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Spent a lovely day at Newhaven Fort Battle of Britain day, took the Chicken plucking machine as its pre-war. Lots of stuff to look at in nice weather with two bands playing 40s music, very enjoyable and chilled day. Heres a few photos.

Thanks Chris, unusual shot of me at the trough then !! Here's some more photos including the obligatory group photos...

Heres a short vid of the band, they were very good.

Good photo's Chris. Not sure about the 4th one though. Looks an interesting place. I'll have to pay it a visit next time I'm down.

I recently bought an old Sisis Auto Greenman for my gardening business. When I worked for the National Trust many years I used the various Sisis models such as the Sisis Auto Turfman which is the next model up from the Greenman. The Greenman is more suitable for domestic gardens as it will fit through most standard garden gates. I bought mine off EBay a few weeks ago for a very reasonable price. I got a few a customers who will will need their lawns to be aerated due to compaction. My Sisis came with Hollow tines, slitter and spring toned rake. It was a non runner but I soon got it running after draining the stale fuel and put in fresh petrol with a dash of Redex. I also cleaned the plug too. After a few goes it fired into life. I have since ordered an air filter and will change the oil. I have cable tied the loose clutch cable and pressured washed the machine as well as lubricating the chain. Here are some photos of it when it came to me off EBay. I will post up some new photos of it when it's in action.

A bit of an update on the Raider 10. The side discharge deck went in the skip up at the farm. The shell was really beyond repair. I should have stripped the wheels etc off it, but at the time didn't think too. Needed it out of the way. I could have done with them now. Stripped down the engine today and sure enough the con rod was broken. The bore looks good as does the piston, which looks standard. The valve seats are perfect, but the crank needs a regrind and the valve head seats touched up. I'll give it a clean and take it to an engineering shop that specialises in vintage engines etc. We'll measure things up and see what needs to be done and see what I need to get. For a 42 year old engine things came apart relatively easily. The flywheel took a bit of shifting, but using three legged pullers and a couple of good wacks on the puller end, it came off. Getting the crank out was a bit harder. I undid the alternator back plate, which didn't want to let go of the main bearing. So the crank was removed, with some persuasion, with it in situe. On the bench, using a couple of chisels as wedges, back plate and bearing parted company. No bearings were harmed whilst doing so. The crankcase seal on the drive side will have to be replaced as it is a bit worn. I'll take some photo's in the morning. I wasn't touching my camera the state my hands were in.

I must pay a visit there one day next year when I am back in Sussex. Look very interesting.

Very dodgy bunch of fellas any of you pre war Looks an interesting place

Most certainly a post 1980 machine; I suspect a mid to late 90s machine. I drained the oil oil this morning and iit was utterly black and very thin. The engine is cast iron and therefore I use SAE30 B&S oil. Now been replenished with fresh oil and a new air filter. I also did the Allen Turf Doctor, powered by the reputable Honda, at the same time. Both machines ready for work in the next few weeks and thus earn their keeps. Always satisfying to give these old workhorses a new lease of life even though they are still in their work clothes as it were. When finished they are washed down and liberally sprayed with WD40 and kept under cover in my garage. Sorry forgot to take a picture of them.

Great looking and useful piece of equipment that should keep you out of trouble (and the pub) for a good portion of your free time. Is that a replacement engine or is this a post 1980 machine? The model, type, and code numerals contain the date of engine manufacturer.

Getting closer to being ready to start and drive this one now! Just a few more small jobs left to do, then it will be ironing out any bugs!

Wish it was a straight forward answer, but it depends on whether the Engine is Aluminium or Cast Iron and engine size (Model Number)!. Surprisingly, it requires SAE 10w-30. 30w is accepted use in this Country as in the engine when used in average temps. Oil Change periods differ also with Engine size/type :- If your Aluminium Engine Model Number is 130000 or LESS, then it states- you only need to check 'n' top up the Red'c'n Gear level every 100 hours!. Ali Models 140000 upwards, it states- change the Red'c'n Oil every 100 hours. If the engine is Cast Iron, the Red'c'n Gear is lubricated using the Engine Crankcase Oil, so dealt with during Engine Oil checks 'n' change rate (25 hrs on all types). Points to note is not to mix up the Fill/Drain Plugs The Fill Plug should have a breather vent hole. Regards.

Todays little job was to reassemble the gearbox....... The sprockets, shafts and chains went back where they should be and it all works nicely!

Just a few photos of various things over the two days, weather not great.

I thought I had made a good deal buying a Stihl FS70R string trimmer from an online selling forum, I've done really well buying on this forum in the past, but in my desperation of needing a a string trimmer I broke my cardinal rule of "Don't buy any 2 cycle hand held equipment that doesn't run perfectly". It turns out the previous owner had not only used ethanol flavored petrol in it, but had used straight gas without any oil (scored/overheated piston, bad carb, lines, etc. I fell for the deal because the trimmer looked as if it had only been used once, maybe twice. maybe it had, it just didn't take this buffoon long to damage it. That s a 125.00 dollar mistake, as it was only able to perform about six trimmings before it completely died and needed a full rebuild. I went into research mode knowing that there were many good trimmers out there, but I was going to have to shell out some serious dead presidents to get a good commercial grade trimmer that could handle trimming a 3 acre lot, 400 foot driveway and fences around 20 acres. I almost fell for the box store Husqvarna, the 525L until research showed that these were made generally for Stores such as Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowes home improvement stores and were not of the same quality as the 525LS models sold at Lawn and Garden outlets. The 20-30 dollars less would translate to 20-30 percent less machine, so I bought the 525LS at our local Husqvarna dealer, and I bought this for several reasons, mainly the 1.34 hp 25.4cc engine capable of over 7,000 rpm and the anti-vibration design, but because it was commercial grade. In my research I also found an oil (Amsoil Saber) that will lengthen the life of the engine while preventing the muffler/spark arrestor from getting clogged with oil. It is a high quality oil that mixes 80:1 with real no ethanol petrol. I'm 329.00 lighter in the wallet, but I cant really tell after using such a great trimmer, yes I did remove the guard. http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/trimmers/525ls/966781601/