Steven P

A post like this and you get to know the really really weird people online.... Milton does the job well, Gran used to swear by boiling vanish in pan to get rid of proper burnt on stuff, does the same in a flask, but be warned, soapy chemicals leave an after taste for years (took 2 years with one flask, but learnt to drink from it breathing out at the same time so I couldn't smell the soap), but like anyone knows a good aged cup with tea stains are the best. Dad used a flask every day in work and left it full of water soaking overnight (cold water that still has the chlorine in, does heating tap water boil that off?). Never store anything with the lids left on. For me, if I can, I will have a small stove, gas and brew a coffee fresh, else some ground coffee in the flask, pour in the water and let it brew till I want it, if it is kept upright for a while the grounds sink well enough. Anyway, Mellow Birds anyone?

Got to be patient, often the tip sites are good for tree surgeons out of their usual area looking for somewhere to tip. Established firms are likely to have their arrangements in place, so all depends wo is working in your area. Might also be prudent to give the local firms a shout directly, ask if they are passing your place to drop off there instead of back to their base. Might be that if they need to get back to their job and you are 10 minutes each way quicker than the base, they will drop things off, but might not come out of their way to get to you... if it is easier people will come

Could just have a solid base with air holes round the edge?

Maybe I am paranoid but my first thought when a company pushes me to use an App is "why", and what benefit do they get out of me using one, for the costs and time it takes to create and maintain one, they have to get some benefit.... which is often the little buttons "access everything I have ever done on my phone" and "bombard me with adverts and offers". However for a forum and a social site you might use often, I might be more inclined to consider it.. but forums and social sites like this don't get the finances to support one. Understandable if it is not able to be supported and like above the browsers versions are often better. (however all irrelevant now, I have got a basic phone, quite bombproof, costs £20 to replace when I trash it...and no constant pressure to be online and lovingly stroke the thing every 30 seconds like some people do)

Angle grinder.. used for grinding stuff, drill, used for putting holes in stuff, sander, used for sanding stuff. What kind of condition are the floorboards in to need sanding? and what kind of condition is the upside down face of them in? For ease if they are all lifted, can't you put them in upside down? Suitable attachments could cost as much as a cheap sander or sending them off to a carpenter to sand down

Ooops and Shhh... just don't tell them

I should also qualify this... when lighting and when the fire is going out the chimney could be below dew point of course

That rings a bell for Saturdays, might be till 1:00,

think ceiling fans, work by moving the air about

Will affect it over time but if the chimney is kept hot then it won't condense so much onto the chimney liner?

Goes in cycles I think, a bad year and then a good year, I am looking hopeful though, plenty on the trees just now

If you follow the building or construction guidelines you should be OK though. What I read yesterday focussed more on the operators with PPE and ear defenders. I might ask what time you started and finished the work? If they are complaining at 11:00 on a Friday morning then they have no grounds, working at 7:00 then maybe, and of course "Tree removals".. a few trees? if you have been doing the job for a day and a half then no grounds but if you have been at it for 3 months then maybe. I think the rules all depends on the extent of the problem, like I said above keep to sociable times and you should be OK. I might also ask what the complainer was after from the complaint or if they gave a reason, for example night shift worker might well complain and ask you to be quieter, but Mrs Miggings getting annoyed they she hears noises while drinking her afternoon gin.. no cause to complain. I guess if they complain again you can listen to their complaint and politely point them in the direction of the council noise complaints people?

Coal man smokeless though I don't know the brand. Experience has shown that DIY warehouse / Petrol station / supermarket smokeless will do the job but is more expensive (marketed I think to the Christmas day, once a year fire market) with more ash (which appears to be mostly a sand filler)

All depends on time I think. 11pm to 7am is night time so should be quiet, though I haven't got a link for you

would they be similar to the van I saw the other day, "Local tree Sugeon" it said with a mobile number, no company name, no logo on the van, no clue who it was

Yup, a sub £100 saw is for domestic use or for serious refurbishment if it is a higher power, so selling to a bloke down the street they want to know it starts and runs, and doesn't sound too bad (which is why I suggested a video) before they come to buy. I get a feeling that the OP has taken a bit of care with his kit so unlikely to be too knackered... but all good info for us all. Bolted chain connection... again selling to a bloke down the street will see then with the quick adjusters new online, see the bolted connections on a saw and jump to conclusions that an older model will be more problems regardless of the facts, and will want to pay less.

That's fair. The video of them starting and running is good sales tool that not many people use, the buyer has to take it on trust "this works" - see it running and the confidence level rises a lot, more likely to sell it quicker and maybe for a better price.

