Conor Wright

Im flattered.I usually only have that effect on the ladies, but hey, the times they are a changin' My terms are; I'm on top I'm in charge No eye contact Hundred quid for the first 10 mins and 15 quid a minute thereafter No kissing No questions No evenings No weekends And I don't take loads home with me. That's for the conny bashing obviously, get yer mind out of the gutter!

Obviously it's a yes. I mean the last time I chucked a 200t at a groundie because he forgot to put oil as well as fuel in it he had to have seven stitches and a tampon up his nose for the afternoon.

I think I've tried everything (except explosives...hmm) to make conifer hedge reductions easier. Mewps, extended arm on the little digger with circular saw/fingerbar/grab attached, various ladders, man basket on front loader/telehandler, polesaws, climbing up the centre, using a hiab to lift off the tops, engaging the raw power of Eastern europeans and the occasional local gluten for punishment. The reality is 90% of these jobs just require a lot of heavy labour in excruciating positions. I still throw every machine I can at them and every now and then I get one which is genuinely easy. The trick is to look at them from a pricing point of view of having a ladder and a topper and little else, figure out how much physio you'd need after that, take that price x 20 and add to your day rate plus 20% for every year it hasn't been trimmed and a finders fee on each manky, "left behind by the last lad" branch hung up in the middle of said hedge. Then double it to be on the safe side. Not only will this guarantee you will not lose money on the job, it will also guarantee you will never get the job in the first place! I've found offering a remove and replant service is becoming more popular as less and less people are willing to tackle overgrown hedges. I'm happy to oblige in these cases and equally happy to price difficult reductions accordingly. I rarely see anyone else rushing to undercut me for those jobs either. Although where access permits you can't price against a 13 tonner with a shear.

Keep an eye out for tecomec sharpeners, they make, or at least made sharpeners for both oregon and stihl at various times. I was at my local dealer last week and he showed me his one. Well made and not as expensive as its white and orange cousin. Ordered one for myself to replace the crappy lidl one I despise. It's a poor sharpener but it was a gift so it'll be mounted beside the new one out of daft sentimentality.

I struggled to get extra long leg saw pants and ended up getting them off freeworker germany. They had a very good selection of off standard sizes at the time including boots. May be worth sending them an email. https://www.freeworker.de/en/2019/12/04/chainsaw-protection-shoes-tree-care/

There's a second video from the same place with the guy on the right straddling both ladders while the guy in the hi viz shuffles around in the bucket.

Sounds like she's sick of her husband having orgies too... Give it a week or two of those restrictions and he'll be crawling back to her with a bag of flour and a scuba mask. Talk about self serving politicians.

Gtm opened a factory in China In 09. Just read it on their site. So you're right. Still kept the quality reasonably high though. Mine is a 2018 build and it still says "made in holland", a little disingenuous. At least "assembled in holland" might be factually correct. I did look at the jansen chippers too and they looked good, the gtm was with a very local dealer who I use a good bit so that sealed the deal for me. Also noticed they now do swivel chutes so will see can I get one for reasonable money. Easier than fabricating one, especially with my rather limited welding skills!

Spruce goes soft in a relatively short time. Just stacked roadside on the ground and uncovered I'd give it max 3 winters before it's pulp. On hard standing, stacked on bearers to keep it off the ground with a good cover over the top it might last 5 or 6. Possibly more if you maintain or replace the cover. Covering it fresh will trap some moisture too so removing the cover during good drying weather ie cold dry frosty days and breezy warm sunny days helps. If you get that right the first year you can leave the cover on subsequently. This will help extend the length of time it will store for you too. If you could process it now and stack it in a dry shed or even a polytunnel would be your best bet imo.

I picked up gtm 1300 drum chipper new for around 2k. Dutch made, honda engine and well built. It does all I expect from it. Only Downside in my opinion is the chute is fixed. A lot of the jansens and gms have turntable chutes which are a big advantage

Have a look for Ben Law, he used to do workshops showing people various roundwood building skills. A true craftsman. Don't know if he still does it. He was featured on grand designs many years ago. "The woodsman's cottage" or something similar. Well worth a look.

Ah well. Maybe you got lucky, you'll find out when you get home I guess. Nope, creosote isn't one that I like. But 40 litres is a lifetime supply if you only have it for the smell!

Not me, don't know the guy at all. I found him on you tube. As regards updates on the greenhouse I'm fairly sure he has done a few more videos. Search "kris Harbour natural building" You'll know from a distance if they're creosote treated by the smell, if you're not sure, cut an inch or two into one and then give it a sniff. Unmistakable. penetrating, bitter and headachy odour. Or just handle them without gloves and wait to see if yer skin starts to burn that evening! Have you pics of the sleepers?

There are some untreated exotic hardwood sleepers out there. They can be cut and planed with little more effort than oak etc. Hard to get now though. Only came across them once myself. It was a dream cutting them compared to treated. They were iroko if I remember correctly. I got them through Strata group in Derry

Possibly the most sensible post I've ever read from you! C 😉

Sometimes chatting it out has more benefits than doping up on feel goods. It's hardly surprising that people in all walks of life are finding themselves in a poor frame of mind. It's been a challenging couple of years and we all cope differently to one another.

Out with them, the longer they stay there the worse a problem they will be. Damage would be minimal in my opinion but will only get worse as they grow. The places people plant things....

It reminded me of this!

Fill it with firebricks. Job done. We re bricked our old stanley stove last year and it made a noticeable difference. Lovely looking stove by the way.

Ha! I'm actually chuffed that I was even close. I must admit that it was a pure guess on my part. It just looked like the right weight for that piece, given the info. Regardless of what the result may have been it was a nice bit of lighthearted fun and an interesting little experiment too. Thank you very much billhook, you've made my day! Now I'll have to stick on my anorak and come up with some particularly dull anecdotes on chain tension, file sizes and power to weight ratios.

As said above, otterbox. I've dropped my phone numerous times, including into a bucket of warm coolant and the otterbox has saved it every time. Best 20 quid you'll ever spend.

I find intermittent faults more frustrating than full on breakdowns. Trying to anticipate when it may die, waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat thinking what's going to happen if it croaks on tomorrow's roadside job, then when it works well for the next few months I begin to doubt myself and wonder did it even happen or was it a hallucination, am I losing it? Is it the reincarnation of one of the old bangers I violently abused as a provisional licence yielding teenage yob, the only new parts it ever received being tyres and handbrake cables. Long since melted down and recycled and now returning to spitefully destroy my life one questionable little niggle after another until I finally give in and do the unthinkable, waking herself up at 3 am to say "honey, I'm selling the machinery and getting a job" Give me a broken half shaft over an engine management light any day.

I've noticed the same but always put it down to the air cooled engine taking a few minutes to warm up. I usually leave it about half revs for a couple of minutes before throwing anything into it. Still, giving the blades a lick of protection can't do any harm. Something I may start doing myself.

Beat me to it as I was typing!