Passed my CS30, failed CS31

[Omniata]

Hi...

 

Just passed my CS30, but failed CS31, today after a pretty intensive week of training...

 

I was trained on a MS260 but had to take my assessment with a MS310...

Not much difference on paper but there was quite a big difference in weight with the extra oil and fuel onboard...

Add to that the assessor asked me to sharpen the chain, which I completed "excellently" as he put it, however I was sharpening past the wear marks and begining to file the drive links and tie straps.

I raised the issue with the assessor and asked "should I not have a new chain" he said "it'll be fine for the assessment, but I'm pleased you noted it with me"... I was a little "disgruntled" to say the least...

 

Needless to say I perfomed a "danish" cut, but cut with the kickback zone and in the "danger zone" so got a minor. Then I did a "step cut" and got a pass. Finally did a "straight fell", by this point my arms were killing me after sneding and delimbing, so I cut the back cut at the wrong angle and got a fail on acount of the error made with the danish plus the wrong angle...

 

He didn't ask me to crosscut and stack either as if he was in a bit of a hurry

 

 

 

So.... I contacted the training college/school and raised the issues I had, they said they'll get me booked in with the right saw and get me passed...

 

Hopefully I'll be set to go within two weeks

[Doug Blease]

Get some practice in before your next assessment. Unfortunately you cant be making these mistakes too often.

 

Take your saw out and practice felling cuts on a stump. Get them perfect.

Dont turn up to your assessment with a tired old chain on its last chance to sharpen.

[josharb87]

sorry, but i think theres a saying about a worker blaming his tools

[John Shutler]

operator error

[Omniata]

Get some practice in before your next assessment. Unfortunately you cant be making these mistakes too often.

 

Take your saw out and practice felling cuts on a stump. Get them perfect.

Dont turn up to your assessment with a tired old chain on its last chance to sharpen.

 

It wasn't my saw I was using, if I'd been using my 460 all week for sneding and delimbing I'd have been dead

 

 

sorry, but i think theres a saying about a worker blaming his tools

 

That's a little unfair , the rest of the week I'd been pretty much exhausted by the end of the day, which was fair. But the saw given to me on the day was a lot heavier and I'd been told that anything heavier than the 260 I'd been trained on was really not suitable for the work I'd be doing if "inexperienced"...

I'd been watched throughout my training and told I was doing really well and the later cuts were excellent too...

 

My instructor said to raise issues if I wasn't happy, which I did, but I don't think it's a good idea filing a chain past its wear marks either...

[Bart]

Nice one for passing your 30 , bit of a shame about the 31 sure you'll get it sorted tho.

[Stephen Blair]

respect his desicion, learn from it and practice your cuts

[Johny Walker]

what weight differance is there between the 2, saws ??? i cant see the fuel making any differane ?? i doesnt take long to get the feel of a differant ,maybe you wernt quite ready for it !!

[armchairarborist]

take some lucozade energy drink with you, fatigue solved (short term).. take time to line cuts up right,mark them on the tree if you need to.

[Omniata]

what weight differance is there between the 2, saws ??? i cant see the fuel making any differane ?? i doesnt take long to get the feel of a differant ,maybe you wernt quite ready for it !!

 

About ~2kgs fueled and oiled, might not seem like much but when trying to move quickly around the trunk it made a hell of a difference...

That's with painkillers on top...

 

I was supposed to be able to stop for lunch and lucazade at 12 too, with regards to my diabetes, we kept going till 13:00 then finished, so exhaustion was beginning to play a major part...

 

My instructor had accepted that and said he had no issues if I had to stop to eat and "top up"...

The assessor on the other hand ignored me