kram

Saw is running great, including the cheap chains. One annoyance it has an open exhaust with no baffle/spark arrester or anything like that. I find the exhaust heat is burning the wood and on connifer, painful to breath ! Is the proper 372XP exhaust different? Maybe I should get a genuine one or add a baffle. Thanks Mark.

How did you do that? A little bit bruised, Im guessing no lasting injury? Part of the risk of being a climber. I think I'd prefer better grip so I can be more stable while cutting. They all seem to have Vibram shite outsoles so no grip and will be near the same whichever I choose. My mate said his Scafells are 4 years old and they still look decent, soles not delaminating, they look pretty good - much better than the rest of his kit! Honeybrothers list a few unknown brand "climbing boots" that do not seem to be chainsaw rated safety boots. To be honest I think the toe area is most at risk of being cut and any cheap pair of safety toe cap boots would likely provide adequate protection. When I hit my Andrews it was just a nick in the outer rubber before I realised, right above the big toe. Are boots like gloves where the protection is only a tiny area on the back of left hand? (I should probably know this).

My pair of Andrews are not worn out, not comfortable but I'd likely wear them for spiking and general ground work, so really after a boot just for climbing. Seems to me that for climbing you want shallow tread not the deep blocky tread for mud that is on most boots. Ideally one wouldnt reach down and cut anywhere near foot level - hopefully I have learnt that lesson now.. ! So perhaps cut and crush protection is not too important in the tree but perhaps I'll get more experience before I get boots without. I'd disagree, its a compromise on cost, if they use decent rubber it will last. Years ago I have resoled motorcycle boots with Metzler Racetec tyre rubber and the grip is huge improvement and it lasts. These were Aplinestars and one of their best and more expensive pairs, the grip was dangerous in wet conditions as standard! I also resole my rock climbing shoes with the same tyre rubber. Very good grip. I dont want to be resoleing new climbing boots, it wont look great and might mess with foot puncture protection. I had a decking nail in my foot months ago, doing my brothers tree. Finished climbing and changed into crocs for the cleanup!

@manco@pedsr @rapalaman What do you use?

It appears they blame the oil change interval for most failures however plenty have gone bang with oil and belt changed early. I was lucky that a Honda dealership salesman warned me not to consider anything of theirs or otherwise with a wet belt when I returned to car ownership. Ended up with a pretty good 2010 Mazda 6, low miles in great condition. Too small for arb work tho.

Yes I will be trying them on. However trying them on the ground does not mean they will be any good in the tree. Many times I have been to Honies and the items I wanted were in a warehouse 30 miles away and not available in the shop so a wasted journey. If I know what to try on in advance, I can check they have my size, UK10-11, stocked. As an example I once tried on and purchased a £400 goretex textile motorcycle jacket, warm and comfy in the shop, one if the big well known brands, I had no experience buying textiles. Horrendous wet weather at the time. 5 minutes in the rain had my wallet, phone, cash and everything else in my outer pockets soaked through as the goretex is only on the inner layer. Straight back to the shop as not fit for purpose but it was not returnable. The inner pockets were inadequate. I still have it tho rarely used. I stay dry but then the outer layers drip for hours on the floor, holds a good amount of water.

£12.5 a day works out about £3k a year. With a newer tipper likely far more than that 3k premium. The question is if your happy funding Khan and ginving TFL a penny more than you have to, which for me would be a big nope. However, I believe older tippers, without wet belt engines, are more reliable if you can find a good used one.

Rather not travel half way across the country just to try on some boots. I was hoping a forum of experienced climbers would have a recommendation.

Arbortec Scafell any good?

I want to get new boots. What do you use or recommend? I'm currently wearing a pair of Andrews and while the protection is good, nothing else is, including the fit is about a size too big, but thats all they had at the time. Main annoyances are the lack of grip while climbing and the toe box is huge, often my foot wont fit in the gap between branches. Its like wearing a brick!

Recently I've been using cheap mini saw chains and join them to 60 links, but yesterday and today I had issue with two that were either not sharp to begin with or dulling quickly (normally last me weeks between swaps or sharpens), and I dont generally mess about sharpening when I want to be climbing. We were retopping a large leylandii hedge. I swapped a new genuine echo chain. Its immediately noticable on thinner drier/dead wood that the rakers are perhaps a bit too agressive out if the box. I suspect it will cut nicer after a sharpen but leavjng the rakers as they are

We do have insurance its just I dont believe I would ever benefit from it, and I hope it is never needed. If I injure myself using my own gear I dont think I have any right to. Its a bit different when your employer supplies the kit which may not be up to standard. Anyway if Im dead or seriously injured, they can fine me all they like as I wont be able to pay a penny! Insurance is, after all, only about money, nothing more, keeping the bankers rich. While I like climbing with multiple tie ins, I have never seen anyone else in the industry do it and is likely the best example. I've also never seen a written risk assesment by anyone I worked with - thats a big HSE fine just waiting for an excuse.

Your the one in disney land Frenchy.

Im excempt from the LOLER bolllocks as Im a recreation climber, mostly doing it for fun and beer monies. My boss tells me insurance is never worth the paper its written on which is true, no one climbs with 2 ropes to the HSE specification... And so many other issues that would void a claim. Most of my kit is well past its LOLER date, however I am more competent than most LOLER testers that I've met and I do check it myself. I'd like to see HSE try me in court! I also do my own splices.

