lux

Another vote for the echo. Brilliant blower. Got a very neutral position when blowing so if you are using if for prolonged jobs it’s very comfy. Got the stihl as well. Barely take it out since getting the echo , save for bigger jobs when an extra blower speeds clearing up.

I agree. We do a reasonable amount of fencing, generally for existing tree customers although a fair few stand alone fencing jobs. All domestic style stuff. I always price each site according to its conditions. If I went to cost per metre or bay I think id be underpricing some jobs by a fair margin.

Thems the risks as they say.

Must be more knee replacement than knee down these days Stubby [emoji13] Nice picture. Hope it’s up on a wall somewhere at home. [emoji106]

It’s an interesting one. On one hand he’s demonstrating the bikes technology which is mind blowing for sure. On the flip side he’s showing a lack of skill as a rider in comparison to his riding buddies. If you were to hop on his bike and ride with the aids no doubt you would leave him for dust if you keep up without the technology and rely on skill. Combine the two and he’d be blown into the weeds ..... What it importantly does is keeps him alive by the sound of things. Without those aids it sounds like he would have been over the tank or wrapped around a tree ages ago. I guess for him it’s good though. He can ride his bike and feel like Rossi when he gets off and he enjoys it. Those of us with a little more talent can smile inwardly knowing the truth of it. Never pays to rub it in too much though. The thing is it keeps you all riding together and enjoying it. Bikes are a bit of escapism from life aren’t they. If you can do it with your mates all the better.

NJ aluminium Just had a custom top for my hilux done. Very good quality. They do heavy duty trays to size that are for farriers etc. I had a look whilst I was there. The sliders are very heavy duty for farriers tools. Perfect for putting heavy arb kit in. Seriously sturdy. If you give them the dimensions they will make it up and send it out of you aren’t near them. You’ll just need someone very small to get in that locker to install them ! They are pretty busy though. I waited 3 months for my build. Worth it though.

Can’t go wrong with any of the above. The echos get better with more use. They seem to need a fair few tanks of fuel to bed the engine in and reach their power potential. Comes with a Sugi bar rebranded as echo which is a nice feature. The dolmar is more 80cc class and maybe a touch heavier. Very good price compared to the other saws. The 572 seems to be reliable with not many publicised complaints on the forum. The stihl 462 is a nice saw. Very comfortable. For me I feel that stihl build quality / durability has been reduced in pursuit of less weight. I refer my older stihl saws. Built to last. The 500i feels flimsy to me , there are a lot of faults with it on the Facebook page. Latest grumbles are fuel tanks cracking when you apply pressure with quick fill cans. No denying it’s cutting performance though ! As mentioned dealer support is important. Go for a brand you have a good back up network from locally. Once you have narrowed it to that it’s names out of a hat. They are all good.

I think I’m actually getting annoyed enough with the wet ground to buy a new or nearly new one. Spent most of today fixing ground the tractor had messed up because I was getting frustrated and just used it anyway. ATV shopping here we come.

Agreed. I’ve often thought about down plated vans. Basically it’s a bit of a naughty way of carrying more weight with a capable vehicle .... well from my perspective anyway. [emoji23] I think the Iveco is a good waggon. The older ones were tough as old boots with not too many big problems. Pretty easy to work on too. I’ve not any experience on the new shape but a tidy older one is a good buy in my opinion.

I’ve been thinking of getting one of these for a while. Glad to see so many positive comments. Just waiting for half nice used one to come up not a million miles away. Can’t really justify a new one as it’s just going to be used on our own land rather than paid work. It can get pretty wet on our clay in winter and the hilux leaves big tyre tracks. Trailers out of the question as when you stop and lose momentum that’s it. Your stuck. Use the big tractor and it leaves a big old mess. A mule or similar looks ideal not to mess the ground up and get around the woods . Nice to be able to carry tools on the back too. Great kit.

I was thinking more Canada / Scandinavia cold. The husqvarna heated handles pack a punch. Probably useful in Scotland , other than that a pair of gloves will do in the UK. I find in this country the cold rainy days feel colder than a nice crisp frosty -5 morning. Good for drying out gloves I suppose [emoji38]

No drawback to having them though, for the Arctic blast that the papers promise and never arrives !

