lux

Ow he is as that's who's ear I chewed off to eventually get my one rebuild after all the 'isolated' problems I was having.

What was his response / attitude to resolving your issues ?

Those log bullets look excellent. Can anyone tell me how much they are ? PM if you don’t want to put it in the thread.

Some nice log piles going on here [emoji106]

That’s a stunning piece of kit.
  Out of interest, anyone considering selling a Mog?

I’ll ask the same question. [emoji38].

I’m half looking for one if one comes up that’s right for me.

 
Most likely due to Först! the Först company - as i understood was created after Redwood, who were the sole importers of Jensen, got the hump when Jensen opened up their UK market to other dealers. Redwoods son(?) set up his own chipper make, Först. Hence their stark resembelance to Jensen machines
 
 
Its a real shame you've had so many problems, i was looking forward to an off the shelf, decent hp, 8" machine.

You’re exactly right Josh. No doubt they took a fair chunk of Jensen’ business.

Wow..and I won’t start by slagging Of FORST it not called for or helps you in anyway but that’s quite a few things going wrong with a brand new machine and like you said the service your haveing is as good as it gets but I would guess by now you have lost all faith in this particular machine and without going on and on I would suggest you ask,no on second thoughts tell FORST to come and get the machine and give you a replacement and start a fresh....have you got it on finance or brought it?either way use your warranty as you have purchased a sub standard machine and it’s not fit for purpose. 

Spitting the dummy never helps. Just makes you look daft. Hopefully forst and I will be able to resolve it on good terms all round [emoji106]

A mate recently bought a brand new tow-behind schleising - it’s a small chipper (6 or 7 inch). Cost £30k(!) and has been a bit of a disaster, he’s had to have it repaired locally (with the importer’s approval) and then run it back to them for even more work which cost him a day to take it down and another day to bring it back. They don’t have any support network at all by the sounds of things, and I don’t think they’ve done anything to contribute to his messing around. He is far too polite a chap to kick up a fuss though (I’m not sure I’d have been so understanding)...
 

That’s a shame. Shows what good service is worth. Dealer support is vital.
Buying a machine for me has to factor what local (ish) backup they offer. Forst are only about an hour from me

I think its because Red Wood stopped Stocking them . We used to get " South African " Charles out to service it as he did work for Red Wood then went on his own . Think he has gone home now .

He has. I bought a Timberwolf off him.

The company is still running. There is still a South African connection here. I bought a predator 38 stump grinder through them about May time 2020

Once someone has fired some chip through them they are all second hand . We had a 540 from new some 12 or so years ago . Had the rollers sharpened a few times , a new solenoid and a new battery lead .  Its still going now chipping as good as ever . 

That they are , and the first person had the benefit and safety of the warranty.
One thing this experience does highlight is its worth its weight in gold.
If I’d bought a used forst outside of their network I’d be having my pants pulled down on a weekly basis ...

That could happen with any make machine.

Don’t see so many Jensen around now as maybe 10 yrs ago.

You would be better off with a second hand Jensen A540 .

Ha. Buy a machine that size without a full warranty. No chance.

A new one maybe Mr stubby.

Id be interested to see a schleising. They have a good reputation. The engine for the 8” tracked chipper seems very small on paper. But as always the proof is in the pudding !

I have a forst tr6p and now a second hand st6 not one has put a foot wrong. Paint and welds are all holding up fine only rust is from where the machine has been hit against something not forst fault. Did have a small relay issue but wouldn’t call that a fault as it didn’t stop the machine working just a bugger to start.

There parts backup are spot on ring at 3pm they are still there next day. Parts are reasonable as well. Ran a Jensen before and parts was expensive and also a wait for them.

They chip like animals and I follow the service manual and generally look after the machines which in turn look after me.

I’ll always use forst never change to other brands. But you’ll only ever hear the bad they are selling more chippers than any one else.

Just look at Ford rangers sell the most but you also hear about the most problems yet people still buy them.

I’ve been very complimentary of forst in terms of service and assistance.
They are nurturing an excellent culture for their workforce and service standards.