Two a day, he generally does only two at a time. Some of the training we had 6 of us but he bought in a couple more experienced climbers/trainee instructors whi were also pretty good. My only complaint with him is organisation being poor and not always brining all the kit. Thats mostly due to me having my own and saying Id prefer to use mine.

He is a good instructor, lots of knowlege just not expensive (or well organised!) I used the phone on his website at various hours also left a message, I can only assume he didnt want more customers, anyway doesn t matter I have all my tickets now. Seperate ticket but usually taught as a course and assessed onthe same day.

It has arrived! My opinion the quality is good and would happily use it. I cut the heatshrink off one end to check the crimp and visually it looks good. The outer cover is resin bonded to the wire and covered with a generous amount of thick heatshrink. Carabiner is a decent weight of alu but is a twist lock rather tham triple locker. Swivel snap hook seems good but heavy, again its two action rather than three. I'd likely cut this off as I prefer carabiners. There is no overall ID/ ratings label for the wire core although the hook, grab and carabiner are marked.

Theres an instructor near me who is likely a bit cheaper and good enough, in Crawley Down. Scott Fraser was recommended to me, could I get him to pick up his phone? These tickets only give the minimum to cover an employers backside, rather than make you any good at it, very much like learner/new drivers. I wouldnt want to be relying on a new climber for rescue. Are you not doing chainsaw from harness at the same time, which is normallly together with it?

Even if the saw runs bad that wouldnt cause any lack of control. Whats your level of experience with other saws? Could you get a video, get somone to film while you cut something? If you cut with the top of the bar it will try to push out, and top corner kick back at you. Bottom of the bar will pull the saw in for a good stable cut. Loosen bar nut, 1/8-1/4 turnat a time, push chain round and check by pulling chain away. Tightenng the nut on mine always makes the chain sit better and push around much easier, which I have not worked out why, the opposite to most saws that will slightly increase tension as the bar is clamped tight.

Could be just the normal dealer bullshit, they will say anything to get a sale or avoid blame. If its true, may help others if you can get a copy of the instructions? Theres only 3 adjustment screws on the carb so setting it up is just that, not to say there isnt a long process to get them in the correct place...

No problems with mine, exceptionally easy to start and I dont see why that would change over 3 months use. I drain the fuel out each day so the fuel cant go bad. Bought it in Dec but not using every day. I notice the other guys 151TC feels like it has much higher compression, wasnt expecting it to take that much force to start! However my 2511 has felt like it does from new. I dont know if his 151 is standard. His 500i is the same, that hurts my wrists to start! Now my 020T has recently been playing up, too easy to pull over and wouldnt start but, if I got it running was fine. Had a look today and swapped a new sparkplug, felt better and started instantly. I think the plug sealing washer had gone from reusing the plug a couple times ( pulled it last week to check colour).

We have a Fiskas UP86 which is normally great but it wouldnt cut the cherry, a bit too hard and thick for it. I see you can buy these with a pole extension but I dont think you can get it seperately, as mine doesnt have contacts for the switch. Doesnt exist yet but would be great if they made a short extendable one, say from a foot to a metre, with an angled head. I may have to get a cheap one to modify! A video showed that cutting diagonally rather than straight may also help it cut but I havent tried yet. Thanks. Yes it would be easy to forget how easily these could remove a digit! A tool that needs respect and also to be kept away from customers and children, not left unattended like you might a petrol saw in a corner of garden, but perhaps that rule applies for all cordless tools?

Try rinsing it out with fuel. If it leaked with oil, fuel will piss out and tell you exactly where the problem is.

Bought one of these as I thought it would be great for pruning reductions where a climbing saw is a bit bulky to use. For those that dont like cheap, Makita DUP362 is what you want. £1111.47! Makita DUP362Z Twin 18V (36V) Li-ion LXT Pruning Shears - Batteries and Charger Not Included : Amazon.co.uk: Garden WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders. Shop Makita DUP362Z Twin 18V (36V) Li-ion LXT Pruning Shears - Batteries and Charger Not... Or Up100d for £700 503 - Service Unavailable Error WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK 503 - Service Unavailable Error WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK Yes its an import and appears to be an improved spec copy of the UP100D but I cant fault the construction, 5.6mm thick blades, the gears look strong. Spec is better than the DUP362, in that it has wider jaws and will cut 38mm rather than just 33mm. Advertised as being upto 60mm but realistically it will fit 34-38mm as a maximum, 58mm between the fully open tips. Seems to cut near anything that fits the jaws. Its quite impressive what it will cut! Some harder stuff takes 3 or 4 presses. It will do 60mm ivy if you do a few cuts 2 inch apart. Its not going to damage the bark like a chainsaw could if you trim ivy with this. Anyone else used them, opinions? Today was two cherry pruning reductions, 1 meter from the tips. I took the 2511 up with me but only used it for a rotten 8" stem. I think the pruner is quicker if it fits the jaws. Only concern is other people, always turning it off so that no one can play with it. Theres a switch and a slow double trigger sequence to turn it on.

If its not power, it looks like theres a good sound tree to climb and anchor next to it which would allow blocking down the top. I cant see a transformer, so if it is power, may be its just the feed to that street light? May be worth trying one of those cheap inductive non contact AC testers on the conduit.