More relevant to colder countries. I think I’ve used mine all of 2 times

It’s counter productive as the take up on the scheme will be tiny in comparison to the amount of people selling logs. It’ll just be ignored because it’s not realistically achievable for air drying small producers. The cost of registration itself is insignificant but the process is flawed. Woodsure has no bearing on selling unprocessed rounds of wood as waste, but if you have a yard you can sell biomass loads from it will be far less hassle to do it in bulk at your convenience rather than delivering it for peanuts as it’s not seasoned. If what was firewood gets diverted to biomass that’s questionable as it’s perhaps not quite as eco friendly a process as they make it out to be If you split it and sell it green firewood as long as it’s over 2 cube and you tell them it needs seasoning you’re fine. A lot of it is rubbish. Anyone selling unseasoned wet firewood won’t have sales for long. Every wood fire owner loves to tell how ‘expert’ they are at having fires and their firewood. Sell them something damp and they’ll be switching supplier pretty quick. Still can’t educate them on decent softwood or mixed loads though.... Sell them well seasoned thorn and they moan it doesn’t burn well 🤷‍♂️shows how expert they are ...

A nice sprinkle of snow this morning in the garden. Good frost topped off with snow is making it ideal to move some stuff around without creating a muddy mess. Dogs enjoying it too

Haslemere. Surrey / W Sussex border £200 Let me know if you want any pictures of it. Hardly used it.

It’s bloody miles for me unfortunately. Sat nav says 4.5 hours each way. Fitting will be a long day. Just standard domestic supply to my barn. If you run the 250 at full power it will just trip the fuse board so I went for the 180 and just weld two passes on thicker material. I don’t weld anything too hefty so not a problem for me.

I’ve got a stein trolley that never gets used so would part with it

I got the 180. My electricity supply wouldn’t support the 250 as it is. Looking at what the 180 welds on a double pass it’s pretty thick anyway for what I do so went for that. Spool gun sounds good. I need a new ally belly locker on the transit , you can knock one up for me [emoji38] I’m taking the hilux double cab up to N J aluminium in a week to have a custom build canopy and liner fitted. Should be great.

Yeah it’s the most economical way for large plants. Easily removable after the roots have taken , I’ll nip the posts off with a chainsaw at ground level. No bare root stock in there. Everything was large rootball or pot grown. It’s planted on a rotational pattern according to planting spec from the nursery to create the instant hedge look, it’s a damp spot too, that said it’s fairly Sandy so yes if there’s a prolonged hot spell a leaky pipe can be run along the base. Those plants were top dollar so nobody wants to see them whither for sure. I usually provide some typed advice to the customer when I invoice big planting jobs about aftercare. That’s the kind of handover point etc where they become their responsibility. I’m looking forward to seeing it flush in the spring , so nice to get away from planting evergreens !

That’s the idea , it’s to stop the nosey neighbours peering at the new pool but stay in keeping with the field. Some top quality plants but what a bugger they are to get hold of atm. Lost count of the emails and calls to source this season.

Various planting for a regular client over the last three days including this new field hedge. Native mix of field maple , beech , hawthorn and hornbeam planted in a alternating pattern that repeats every 4 metres. Plants mostly at 2 - 2.5 metres tall. So nice to be planting a nice hedgerow instead of the usual conifers and laurels etc. Didn’t escape that completely though. Had some sizeable laurels to plant elsewhere on the property. Messy field is the dig out from the new swimming pool that’s nearly done.

Bought a new mig / stick welder from R tech last week after another Arbtalker recommended them. Brilliant quality welder at a great price. They chucked in some freebies too. Great advice from their staff on what welder was best for me. Great delivery. Can’t fault the company or product. Highly recommend to anyone needing a new welder.

Nice. Is it your lorry ?

Why did Hemlock drop in value / demand? There’s acres of big hemlock next to my place. Told it will never be harvested as no value I’m happy it’s staying. My dogs love the hemlock plantation [emoji106]