Tool Talk

[jo proffi]

petrol saws vibrate and jump around if you run them really slow ..... just before the clutch drops out. I have a 240volt makita chainsaw and its nothing short of brilliant!

Hmm, I would say somewhat short.

I was doing a tricky prune, up on top of a tall ladder, cutting through horizontal green mulberry tree,maybe 300mm thick. Basically cutting it like a sausage, in 200mm chunks that would not knock the ladder off balance.
my bro had a brand new Mikita 240 v chain saw and I though it would be heaps easier to use than my sthill which is a prick to start first time.
his saw already had oil, and mine had no oil or fuel, I couldn’t remember the last time I sharpened it, and did remember that I’d been cutting iron bark recently. Seemed an easy choice to use his new saw.

cutting through each segment with the 240v was taking way too long, maybe 40 seconds or so and I was getting concerned about my stamina In the somewhat risky location.

made the call to try the sthill. What a difference.
for starters my testosterone levels instantly rose with the Blokey 2 stroke howl and the thick smell of exhaust, and then once the blade hit the wood the air was filled with sawdust. Imagine if the chain was sharp!!

honestly it was like comparing a Hillman hunter to an v8 ss commodor. The 2 stroke was simply in another league

What was taking 40 seconds or more with the 240 v was now taking 10 seconds or so, and more importantly, less time was spent in that ugly zone just before the segment separates.

maybe if I had a shitload of smallish pruning, it might be worth bothering to set up, but short of that type of job, I’ll just do it by hand.

 

[Greenpeace]

I have a 240V 1750W Ozito with a 14" bar and a Mac 10 with a 14" bar.
One is a noticeably better performer than the other, and as much as I love a screaming 2 stroke, it's not that one.

 

[DoubleChevron]

Hmm, I would say somewhat short.

I was doing a tricky prune, up on top of a tall ladder, cutting through horizontal green mulberry tree,maybe 300mm thick. Basically cutting it like a sausage, in 200mm chunks that would not knock the ladder off balance.
my bro had a brand new Mikita 240 v chain saw and I though it would be heaps easier to use than my sthill which is a prick to start first time.
his saw already had oil, and mine had no oil or fuel, I couldn’t remember the last time I sharpened it, and did remember that I’d been cutting iron bark recently. Seemed an easy choice to use his new saw.

cutting through each segment with the 240v was taking way too long, maybe 40 seconds or so and I was getting concerned about my stamina In the somewhat risky location.

made the call to try the sthill. What a difference.
for starters my testosterone levels instantly rose with the Blokey 2 stroke howl and the thick smell of exhaust, and then once the blade hit the wood the air was filled with sawdust. Imagine if the chain was sharp!!

honestly it was like comparing a Hillman hunter to an v8 ss commodor. The 2 stroke was simply in another league

What was taking 40 seconds or more with the 240 v was now taking 10 seconds or so, and more importantly, less time was spent in that ugly zone just before the segment separates.

maybe if I had a shitload of smallish pruning, it might be worth bothering to set up, but short of that type of job, I’ll just do it by hand.

Sounds like the makita is blunt. You should have heaps of power from it and hear it growl a bit as it loads up. Chainsaws are hopeless hwen blunt. But yes, a petrol saw should be quite a faster! My electric saw has done enomormous amounts of work. I'd replace it in a heartbeat if it died.

see what I mean, not super fast, but plenty of power

 

[Kenfuego]

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I think this is the one I grabbed. About $10 for the fuel lines, primer bulb and carby diaphragms. I'll let you know if it actually fits.

When the primer bulb split I was cutting a stump out that was causing trouble for a neighbor at Echuca recently, the aged wood was hard on the chainsaw teeth, I was constantly sharpening it with a very handy Aldi grinding tool, that is worth its weight in gold as they say!,

After several sharpenings I had to source a new chainsaw set - Couldn't get one at Bunnings, but had one made up at Hightech at 1/43 Mundara Road Echuca, nice guy Frank Spiers, a relative of an old family friend.

Frank also supplied a new priming bulb and it is easy to fit. I waited until I returned to Melbourne to fit the new priming bulb and found that you also need to fit new tubing and that will mean a fairly comprehensive removal of outer layers to expose the carby.
So when you do that job Shane I would be happy to see how you accomplished that task etc.

