Stuart Picken

You need a seriously good reason to cut down a tree like that in my book. Arse.

That's some reading list for a level 3! I'm starting an hnd in forestry this winter, my snails pace reading I don't reckon I'd get through all that. Anyways I got the botany mauseth book, I figure 6 pound delivered you can't go wrong really. So I'll post and let folks know what I reckon! Gets here next week.

Bunch o frogs and krouts walked walked through doggerland *snigger* to get here 14000 years ago. Bloody immigrants.

Ive just learnt this. I thought it has 2 stroke and peanut butter sandwiches that led to the regulation of plant growth.

How come Ive never heard of this thing called auxin?

One part of the title is a lie. So, I've read, or am reading, a bunch of books that are recommended on here. Shigo, bob Watson, etc. They're all great and all that. But I picked up a general biology textbook today, published in 1969. Skimmed through bits of it and thought 'bloody hell this is useful'. It's fine focusing on trees but turns out I've been missing a few damn golden nuggets. So, does anyone have any recommendations of a suitable general biology textbook? Maybe plant biology?

Percentages matter because their proportionate. The wealthy should be paying atleast the same percentage as the less well off, otherwise that wealth gap widens faster. In fact I believe the law of diminishing returns justifies the wealthy being taxed for more heavily. It's a pretty well documented phenomenon that a little more money makes people a lot happier, but a lot more only makes them a little happier than that. Don't ask me to provide evidence of that, I'm not going to. That suggests you can tax well heeled folk more, and have less of an impact on their well-being. Either that or we can rely on trickle down economics - when the weight of their cash bursts their pockets we can pick it up as it trickles out the bottom of their trousers. Seems fair.

Expanding foam-iticus

I'll be frank, I saw Lots of genitals hidden away in those boards. Brilliant stuff mate.

I reckon that axe is maybe a little heavy? Lighter axe, you'd get a better swing i reckon. I see videos of old timers using axes and always think they make em look light. I know they were a different breed and all that.

Well, reading that advert has made me miserable.

Could do worse than living in Dorset mate, quality cereal I hear.

Hey folks. So, I'm an experienced and competent tree surgeon, I'll climb trees and cut bits of 'em all day long. Rigging, SRT, speed lines, bla bla bla. This winter (so long as I get in) I'll start studying hnd forestry in Inverness. What I'm wondering is, is this climbing skill of any value in forestry? Any suggestions on how to lever that skill into finding interesting work? Where, if anywhere, is climbing used in forestry? Lastly, could anyone in the NE Scotland use me?

Some traditional boat yards would snap that timber up double time!

So, what have we decided folks? I'm a young guy, what should I be doing with my money? At the moment I'm mostly investing in power tools and a beer belly. I imagine the #1 thing to do would be buy somewhere, i.e. stop paying someone else's mortgage.

Soooo uuuh. I believe in admitting when you've been a nob. Came back to the saw tonight, before opening up the top I decided to do a quick idiot check and went round all the obvious stuff again. So uh, turns out the dogs were a bit loose, half turn with the Allen key and we're back in business..... Huh. Thanks for the input folks!

So I went out and gave the crank a wee shoogle on the clutch side, and it feels rock solid. Does that rule out crank bearing? And I don't really know what crank stuffers are, I guess they fill space around the piston? How would I check them? Would that involve splitting the saw? In which case it's maybe a local shop job? Also, muffler baffle. Presumably I can just run it with the muffler off and see if the sound goes? I do think the sound is coming down from in the body of the saw

Hey folks So the other day my 560 started making a noise I'd never heard before. Like a rattle or clacking sound as it runs. If I rev it up it the noise speeds up to, and it's a sort of consistent rhythm. Its still cutting, no noticeable change in performance I don't think. Stopped using it for now. I've taken the clutch and oiler off, no help. The little arm thing that comes out the saw (that the clutch/sprocket goes onto) is solid, no wobble but if I had to guess I'd say the sound was behind that. There's nothing obviously loose. So, I'm imagining a piston/cylinder issue? Now. I know naff all about petrol engines. Anyone got a diagnosis? And anyone know where I can get an idiot's guide? To be frank the saws not be that hard used. Maybe 6/8 months of flat out forestry stuff, then a soft tree surgery retirement.

Find a girlfriend. Get her to sew you up a knock-off Chester. That's what I did Way cheaper, or way more expensive depending how you look at it.

Gorga isn't actually just slang. Romani originally came out of what is now rajistan in India. The language is still pretty similar apparently. Gorga comes from gora in Hindi/Gujarati/etc. Which meens not Indian. But it's a bit racist like. Edit cuz it didn't make sense

I meen, you should see the scar I've got from just a normal wire head on a grinder... Having said that, I've got one of those lethal weapons in the post - can't wait!

Click bait, in'it. The key to internet success.

Hmm. Big ass coffee table. I like this idea.

Hey folks. Killed a bigish sycamore the other day. I'm wondering what to do with the big union at the top of the stem. All the rest has gone into firewood, but I'm wondering if theres something more fun to do with this? So, 4ish legs coming of (I can't remember). There must surely be interesting grain patterns and stuff where it joins, I've just no idea which bits to use. I've a range of saws, and angle grinder. The problem is drying, right? Presumably if I cut horizontally across the bowl, it'll split apart as it dries? But if I take sections down through the limbs, into the trunk? Cutting down through each limb, so youve just the heart and reactionary wood, then making something like a bowl? The stuff is just going to sit and rot in the corner of a garden woodland, so I'm up for experiments, but I don't want to waste my time. So advice is appreciated! Once I've cut sections out, I rough out the product, leave to dry, then finish? Thanks folks. Here's some photos, maybe they'll make my rambling make sense. Stu Ps. Branch bowl is something like meter wide

Job today, some beech reductions growing over sheds and garage.