to do PE, and some of the lads feel awkward too. There have been recorded incidents of children and adults walking into the wrong changing room, but the school and LA consider h incidents are acceptable. We have argued until we are blue in the face for PVGs as a minimum, but have been told that is unnecessary - yet I have to have a PVG to act as the safety boat driver for my own child and his friends at boat club! So far as the assault is concerned then the pupil who did the kicking has not, so far as we are aware, been punished. Pupils, parents and staff are angry, but the HT repeatedly says that he has to consider everyone's 'rights'. The sad reality is that, up here at least, the education system is set up to benefit the minority at the expense of the majority. At best, it is a drive towards mediocrity and the lowest common denominator.

It is a local authority school - which is part of the problem. They appointed a 'yes man' as the head teacher and he is more concerned with not upsetting the Authority than he seems to be about the welfare of the children. By way of another example, it is the only school in the whole LA area where members of the public are allowed to access and use the school gym and changing rooms during the school day. We (ie parents and the PC) are currently taking this to the highest level, not least because one of us was directly affected by Dunblane. However, both HT and the Local Authority think it is fine.......

Yup - I had no idea just how bad things are until I was asked to join the Parent Council. Whilst our situation isn't helped by a very self-serving and weak new headmaster who has effectively sidelined the former leadership tem, it is the overbearing desire to protect the 'rights' of the minority - in this case the trouble makers who do not want to be at school - which is undemining the moral of staff and pupils alike. In the cae I described the unruly child was not actually suspended by the school - the police took her away for interview, she took a day off (I am told) and was then welcomed back into the school - to the surpsie (and dismay) of many. I have been told (but don't know for certain) that the new head teacher sent his children to private school, which if true kind of says it all really.

Correct on all counts - the school used to have an onsite police liaison officer pre-covid but that is no longer the case due to cutbacks. It is probably worse than you state as there is a perception amongst the 'normal' children that those who misbehave then get special attention, to the detriment of everyone else. This makes the top headline in the 'Scottish News' section of the BBC website this morning - again, plenty of discussion on dangers to teachers, but nothing about the children who may also be on the receiving end: Union calls for teacher guidance on restraining pupils WWW.BBC.CO.UK The NASUWT says the Scottish government is four years late in providing "concrete guidance" for teachers.

Sorry - have been away working on Coll for a couple of days Yes, it happened on school premises - in full view of one of the staff rooms.

We are currently buring Monterey Cypress which I think is similar to Leylandii? It burns quick and spits a fair bit (but no more than spruce), but also burns hot and clean. It also seasons pretty quickly too which can be an advantage! At the end of the day calorific output is related to the weight of the seasoned wood

Whilst I agree, the reality is that things have moved on since we (well, me for certain) were at school. I currently sit on the Parent Council for our local High School, and on Monday we discussed a recent event with the head teacher: One 12yr old pupil was attacked by an older pupil, knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked in the head. All of this was videod by the attackers friends and posted on Insta. School's response - notify police and parents, and then step back as quickly as they could from the situation. The school say that they prefer to 'empower' families to make formal complaints to the police themselves as that is not their responsibility. (My view is that the safety and wellbeing of the child is the responsibility of the school whilst they are on the premises, but apparently that is not the case any more!). Two days later the attacker is back at school getting counselling and receiving additional lessons whilst the poor child who was kicked in was/is still in hospital. The family are too scared of the potential consequences to make a formal complaint and/or press charges. I suspect that if it was a teacher who had been attacked then the school and local authority would have been all over it like a bad rash.

TBH I understand both perspectives but, having thought about this whilst walking the dog, am probably in agreement with your inspector. Polyprop is old tech, and perhaps of greater relevance is very difficult to age which therefore makes it difficult to assess for UV etc. It also (usually) does not come with a marked swl which is required for LOLER, though most do have a MBL on their datasheets. I wondered about suggesting that if it is so cheap then you could consider replacing it every six months, but then thought that is maybe acknowledging the deficiencies. The topic has previously been discussed at length elsewhere. For example: LOLER and use of Polypropylene rope FORUM.IOSH.CO.UK Posted By Jon Thompson On our construction sites Polypropylene rope (typically 12mm & 16mm) is used to lift...

I'm a LEEA qualified inspector of lifting equipment to LOLER, but not specifically arb gear (usually catenary cableways, wire ropes, shackles etc etc) Has the guy stated why he will not inspect the rope? I sispect it is not the lay of the rope which is the issue, but the material (ie polyprop if I am right)

I may have misinterpreted your post, but are the 661 and the 592 not effectively the same size - ie c.90cc? I run my 066 with three bars for cross-cutting - 20, 28 and 36", of which the 28 is by far my favourite as the saw feels so much more balanced than with the other two. It runs the 36" OK with a full chain on it, though it is mainly softwood and poplar at that size of trunk round here. However, as soon as it is down to within range for the 28" then that is my go-to. For milling I currently use the 36" bar, but am thinking seriously about a lo-pro 42" with a skip chain as by the time the 36" bar has lost the usual 6" to the mill itself it is getting a bit tight on some of the logs.

If the average salary is around £34/35k then more than half the workforce will be below this as those with a higher salary can have significantly higher salaries - ie the distribution is not statistically 'normal'. Most people with salaries less than £35k are likely to be in a relatively narrow band between (say) £10k and £35k, whereas those above the average can go much higher. The greater the disparity in pay the more skewed the distribution becomes. For example, two people with a salary of £30k and one with a salary of £45k generate an average salary of £35k Whereas six people with a salary of £20k plus one with a salary of £125k give the same average.