neiln

better though. this is a newish chain but has been sharpened before as you can see. the cutter this side, you can see from the dirt, I've yet to tickle with the fake file and you can see the backward shape the stihl file creates. it only gets worse as the teeth get shorter. compare the shape to the 2 cutters either side/the other side, which you can see i have tickled..actually it was a god 10 strokes i think. these have a better hook. now remeber, i don't get this trouble with the bigger chain/2in1, and the chain still seems to cut anyway, but to me the fake seems to have left the chain 'sharper'

So the fake might not have along life...we will find out in time whether the file comes out before the thing breaks or not. the other test is of course, does it work? well ..yes! better than the stihl one! I'll start be caveating, I only have this trouble with the 3/8P 2 in 1, the standard 3/8 and 5.2mm version works great on my bigger chains but wit hthe pm3 stuff i have 2 problems. firstly the flt file never does anyhting more than kiss the raker, even on a chain that is right down and losing cutters. I have put this down to a possibly over hardened arbtec/northernarbsupplies/pirhanna chain but wasn't convinced as even at the end of use on the chain both sets of guide rails would properly ride along the teeth either side of that one being sharpened. The other problem, although the chain still seemed to cut ok, the round files seem as if set too high and I never got any hook to the cutter. the cutter would go straight up to the working corner, or even backwards by the time the file was really worn. The chinese fake has the flat file/raker problem BUT does seem to get a better shape on the cutters. not perfect...this tooth still seems a bit straight up.

Khris...I use tp like some of his videos, nice camera work...but as you learn more you soon realise the guy is a d i c k.

hope the photo is visible, authentic stihl on the right. as you can see, 1 round file is stuck.. and it IS stuck. can't pull it out even with needle nose pliers, can't even twist it with vice grips...maybe when it's worn it might come out before the holder breaks but well, I'm not confident tbh. and since i can't even twist it, one side of that file will never do any work...the other will wear fast.

thought people might like to see more on the chinese fake 2in1 files and since my little ms180 needed a tickle on the chain anyway I grabbed it and tested the file as well as comparing it to the real stihl 3/8P 4.0mm 2 in 1. construction method is identical, same various plastic bits moulded identically and popped together. plastic feels slightly less robust maybe? it feels ever so slightly lighter but not loads, it feels sturdy enough to do the job but perhaps if being slung around in a tool box it might suffer quicker than the stihl, but maybe not, not much in it. I did notice the guide rails are slightly thinner, and i noticed there is a larger gap between the flat file sides and the round file....maybe the flat file isn't as wide? I just thought, i should see if the stihl flat file fits it. if its not the file then the spacing must be different but flat to round spacing doesn't matter so long as the height is right. The round files look the same, again I should check if the stihl ones fit but they are the same length and shape and marked 4mm, the cut is slightly different with a twirl to it and feeling more agressive...but maybe my stihl files are losing their edge. all these differences are small.

The bodies are specific as well as the files, the guide bars are in different spacings to set the height of the files. I just received a couple of the cheap copies today. Not tried yet but look fine except as noted above the files are tight. I can get the flat and one round out, suspect the other will come out with the aid of pliers. Only other immediate difference, it isn't marked with the size like the stihl ones.

similarly i build a slope into the top of my stacks so water runs off, but hte pallets go on top of the tarps to weigh them down and stop the wind blowing them off. however the cheap tarps i tried on a bit of my stack last year needed next to no invitation to find a place to pool water. the heavy weight tarps work fine. the cheapies are now just UV covers for the good ones!

basically you want a tarp that is fairly stiff so it doesnt sag under the weight of three rain drops. cheap ones do and yhen you get a puddle above a dip betweeen spits, which soon becomes a pool and the weight soon finds a splinter or pokey bit which easily pokes a hole in the cheap tarp and....well the tarp may as well not be there.

