Toad

5 minutes ago, Khriss said:

Bit sad he was gonna skip it,  where most of my top shelf saws come from anyway,  i gotta draw the line  ? K

'Top shelf saws' makes them sound like they live alongside copies of Razzle and Mayfair.

I don't have the husky splitter but do have the x27 and x25. I mostly use the x25, it isn't too bad to use one handed when you're getting down to smaller bits of wood. 

I'm 6'1, and prefer using my splitting block that is around waist height to save bending over at all. 

I don't tend to find many bits of wood I can't get through with them. I have a hydraulic splitter on the tractor when I do have issues though.

Some of the 372 x torqs have plastic caged bearings apparently. Not sure if they really suffered more bearing failures or if it was just people made more of a fuss about then because they were the x torq models 

This one?

26 minutes ago, Stubby said:

Was that not a high resolution potato ? Some people will not invest in the right kit !

Not even an etch a sketch resolution potato.

I've seen rubbish photos on Facebook today of the new 592 due to be launched in the second half of 2021.

Anyone have more info or better pictures that don't seem to have been taken with a potato?

I'd wang an enquiry into the council saying that there is still stuff in the road (do it anonymously if you prefer) in case there is some sort of further issue. If it was me (I used to deal with stuff on the highway) I'd have wanted the sand and sausages off the road a fresh layer of granules put down and swept up after absorbing any residual oil, then a few chucked down as a visual cue that there was a spill and the surface was likely to be a little slippery still, plus a few slippery road boards.

I would speak to the supply company about the grass and wall - let their insurance deal with it.

2 hours ago, eggsarascal said:

Local news... They don't call it silly Suffolk for no reason.

 

 

Gun pegs I assume?

2 minutes ago, IronMike said:

One of the key things with Goretex is making sure it’s cleaned properly. By that, I mean making sure you use the correct cleaner, followed by the correct reproofer. If you just bang your waterproof in the machine with all you other clothes, using normal detergent and conditioner it’ll absolutely ruin your coat. It’s critical to make sure your machine is clear of regular detergents and there is no conditioner lurking about in the drawer. it pays to take the draw out and rinse thoroughly beforehand, and set the machine off empty on a drum clean cycle. That way you minimise the risk of getting the bad stuff on your nice waterproof.

 

When it comes to the the cleaner itself, I tend to go for Nikwax Techwash, but Grangers is just as good. Hell, even lux soap flakes are better than nothing. You need to put the mucky waterproofs through a cycle with this product. The reproofers can be wash in or spray on. The difference here is one is for “shell” type garments (wash in variant) and one is for garments with a drop lining (spray on variant). You don’t want to use the wash in proofed on a garment with a drop lining as you’ll waterproof the lining too which can affect the breathability. 
 

Now one of the Key elements in making the reproofer work well is the application of heat. Putting the garments through the tumble dryer on a cool heat will be sufficient but if your feeling brave you can iron on the lowest setting! This application of heat will restore what’s called the DWR (durable water repellency) or the beading effect you see on a brand new garment. Unfortunately this diminishes over time and the water sits on the outer fabric in big damp patches, this is called wetting out. 
 

I think our industry is particularly cruel on waterproofs. The work is intense and hard and often in unfriendly environments. There is also fuel, oil, grease, sweat, blood, gravy, etc that all get on the garments and knacker them. I personally find goretex the best at turning water, but the moment I start grafting in the rain I sweat like mad and can’t stand it. I work in a soft shell a fair bit as it’s not quite as sweaty as My goretex. 
 

each to their own really I guess. I bought my Mountain Equipment goretex jacket and over trousers from Magic Mountain. They were cheap and very good.

Great advice. Just washed my waterproofs and re-proofed them yesterday. Going to wang them in the tumble drier shortly.

What saw is it?

You shouldn't really run a saw with the clutch cover off incase it comes apart and fires bits of clutch at you, like what it has done.

The carb should be adjusted with the chain on.

The clutch should tighten itself up when you cut wood. Maybe worth putting the brake on and giving it some revs which should have the effect of tightening the clutch on the threads.

32 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

Yes I did say I understand lack of space in gardens....but what about huge roadside verges?

Roadside verges are generally the responsibility of the highway authorities, who take a dim view of people fly tipping branches etc on them.

19 minutes ago, Rob D said:

 

Yep it's a good point - and sadly health and safety blocks this - ie. to get it set up with all the red tape sorted, insurances etc is a hard one to do. I went into details with my insurance [NFU] and basically it's a whole other level getting insurance if you are being paid to hand over knowledge.

 

So to do this properly and legit it's too big a project.. yes it's possible but you would only be doing that ie. there would be no time left for doing all the other stuff that needs doing.

 

 

Could you do this in conjunction with an existing training provider to use their insurance etc?

2 hours ago, Johnsond said:

There is a huge different between robust forthright debate on a topic and constant sniping one liners. I wouldn't call it satire but hey ho 

Andy has been unnecessarily aggressively attacking new and longstanding members in threads for months, yet you find someone taking the piss to be unacceptable?

How many people will stop giving their good valuable advice borne from years of experience because he turns threads into battlegrounds?

On 14/10/2020 at 14:11, Vedhoggar said:

Yeh we’ve got one of those small Stihl ones and the same thing happened, handle has lasted but wedge came out. Good idea about having something to hang it up with, could just drill a hole in the end of handle and tie something through it. 

