5thelement

Whoop whoop, 11 months out and finally there ‘may’ be one positive.

You ported my 346xp trio brake a few years back. I have two, I use them mostly when cutting chestnut coppice. The trio brake is fantastic on a ground saw, never had it get in the way or get damaged, and far easier to engage the brake with the rear hand on certain situations/terrains.

I was accidentally sent a heated handle version saw from FR Jones about 10 years ago. The guys where taking the piss calling me a “big girls blouse”. It just so happened that it was -7 Celsius and then started to snow. At break they where desperately clapping and blowing on their hands in an attempt to warm them up to make a roll up. Had a heated handle version of every saw that I have purchased ever since.

I have also heard of this happening on more than one occasion. How can someone with zero industry experience teach others in how to do the job? I never encourage anyone to do their tickets at a college, unless they are doing it as part of a longer term course such as RFS or Bsc. Colleges instructors can often be internally trained and moderated, so the quality is dire, the nearest College to me in Sussex is an absolute embarrassment.

26 years.

This is all wrong. No one trains anyone to “use a saw as far away as you can” that would simply be idiotic. One look through the current NPTC schedule would tell you that the assessment candidate needs to be observed operating the saw with the correct stance/ thumbs round the handles/ no part of the body over the saw etc to achieve a pass, what they do at later at work is out of NPTC’s control, but not the employer. The FCA approached FISA early this year with a proposal to allow candidates to be trained, then defer their assessment whilst being mentored at work, with a logbook to be then completed by the employer. Cross cutting /snedding/ felling/etc and how many hours completed, when the employer deemed the candidate efficient and up to speed the assessment would be arranged. I thought it was a great idea, especially in the Forestry sector, but FISA poo-pooed the idea.

I instructed a chainsaw refresher course last week. One of the guys, a 76 year old, asked me did I want to have a look at his tractors. One his, one his sons. 70hp of Perkins Diesel a piece.

And position yourself so if kickback does take place, it doesn’t hit any part of your body.

Perhaps you should contact the HSE and discuss this idea with them, they gave FISA millions of pounds for doing sweet fook all.😉

Every incident I know of involving people being cut by the saw are down to user error, work positioning or taking short cuts/risks, nothing to do with how slow the chain brake activated.

I just use standard 99p pine disinfectant from the supermarket, diluted in a small spray bottle, it kills 99% of known bacteria. Most of the sites I work have high numbers of public, foot traffic/dog walkers etc, so a small team of cutters doing bio security measures is pretty pointless, but we have to be seen to be doing our bit.

FISA have announced that they will no longer be conducting refresher training from 1st November. To me, it looks like the start of the end of FISA. I mean, what else do they do apart regurgitate the previous HSE/AFAG guides with a different logo and colour?

It was the ergonomics and the smoothness of the power delivery that impressed me the most. I haven’t used many 90cc saws apart from huskies for a while so can’t really compare it with a Stihl etc. The pre orders will be in with my local dealer any time soon so there should be lots of forum based chat imminent.

There are several, with at least three ‘H’ Team members using them. I think there was was also an opportunity to use one at the Honey Brothers show a few weeks back too.

I’ve used a 592xp, it’s a great saw, but so is my 395xpg so I won’t be replacing it. I have a 562xpg, don’t really rate it at all to tell you the truth. The 550xpg does 90% of what the 562 does, only better, and the 572xpg does the other 10% better also. The 562 is a clumsy, heavy, underpowered saw that drags on 3/8 unlike the 560 on .325 IMO, it rarely ventures out so I have converted the guide bar to use it solely on my sweetchestnut fence mortising jig.

I had the same, the Husqvarna dealer swapped it for a new one under warranty, the new one has never done it.

I know of at least three of my mates with HGV licenses that have received these letters, none of them drive for a living and none of them are taking up the offer. Are there 15,000 new civilian drivers appearing or have they just sent out 15,000 pleading letters?

He was driving the van.

I love that book, the illustrations are fabulous, I’ve read it a thousand times and now read it with my own kids, my boy has the same white pyjamas as Max.

The bromance is back on then …they will be arranging a date soon enough, Brokeback mountain, drive in, back seat of the muscle car.😂

I’ve had one of these for years after developing tendinitis around my elbows from continuous wedge pounding. Got it in Germany, it was expensive but worth every penny, not suffered with the problem since. It is lighter than a traditional sledge hammer, but you can compensate this with the increased velocity of the swing.