At the end of the day once refurbished you will have a very versatile chain saw that should give years of service! It is quite a collector's item among chainsaw vintage groups in the USA, so you got a real bargain at that price!

Ken

 

[JohnW]

Hmm, I would say somewhat short.

I was doing a tricky prune, up on top of a tall ladder, cutting through horizontal green mulberry tree,maybe 300mm thick. Basically cutting it like a sausage, in 200mm chunks that would not knock the ladder off balance.
my bro had a brand new Mikita 240 v chain saw and I though it would be heaps easier to use than my sthill which is a prick to start first time.
his saw already had oil, and mine had no oil or fuel, I couldn’t remember the last time I sharpened it, and did remember that I’d been cutting iron bark recently. Seemed an easy choice to use his new saw.

cutting through each segment with the 240v was taking way too long, maybe 40 seconds or so and I was getting concerned about my stamina In the somewhat risky location.

made the call to try the sthill. What a difference.
for starters my testosterone levels instantly rose with the Blokey 2 stroke howl and the thick smell of exhaust, and then once the blade hit the wood the air was filled with sawdust. Imagine if the chain was sharp!!

honestly it was like comparing a Hillman hunter to an v8 ss commodor. The 2 stroke was simply in another league

What was taking 40 seconds or more with the 240 v was now taking 10 seconds or so, and more importantly, less time was spent in that ugly zone just before the segment separates.

maybe if I had a shitload of smallish pruning, it might be worth bothering to set up, but short of that type of job, I’ll just do it by hand.

300 mm at the top of a high ladder? I've banned myself from that since my neighbour fell off trying it. He was OK but left hanging from one branch with the chainsaw in the other hand. Imagine.... Lucky he was really strong, and lucky in general.

 

[DoubleChevron]

300 mm at the top of a high ladder? I've banned myself from that since my neighbour fell off trying it. He was OK but left hanging from one branch with the chainsaw in the other hand. Imagine.... Lucky he was really strong, and lucky in general.

I find it safer to climb up onto a nearby roof rather than stand on a ladder if possible. There is a huge gum beside our house I'd love to cut the top out of ..... There is no sensible way to do this though. It must be 12meters high easily.

 

[JoBo]

300 mm at the top of a high ladder? I've banned myself from that since my neighbour fell off trying it. He was OK but left hanging from one branch with the chainsaw in the other hand. Imagine.... Lucky he was really strong, and lucky in general.

Lesson: Keep up with your chin-ups/pull-ups/push-ups etc

 

[seasink]

That's not huge. I have 5 eucalypt trees around the house all about 30-35 metres. Another 3 turpentines about 20m, but they don't drop much.

Tall jobs need a professional climber.

 

[DoubleChevron]

That's not huge. I have 5 eucalypt trees around the house all about 30-35 metres. Another 3 turpentines about 20m, but they don't drop much.

Tall jobs need a professional climber.

that is what I'd like to stop. I'm guestimating ... it might be 20meters..... If I'd realised the damn thing would get so big I'd have started cutting the top out of it years ago!

I don't care if we have big trees, just not beside the house!

 

[seasink]

Cutting out the top only results in epicormic growth that can lead on to structurally dangerous branches. It is usually better to thin the large lateral branches by removing some where they leave the trunk. This reduces the area exposed to wind.

 

[Greenpeace]

The neighbours had a big tree on the boundary next to our house. A number of years ago I was sitting watching TV and I heard the scream of a chainsaw and crashing of limbs. I went out to have a look as quite a few things on our property are close to the tree in question.
The neighbour came to the fence and I expressed concern about the proximity of our patio, clothesline, shed etc. "It's all good, we're just cutting it back a bit" he said "this guy lops trees for a living".
I went back inside and my bum had no sooner hit the lounge and I heard rrrrrr rrrrrrr rrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrr, crunch, CRASH!!!!!
I went out to find a huge limb on top of the flattened corner of my one month old, 4 bay shed.
The tree since died under mysterious circumstances.

