Dan Maynard

The Arbotec Pro trousers are a whole lot tougher than the standard ones, which tend to tear if you stare at them too hard. Pros also improved with stretch panels under the crotch so you can move your legs, so much better for climbing.

Airport? Hmmm. I remember Eastleigh Airport, now called Southampton International Airport.

I am confused by the idea of flying to the Isle of Wight. Grew up within sight of the Needles (on the mainland) and back then it was ferry or ferry. Or sail yourself in a dinghy, which we did a few times as an adventure.

Do you want to buy new or secondhand? £2k is about the secondhand rate for machines like Predator 360, Carlton Rayco etc. I would say they are all ok on smaller stumps, I like the turntable on the predator as it's easier to swing than moving wheel through the chip. These machines are £4k ish new. The £1k new Chinese machines do apparently work, just going to need more fixing and maybe not last as long.

I bought mine just before the 462 came out and initially wondered if that was a good move, but it's a different saw. The 462 is short stroke fast rev (in a way more similar to the 441 spec) whereas the 461 has quite long stroke and hence high torque, pulls 25" very happily. Now it's had a good amount of work and loosened up I think it's a great saw.

All's well that ends well. Maybe a dab of grease or vaseline on the pin to discourage it from rusting again?

Well they can slow you down by putting a TPO on the tree. You would then be into those realms discussed on a recent thread as to whether the loss of light constitutes a nuisance and therefore exemption. Is it about the phrase cut back to boundary? That implies flat side on the tree which will look ugly, you could properly reduce to just about the fence line and have some shape to the tree?

Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn't rush with an oak tree, even dead branches might take decades to fall off.

In short - stick to .325 and possibly go to narrow .050 gauge.

Or 6mm sisal rope, pretty cheap per metre and also completely biodegradable. 6mm Natural Sisal Rope on bulk 220m Coils | Ropes Direct WWW.ROPESDIRECT.CO.UK Sisal is a hardwearing natural fibre rope used in gardens, shop window displays and even for cat & parrot toys! Low Prices and Fast Deliveries - Order Now!

It's also the second thread asking the same question..........

I'm not a carver, so don't know much about quarter tip bars. I guess it will depend on manufacturer but Canon seem to say 1/4 or .325 for theirs, .043 or .050 gauge (which is narrow): How to Choose a Cannon Carving Bar - Cannon Bar Works, Ltd. WWW.CANNONBAR.COM How to Choose a Cannon Carving Bar We offer a large variety of carving bars to choose from, from lengths of 8” up to 28”, and in various gauges, and tip sizes. It can be overwhelming as a beginner or novice chainsaw carver to figure out which bars to purchase. We have developed this guide […] In general the drive sprocket must match the chain pitch, whatever gauge the chain is (so you can run .050 or .058 on the same .325 sprocket). Normal bars have a sprocket at the tip, in which case the bar must match the chain pitch as well as gauge (and saw mount). Some bars don't have a sprocket, usually either very big or carving. That means no sprocket to match but must still match gauge (and saw mount). Rim sprocket and spur sprocket enables you to change the pitch more cheaply and eventually a rim sprocket is cheaper to run as you can just change the rim, but that takes a while to make any difference. My 2p would be it sounds like one of those things where there are too many possibilities and it's best to just start basic and build up rather than spend loads on stuff you might not want when you have learned more. Other people seem to use smaller saws for carving fine details, you might find a small tip on the OleoMac doesn't really work well anyway because the saw's too big but you won't find that out till you start cutting wood.

This had my wife shouting at the radio yesterday (she's a biology teacher). Antibodies diminishing when the infection passes is absolutely normal and happens with all infections, we don't keep making antibodies that are not needed for all the infections we've ever had. We do however somehow keep the pattern (mention T cells, other complicated biology) so that if the same infection invades again we can produce the same antibodies again very rapidly.

Apart from "oh that's let the light in", "Well that does look a lot when you get it on the ground" is about the second most common comment - to which I say "That's ok, it will look less when we've put it in the chipper" I think the vast majority wouldn't want the piles of brash in their garden so we take it away. I don't know anywhere to lose brash for free but chip can always find a free home so it's much better to take it as chip.

Ivy trees

I would personally just stick to the .325 it comes with, I don't see a huge advantage to 3/8 lopro and it will be harder to find bars and chains. Looks like the saws are K095 mount from Oregon which is small husky, so the other possible option is narrow gauge 0.325. Do you need narrow cuts though? All the narrow chain will do is cut slightly faster, your carvings will look the same.

At least you could put some lime jelly in your ears.

I would certainly borrow the 461 rather than thrash the 261. 461 with 25" was my biggest saw until recently, have chunked up some sizeable lumps of willow with it - like woody said dice it from the end into blocks no bigger than 24" which you can pick up. If you can get someone with you then better though, your back will appreciate it at the end of the day.

It's all muscle. That and feet.

Yeah definitely, the loops near the branch tighten but if you put 4 or 5 loops then the outer ones are loose. By the time you are pulling the tight bit apart you have a good old tail to get hold of and yank.

Red wine though.

Low pro 3/8 is a much narrower cut than standard 3/8, removing less wood requires less power from the saw. Used to be anything 50cc and up would be standard 3/8, now it's more 60cc and up. Usually 0.325 chains around 50-60cc and 3/8 lopro on smaller saws, pole pruners, toppers etc.

Me too, I saw Patrick on YouTube as well. I actually like it more than a steel biner because you are not having to work out which way the gate lies and arrange it to not cross load when tying, and then when it's being undone there is nothing to catch once the knot is undone. I don't think it's particularly quicker to tie than a bowline but definitely quicker and easier to find the tail and undo. I just make sure to show people the knot on the ground first, otherwise it looks really confusing when you first send it down.

Dolmar/Makita use Husky small bar mount so you would swap bars with a 550.

This. You might buy the "best" trousers but if they don't fit properly you'll be uncomfortable and not able to move. Lots of people will recommend Pfanners but not the right shape for me at all. Same with harness.