I too think their powder coat process is a lot better now. It was something I explored with them before buying. The early machines suffered corrosion because they weren’t media blasting the tin work after it was laser cut. The laser was leaving an almost invisible residue which reduced the ability of the powder coat to adhere properly. They now blast off the panels post laser and pre powder coat. The finish seems good.

The only reason mine suffered a dink was because the bonnet hinge failed. Powder coat is worthless after it’s breached. In fact it harbours moisture between loose coat and metal.

It’s always the way with people calling out faults. If it did what it was supposed to hassle free I’d have absolutely no reason to write about the machine. It would do what I bought it to do, chip wood and make me money. That’s about as exciting as a fully functional chipper gets, making money.

Sadly mine also costs me money in down time , having to return to jobs a second day to finish up etc etc.

I’ve maintained the machine as I should yet its still failing. The fails on this machine are not even parts on the maintenance schedule.

In terms of servicing it, it’s not even done enough hours for an oil change yet.....

Forst have been exemplary so far in fixing the faults but with new faults occurring over the Christmas period and them being closed I will only be able to discuss further next week.

In terms of Forst - rely on it - sorry, mines totally unreliable.

To be fair the problems your having ain't a patch on what I had!
Yours are definitely annoying don't get me wrong.
Sheered of feed roller motors resulting in pipes ripping off and bending shafts X 2
Spout wearing through
Accel mounts cracking
Hopper weld's cracking
Stop bar falling off like yours
Bonnets cracking and hinge's shearing off, got to site and was only gas struts holding it on
Final straw was chip chamber cracking open and as much chip coming out the bottom as out the spout.
Fair comment every time we had a problem it was sorted but down time was definitely becoming a issue.
In the end they told it back and completely referbed it which took nearly a month and 2 lone chipper's also broke down. so I had a brand new chipper with a 200hr engine and chip disk in it but by that point I'd lost faith in the machine so invested in a bandit.
Took me way to long to shift the st8 and made a massive loss on it just to clear the remaining finance and fuel left in the tank!

I still find it such a shame that if they put as much effort into sorting out some stupidly simple engineering falts and just spent a little more on longer weld's and final finished it wouldn't add that much to the cost of making the machine and they could truly have a size class flagship machine as hell they can be a productive machine with fantastic feed potential.

That’s some list

It’s not just forst.


Wasn’t so long ago Timberwolf were recalling their tw230 with cracked chassis’

My pals TW230 has spent months back at Timberwolf fixing almost untraceable serious faults. The tw230 performs seriously well but keeping under 750kg has made it too flimsy To match its performance

Those first bonnet hinges are junk. It’s a seriously heavy bonnet for such small hinges. It must have uneven forces on it opening too as only has a gas strut on one side.


It’ll be an interesting chat next week. !

Does anyone who uses these machines find them good is the question or is it just a certain model

4/5 years ago people raves about them. These people are out of their warranties now .....

I think that part of it is that when folk buy a new machine,they don't want to admit it might be absolute pants.
 
So they put up with the problems untill they are finally ironed out,or they get rid of it and not talk to much as to not look the fool.
 
Forst used to offer 3 year warranty, then reduced it to two.
 
Some gear you just can't economize materials extensively .Woodchippers should be built to a standard, not a price point .

I’m not fussed about admitting it’s poor quality. I’m hugely disappointed with it. I really feel this model with the new engine was probably pushed to market too soon to cover the sales potential of its closest rival the tracked tw280 sliding off the market. On paper the TR8 is bang for buck one of the best 8” chipper packages available. It’s not living up to its company logo of ‘rely on it’ in any way though.

I like to think I can be quite reasonable in these situations. If forst are committed to quality and building their reputation as a market leader I’d happily stay with the product and have a 2 way process with them feeding back , making improvements/ modifications that we have encountered if it means my capital investment results in a better machine in my company.

If they had 2/3 firms doing this they’d iron a lot of issues quickly. They must be haemorrhaging money on warranty fixes and sending out engineers to site up and down the country. That’s got to batter the profitability of the sale of machines massively.