My Dad, a tanker driver for over 30 years just sent me this from a Facebook group:- So, you are running out of food on the shelves, fuel in the garages, you can’t buy things you need, because the shops can’t get their supplies. Why is that? A shortage of goods? No A shortage of money? No A shortage of drivers to deliver the goods? Well, sort of. There isn’t actually a shortage of drivers, what we have, is a shortage of people who can drive, that are willing to drive any more. You might wonder why that is. I can’t answer for all drivers, but I can give you the reason I no longer drive. Driving was something I always yearned to do as a young boy, and as soon as I could, I managed to get my driving licence, I even joined the army to get my HGV licence faster, I held my licence at the age of 17. It was all I ever wanted to do, drive trucks, I had that vision of being a knight of the roads, bringing the goods to everyone, providing a service everyone needed. What I didn’t take into account was the absolute abuse my profession would get over the years. I have seen a massive decline in the respect this trade has, first, it was the erosion of truck parking and transport café’s, then it was the massive increase in restricting where I could stop, timed weight limits in just about every city and town, but not all the time, you can get there to do your delivery, but you can’t stay there, nobody wants an empty truck, nobody wants you there once they have what they did want. Compare France to the UK. I can park in nearly every town or village, they have marked truck parking bays, and somewhere nearby, will be a small routier, where I can get a meal and a shower, the locals respect me, and have no problems with me or my truck being there for the night. Go out onto the motorway services, and I can park for no cost, go into the service area, and get a shower for a minimal cost, and have freshly cooked food, I even get to jump the queues, because others know that my time is limited, and respect I am there because it is my job. Add to that, I even get a 20% discount of all I purchase. Compare that to the UK £25-£40 just to park overnight, dirty showers, and expensive, dried (under heat lamps) food that is overpriced, and I have no choice but to park there, because you don’t want me in your towns and cities. Ask yourself how you would feel, if doing your job actually cost you money at the end of the day, just so you could rest. But that isn’t the half of it. Not only have we been rejected from our towns and cities, but we have also suffered massive pay cuts, because of the influx of foreign drivers willing to work for a wage that is high where they come from, companies eagerly recruited from the eastern bloc, who can blame them, why pay good money when you can get cheap labour, and a never ending supply of it as well. Never mind that their own countries would suffer from a shortage themselves, that was never our problem, they could always get people from further afield if they needed drivers. We were once seen as knights of the road, now we are seen as the lepers of society. Why would anyone want to go back to that? If you are worried about not getting supplies on your supermarket shelves, ask your local council just how well they cater for trucks in your district. I know Canterbury has the grand total of zero truck parking facilities, but does have a lot of restrictions, making it difficult for trucks to stop anywhere. Do you want me to go back to driving trucks? Give me a good reason to do so. Give anyone a good reason to take it up as a profession. Perhaps once you work out why you can’t, you will understand why your shelves are not as full as they could be. I tried it for over 30 years, but will never go back, you just couldn't pay me enough. Thank you to all those people who have shared this post. I never expected such a massive response, but am glad that this message is getting out there. I really hope that some people who are in a position to change just how bad it is for some drivers, can influence the powers that be to make changes for the better. Perhaps some city and town councillors have seen this, and are willing to bring up these issues at their council meetings. It surely cannot be too much to ask of a town/city to provide facilities for those who are doing so much to make sure their economies run and their shops and businesses are stocked with supplies. I never wanted any luxuries, just somewhere safe to park, and some basic ablutions that are maintained to a reasonable standard. I spent my nights away from my home and family for you, how much is it to ask that you at least give me access to some basic services. There are tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of licence holders just like me, who will no longer tolerate the conditions. So the ball is firmly in the court of the councils to solve this problem. WOW. 100,000 shares in a week. I have been humbled by the number of people who have never been involved in transport expressing concern about just how badly truck drivers are treated. I don't think the general public have really ever given it a thought, but I have been pleased to see so many express their displeasure about how we have to live while just providing a service for all of them. I have heard from a number of news outlets since posting this, but not a single councillor or politician has contacted me. Not that I think anything will change. Trucks always have been an inconvenience for local governments, and the cost of catering for them is left to someone else, anyone else, yet there is no someone else out there. I avoided another aspect of the job, that makes it bad even for those who try to get home every night. We have many transport hubs where goods are collected and then distributed onwards to supermarkets and large retailers. Anyone who has delivered to any of these regional distribution centres will tell you the same story. You arrive there at a fixed time slot (don't be late or you will face serious delays), and you will be told where to park and then where to take your paper work, after that, you will be instructed to back onto a bay at some point, to be unloaded. it might take just 20 minutes to unload a truck, but you can bet that the time spent in this RDC will be much longer, waiting for a bay to tip, waiting for them to actually unload you, and then what is usually the longest wait. Waiting for your paper work, so you can carry on to the next job. It is no wonder there is a shortage of trucks on the roads, 1/2 of them are stuck inside these soulless places waiting for a piece of paper.!

Although I like AJ, I fancy Usyk for this one. I think he is a far cleverer fighter and will diffuse AJ’s obvious power/size difference. If Aj wins, great, the next fight with Fury would be the icing on the cake for both fighters. But Usyk v Fury would be one hell of a match up also. Looking forward to it.

At least that amazing free trade agreement with the USA is going well 😂. Biden certainly shot a dose of reality into these negotiations, poor Doris.

Just filled the Landy up, it’s midnight and its absolute carnage at the forecourt, on the edge of fisticuffs. A high sided Gypo wagon with the ugliest fat birds that you ever seen are passing over Jerry cans to be filled up, they must have 500 litres in the back. I only fill up once a week, I drove to work this morning with the idea to fill up on the way home as usual, I hadn’t been watching the news so have been caught off guard, all the forecourts where rammed and I got home on vapour. Ask the public to take an experimental vax, wear masks, stay home, don’t go to funerals, leave loved ones to die alone, no problem, full compliance. Ask them not to panic buy fuel, mass hysteria, and as usual, it’s the EU’s fault.