waterbuoy

Bugger - that looks like yet another distraction I didn't really need! The recovery matting looks to have potential for a number of different uses: Self recovery trackway matting | L Jackson & Co LJACKSONANDCO.COM self recovery track way matting for sale, bog mats, army surplus, L Jackson & Co

How much of a step-up from the trolley chassis to your frame (in areal extent) will there be, and what will the maximum unsupported span be? I would have thought that 6x2s would be more than adequate - I used similar to span a 4.5m wide garage to create a loft floor for storage and that is still there!

Put one (of many) translation apps on your 'phone and set it up for Italian to English. Then, when you point the camera at the relevant text it will translate it directly to English - simples!

There is a whole thread on here ref 3.5tonne pickups etc - one of the messages I take from that thread is that a sensible trailer has a greater payload than the van. Size-wise I guess it depends on what you are wanting to tow - eg is it arisings, chip or a combination of chipper and chip (for example). Caged sides will be very useful, and/or boards, but they can be a bugger to park in the city centre! Try and pick one with a similar wheel track to your chosen tow vehicle, and make sure that has the towing capacity to tow a fully loaded trailer. No point buying a 3500kg trailer if the towing capacity is only 1750kg! PS I have owned 3.5 tonne Ifors for more than 25 years and have taken them into just about every city in the UK - and much of northern Europe too. So long as you are sensible and plan ahead they can actually be more versatile as you can separate the vehicle and trailer if necessary.

At least he had the guts to ask!

Excellent - congratulations to you both. Very cute nose!

Make thicker chopping boards - they will last longer!

The price very much depends on the quantity you order as the quoted price includes transport

Our science blocks had teak worktops which were all snapped up at a premium

I'm of a similar view to Mick - I keep a 'day-book' rather than formal diary, as sometimes I need more than a page and some days I don't! If the proverbial should hit the round spinning thing then it is what a court would regard as 'contemperaneous notes' which can be helpful (don't ask!). This is complimented by a smartphone which can be used to take photos and dictation for lengthy comments etc, plus an ipad on which we keep all our generic and dynamic RAs and technical manuals as a point of reference. As a lot of my work is near water then I often use the ipad to take backup photos, although the use of cloud storage is making that redundant these days. I think the key part of your enquiry is your final sentence where you say you are not really tech minded but have a hunch that if it were set up correctly it would help streamline things. For it to help effectively then I think you might be better to try and identify what processes you actually want to streamline, how they link together, and what software/apps might help with this. For example, can quotes be prepared using a pro-forma - if so then that is simple to set up on an ipad or similar, incorporating photos etc to avoid ambiguity. I do the same with inspection reports that I prepare. However, linking it all to a central 'hub' - be it a PC, server or cloud storage, will require careful thought and is not as intuitive as some make out! In early December I called in at an Apple store whilst visiting the big smoke, and asked for some help with my new (to me) phone. Long story short - they offer free workshops on all of their devices which can be tailored to your specific needs. Within a fortnight I had attended a total of three workshops - two on macbooks and one on the phone. The most popular seem to be the ones relating to ipads. I think the workshops are 'on hold' for a couple of weeks whilst they deal with the new year sales etc, but will be restarting later this month. A further thought is with regard to compatibility. If you have an iphone then an ipad makes sense - the ipad should be capable of running most office software and will link easily with the phone. The big advantage of Apple products is the ease with which they link together. However, if that isn't the case then an Android tablet, or even a chromebook, might be more helpful. I used to write source code for mainframes in a fomer life and have worked with PCs for more than 35 years (and still do), but it has taken a lot of effort to be able to work efficiently with both PC and Apple devices.

In the days when Exchange and Mart was an actual publication, and before it all went onto t'internet, I bought an old church floor for a couple of hundred quid. It was long thin strips, such as those found in sports halls, and made very good kindling! Might be worth keeping your eye out on the 'bay for something similar for that sort of area?

Without knowing how importat they are to you, or any of the back story (if any), I think I'd be getting them to go back to the house with you to sort out the problem - but in their time, ie not paid - and to apologise to the customer themselves.

Ditto. Myself and SWMBO have finally realised that there is little incentive to grow our business at our stage in life so have made the conscious decision to take our foot off the pedal and enjoy life a bit more before the fun police try and stop that!

I'm guessing he has either got engaged or married?!

Thanks for all your replies Whilst I already use fuel additives for the diesel we put into our boats (to address the 'bug' issue) I wasn't aware of the petrol additive/stabiliser that MacP referred to. I'll give that a go for the 066 and other 2-stroke gear and see if it improves things, and research a source of the larger containers of the alkylate fuels for the new saw. Only down side I can see is having to run two fuel cans and not getting them mixed up, but as I am usually the only one doing the fuelling then that should be OK. Thanks again, and Happy New Year to all when it comes

Thanks - but would you suggest/recommend that I do run it on Aspen etc or should I be OK to stick with petrol?

Evening all I have recently bought a new MS 261 to join its older/bigger sibling (MS 066) and a small Makita battery saw. It is replacing an old Husky 55 from the early 1990s. I freely admit that I am what some on here refer to as a weekend warrior; I am not a professional arb worker but I have been using saws for more than 40 years and have dropped many a large (or small) tree and process upwards of 20 cube a year. In addition to owning and using three saws I use a variety of other 2-stroke machines - brushcutters, hedgecutters, stihl-saws, generators etc and half a dozen outboards between 2 and 200hp. I have used 'conventional' 2-stroke mix (ie petrol and the appropriate oil) for all machines with no issues - at least ths far. I use the highest grade of petrol available and, in the case of the MS 066 and generator, drain the tank if I am going to be leaving then for a while. The other gear is used regularly, and I run the ouboard tanks down before storing them for the winter. However, I am noticing that even using the higher grade of petrol it goes stale after just a couple of weeks and the equipment becomes more difficult to start. Simple question - for the new saw, should I now move over to Motomix/Aspen/other brands or will I be OK to stick with petrol? Unless advised otherwise I am reluctant to swap the other gear onto Alkylate as I have heard of issues when this is done with older fuel-lines etc (and the MS 066 drinks fuel!). I also have a relatively local supplier of both Motomix and Aspen so can keep a couple of cans in stock and replace as and when required. Thoughts appreciated please.

Is that not for warranty purposes?

Thanks for the prompt Steve Whilst I am far from a professional I have four saws and a chipper, together with brush cutters and hedge cutters plus a 1.8 tonne digger. I will try to collate the details of the saws and list it on the register - if nothing else so I have a record for if/when it does get nicked.

Splendid looking tree all the same!

TBH it doesn't appear to be that different from the (ironically named) SSE THTC tariff - 'Total Heating Total Control' - on which SSE control when they switch the supply to our storage heaters remotely from their control room more than 100 miles away. It has been around for decades.....

Judging by Steve's recent post about a certain Christmas tradition I think you may be heading in that direction anyhow

Pity it wasn't arsenic

At least he has kept peeps distracted for a couple of days - it isn't as if there is anything else going on at present!

To be fair that is only a week away - and at least the nights are getting shorter now!