waterbuoy

We have a Makita DUC306Z twin-18v top handle which, for the money, I think is pretty hard to beat and a huge step up from their original 18v offerings. We already run Makita 18v tools so had the batteries etc. My colleague is an arborist who has his own small woodland (larch) and spends 2-3 days a week on the saw. This weekend we topped out a large(ish) pruce in my garden - the tree was about 110-120' tall and he cleared/snedded it up to at least 24m/80' using the Makita before cutting out the top with his Husky from the MEWP we had hired in. The Makita did all of the cutting on one set of batteries. Whilst it will obviously not have the grunt of a petrol saw, not that of the 'professional' but eye-wateringly expensive Husky/Stihl offerings, it is perfect for intermittent use (there is also a rear handled version as above). At less than £180 for the bare tool and coming with a 3-year warranty I'm hoping mine lasts 2-3 years before it dies and I then get another to play with! This is the tree we topped out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK1xx1M7xX8

We have a 17.75 Hinowa lightlift on hire at the moment - around £500 for the week and it can be towed behind the land rover as it weighs less then 2.5 tonnes. As others have said, for the really tall trees we used it to gain access to the canopy but still plenty high enough for most: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK1xx1M7xX8

We do a lot of cableway rigging for flow measurement purposes and use George Taylor Lifting for most of our hardware. https://www.gtlifting.co.uk/products/hoisting-material-handling/gt-lightweight-wire-rope-snatch-block-shackle-head-gtsbs/ Their snatch blocks are not too expensive for what they are - we have used our 5 tonne unit weekly for about the past 4 years or so They also do slings but you will get better for less money elsewhere - I will see if I can fine the details of the UK supplier/manufacturer we use as we have yet to break one of their slings - something I cannot say about other suppliers! Edit: Found the details of our supplier for our heavy duty slings https://slingsandstraps.co.uk/ They are not the cheapest but are very good quality

We had an Ifor trailer stolen a few years back. Found it for sale a few weeks later at a car dealers about 80 miles from where we lived. Notified plod who, on finding that we had received insurance payout, advised that it was of no interest to them and that we should contact insurers etc.

GIven that they had to subtitle both Gerrard and Carragher on Sky then I can just about manage four - English, Scouse, Glaswegian and French. Geordie is close but just too far howay.....

Is the top wheel nut missing or just hidden in the recess?

What;s the cable tie for? That looks like a (rather small and possibly deformed) alloy, not a wheel trim

Rest assured that is where it will be going if necessary - we are already 'in dialogue'. However, I have some work for it to do over the next week - we are taking down half a dozen large spruce trees around our house (about 120' high with a dbh of around 3') so I will need the big saw for that. Ashamed to admit that I managed to get somewhat distracted today due to a new arrival at the other end of the scale - a Makita DUC306 cordless top-handle. What a great piece of kit for the money (£170 plus VAT). I spent the afternoon clearing the lower branches from some of the spruce and one very large (I think) Leylandi (taller than the spruce) and only had to change the batteries once.

We have often considered this with the LR Discos, some of which are a commercial spec and the rfl is considerably cheaper. Turned out that the DVLA go with the class as per original V5 document - no-one on the Disco3 or Disco4 forums has managed to get it changed (in either direction).

Thanks both peatff - I have been told that the 066 had different flywheels and ignition modules. I'll remove the cover and check first before exploring further. Thanks for the encouragement though!

Thank you both - I'll try Spud's suggestions first before parting with any cash I think! It doesn't wrench the starter handle so it sounds as if it isn't the timing (even without the decomp button pushed in) I'll whip the cover off tomorrow and take a look at the control shaft - tbh I haven't run it for a few months (since someone repaired my Husky in fact!) so I can;'t remember exactly what it does when/if it eventually starts. I seem to remember that it 'just' ran then slowly picked up revs, but will look more closely tomorrow.

Thanks - I'll start hunting (don't think that Stihl still make the original part so it will most likely have to be a copy) I was dreading someone suggesting it might be the timing!