Felt compelled to drill a hole in mine, then got it stuck in the hydraulic log splitter, knackered the point by being silly on a pallet fork, ground too much off with the bench grinder when trying to sort that out and then hit the handle with my fiskars log splitter.

I've got the little stihl branded one, I use it for everything from picking up and moving large rings that are too be split to loading and emptying ibcs. The handle feels good, but the head is beginning to come loose and I would like to put a bit of string or something on the handle to hang it off the log splitter rather than leave it in a log.

Oh and for parts try l&s engineers.

Just Google husqvarna 372  workshop manual, there are loads out there on the internet. I've got a 372 and 390 manual stored on my phone at the moment. 

Nice collection BTW.

Before you get too far, check the crank isn't spinning inside the clutch side bearing. I thought I was onto an easy rebuild with my 385 before finding that. 

I have an aftermarket 390 cylinder of unknown origin that you would be welcome to if you want it, its probably a bit too crap though.. I was looking at getting a meteor piston and cylinder from the US until I had a very kind offer of a NOS one from a member on here.

26 minutes ago, Woodworks said:

I cant remember exactly just knew we definitely fell into the small supplier category. Something like under 500m3? 

So I should be safe with 100 nets or so a year? Thank you.

On 18/08/2020 at 18:47, Woodworks said:

Had this email a few weeks ago.

 

Dear All

 

We are writing to you given the interest you showed in Defra’s proposals to encourage the cleaner burning of domestic fuels. We would like to make you aware that the Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020 were laid in both Houses of Parliament on 21 July.  You can find the Regulations on legislation.gov here.  The Regulations state that they come into force on 1 May 2021.  The legislation will need to be debated in both Houses of Parliament before it comes into force and the dates for these debates are yet to be confirmed.

 

 

These Regulations introduce measures to tackle harmful emissions from domestic burning as set out in our Government Response published earlier this year.  You can find the Response at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/air-quality-using-cleaner-fuels-for-domestic-burning/outcome/summary-of-responses-and-government-response  The Regulations will phase out the supply of:

 

• traditional house coal for domestic combustion
• wet wood sold in units of up to 2m³, and
• introduce sulphur and smoke emission limits for manufactured solid fuels.

These changes will be phased in between 2021 and 2023, with all sales of small volumes of wet wood being phased out by 2022 and sales of traditional house coal by 2023.

 

We are not banning stoves or open fireplaces, and these policies do not seek to prevent their use or installation.  Our intention is to ensure people move from burning more polluting to less polluting fuels.  We are encouraging a move from burning wet wood to burning dry wood, and from traditional house coal to smokeless coal and low sulphur manufactured solid fuels.

 

We understand that those who burn coal as a primary heat source are most likely to have their coal delivered by approved coal merchants and will need additional time to switch to an alternative fuel.  This is why we are providing an extended transition period for those who burn coal.  Sales of all bagged traditional house coal will be phased out by 1 May 2021, and the sale of loose coal direct to customers via approved coal merchants by 1 May 2023.

 

The requirement for wood sold in volumes under 2m³ to be dry (less than 20% moisture) will apply from 1 May 2021.  We recognise that small wood producers may struggle to meet the requirements straight away.  Given this, small suppliers will have an extra year to comply (until 1 May 2022).

 

Thank you for your interest in this policy area and for your responses to the consultation.

Might you or anyone else know what qualifies as a small supplier? I'm tempted to do a few nets to sell through the farm shop, but don't want to get too invested if I'll only be able to sell them for one winter.

Picked up a 346 recently, had it in mind to go over the saw, check it was running OK, fix any bits that needed going over and pass it onto a friend. 

Sadly during testing it out it lost compression and on investigation it appears that it has suffered a light seize, picking up a little either side of the exhaust port. 

My intention is to try to clean up the cylinder, put a piston in it, replace the crank seals, intake rubbers, fuel lines, filters and put a carb kit in it over the winter. The only thing worrying me slightly is that there is a little nipple on the cylinder wall, quite low down maybe a casting or machining issue under the plating opposite one of the transfers. Bit more than a pin head, but not much. I guess it hasn't caused issues while the saw has been running in the past, there doesn't seem to be any marks on the piston or rub marks on the nipple or through the plating, just felt a bit odd. 

9 hours ago, openspaceman said:

I've been debating trying this on a stihk where the flywheel key has sheared but not felt courageous enough yet.

 

I'm guessing one must mark TDC and whatever advance it needs, assemble it and then use a strobe to check how close you get.

I did it on the huztl/farmertec 372 I built after shearing the key. I marked the flywheel and crank with a sharpie so I could see when they were aligned and made sure both surfaces were nice and clean. Worked OK.

That is awesome.

Might be worth checking a few for accuracy. I used to convert big batches of lat/long data to easting and northings and there was always an error, I could get the ones in Winchester close, but at either end of the county there would be quite a lot of drift. I had some chunky excel macros to do the work for me.

7 hours ago, Rob D said:

When you run the saw after greasing do so very very gently and allow any excess grease to get pushed out. I'm pretty sure [but by no means 100%] Stihl went to sealed nose bearings due to issues with people incorrectly greasing the nose.

Thanks.

I see a lot of arguments for not greasing, and I can understand them, but I'm a weirdo who quite likes maintenance, I clean saws off with an airline each time I use them, regularly take the bars off and use the airline to blow all of the crap out from between the rails and prefer to grease bearings afterwards.