Looking to get into forestry.

[drinksloe]

1st thing i'll say is don't it can be a real shitty job and getting worse every year, sites are often horrendous now with the big heavy machines chewing them up and the days of forwarder drivers giving u a lift up the hill are  long gone, Most dont even think to take ur stuff up the hill for u.

Some days i can barely lift my rucksack (wedges, sledge, 30T bottle jack etc plus in summer was going throu 7l of water a day, all the be carried) and then u've got to walk up a crappy site, 1km+ is not unusual.

To cap it of most foresters and more and more machine operators have not got a clue about cutting, so ur getting stupid unworkable rules from foresters who would struggle to start a saw that make no sense and machine drivers that pile produce/tops and brash at the base of trees knowing fine well a cutter has to get in there to fell it.

Or expecting u to push trees into wind against the lean/wieght.

Or phone u up at 9pm on a sun nite expecting u there mon morn? As if u just sit at home waiting on his call even thou he's known for weeks/months he was gong to ned u at some time.

 

When u work for an ex cutter on a machine its just night and day how the sites are set out and harvested but they are getting fewer and fewer now

 

Whereabouts are u in scotland??

 

Possibly varries locally but where i am not many cutting gangs left, althou plenty of cutting work.

 

Often just 1 cutter in front of a few harvesters so it is quite hard to learn and get experience of other more experienced cutters.

For years it was very rare to see another cutter on the same site as me, slightly different now as some of the companies i work for, but the old firms are still generally just 1 man

 

For wot ur talking about most companies will want ur basic 30 and 31 plus ur +F 1st aid ticket as a very minimum with most insisting u have the medium/large tree ticket and possibly windblow.

 

While spuddog know's his stuff if ur starting with 1 saw i'd saw a 50cc is just a touch on the small size for felling O/S stuff, a 60cc saw should run a 20" bar which is all u really need for 98% of trees u'll ever fell in forestry and u can rub a shorter bar on it for other jobs

. Easy handle 4ft+ butts with a 20" bar and not that often u get butts much bigger.

 

But it all depends exactly wot ur going ro be doing, scrub/rhoddy brASHING, respacing, 1ST THINNINGS (****************ing cAps lock doing my head in) or felling in front of harvester.

Depends on the company but some wont generally brash woods in front so u've just got the felling O/S stuff and steep bankings/gully work

 

Personally i like running a 50 and 70+cc saw in the van is a good combo further down the line, but the 60 sort of covers everything until then.

I generally choose the lightest/smaller saw i can to do the job as i will have to carry it all day and sned with it too so carrying big heavy saws and bars is just a bloody pain., althou u also want the power too.

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by drinksloe

[drinksloe]

14 minutes ago, JDon said:

Can I ask why? Is it to keep wasteage down?

 A bit of that but more so for machines travelling over the top or skidding logs out u don't want them getting stuck/bellied on high stumps or ripping bits of machine off.

 

Looks tidier too althou being honest on a lot of commercial sites nowadays no one bothers that much esp if been machine harvested, i've seen some shockers

[Stubby]

19 minutes ago, JDon said:

Can I ask why? Is it to keep wasteage down?

If you don't it will anger TCD ! 😁  Also as you say less wastage ( although some want the root flare trimming for stacking on the forwarder ) but also we don't want machinery having their hydraulic pipes torn off . 

Edited November 20, 2021 by Stubby

[htb]

An Inch at the base is worth a foot at the top of the tree, so low stumps please.

[Donnie]

Aha now I get the stump situation. Perfect thanks for the advice. 
 

@drinksloe I've been offered a job over the past year at a big company that requires there cutters to follow or cut alongside harvesters in the rough terrain they can't get to. I'll look out for a 60cc Stihl most definitely. Thanks a lot for the advice. 
 

STIHL MS 400 C-M Petrol Chainsaw

WWW.SAM-TURNER.CO.UK

---

STIHL MS 400 C-M Petrol Chainsaw available online now from Sam Turner & Sons | Shop...

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by JDon

[Stubby]

17 minutes ago, JDon said:

Aha now I get the stump situation. Perfect thanks for the advice. 
 

@drinksloe I've been offered a job over the past year at a big company that requires there cutters to follow or cut alongside harvesters in the rough terrain they can't get to. I'll look out for a 60cc Stihl most definitely. Thanks a lot for the advice. 
 

STIHL MS 400 C-M Petrol Chainsaw

WWW.SAM-TURNER.CO.UK

---

STIHL MS 400 C-M Petrol Chainsaw available online now from Sam Turner & Sons | Shop...

 

Don't discount other makes . I am a Husqvarna man myself but Echo or Dolmar as well as Stihl can do the job . What does your nearest dealer/sevice shop cover  ?

[Will C]

19 minutes ago, Stubby said:

Don't discount other makes . I am a Husqvarna man myself but Echo or Dolmar as well as Stihl can do the job . What does your nearest dealer/sevice shop cover  ?

The best saw is the one with the best local dealer

[Donnie]

52 minutes ago, Stubby said:

Don't discount other makes . I am a Husqvarna man myself but Echo or Dolmar as well as Stihl can do the job . What does your nearest dealer/sevice shop cover  ?

Stihl is my local dealer, which I don't mind paying the 800 for this saw if it's gonna be the ticket. I'd rather grab a Stihl or a Hus for the first saw I ever buy to be on the safe side. 

 

[IronMike]

1 hour ago, JDon said:

Aha now I get the stump situation. Perfect thanks for the advice. 
 

@drinksloe I've been offered a job over the past year at a big company that requires there cutters to follow or cut alongside harvesters in the rough terrain they can't get to. I'll look out for a 60cc Stihl most definitely. Thanks a lot for the advice. 
 

STIHL MS 400 C-M Petrol Chainsaw

WWW.SAM-TURNER.CO.UK

---

STIHL MS 400 C-M Petrol Chainsaw available online now from Sam Turner & Sons | Shop...

 

I had a go with one of these recently, and I was very impressed. And I am a Husqvarna man through and through!

[spuddog0507]

5 hours ago, JDon said:

Aha now I get the stump situation. Perfect thanks for the advice. 
 

@drinksloe I've been offered a job over the past year at a big company that requires there cutters to follow or cut alongside harvesters in the rough terrain they can't get to. I'll look out for a 60cc Stihl most definitely. Thanks a lot for the advice. 
 

STIHL MS 400 C-M Petrol Chainsaw

WWW.SAM-TURNER.CO.UK

---

STIHL MS 400 C-M Petrol Chainsaw available online now from Sam Turner & Sons | Shop...

 

The 400 is quite a decent saw, i had a day on one back in March and for the time i used it i thought very highly of it, light, well balanced, good throttle response and seemed to have plenty of power with it, the one i used had 20" bar and we was cutting some 24" + Sycamore with it and it seemed well up to the job,