I think that part of it is that when folk buy a new machine,they don't want to admit it might be absolute pants.
 
So they put up with the problems untill they are finally ironed out,or they get rid of it and not talk to much as to not look the fool.
 
Forst used to offer 3 year warranty, then reduced it to two.
 
Some gear you just can't economize materials extensively .Woodchippers should be built to a standard, not a price point .

It’s still a 3 yr warranty.

I had noticed "thumbs up" recommendations for ArbPro Andrew boots in other boot threads on this site. Do they remain consistently good comparable to other popular brands? Anybody else gone for Andrew's without regret or anyone got any negative feedback about them?
 
I do take on board & concur with what others have said about the lack of consistency in the build quality of same model of boots over time. Usually stick with Haix myself, but my current pair have barely lasted 12 months, last pair 18, when previous pairs I've had over half a decade ago lasted over 2 years!

Andrews work for me. I’m content if any climbing boot goes past a year. 18 months is decent. Climbing boots are a compromise of being sturdy for work but comfortable to walk and drive in. Given the abuse climbing gnarly trees dishes out I just factor them in as a consumable with that kind of lifespan

I’m sure if wore my Andrews just for walking the dogs I’d get many a year from THem.

Feck me...lift lid and throw them in.....they can't be factory tools....they remind me of my days in 1980s production!
I reckon you are a Husqvarna tool collector......have you got one of their Mincers?....I found one once at an antique fair, I wish I had purchased it!
Nice oil pump tester[emoji6]

Is this you@HuntingHiCap

A husqvarna collecting mincer ...... [emoji23]

Yeah it’s geared up for first thinnings, unbeatable for the price and performance. 

I just looked them up on YouTube. Very capable. What’s the dollar on one of those. I can’t imagine there are many used ones about either.

Stihls revenge for buying husky ...

To be honest most of it will rub off after a while of being used , a lot Is on the handles etc, and the rest will dull down and get dirt on it.

The other option is to buy another can of spray and finish painting the rest of the saw [emoji23].

That log bullet looks handy. For small scale timber extraction?

Switched to Andrews
Best boots I’ve had. A lot of it surely comes down to which you find most comfy.
Boots never last long climbing. All that wedging you’re boot into a union or fork to get a good work position beats the hell out of them.

The stihl has the best nozzles for sure. Sadly the stihl ones don’t fit in all my saws so I now use the husky can. Good can but the quick fill nozzles are crap. They don’t close properly so when I start filling up the oil I usually have to hold the petrol nozzle shut.
The Oregon can is too thin and collapses out of shape if not left vented in hot weather. Nozzles are good though.

I must see if the Oregon nozzles fit the husky can and go for the Frankenstein hybrid can !

Keep me in mind [emoji106]
I'll come around and start marking up some of my own trees id like felled 🤣

I think I might make sure I’ve bought a timber trailer by then. [emoji23]
Now that logs off the trailer what do you recon they weighed. Probably 3t I’d imagine

Sad news. I didn’t know the guy but obviously he is held in very high regard and was a truly decent bloke.
Condolences to his family and those of you who were friends with him.

There’s some nice logs in that woodland
[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

Full of nice saw logs hewn.
It’s a big site too. I will be doing another phase or two this year I suspect. It’s all survey / safety works but they are applying for rhododendron grants etc etc. 50 acres of dense rhododendrons to be removed if they get the grant.
Very large too.

I bet you are looking at the burr to the left behind Hicap there.

I took some big burr off of the sweet chestnut bits that weren’t being milled. Never tried flogging any before so cut some out of curiosity and will see if there’s any interest.

Thats only a medium guy stood next to it though[emoji38]

I can’t wait to see your version on medium after all this Christmas eating and drinking [emoji38] I definitely won’t be a medium in January [emoji23]

Well as I see it you are already out of pocket with all the down time . If you agreed to another new machine and you had the same issues all over again you would be suicidal !   

Sadly the processes don’t allow or compensate for my lost time at work. I have to suck that bit up.