Ren

Thanks guys, that’s kind of what I thought… will cut back to stumps and infill.

Hey there folks. After some advice please. At the top of a field, I have what was once a hedge but hasn’t been maintained for years. It is now a bunch of tall hazels and hollies sparsely spread in a bank. Around five metres tall! I got a cheap truck body for storage in the field, needed to cut the overgrown hedge back to allow crane to get truck box in. Time was very short! That’s now completed. I cut the trees at about 4-5’ above the bank. I want to manage this so it returns to being a hedge and screens the field from view. This is only one section…. have about 100 metres to bring back under management. I should have asked this question before cutting anything…. I figure any additional cutting could be done right about now if needed. I’m wondering if I should have cut lower to encourage bushy growth? Do you have any sage advice for encouraging a hedge!? Many thanks!

Thanks folks. It seems there are various factors driving the shitness. Hireshop guys said they’d come and look at the material I’m trying to process, as they think I’m using the wrong stuff… but never showed. Timberwolf themselves have looked at the same pictures I posted here and concluded the same things as you guys. It’s a cheap and cheerful shop - 13/75 is £70 for a week including delivery - they’re friendly people too, and they seem to genuinely believe what they’re telling me! The other stuff I’ve rented has been fine…. all very strange. I’ll just chalk this one up on the experience board in my sceptic tank.

Tempting! Middle of town and the wood is all green…suppose there are a few cold nights on the horizon, mind. Thanks again for all your support guys. The hire people clearly aren’t online much if they think the internet isn’ta good source of information.

Another update. Hire shop says there’s nout wrong with the chipper or the blade. They think online forums are not a reliable source of info. It’s probably user error - stuff I’m trying to process is too thin. Not going to charge. They’ll come and have a look, but as an alternative think the BFO towable Timberwolf which has rollers. Attached an image of the sort of brush I’m trying to process. Are they correct?

Update - found the problem! Other than the blade being “f u c k e d”, the tab which pushes the safety switch down when the cover to the wheel is closed is deformed…. this means is shuts off intermittently due to vibration - if it starts at all. To use the chipper I have to push branches in, placing my arm in the chute and my face in harm’s way. No bueno!

Thanks all for input… appreciated i rent quite a few things from these guys so have no issues starting the Hondas and getting up to speed. Oil level is fine… Had the thing at max and material was just bouncing off the blades. At least it’s not me!

I’ve got it started again and it ran for a few minutes before shutting down…. perhaps it’s shutting down due to over torque? I think a reputable place - they’re all very nice! I suppose I’ll be asking them to sort something better out…. here’s a picture of output… not overly chipped.

Here’s a pic of the blades…

Thanks - did that. Machine doesn’t start after auto shutdown!

Hey folks. I’ve rented this chipper and I think it’s in poor condition. Branches or anything will just sit in the chute and not be drawn in like the videos of the machine in operation I can see online. Not putting anything ridiculous in there. I’ve noticed I can increase the throttle significantly by moving the actuator and not the control - engine pitch goes up and branches get eaten… great, but the machine shut itself down…. I’m concerned that i might damage the machine doing this. Obviously the hire guys aren’t at work. Anyone out there who knows this machine who could give advice!? edit: ‘actuator’ in blue, pulling out to the right increases revs a lot. Control (throttle) in green cheers, ren

Thank you all, great suggestions. Trying to get in touch with as many people as I can to source as much as possible. I shall contact the jodpur people. There are loads of applications for use on our site, which has been pasture for years, from improving soil, making compost/mulch, to building animal habitat. Going to be planting up 2 acres of new woodland too... managed to find grants and free trees for this purpose.

We're around Carmarthen!

Thanks - showing some naivety here clearly.... might be my experience in more urban settings - where there is less demand and costs to dispose. I should probably update the tipping advert to offer some cash for the tips!

Hi all, Just wondering if any of you have suggestions on ways of getting biomass onto a site? We're going to need a fair bit for our (as yet unnamed) orgasmicish growing project in south Wales. We have added it as a tip site on the very useful directory here - but I thought it worth asking for general advice on other sources of large amounts of wood/chippings/anything that can be had cheap or free. TIA!

