New to the forum.

[Frankie Lawrence]

No, the silly little things we have here, God knows why, but I got over it. I used to hate the sound of them crawling up walls when I was a kid, made my skin crawl. But when you're climbing around trees, they are nothing to fear, and this changed my whole mental way of dealing with them. Hell, can even pick them up and out them outside now:001_smile:

 

I dont like spiders but I wouldnt consider it a phobia as such but frogs! I get very panicy and act like a big girl. When I saw the frogs in a tree thread tittle I considered never climbing a tree

[Andy Collins]

Cant you hear them? Scratchy 8 legs stomping all over the place!

[njc110381]

Scared of Frogs and Spiders? Oh dear! Having said that it's just as irrational to be scared of heights. As you say a prussik isn't going to budge because the harder you pull on it the tighter it gets.

 

I'm no newbie to chainsaw accident stories. My best friends dad was quite high up in the UK Husky/Jonsered/Partner distribution company at one time and he had endless stories, videos, pictures etc that he threw at me when I first started sawing. I once saw a picture of a guy who hit a railing when he was doing un undercut in a large fallen tree (it had grown into the trunk and had been cut off so was completely hidden). He was using a 3120xp that hadn't been maintained properly. The saw kicked out, ran the bar nose up a large branch above his head, knocked his helmet off and split his head near in two. He was dead before he hit the floor.

[Ian H]

Njc hi IMO(for what its worth!) i would listen v seriously to the advice the guys are giving you, it could save alot of time learning the skills, im having to re-learn after a long time away from the industry and the advice ive had has been awesome, its a pretty steep learning curve.

 

I previously had my climbing tickets but will probaly have to retake them all to get appropriate insurance, its an expensive business and costs have to reflect this which is partly why guys get defensive proetecting the industry from being undermined by unprofessional/unskilled, incompetent and uninsured individuals who threaten the hard work that we do. Its hard enough trying to educate the public!

 

Also be aware we live in a v litigous society these days and without the right training/insurance you could be in real trouble, let alone incurring the wrath of the dreaded HSE.

 

You seem like an open minded kinda guy who wants to learn so take all the comments on board and move forward, onward and upward.

 

Godd luck to ya buddy:thumbup:

[njc110381]

I'm beginning to realise that Ian! Unfortunately up until now I've never really been in a place where there are so many true professional tree workers so have missed out on these points. Even working unsecured from a ladder these days is dodgy whether you have a chainsaw or not! To a point it is silly, but in some cases I can see why the rules are made.

 

I think I need to get in touch with my mate who does the training and bite the bullet. I think I may even have to update my basic saw ticket too because I did it some time ago. I have the LANTRA one which it seems isn't worth the paper it's written on these days? The FC, local trusts etc all want to see the other type, I forget the name now?

 

I guess I'll be looking at about £1k to get them both done, and that's without the large tree addition?

[arbclimber]

I'm beginning to realise that Ian! Unfortunately up until now I've never really been in a place where there are so many true professional tree workers so have missed out on these points. Even working unsecured from a ladder these days is dodgy whether you have a chainsaw or not! To a point it is silly, but in some cases I can see why the rules are made.

 

I think I need to get in touch with my mate who does the training and bite the bullet. I think I may even have to update my basic saw ticket too because I did it some time ago. I have the LANTRA one which it seems isn't worth the paper it's written on these days? The FC, local trusts etc all want to see the other type, I forget the name now?

 

I guess I'll be looking at about £1k to get them both done, and that's without the large tree addition?

 

My advice. Never use a chain saw on a ladder again. do tree climbing and aerial rescue course (its easy and fun) then you can start to climb and use a silky and get the hang of climbing on jobs. Then when you are confident in climbing do your cs39 ( saw from rope and harness) but remember this only really allows you to potter about in a tree with a top handle. Use the top handle for bits in the tree and then when confident with that do cs41 and you're sorted.

 

These rules aren't silly HSE rules they are important as you dont realise how much you dont know until you do the courses (trust me).

 

Last thing, dont get into the habit of using a top handle one handed. Loads of people do it but they shouldnt. Yes you can use it one handed in exceptional circumstances, when stretched right out to knock a tip off a branch but not when its just easier, not when you want to hold the bit you are cutting, and not cos its quicker than changing position. As I said lots of people do it but that doesn't make it right.

[njc110381]

I think I need to get onto google! What are all these certificates? I know the climbing and rescue one but I thought that was pretty much it! I'm thinking CS39 would be section felling of small trees? And CS41 section felling of large? Don't you usually do climbing and rescue and CS39 at the same time?

[Tree Man Tom]

I think I need to get onto google! What are all these certificates? I know the climbing and rescue one but I thought that was pretty much it! I'm thinking CS39 would be section felling of small trees? And CS41 section felling of large? Don't you usually do climbing and rescue and CS39 at the same time?

 

Have a look on the NPTC website mate, theres all the schedules on there for the assesments, will make some interesting reading for you i think

[njc110381]

Will do. Thanks