 

[Greenpeace]

I worked at an abattoir many years ago and was over in the main offices doing some photocopying. The photocopier was at a window overlooking the car park and a wild storm was passing through. There was huge ironbark not far from the office that had been hit by lightning many years earlier and it had grown a new limb like a giant elbow about 15m up in the air. As I watched the whole tree started to fall and the "elbow" center punched the CEOs brand new VT Commodore. It pushed the roof down to the seat bases and the sills down to the ground.
The CEO lived in Brisbane and it was the car's first trip out, it had something like 136 kms on the clock IIRC. I hadn't seen the car before so I had to go from office to office asking " do you own a new white Commodore"?
Funny thing was there were two much older cars parked either side of it that didn't get so much as a scratch.

 

[seasink]

That's what eucalyptus species do after damage - start new growth from an epicormic bud. It makes the trees bushfire resistant, but these new limb fibres aren't adequately anchored into the trunk fibres. With enough wind they can fall.

Damage includes simple lopping.

Never get involved with "tree loppers", particular if they use ladders. Qualified tree men climb (and can get insurance).

 

[Andrew Watkins]

That's what eucalyptus species do after damage - start new growth from an epicormic bud. It makes the trees bushfire resistant, but these new limb fibres aren't adequately anchored into the trunk fibres. With enough wind they can fall.

Damage includes simple lopping.

Never get involved with "tree loppers", particular if they use ladders. Qualified tree men climb (and can get insurance).

Agree. Our issue is regrowth mountain ash, which because of growing without normal competition for light send off side branches much lower than they should. THese are constantly dropping.

I not uncommonly find myself thinking „I didn‘t know we had a tree there „ before realising that I‘m looking at a 3-500 mm branch embedded in the ground, with associated sub branches and leaves. They can be embedded >500mm into the ground and are a bugger to get out.

If you were standing there when they arrive it could rather spoil your day.

The other point about eucalypts is that it is not just on windy days that they drop limbs - river red gums and others do tend to drop them on hot, still nights. This evidenced by a number of rather flat campers over the years.

Ours will drop, whether limbs or whole trees, in the predictable windy conditions, but there is also a large element of randomness and it is not uncommon to get it at hot still times as well, so attention is needed.

You are dead right ( perhaps literally) about tree loppers. THere are so many ways that this can go wrong using a ladder. Even tight-arse here will pay competent people, one benefit being that while they are there one can ask them all sorts of dumb questions about projects which might be possible to do oneself, occasionally eliciting a very useful „don‘t even think about it „

Andrew

 

[JohnW]

Agree. Our issue is regrowth mountain ash, which because of growing without normal competition for light send off side branches much lower than they should. THese are constantly dropping.

I not uncommonly find myself thinking „I didn‘t know we had a tree there „ before realising that I‘m looking at a 3-500 mm branch embedded in the ground, with associated sub branches and leaves. They can be embedded >500mm into the ground and are a bugger to get out.

If you were standing there when they arrive it could rather spoil your day.

The other point about eucalypts is that it is not just on windy days that they drop limbs - river red gums and others do tend to drop them on hot, still nights. This evidenced by a number of rather flat campers over the years.

Ours will drop, whether limbs or whole trees, in the predictable windy conditions, but there is also a large element of randomness and it is not uncommon to get it at hot still times as well, so attention is needed.

You are dead right ( perhaps literally) about tree loppers. THere are so many ways that this can go wrong using a ladder. Even tight-arse here will pay competent people, one benefit being that while they are there one can ask them all sorts of dumb questions about projects which might be possible to do oneself, occasionally eliciting a very useful „don‘t even think about it „

Andrew

Spot on. It's another example of respecting other professionals I reckon.

Our daughter's Scenic was hit by a large falling tree branch driving home the other night at 11.30 pm, 300 mm behind the windscreen (0.015 of a second at 70 kph). Huge bang out of the blue and she was lucky not to be killed. Car now has a battle scar, luckily it hit the roof edge, which is very strong and no function is impaired. Not worth spending money on that one.

