Peter 1955

I can't remember if I've told this story here, but apologies if I'm repeating myself. My apprentice ( AKA Aged Parent ) and I spent a happy Sunday morning removing one dead tree stump, and one very unhealthy one from a client's garden. He was going off to play golf, so paid us before we'd finished ( we'd done work for him before ) and once we were done, we enjoyed our Tesco meal deals for dinner in the sun in the car park. Monday morning, my phone's red hot! According to our client he'd been " tidying up after us ", when the beautiful laurel bush next door " just fell over in slow motion ". The ones we'd been dealing with were about ten or twelve feet from this, by the way. It turns out the bush had a fine root structure at the neighbour's side, but one lone root at our client's side. Which he'd chopped through, in his " tidying ". His neighbour was not happy, and the longer they had to look at their pride and joy lying across the lawn, the less happy they were becoming, so off we went again on a Fire Engine job. Long story short, nobody home at either house, so we removed the evidence, and sent him a bill. There is a footnote to this tale. We returned to trim the hedge between them later on, and where his shed was, it was impossible to trim from his side, even by lying on the shed roof upside down. As we left, it was obvious that neighbour was home, so we politely knocked on the door, and asked if we could pop in for five minutes to trim it from her side, which would in all honesty have improved her side greatly. Her response? " I wouldn't p**s on him if he were on fire ". We took that as a " No", and went home.

I sort of fell into everything I do by chance. Grew up in a farming area, so worked on farms as I grew, and when I got married, got a tied house. Bosses son went to college and trained for my job, so I was redundant for a month. Moved to my present dwelling over 40 years ago, worked there for many years, until I was made redundant again. Went self employed, and carried on working as a Handyman/Landscaper/Builders Labourer and the like. I also work in the night time economy, again by serendipity. I was a Young Conservative. ( The costs were lower than Young Farmers, and the girls didn't smell of animals as much 😄) They decided to hold a Christmas party, and the question was asked " who's got the biggest record player"? Muggins here said me, so became responsible for playing the songs from a somewhat limited repertoire, and a young lady came up and said " I'm having a party next week, if I give you some money, will you play at that" ? I'm now going out with a few grand's worth of gear and still enjoying it, just like the Day Job. I must be crackers. 🤪

First time I have had a job worthy of inclusion here, and remembered to get photos. Leylandii hedge lowered by around a yard, plus or minus a foot. About fifty yards or so, my little Makita battery saw was very handy, as was the Kombi Polesaw with a 16” bar from an 023. Two short days to cut it, the easy side has just about been gathered up, just the awkward one to clear. The original plan was to chip it on the wasteland at that side, but it could cost the client more that way than if we drag it through the garden and dispose of it ourselves.

Once upon a time, I was using a Stihlsaw to shorten big concrete drainage pipes. For whatever reason, the disc decided to lose its structural integrity. I was wearing my customary rigger boots, and something whacked me on the right one very, very severely. The resulting bruise was something to behold, confirming that it was a very heavy impact. I still have a sneaking suspicion that my subsequent heart attack may have been at least partly caused by a clot from there wandering off and causing a problem. Fortunately, I was re-plumbed by the medics, and am still going.

Bloody kids! 69 here, still climbing ladders and waving cutters about. 😛 More slowly than twenty years ago. 😉 And with more aches afterwards. 😒

Labour tied their shoelaces together in their election promises, " no tax rises". That led them to tax businesses which were already struggling, who will react by putting prices up, and cutting expenditure ( wages, expansion for two ) which will be worse and more badly received than a small income tax rise. They then nicked the heating allowance, blamed the 22billion black hole so much that it led to a loss of confidence, and was a big factor in stalling the economy.

You know, when I was young, America was very anti-Russia ( cold war et al ), an ally of Europe, and run by leaders it was possible to respect. Just saying. 😉

Hasn't stopped a lot of folk before. 😂 Self included, before anyone says.

I was told of a goods vehicle that left its yard legally in the morning, tipped part of its load, and was then over on an axle, despite having less weight on board.

Re Neck Oil, well Bill, it's another one that may polarise opinion. That brewery was founded by Robert Plant's son ( yes, that Robert Plant ) and was initially welcomed as a microbrewery. As is often the case, the brewery is now controlled by Heineken, so the true afficionados of craft beer now view it with disdain. Re thick or thin bar oil, I use Stihl Synth Plus, which I am led to believe is Rheopeptic, ie thickens when subjected to shear forces. Don't know how well it's rated by others, but it works for me.

Indeed there are, the Sandvik was always my favourite. It looks like Screwfix are doing them cheaper than I remember.

It's not unknown for air inlet hoses to collapse as the engine cranks. Unlikely, but not unknown. Something in the recesses of my mind says that some old Bedford lorries were known for this. I see AHPP has suggested something along the same lines. We don't have the engine in front of us, we're just theorising of course.

Often, a session with a multimeter set to continuity test can be a solution. Find the main input terminal ( often the biggest ) and look for permanent live ( probably not needed for anything, unless you have fitted it with a radio 😂) , switched live, and momentary live ( the one that energises the starter ). Switched live feeds everything except the starter. It can be trial and error at first, but not beyond the wit of man.