South London here. Half to 3/5ths of my pile is along a fence, about be 4' high and 4' wide on a row of pallets. Uncovered until August bank holiday. I then cover with tarps, normally taking them off any remaining wood at start of may although I haven't this year. It dries very well and stays dry, although I found this winter cheap tarps are useless.

wranglerknob/wankerstar sharpening skip chain with the 2in1 witterlings try this Genuine Stihl Bar and Chain Guide WWW.WORLDOFPOWER.CO.UK

btw, if you've not done much sharpening don't fret, its pretty easy and since you aren't ding cant races it doesn't matter iif its a little off. a few tips 1. hold the saw in a vice by the bar, or just cut a groove in a largish log and use that to hold the bar fairly still. 2. get the chain tight easily by shoving your carb screwdriver between chain and bar on the underside and movng it to the nose until the chain jams tight. then flip the chain brake on. 3. flat and 30 degrees. its easy, its marked on the guide, don't fret about being exact...higher angle cuts more but is grabby and blunts faster and vicki verka 4. have you been watching buckin billy? don't worry about the gullet intil you get in a can't race 5. try and keep both sides of the chain with about even length teeth BUT don't fret. don't count strokes and do the same each side religously...you will have a strong and a weak hand, so do it buy eye occasionally. also since the 2 in 1 does the rakers it does not matter a jot. every cutter can be a different length, if the rakers are appropriate then every cutter still cuts the same amount in the cut and the chain cuts straight. 6. mark the tooth you start on with pen, tip ex or blood, which ever. or some chains eg 14" stihl bars, don't have equal numbers of left and right cutters, find the left/left pair and start there. oh and how the chinese file goes I don't know but the real deal stihl on 3/8 picco starts to give an odd shape as th teeth get worn, with ZERO hook and the teeth even starting to slope backwards as the chain is very used....it still cuts. the round files seem too high...but any lower and they tickle the side plates...race chain here we come those chinese copies are cheap...might buy some for stocking fillers or something!

i use the stihl 2 in 1 files. Easy. I tend to whizz round the loop every tank or 2, or if i hit something and see sparks (may need more than a tickle then). I have spre chains for those mullered chain moments but otherise i find it easy to leave the chain on the bar 'til its dead...a cutter or 2 goes byebye. can't comment on any cheap copies, but Pferd made them originally, stiihl and husky licence from them i think, those 3 ar good. there isn't much to copy though so i suspect a cheap copy should be ok, the files may blunt faster but all file need swapping sooner or later

No. £10-20.

Hair on. That's about 1m³ once CSS, once seasoned too it's worth £100. But to collect, cut

Yes the beech is nice wood, or could be. I'd guess at 5 to 6 cube once CSS and is wellfirewood BUT it needs processing and £300 saving Vs buying it ready seasoned is not a good deal for the effort there. I'd pay £100 for it delivered, and only then to a tree surgeon as it would be getting a contact for a regular supply. If I were cutting it, I'd need permission to take a bit of time and to buck on site, and probably rough split the big rounds as i don't want an unnecessary hernia through shifting it. It also needs to be not far from vehicle access, not far from home and CLEAN if you end up wrecking a chain or 2 then add £50 to to your be cost, hours to the time taken and subtract a couple of years from your life due to frustration! I need a decent saw to do it swiftly too.....a lot of people looking at that add won't have such a saw.... They could pick over the pile and take plenty that their small saw can eat, but it's looking more costly if they don't take the large bits. Yes the beech is nice, but not at that price. I know I've become a wood snob in that I've 2 tree surgeons delivering to me for free and very happy I can take their waste, and another nearby that I collect from for free. But you either need to be desperate, or naive at scrounging, to pay £300 for that beech.

I always ponder on these adverts.... Does the seller give up and end up taking them to the recycling centre or what? Surely they don't find a mug to buy them? Surely no one they has the kit would pay, and no one without the kit would think of tackling it with a hand saw would they? I fear though that there are more less intelligent people than I give credit for.

