How'd it go today?

If I had good dealer service I would use them more. Over the years my experience with hiring repairs done has been dismal. I usually enjoy tinkering too so it works out. Sometimes it would have been more cost effective to have someone else fix it if there was a good and reliable service available.

Bermy,

Living on islands you might not have auto parts stores like we do on the mainland. Autozone and others will scan trouble codes for free so we can still tinker. Forums are a great way of finding what the problem might be too, as trouble codes aren't always exact. Functions overlap. A service guy told me 25 years ago I was gonna have to give up working on my own stuff with the new technology coming in. Wrong.
 
With the micro chip and electronic controls on everything from dish washers to automobiles it's came to the point that DIY repairs are becoming difficult if not impossible .The saving grace though is it is normally some other component other than the electronic "brain " that fails .

I've found that to be true in not only the high tech items I work on to make a living but things around the house use we in our every day living .For example just the other day the water softener was giving me fits .It turned out to be simpley a stickiing float valve for the brine wash .Google can be your best friend if you search long enough but good old Goog doesn't tell the whole story100 percent of the time .
 
Good dealer service is a big part of it, of course.
I have a very good dealer, been using him for 20+ years and since we drop about 20K at his place yearly, we get excellent service.
 
woodworkingboy said:
That's a good point.
Click to expand...

Here's a woods ported 550XP Autotune we did a few months ago.....

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Gonna see a flaky potential customer for a paid consult on pulling up and guying two apples that were downed by year-ago January's snow and ice (after they didn't get them pruned from a past bid).

She wants to keep them alive.

Big apple trees. I'm considering propping and/ or cable guy lines. I've only seen them on the ground from pictures. I told her it doesn't look good. She didn't have the money for a consult last year, but was interested in having the work done to get them up. How does that work???

Thinking of temporary props, cutting out broken and dead then winching them upright. Permanent props or guy lines, mulch, water.
Thoughts?
 
I did that Manzanita a while back. I change its sling and guy position every year or so.. Guess it's been about two. HO has been religious about mulching and the roots seems to be trying to work into holding back up again.. Down side is it is mostly sitting on rock. So it is going to take a good long time of roots getting into cracks. I doubt we will ever be abl to completely release the tree in my life time. We might have to use a rod from the pondo I have it guyed to to be permanent. We have a side lean issue that is guyed as well... Gonna have to drill granite to anchor it permanently. She is hoping it will root in good enough. Thing might surprise m yet. Healthy as all get it. They are a sensitive species and not tolerant to being messed with. Thin bark... Shallow rooted....
Lightened the tree with a prune prior to winching... Opened it up some to help with air flow as well.. Delicate touch when raising....
 
Interesting chat on the 'chips in saws'...If I ever get a newfangled one, it will be in Tas, so yes there are big auto stores and the like...
Have to admit though, most issues I've ever had have been mainly mechanical or the odd tweak of the jets, so if everything is as good as you say on the chip controlled carbs, then there shouldn't ever be much to worry about, just go cut and earn money!

The 'Holmen 200' got a workout this week, and needed a new pull cord and the throttle interlock spring fixed...its always a tense moment opening the handle of a 200, and a sinking feeling when you hear something go 'ping' before you see where it was located before you messed with it! All back to normal now.
 
Slept in today. My hands and back hurt pretty good from this last week's abuse. Headed over to the other house at about 1PM and barber poled and topped a moderate size grey pine. I'll lay the spar down after Rob finishes cleaning up the mess. He wants to try his Alaskan mill experiment out on it. Katy cam home so I went to did a 3 hour mistle toe removal with her and the kids over the goat holding pen. I think I will have not much trouble sleeping tonight.. :lol:
 
So far doing dishes in the morning helps.... Runs in my family.. probably be my undoing.. I have it in my back and hav for some time... I just never let it get the better of me yet.
 
Apples are too far gone to winch up into place, IMO. We are going to prop, minorly, in place where they've fallen to prevent further damage as they grow and get more upright again. Prune out deadwood and anything that is too broken, the latter should be very minor. Mulch and irrigate. Go for old, veteran tree aesthetic, rather than trying to fight it and likely damage the roots further. They have been down 13 months, going on 14. Homeowner is happy with the plan. I'll submit a bid for labor and materials, treated lumber, pier blocks, fasteners, and mulch.

I'll get to sell three to four loads of chips in the process, after having given her the other option of more expensive, less beneficial bark mulch. Its a paid consultation, so I gave her all her options around the whole deal. Just turns out that me supplying it works out best for both of us.
 
I sell my chips to my customers all the time.. Always works out for the best. I have a new dump site for brush as well now.. Works great for those little prune jobs that will fit in my trailer. I drop the trailer and they unload it while I go work. PU on the way home :)
Apples are amazing trees, prop em up and keep harvesting for 100 years....
 
They use the brush to help create dams and mounds. They are making a large garden and diverting a stream and re-creating a pond. Quite the project. The mounding is also planted. Mixture of dirt, mulch and brush. As it decomposes, it feeds and warms. Mounds run East and West. Plants on top and South side take full sun, North side shade. the rest act like a beaver dam for the stream..... I forget what gardening style and gardener they are following... he wrote a book on it. Rob has his name.
 
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