Careful how you handle that weedeater Reader

When I lived on the Hibiscus coast, the lawn guys were careful with their weedeaters. Some of this was learned behavior, and it was necessary.

If your machine broke a downpipe, you were in trouble. All downpipes were connected to water tanks. If the pipe were cracked, the customer would start running out of water. You needed to fix it quickly, smart.

However, when I arrived in Hamilton, I was shocked.

Every other house I looked at had a broken pipe. I guess people thought it wasn't such a big deal because everybody was on town water.

By the late 2010s, it got so bad that some builders started putting reinforcement around those pipes so they were protected.

I never touch the downpipes or anything else, for that matter. The technique is simple, and over the years, I have trained many contractors in how to do it.

The secret is where you focus. You need to get very Zen-like and focus on the cutting point at the end of the cord. It takes a bit of getting used to it, but paying attention to this point of the cord when you can get fantastic results.

The bad news is that you are more likely to hit your head on low-hanging objects, clothes, and branches. However, you only need to pay attention to these things on your first cut, and then you know where they are.

I'm still sporting a bruised head from a close encounter with a low-hanging branch on a new lawn last week.

Be really careful using this technique when weed-eating around trees, too. I have, on occasion, accidentally ringbarked the odd tree. I carry Vaseline in my van in case this ever happens. My little tub is over ten years old and is still more than half full.

It's not the ring barking that kills the tree; it's the water getting in. Apply a layer of Vaseline around the tree, and it's good to go. Vaseline is also good for larger cuts doing tree work. It's much better looking than paint and just as functional.

Anyway, that's me for the week. If you enjoy learning like me, you can find plenty more in the membership.

Anyway, get out there, mow lawns, and have fun

Stuart