Clumsy Oaf

Thanks MrNick. I've already got a kit on order from LS Engineers but I've bookmarked Rowena Motors for future reference - thanks, very grateful. Oaf

Thanks Moose, that's brilliant. I'll give them a try. It's a much more acceptable price too! Many Thanks Oaf

Does anyone know of a UK based supplier of Walbro carburettor spares? I want a diaphragm kit for the WT707 carburettor on a little Homelite saw that was bought in the States. The only kits for this model that I can find online are in the States and the shipping, at £20+, is more than twice the cost of the kit. Thanks in anticipation. Clumsy Oaf

Rough Hewn - As requested. Hardly on an industrial scale, but a decent afternoon's work for me. A few planks for pond bank support and a stack of planks and turning blanks, plus our Christmas visitor who's in his summer quarters! Wonky - Not sure of all the chain details - definitely 10 degree teeth and 3/8" but don't know if it's lopro or standard. The packaging says Type 73 if that helps. C

Just spent an afternoon milling with the Makita. Words like hot, knife and butter spring to mind when compared with the heavy weather the Stihl made of my alders. All of the outstanding alders have been milled, mostly into boards for revetment work on ponds and ditches but a couple of thicker pieces to provide blanks for Mrs Oaf's new bowl-turning hobby! As the Makita came with a Grandberg frame, I'll be able to start on the big redwoods soon whereas I had been expecting to have to send them away for band sawing. Thanks to you, Bill, for suggesting the Makita and to you, Pat, for supplying one. Thanks also to everyone else who gave me some very helpful advice.

Sorted! I didn't think I'd be sorted so soon - I usually take weeks to make my mind up! Patlmc's Makita DCS 7901 has crossed the Welsh border and is now in my possession. Thanks Pat, it was a real pleasure meeting you and I look forward to many happy hours of milling and logging. Rough Hewn, seeing as you asked, here are a few photos. The signs (with house names blocked out) stand at the end of our lane. They were milled out of cypresses. The alders are more typical of what I have to work with. This is the one that finally killed the Stihl. I've used alder planks for revetment work on pond banks and ditches. I'll probably be using some for cladding a project that's on the list. The redwoods were waiting to go to someone nearby with a bandsaw mill but I think I should be able to do these myself now, in which case, the saw will probably have earned it's keep in just one job.

Thanks for all the advice. Woodwizzard, I'm in Shropshire, near Shrewsbury. I generally use Wyvern Garden Machinery who have been very helpful over the years. Rough Hewn: Thanks for those prices. They're in line with what Wyvern have quoted. I'm usually working on alders which are up to 12" diameter, it was a 14" one that did for the Stihl! I have some softwood, mainly over-grown cypresses that I've milled. I also have some larger oak and ash but I haven't tried milling any of those yet. One of the oaks has been down for around 10 years, will that be too hard for milling? Bill: Thanks for suggesting the Makita, I'll see what's on offer around here. For kit like this I prefer to see in person rather than relying on just online. C O

Bill, I had been thinking up to about £500 but perhaps I need to have a rethink and dig deeper if I'm going to buy new. Rough Hewn's comments are helpful and his suggestion of second hand is attractive but reliability and parts availability for older models would be important, which steers me back towards Stihl. I've spent some time surfing sales sites this evening but haven't come across anything that looked like it fitted the bill. I wouldn't want to go over the £500 without some sort of warranty.

Hi I'm a newcomer to this forum and I hope you'll be gentle with an idiot! My Stihl MS250 has given me excellent service for a good number of years and has milled a number of cypresses and alder trunks. For milling I use a 16" bar and ripping chain on a Grandberg frame. Unfortunately I killed it last week when I managed to knock the chain brake on by accident and didn't notice as the saw was already labouring on the thick end of an alder trunk. It got a bit smoky but, as there were only a few inches to go, I ploughed on thinking 'I'll take a look when I've finished'. When I opened it up, things had gone a bit melty! I've managed to replace enough parts and got it running well enough to know that a full restoration should be viable so that I can continue to use it for normal logging and firewood cutting. I'm now on the look-out for something with a longer bar - 30" maximum but probably 20" - 24" for planking purposes. My friendly local dealer is keen to sell me another Stihl and I'd love to get one but, for the amount of work I do, I just can't justify spending that much. The same dealer also supplies EFCOs and, (if pushed) Mitox. I'm wondering whether one of the larger EFCOs would do the job AND have a reasonable life - if treated properly! Can anyone comment on the suitability of any of these makes for milling? Any advice gratefully received. Clumsy Oaf