Where are all the hand cutters?

[Tall Biker]

the real hand cutters are all getting old now, and a lot wiser, let the youngsters try working in the big sitka plantations, knees that dont work, back totally shot, and shoulders and forearms like popeye........yet to meet a "faller" trained in the last 10 years that can last a week in the big stuff, where did all the wimps come from

 

LOL, so the elder statesmen have bad knees and backs, but the youngsters are wimps..... I think I know who has the last laugh

[Stubby]

LOL, so the elder statesmen have bad knees and backs, but the youngsters are wimps..... I think I know who has the last laugh

 

You will always have the last laugh because you will still be here when we are dead . Dosnt make you qualified to laugh till you have had a crack at it though ...

[shavey]

1st thinnings larch on a site as steep as a roof of a house brambles ground ivy small hardwood growing everywhere after the clearfell cut and stack 5. Rows each way and every other cut is a length of pulp 70 -80 trees a day to make a decent crust

[Brushcutter]

About right. Used to get a £1 for a log, 50p for a bar or rail on piece rate; this was in 1995-1997. Chain was £1/inch then and still is now!

 

Pics attached are what chainsaw courses teach now: note to landowners - you don't save a penny using them to bugger up your woods!

 

Not on one of my courses they aren't. I think the biggest problem is that many trainers come from the Arb side rather than forestry.

[timbernut]

[emoji106]that's been my experience

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[Stubby]

Not on one of my courses they aren't. I think the biggest problem is that many trainers come from the Arb side rather than forestry.

 

You can tell that when there are " pegs " left from snedding

[Brushcutter]

You can tell that when there are " pegs " left from snedding

 

If your resting the saw on the trunk to get close then your not building up your muscles.

[Stubby]

If your resting the saw on the trunk to get close then your not building up your muscles.

 

I havnt got any muscles any more .......

[Mark Wileman]

Reviving an old thread! Forestry... I know the age old question is "whats a good day rate?" but I'd like to expand.

 

Lets turn it more into, can I make enough to live by? Is there enough regular work?

 

How much cube do people expect a cutter to be processing each day?

 

Sounds like the work is short lived/temporary so are contractors accommodating to the fact that they aren't going to be getting the same seasoned 300 days a year cutters that where around 20 years ago?

 

Does piece work still exist, it certainly seems a fairer way of doing things rather than being expected to either push out 70+ trees a day or not bother turning up at all.

[Gareth_elms]

Wiley- can't in any great detail answer your questions, I'd have to say in my experience currently with trying to keep our hand cutting going in forestry I'd do no it's not viable anymore. We are currently looking for harvesters and extraction team to cut a large standing job for us but with prices of wood and standing even that's tight, no way could you make it pay hand cutting it. A really good hand cutter could do 70+ trees a day and I know some who'd prefer to be on piece rate because they can cut manically on flat good ground.

The problem is that if a harvester can get in there they are used in there.

The problem we've found is we've had to buy standing to increase my hand cutters skills because sub contracting for large firms they go for machines not hand cutters.

 

In my experience hand cutters move to either Arb work or sensitive sites doing scrub work. In terms of how much is expected it would depend on price they have got for standing purchase and sale but it always seems more than is feasible by more than just afew hand cutters.

 

I'd say the most likely to get a good rate would be cutting on clearance and thinning contracts for the forestry commission and tendering a good rate and working hard but again most of the time it's won by the big contractors who use machine operators over hand cutters for everything but steep slopes.

 

I'm not knocking mechanised workers as soon as I can get through my tickets and get the other lad who works with me through his we will move more mechanised the pay rates are still crippling but if you want to stay in forestry that's where the work is now.