Cost wise it is similar to hire or get a cheap corded tool, the hire one will be more versatile than what you could get at -our favourite DIY warehouse- and the job will be quicker. For a one off job you will then have a nearly new tool sat in the shed cluttering up space for the next 10 years till you throw it out. Maybe it is my mind and having bought the -warehouse DIY store- cheapest own brand before I would be going for better quality to make my life easier and better quality will generally be at least double the price of a hire. I would agree though that if you are likely to use it more than once over a couple of weekends then buying something wins every time (remember this here is for domestic use, not commercial). So my comment all comes back to what I mentioned in my first comment, is this a one of job, in which case £150 tool or £50 hire, the hire is better, or will it be something you'll use again and again in which case 5 or 6 x £50 hires is a lot more expensive than buying the tool. I suspect that the OP is looking to buy regardless, but it is worth asking the question.

Aww, I was hoping for an update from the OP on this, seeing where he has got with it, whether he did this or has paused the project to save and get someone in to finish the job.. always worth finishing the story off for anyone in the future thinking to do the same they can learn from the experience

For the Stihl, it is the older model with bolts on the chain rather than the quick adjust which might drop its price a bit. I keep an eye out, mine is the MS181, a model up, but share a lot of the same parts, £50 to £75 for that. I guess the other saw is similar use and quality, so a similar price? My thought would be sell them both and get the cash then you have the power to get a brush cutter, cash talks more than swaps, As for buying a second hand saw, I have no problem with that though mine were bought new, the hedge trimmers and blower were both second hand "spares or repair", once started and carb adjusted they work OK. Not everyone can afford brand new and not everyone will have a handy power supply to spend the same on a corded electric model, so it is worth trying and someone will buy them. If you can get them running then pop a video on any online sales page of them running that says a lot more than "this works, honest" - nothing to say you can't start them from warm in the video though.

forgot to ask, do you have a budget for this as well? Cheap corded look to be similar prices to hiring a petrol one for the weekend (sorry to go on about hiring stuff, got to clear the shed this year sometime too, too many toys) (Back to my last comments, the mower only complains at rubble)

Arn't we all There is a 'Tip Sites' section above where you can put your details. Often local tree surgeons will have arrangements for their wood but anyone outside the area working near you might take a look and give you a shout. Some people get a lot, some not a lot. Then just be nosey, walk about your area, I run for fun and can cover more ground but from being out and about I know where 3 or 4 local tree surgeons have their tips - walking is good since they are often out of sight of the road, and you can often smell the fresh timber as you walk - find one and give them a call, all they can do is say no. Mine says no saws on his site, take what I need, getting a very nice cherry tree just now 1 boot full at a time, which reminds me you are only likely to get timber brought to you if it is better than taking it their home tip (so guys working out if their usual area for example, of if the local ones are passing your front door). A morning walk can also be good, chainsaws going at 8:00 means a big tree coming down somewhere.... all you can do is ask!! (I had one earmarked for me last year till the customers friend rolled up and asked his friend if he could have the wood, customers wood, he kept it for his friend) Finally very unlikely you will get it split and dried for free, you'll have to factor in doing all that yourself. The first load of wood I had tipped came in handy 3m lengths and 2 flat back trucks full, would have been shopping for a saw that weekend if I hadn't got one already.

They colour garden machinery cables red or orange so you can target them so much easier with the mower.

how many brambles by the way? A one off job and you'll keep on top of it afterwards or a lot of jobs all the time with constant use of the brush cutter? The reason I ask is I am cutting a new path through the woods, 20m long or so, all brambles and nettles, a one off job that will get mown a couple of times a year, did it with the hedge trimmer but started with garden sheers (I had the hedge trimmers for other jobs in the woods that day) and will get the mower over it next weekend to finish it off. Anyway the reason I mention this is that the paths I have cut the same way, sheers and a mower, are all tame now with no brush cutter. Might be you don't need to buy new kit if the job is a small one or a one off - suspect it might be when you say that there's a power supply near the brambles. or might be hiring one rather than buying and storing one. Second comment comes down to time, for a small job it might be quicker just to get out and do it with what you have, rather than an hour here or there researching what to get, asking on forums (internets steal time as we all know), an hour to go to the shops and back, an hour fiddling with new toys and showing it off (we all do that too) and then an hour to do the job, half a days work so far and sheers + mower, no extra cost? done in half the time? As it happens, my mower that eats up anything I have thrown at it is nothing special a £99 job from our favourite warehouse DIY store (now they are about £150, that's how old mine is now). A couple of bits of plastic are missing now but it will chimble up most of the sticks on the wood paths, brambles, nettles, weeds, bark, shred the autumn leaves for composting, and when I get time will even cut my lawns too. Tend to leave the grass collector off it in the woods just because of the volume of cutting.. but wear long trousers and tall boots, the mower also does a mean ankle height stone throw!

I wasn't convinced by them, I got a Stihl sharpening set years ago and the instructions were to use the round file and sharpen from the underside of the tooth upwards and inwards, from the chain manufacturer on how to sharpen a chainsaw blade, so that is what I do. The chain sharpeners go from top down, the opposite direction, Not sure these will also lower the rakers to match the teeth so eventually you'd have to go and do them manually. However I can see perhaps that in the middle of a job a quick sharpen with one of these might work and work well, but I think you'd still need to do the chain manually next time. Not to be used though for every sharpen, just for a quick fettle as you are working perhaps?