Site needs as much biomass as possible to create organic vegetable growing and wildlife habitat. Postcode is only for house at the bottom of the lane. Site is at the top of the lane - see pin on map or attached map. Driving toward Abergorlech on the B4310, pass the carpark for Byrgwm on your left, then turn immediately left into small lane. Drive up lane approx 0.5km to find gate on your right just before sharp downhill turn into Brechfa forest. Open gate, drive onto land to the right (x marks the spot on attached map). No need to warn in advance, but please do let us know if you've dropped anything, so it can be dealt with

Thank you all again for the responses here - it's really lovely. Consider me well advised on what not to do. I'll be sure to get PPE and to be cautious - especially with terms like 'widowmaker'. I'm a keen climber, so would be interested in learning to work at height just because... but I'm under no illusions that attempting anything off the ground without training would be a bad idea. In terms of servicing older saws I think I could manage it. I service my own car and used to service my narrowboat. Have changed some cam belts in my time.... will keep eyes peeled for suitable saws based on your advice and also mate's mate.

Names are powerful things for the imagination. I can't help but picture Mother T in a Suffolk wood with a unnecessarily large saw and huge biceps. Great advice though, cheers.

Yeep! There is a lot that can be done to regenerate soil. We're aiming for a small-direct-to-veg-boxes type affair. No till and a few tunnels. This area has records of farming back around a thousand years... probably people have been farming for much longer. Thanks to all who responded, this has been really useful. A friend of a friend is a pro, who is willing to spend a day with me going over the main ideas and safety aspects, will also visit the site and have a poke about. I'll be sure to not die.

There's someone selling a Husky 254xp not too far from me. He says it's been stripped and a bunch of stuff replaced... one issue with chainbrake. Husqvarna 254xp chainsaw WWW.EBAY.CO.UK Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Husqvarna 254xp chainsaw at the best online prices at... A bad idea?

We're making a market garden to grow veg for the local community Don't plan for anything to leave the site. Will need biomass to enter the site though.

Thanks very much for your helpful comments guys. I think pushing the budget to 500 before adding PPE and other bits might be a bit of a reach... but will see what I can do. Will keep eyes open for secondhand saws. I've often been told to always avoid purchasing a used saw... is there any truth to this? They seem like simple-enough machines to me...if you can swap out all the bits. A landscaper friend of mine said Stihl and Husky are brill because they can be fixed and serviced by the user for ever. Any thoughts on serviceability / replacement parts for Makita?

Thanks for responses! Apologies if I'm a gibbering novice. Don't even own a saw, so a double novice. The land belongs to us. Many of the trees will be / have been killed by ivy (ivy stems are more than six inches thick, some even more!)... a few are standing half dead. These are mature trees in old hedgerows. Don't intend to 'clean' it all up, but the place does need looking after. The acre of woodland is full of fallen/falling trees. Some are native but have been invaded and dominated by pine from local plantation. In the longer run I'd like to thin these out. Some I think I could deal with, others would need to hire someone who knows what they are doing. One thing I'd like to avoid is buying a saw underpowered for what I'll need. I suppose ideally I'd want two saws - but in reality it makes economic sense to have an all-rounder. I hesitate on bar length. The domestic saws seem to be around 15" and 40cc.... I wonder if it's better to buy a saw capable of running a longer bar and to avoid lots of cross cutting? I figure a 15" bar should be able to (cross) cut 20"diameter safely enough and (not cross) cut 10"? Another reason for a longer bar is that my partner likes to turn bowls, and a flat-surfaced chunk of wood is loads better for this. Any recommendations for 45/50ccish saws that would let me run a shorter and longer bar? Would I get away with an 18" bar on a 40cc saw for occasional use? Cheers

Hey folks! Hope you can help me out a little. Have just taken on about nine acres.... Mostly fields and hedgerows with about one acre of woodland. All poorly managed, lots of ivy-choked trees, ash, deadwood, fallen trees.... I'll need to clear up the mess, cut firewood, manage and perhaps fell a few / process fallen. I've used saws some in the past and am confident and mindful around machinery, but have had no training. Am on a budget! (stupid) question one: Is spending a few hundred pounds on a training course going to be worth its weight in gold, or can I get away with reading / youtube and remaining aware? Question two: what saw!? I figure the heavier end of the domestic market? Probably going to run it once a week on average. The Husky 435 seems a good bet.... but I have no frame of reference. I have quite a few Makita tools, which seem to last well. I'd want to service it myself. Many thanks for any help here Ren