Gav73

Might be an odd one, but have you changed the 2 stroke oil you use? I had a 170 - great little saw - and to say it was a “diva” would be an understatement. It would only run when I used stihl HP ultra. Anything else in it (even normal stihl 2 stroke) and it would cut out/not start etc

Definitely split green. I once split some huge beech rounds that had been down for long time. They were bone dry and one exploded on my splitter - it went firing about 5 metres in the air and landed 15m away

Good news an impact wrench works - just needs to be a powerful one!

That’s a good shout, I’ll see if I can borrow an impact wrench to see if that works with some heat 👍🏻

Have you tried changing the blades yet? I got a spare set when I bought it and the “kit” to change them (which is just the socket to fit the bolts) I have tried everything to get the bolts out, impact driver - both air and 18v battery. Nothing can shift them!

Puffballs?

cheers spud, yes no AV - definitely couldn’t run it all day, but it was fun to run a tank of fuel through it and everyone on the job that day had a shot with it. General consensus was it felt comfortable to hold and got the nod of approval for an old tool - especially from the younger guys when they realised it was older than them!

Came across a stihl 009 recently and was wondering if anyone on here knows of any collectors who might be interested in it? it’s a 1983 model, has the original manual and is fully working - it’s been maintained by both the original owner and then his son. I’ve used the saw and it’s runs like a dream! they also had a second (non running) saw, they say probably just needs a service, which they bought for spares in case they needed it.

I still have my old kinetic - It’s rapid, but lethal. The rack and pinion soon wears out and the rams buckle if you try splitting something too big or gnarly. You really have to have your wits about you when using one. They are also very low down and back breaking. If you’re anywhere near me, you could come and have a go with both the kinetic and the rock to see what you think

Get yourself a rock petrol splitter. Even the budget versions will be far better than that thing. I bought the venom 1m 20ton brand new and it paid for itself within 6 months on some odd splitting jobs for people who tried the axe and realised it was hard work!

Rock [emoji1303]

I have an old kinetic splitter that only comes out when I’ve forgotten how much I detest it. When it was new I loved it, it was very quick. But it also very quickly became a problem too. If the wood is gnarly in any way, the ram will soon get knackered, as will the rack and pinion. Mine went through 3 rams before I chucked it into the corner of a shed. All the bolts lose their thread because of the jolting and it’s a very uncomfortable working height. It’s also worth noting mine is lethal with a severe design flaw, it’s got two levers, one as a safety and the other for engaging the ram. The safety lever lives above the ram housing and is only small. It doesn’t take much to slip off and have your hand going where the ram is firing out of! Much better with a hydraulic, it will last longer, yes it will be a little slower, but you won’t be spending as much time on repairs, maintenance or down A&E

One of my splitters will take a metre length and my preference is to split at that length, it’s quicker to split a large volume - think about how far the wedge needs to go into the wood before it splits, if it’s not too gnarly it will split within a few inches, this will be the same regardless of the length of the round. It’s then quicker to stack and it does dry better as there tends to be more air gaps. Once seasoned, I load them onto a rack and cut them in bundles to the required lengths. All round much quicker.

I got one of these on the cheap a few months back. So far it’s chomped through 3 whole 8’ conifers and a load of dead ash brash. Takes anything up to 2” and goes through pretty rapid. Works for me as anything 2” and above goes in the stove anyway Got to be honest, it’s a lot better than I thought it would be!

It was unbelievably loud when it roared over me, it was very low though. Got to agree it was very impressive