Evening all I have had my 066 since new (around 1998I think) and it has always been a bit reluctant to start for the first time each day (bit like me really). No issues once it has been used - even if I go to start it some hours later, and it will run all day if I need it to with no issues - it is just a case of getting the thing to start for the first time! 'Symptoms' are that it will initially fire/cough with choke fully set, regardless of whether or not decomp is used. Thereafter it is a complete ballache to start - whether I leave the choke on or push the lever up one to the throttle only setting. Of late it has become a complete lottery - some days it will reluctantly start, other days it doesn't want to know. Fresh fuel mix and fuel system has been drained through to carb so I don't think that is the issue, and plug was recently changed. Any (relevant) thoughts appreciated. Thanks

For all business insurance I use a broker - let them do the legwork as they know who to ask. It may cost you a few quid on top but can save a lot of hassle.

We have tried that in the past. In our case they generally take the discount but still take an age to pay!

But Steve doesn't need to know his age to be able to say when anything was established - DoB is pretty much irrelevant whichever way you look at it.

But why put the date of birth on your website at all, even in the example?

I certainly wouldn't go putting my date of birth on a website for all scammers to find!

Thanks for all your suggestions. With regard to whether or not it is Giant Hogweed - I have had three FC people all independently confirm that it is (as my sister in law declared on her one and only visit to see us we are 'long on trees and short on shops'!) together with the couple who run the local nursery. As we spend a significant part of our year working at Environment Agency sites on river banks I suspect that I brought the seeds back in the copious amounts of mud that usually coat the underside of our vehicle after such trips. All three plants are at the edge of our gravel driveway. The reason for asking the question on the forum is that all the people gave different suggestions as to how we should deal with it and, given their respective backgrounds, I was aware that they were perhaps being more conservative than some of the agent orange type approaches suggested above! On the basis of what has been suggested I will cut the plants back this evening when we have our weekly 'lockdown bonfire' and burn them. I'll have a go at digging out the rootballs and burn them too. If/when shoots start to re-emerge then I'll treat with roundup and see how we go.

OK, I know this is an arb forum and my question is not related to trees. However, I suspect some members may have more experience of this than most (and have not been able to find much using the search function). We have a rather splendid (?) trio of Giant Higweed plants in our garden. They have yet to flower, but are some 4' high and each has a spread of c. 6'. I am keen to treat them before they flower. In the past we have used Roundup Pro Biactive which seemed to work OK, although since tlast using it we now have a small dog. I understand that this has now been replaced by a new version of Roundup (I think Roundup ProActive) but the original can still be obtained from suppliers. My question is: what would you recommend for treating Giant Hogweed? Thanks in anticipation ........

If you are not used to writing, or just out of practice, it can be difficult to 'get in the groove.' As someone who writes a lot (often more than 20,000 words a week) my advice would be to start by putting something down, even if you think it is gibberish, and then sleep on it. It is far simpler to rewrite or edit something than sit staring at a blank screen. The fact that you have written c. 170 words and most of them are bollocks at least means that some of them are not! It can also help if you try and plan a framework of what you are wanting to say - even if it is just bullet points or subject headings that you can go back to and expand at a later time. Similarly, don't be afraid of asking your significant other (if you have one) to take a look and give you their opinion - be prepared for some brutal feedback though!

'Consultancy 101' states that the first part of being a successful consultant is understanding the client's requirements. I thought the OP was wanting to retain three of the stems and remove 2 ?

I suspect if you paid three consultants you would get three different answers!

If I remember correctly (we looked at a lot of trailers that week ) he had a couple of different types. The HD one seemed to be well built whereas the lightweight model looked like it would not be so good at coping with the abuse we tend to give them. My mate was impressed by the 3-way tip as previously stated, but was concerned that the way the ram was mounted compromised the ground clearance. I think this is typical with most 3-way tippers to be honest. The 'normal' tipper looked to be strong and well built. We decided to stick with Ifors because we are based a long way from anywhere and they have a reasonable support network for spares etc. Yeovil is almost 600 miles from us but they seemed to offer good support at that time. Edit: Thinking further on this, he was more than willing to make any mods that we required, and from what I remember their brake/axle/hitch systems were pretty much standard units.

Afraid I cannot remember. I'll ask my pal as he took the card from the guy.