We were stopped near home by two large eucalypt branches a few years ago, one falling a metre in front and the other a metre behind...... Both our tree and our daughter's were spotted gums, E. maculata, I think. The arborist tidied up the tree that dropped on us very well by lightening the canopy, not lopping it to a level for subsequent coppicing to drop them all, one by one.... The tree trunk was 50% on council land and 25% on each of two neighbouring properties - you can imagine I didn't try and recover costs from anyone..... The Peugeot was still drivable despite one branch popping the radiator out of its spring mounts!

 

[seasink]

Interesting. E. (or Corymbia) maculata, Spotted Gum, comes from east coast forests, mainly NSW south coast, and develops an extremely tall bare trunk, They are used for electricity poles. As they grow they shed from the bottom, but these branches aren't usually huge.

My massive garden "shrubs" are Blackbutt (E. pilularis) a commercial timber tree that can get to 70m according to Plantnet. I won't live that long, and around Sydney they broaden out widely at 30m at maturity. They hold huge dead branches for quite a while, even years, then they drop. At least you get plenty of warning to get in an arborist. The electricity people use these too.

I have a blackbutt in the garden that died around 1972, and it is still standing. These things are tough. So is a neighbour's 20 years dead E. resinifera (mahogany). Both are first class construction timber. Blackbutt is approved in bushfire zones for decking.

Around here angophoras also hold onto dead limbs, but nowhere near as long. Watch these.

 

[DoubleChevron]

so this gutter cleaner here .... its the best thing I've yet found for cleaning gutters. Small, lightweight, its nozzle fits into the gutter brackets so you can scrape along/through them. Best $70 bucks I've spent in a long time.

Ozito PXC 18V Cordless Blower - Skin Only

Find Ozito PXC 18V Cordless Blower - Skin Only at Bunnings. Visit your local store for the widest range of products.

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no it will never be used to blow leaves around. I could never understand people that do that. What is the point??? The first time the wind blows they all come back .... or you blow them into your neighbours place .... and hour later the neighbours out with there blower, sending them back you way. Crazy right ?

 

[JohnW]

so this gutter cleaner here .... its the best thing I've yet found for cleaning gutters. Small, lightweight, its nozzle fits into the gutter brackets so you can scrape along/through them. Best $70 bucks I've spent in a long time.

Ozito PXC 18V Cordless Blower - Skin Only

Find Ozito PXC 18V Cordless Blower - Skin Only at Bunnings. Visit your local store for the widest range of products.

www.bunnings.com.au

no it will never be used to blow leaves around. I could never understand people that do that. What is the point??? The first time the wind blows they all come back .... or you blow them into your neighbours place .... and hour later the neighbours out with there blower, sending them back you way. Crazy right ?

When we re-roofed, we deleted the gutters. We do live on a hilltop with sandy soils.....

 

[JohnW]

Interesting. E. (or Corymbia) maculata, Spotted Gum, comes from east coast forests, mainly NSW south coast, and develops an extremely tall bare trunk, They are used for electricity poles. As they grow they shed from the bottom, but these branches aren't usually huge.

My massive garden "shrubs" are Blackbutt (E. pilularis) a commercial timber tree that can get to 70m according to Plantnet. I won't live that long, and around Sydney they broaden out widely at 30m at maturity. They hold huge dead branches for quite a while, even years, then they drop. At least you get plenty of warning to get in an arborist. The electricity people use these too.

I have a blackbutt in the garden that died around 1972, and it is still standing. These things are tough. So is a neighbour's 20 years dead E. resinifera (mahogany). Both are first class construction timber. Blackbutt is approved in bushfire zones for decking.

Around here angophoras also hold onto dead limbs, but nowhere near as long. Watch these.

Yes, east coast species planted around Perth AFAIK. Corymbia indeed, like the red-flowering gum, Ficifolia. The branch that landed on my daughter's Scenic snapped about 1-2 m out from the trunk. No sign of lopping. Eek.

 

[FIVEDOOR]

I find it safer to climb up onto a nearby roof rather than stand on a ladder if possible. There is a huge gum beside our house I'd love to cut the top out of ..... There is no sensible way to do this though. It must be 12meters high easily.

Tree lopper once said to me his preference is to prune branches from bottom up, this reduces canopy weight and sail area for storms. Lopping top promotes new growth which is often fast weak growth and is more likely to come down in a storm.