@djbobbins like this? Husqvarna 18cm Steel Straight Splitting Wedge - 578456801 | L&S Engineers WWW.LSENGINEERS.CO.UK 18cm Steel Straight Splitting Wedge. TLO013 7

leverax works in straight grained stuff but i red it struggles in knotty stuff look up maulrat on 'tube, he has a review of the halder i think.

I rattle through easy stuff with the x17. I've also got a 2 3/4lb elwell on a28" haft (needs rehanging though) and also a4lb wetterlings and 5lb hultsbruk heads to hang, I intend to go 30-32 inch hafts for those. Oh and a 4.5lb Kelly Jersey pattern.... As buckin' says, take several axes to split as no axe splits everything best. I reckon the x27 is about the best all-rounder though.

I had the roughneck stuff, cheap but poor. I got a to x27: first Christmas, awesome. Very tough wood still needs a maul so I went for quality and weight, the 8lb stihl Pro maul. If they doesn't smash through then noodle. I have wedges, as above the grenade tends to just nail stuff to the block, so I then bought a couple of twist wedges and another straight one. After several battles I've learnt wedges are really for huge but straight grained rounds. Knotty stuff just noodle. And with flaking technique even massive rounds can be split with an axe so I very rarely use wedges.

habitat piles like stag beatle homes in biggin wood, the other woodland I guess habitat but it seems more clearance and brash burning. larger pieces such as 18" long rounds of 24-30" diameter oak are just left with no specifc habitat creation afaik. a few bits have been carved, ( there's an owl, a woodpecker and a dog) and one piece of oak seems to have been partially milled. i suspect it may have been to create a few plaques/signs that have appeared saying 'oak' 'ash' 'hazel' ad such like. Dan I suspect you are right, i Imagine someone from WT or similar is being paid to do the chainsaw work and perhaps give instruction/guidance, the friends group though are volunteers. it makes sense though that they would not like a non paperwork holding/non assessed volunteer operating a chainsaw for insurance/legal reasons. Right, I'll not bother to mention I could help then, as without the paperwork, I can't

perhaps I should have said 'There are a couple of small woodlands near me....' yes I was thinking that next time a pro is there working, if I know when that will be and can offer in advance, I could offer to buck up stuff as they drop it. Suspect many pros would be more nervous of an unknown volunteer with a chainsaw than happy with the offer though, which would be understandable! still, I can offer.

Nope. If they were I'd crack on. they are both croyon council owned....or at least one def is, fairly sure the other is too.

A timely thread revival bringing this to my attention just as I ponder whether to offer some help.....or more likely to just stay out as its not worth the risk! I've a couple of tiny woods very nearby that are really handy for exercise and entertaining the kids just now, so I've become much more familiar with them both. Both have recently got 'friends of ...' groups going and are getting a good tidy up with the help of various authorities like london wildlife trust and great north woods project. One is getting well cleared now, and I spotted painted numbers on about a dozen dead oak and dying ash in the other that I guess will be dropped/cleared by someone that is capable. However as an owner of a couple of saws (ms180 and husky 365 x torq) used regularly for firewood work, I could offer to help clear the occasional fallen bow or such like, which might get paths opened quicker. I've got the PPE and I'm generally risk adverse so would not go near an upright tree nor anything with real size or that might have tension so while I'd feel safe (as can be ...) and I'd be sure not to endanger others I suspect walking down to the woods with a saw and going at some logs could really annoy a few people and potentially break a few rules. Which leaves me inclined to just keep quiet and not offer to help. Am I being sensible to just leave it to the pro's or just an overly worried fool who cold help buck up stuff and clear paths, letting the pros spend their time more usefully on the real stuff like the dying ash and oak that need dropping before they drop themselves on someone? if it helps, location is north croydon, small woodlands surrounded by residential property, one is Biggin Wood, the other is Spa wood. both were part of the great north wood and have some large mature oaks and ash but neither have been managed woodland for a few hundred years so have become heavily overgrown and a place for fly tipping etc, until the local friends groups started up, and both are getting well tidied and opened up now.

There are 2 or 3 standard bolt sizes/bar slot sizes for bars to attach, can you tell what size the bolts are?