Peter 1955

Absolutely. " I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death, your right to say it".

There are people on here with way more knowledge than me about such matters, but from those pictures, I would have been firing up a saw immediately. They're some of the ugliest specimens I have seen, and at that size, I wouldn't have any qualms about removing them. When I worked for a builder friend, the building control officer in one area was absolutely petrified of Leylandii. If he saw one anywhere near, the footings had to be bigger/deeper. Once upon a time, a neighbour rang and asked me to fell the oak tree near his mother's house, as it had been deemed responsible for cracking/subsidence. I refused, and told him that the oak tree wasn't the culprit. He replied that he knew it was the big Willow, I knew it was the willow, but the insurance man said it was the oak, and it needed to be felled for the payout.

Understandable. In another life, I've met people whose real names meant nothing to me, but once I matched up their Forum name to them, I knew all about them.

My nephew's garage was done, and before he replaced the kit, he thought that the insurance cover he had was way over the top. When he started replacing kit, and he realised that like most of us, he'd often bought kit when it was on special offer, he basically hit the limit of the insurance quite quickly.

What do I hope to gain? Peace of mind, and long bar life. So far, so good. Re unit cost, I know that bulk buying saves money, but while I certainly use more than a couple of litres a year, I don't use so much that saving money on chain oil is vitally important, especially if: it leads me to have issues with oiling, or incur repair/early replacement costs. Like I said, if it ain't broke...........

OK, lighting blue touchpaper and retiring: I went into a local branch of my regular suppliers, and asked for 5l of Synth plus. They only had Forest Plus in 5l. Was I right to walk out without purchasing any? It's not urgent, I just happened to be passing. I subscribe to the doctrine of " if it ain't broke, don't fix it ", and Synth Plus has worked well for me. Sorry for re-igniting the debate.

Don't forget that you need a licence to be a waste carrier. 😉 Luckily, I only bring home valuable fuel for my logburner. Must go, the Gloucester Old Spots are coming in to land and refuel. 😂

Usually legs, I reckon ( I have no figures to back this up of course ) or in extreme cases, throats. Unless you're using a top handle ( in which case you're either a trained professional, or have a cavalier attitude to safety ) you can't cut your fingers, because they're on the saw handles. Anything at al which can be operated single handed increases the risk immensely.

So is the Stihl battery one, I just love it to bits. There's still a place for the petrol ones, but I always reach for the battery one first.

It's also an option for branches with the blade I indicated. A couple of folk have been grateful for that suggestion. I've just cleared what felt like half a mile of eight year old mainly volunteer thorn regrowth from a dyke bank with that outfit. I did use it with the blade in the air at times, and not on the floor. Don't know if that breaks safety guidelines. Re damage, that blade, while not indestructible, is very resistant to damage, and basically only needs a round file to give it a quick sharpen. I've never had problems with wire, as it cuts straight through every one I've ever met. Re Kombi tools, you are undoubtedly correct that a dedicated machine will be better, but will also be far costlier, and my pockets are shallow. To press, I've never damaged a drive system on one, except the bevel gears on a hedgecutter.

Alternatively, you can do it the easy way, with this blade on a Kombi tool. Faster than any saw on branches less than 75mm diameter, and doesn't have a chain flying off on fluffy bits.

I think that's basically trust building. Show the customer that you're fair, reliable and value for money, you'll be the first one they call.

Not the best option? All depends what you want to do with it. If you want it to be the saw that can do everything then 18" could be a good cal. Mine has the 14" light bar on, and I think it's perfect for me. If I want 20" I pick up the 400.

I had this quandary a while ago. Makita battery was the preferred option, ( I have lots of batteries ) but they weren't cheap for what you got, and didn't look value for money, to me at least. Toolstation/Screwfix offerings were considered next, either petrol or battery. Nothing leapt out at me, and reviews are mixed. So, once more I bit the bullet, and once more, after I had done so, a better option appeared. I got a Stihl 82 R with the heavy duty gearbox, and it's a beast, cuts through stuff you would think beyond it. I can't fault it, except for the one thing I can't get round- starting a petrol tool at the top of a ladder. Once I'd bought that, and also lots of AP batteries for my newly acquired battery chainsaw, Stihl decided to bring out a battery equivalent, the 140 R. Thanks Stihl. Sounds like neither option would suit you, hope you find something that does, good luck.

I have a freestanding triple ladder, with adjustable levelling bar. It can be used as an A frame, with adjustable extension, but it's heavy, awkward, and doesn't fit close to hedges most times. henchman tripods make it redundant for that, in my humble opinion. For the chap who said it's awkward with the long reach trimmer on these, I now have an ordinary cutter to cut my way in close to, and then use the long reach.