Logical. The colour of the smoke makes me suspect some sort of air restriction, as a non starting diesel ( eg failed glow plugs ) usually gives white smoke if it's getting air and diesel. I once left a wire off an engine when replacing an alternator, and despite cranking the engine until the building disappeared in white smoke, it refused to fire.

Now he tells me! Looks like it might be possible to create a shorter reach hedgetrimmer that way. I tried to do it with surplus Kombi parts, but nothing from the tools fitted the engine. I abandoned the process and bought a dedicated trimmer instead.

Well, given those parameters, Oregon Universal 3 Tooth Brush Cutter Blade 3.0 x 255mm for Grass and Vegetation in Gardens, Professional and Heavy Duty, Fits All Brushcutters including Husqvarna, Echo, Shindaiwa, Stihl and more : Amazon.co.uk: Garden WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders. Shop Oregon Universal 3 Tooth Brush Cutter Blade 3.0 x 255mm for Grass and Vegetation in Gardens, Professional and Heavy Duty, Fits... Unless you've bought a bigger machine than a Kombi, beware the 300mm blade. It's a millimetre thicker, far heavier, and probably too big for a Kombi. I bought one, and it takes too long to spool up, and too long to slow down. I'd expect concerted heavy use to damage the drive line. If you're meeting a post every few metres, loop handle all the way, for precision. Basically, as far as I understand, it's because you don't have the same control over the machine. Just imagine trying to cut the hedge face vertically with a bike handle strimmer. The idea doesn't appeal to me.

KM 131 R Petrol KombiEngine | STIHL WWW.STIHL.CO.UK For professional applications requiring high performance ✓ Order the 1.4 kW KM 131 R Petrol KombiEngine here! 131R loop handles, 131 bike handles. My son loves bike handle machines, I hate them. I had to smile when I watched some trainees with bike handle machines fitted with mulching blades in some briars. As you know, the best results with these blades is a vertical movement, and watching these lads bobbing up and down like weebles was hilarious, I thought. My loop handle machine would have only required me to move my arms, not my whole body. Also, use of hedge trimmer attachments with bike handles is not recommended at all.

Well, Stihl have moved the goalposts with their BOGOF on batteries and selected tools. With the thought at the back of my mind that we're going to be pushed/led/cajoled/coerced away from petrol, this tipped the scales for me. A cost of nearly £1500 becomes much nearer £1000. ( Around £1100 actually ) My apprentice has retired, at 90 years old, I thought he'd have had a year or two more left, but apparently not. 😉 It became apparent to me that when working solo in my yard, the cable was becoming a real nuisance, which it hadn't been when I had to move about much less. After a missed delivery date, I picked up a 300 yesterday, with two batteries and a charger. Once I've had a go with it this afternoon, I'll report my findings, and if I hate the thing, a large portion of humble pie will be eaten. My son's has used one at his place, and he quite liked it ( with the standard complaint about the safety switch ).

Sorry fellas, but I'm going to swim against the tide here to a certain extent. Let me first concede that if you're going to be clearing Amazonian jungles all day every day, yes, a dedicated clearing saw is the answer. However, I have found that if you choose the correct blade/line for the job, a Kombi will cope admirably. KM 131 has to be the choice, in case you're going to use 2.7mm line, although it lasts longer than 2.4, it requires more power. For what they cost, I'd recommend having two cutting shafts, one with line, and one with blades, as I think the " universal " guard is being phased out. ( Not sure about that, I do know that they're moving towards single purpose guards ). I think I have the Autocut 27-2 head for 2.7mm line, and my most used metal blades are Oregon 3 tooth blade for grass/scrub, or for brambles/heavier stuff, The 3 tooth mulching blade ( which requires patience, and a different action for best results ), or the amazing EIA type blade, which will cut wood up to 75mm easily. It's great for clearing hedges that haven't been touched since dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Or the whacking great 70 odd cc Jonsereds which was the first saw we ever bought. We asked the dealer for " a saw that would cut anything we came across " and by heavens, he sold us one! I probably shouldn't admit this here, but the starting procedure was akin to hammer throwing. You pivoted to the right, threw the saw to the left, and at the vital moment, while the saw in your left hand was heading left, your right hand holding the pull cord went right! It could have done with a decomp valve. And a chain brake! In our defence, we knew nothing then. Now we know a little.

Nor does it run out of petrol. I have a " domestic " battery saw, with a lot of large batteries, and while it's brilliant for pruning/dismantling in the field, for continuous cutting of stuff much thicker than your arm, it's useless. 240v will chew through 8" logs as long as you will.

That's a magnificent job, well done there. The one I did for a customer was not in that league. 👍

An astute and probing question. Typical of the sharp and incisive minds on this excellent platform. Sadly, the data protection act prevents me from either refuting or agreeing with your premise. 🤐

The same as too many internet forums- populated extensively by keyboard warriors hiding behind the cloak of anonymity, and imbeciles purporting to know everything. Fortunately, it's fairly easy on here to get good advice and information from the genuine folks.

Screwfix are noted for their descriptions being somewhat " lax". Usually, the Details section is correct. Usually. It seems to be badged as a Pro model, so perhaps that's why? I'm still running a 4041 of similar vintage, which my son bought. It has cut many, many tonnes of timber.