Woodland work

[john k]

There is plenty of work if you can get it, as has been said lots of woodland has been neglected, i am lucky as i have a lot of contacts now, and i work hand in hand with keepers and owners.

 

Lots of my work involves management for shoots, several large estates use my services now, but i couldnt rely on it alone.

 

Am hoping to have a deal in the next few weeks that will involve HUGE amounts of timber, if i get that it will be two years work sorted for me.

 

 

Rob.

I'd be interested to find out more about how you work, as this is an area that I'd like to get into. There's definitely no shortage of neglected woodland around, but I'm not sure how to make it work financially.

 

Do you work on a day rate? Is it the shoot that pays?

 

What about woodlands that aren't managed for shooting? Do you ever work for the timber?

 

Thanks!

[Big J]

I work for a couple of different estates, and am paid by the hour. It is commercial forestry stands that we work in predominantly, though occasionally it is the shoot that funds our felling. I only work in hardwoods (IainArkle on here would call me a wuss - I would counter that I am sensible!) but really enjoy what I do. We tend to work in fairly unproductive stands, rarely able to fell enough to warrant a tonnage rate. That said, started doing a bit of work for a new estate today and they put me in a doddle of a sycamore stand. 6 1/2 hours later, 21 tonnes were down and sectioned so sometimes I do wish I wasn't on hourly!

 

I don't work in forestry full time (I usually split my week 3 days forestry, 2 days sawmilling), but I have far more work that I can handle.

 

Jonathan

[Brushcutter]

It's contacts. Its all well and good felling 40 tonnes of thinning out of a woodland but do you know someone with a forwarder to get them out, who will buy these thinnings.

 

I do hardwoods and softwoods working on estates, farms etc. My favourite changes some days i love the softwoods other days (normally when they hang up) i long to do some hardwoods. I've done tonnage, day rate work for wood. Best all round is day rate as you always go home with something which is great when you've bent a guide bar, had the winch to bits and only got two trees over. But as Jonathan says somedays the site the weather and your ability all come together and you get a lot of stuff down and your worse off by the hour.

 

In forestry as a contractor you generally have to buy timber from what ranges from a free to £55 quid standing. You then have to fell process and extract and sell your wood to recoup your outlay and try to make a profit. The FC, local council, landed estates are all places to contact.

 

Its a lot to take in to start with its best to find a company to work with who does woodland/forestry work and learn from them. It is rather scary the self employed way.

[kernowstu]

I work for a couple of different estates, and am paid by the hour. It is commercial forestry stands that we work in predominantly, though occasionally it is the shoot that funds our felling. I only work in hardwoods (IainArkle on here would call me a wuss - I would counter that I am sensible!) but really enjoy what I do. We tend to work in fairly unproductive stands, rarely able to fell enough to warrant a tonnage rate. That said, started doing a bit of work for a new estate today and they put me in a doddle of a sycamore stand. 6 1/2 hours later, 21 tonnes were down and sectioned so sometimes I do wish I wasn't on hourly!

 

I don't work in forestry full time (I usually split my week 3 days forestry, 2 days sawmilling), but I have far more work that I can handle.

 

Jonathan

 

please tell me the syc were sawlog and tops:biggrin:have done woodland you work your nuts of to get 3-4 ton, but then you get a clearfell dougie 1-2 meter per tree, most the time its 3-4 ton:biggrin:

[ashman]

I'd be interested to find out more about how you work, as this is an area that I'd like to get into. There's definitely no shortage of neglected woodland around, but I'm not sure how to make it work financially.

 

Do you work on a day rate? Is it the shoot that pays?

 

What about woodlands that aren't managed for shooting? Do you ever work for the timber?

 

Thanks!

 

 

As brushcutter says, its all about contacts, i am well known round my local patch as "the guy who can".

 

I try to have an idea in my head before i make an approach to a land owner, shoot as to what sort of deal will make them sit up and think ! i work in all different ways, sometimes hourly, sometimes day rates, sometimes a compromise day rate including timber and so on....... its about striking a deal that works for them and you. but at the end of the day you have to be able to do what you say and do it profesionally.

 

Nowadays i mainly have people approach me through word of mouth, but out of my area i would be lost and need to put in some legwork.

 

Not an easy thing to start out on your own with no previous contacts, and as a self employed thing it can be hard, i started doing it for no pay just wood, and gradually built a name as a good feller who works hard and handles most anything thrown at me, then i started getting calls for dangerous trees etc and it has grown from there.

 

Good luck if you do go into it, most owners are either notoriously hard to deal with or dead tight untill you earn a name and some trust.

 

Regards, Rob.

 

Ps, any one with any forestry, either needing work doing, or looking to get someone in on a contract give me a bell