Forestry wear and tear per day cost's

[bella wood]

Question to other forestry workers

Been down on money lately working with harvesters , outsiders ,felling banks, winch to machines ,,

 

Ive been tryin to work out what wear and tear costs are per day to cover bars , chains , saw parts , boots , trousers etc ,, and of course saw's

 

I'm thinking on £17 per day , What do others think ,,

 

I'VE just made to call to say i cant work for one contracter due the feeling of im not making enough money , with this contracter i was told i needed to go PAYE but ive been supplying all my own kit

[Jackalope]

I've spent a lot of time in the woods hand cutting only and you end up thinking all this through and doing your sums.

I work on the basis of paying for the initial cost of my saw over the first 100 full days it works. (So for my new 550xp it costs £5.45/day for the saw.

Then obviously chains, bar, grease, fuel & oils, (these all vary depending on which saw im running- whether im in hard or soft wood, size rah-rah-rah.

 

Anyway currently a 550xp in chestnut coppice im looking about £7.00/day in costs. (2 weeks & 1 file out of a chain, 3 months out of a bar, 3L Petrol, 1L Oil).

 

So £12.45 before considering PPE and running the car to site.

 

Obviously this drops significantly after 100 working days for the saw- just my personal preference to 'pay for it' in a certain period.

 

It's an expensive job for sure.

[luftwaffe]

Running the saw is only a part of it, what about national insurance, vehicle costs, accountant, etc...more like £40 day.

[bella wood]

Yes luftwaffe i realise about them things aswell , im using 18 ish a day going back and forward to sites at the moment and ive just spent my day off replacing brake pads and adjusting rear breaks on navara ,,

 

Id say 45 + a day all in ,,

 

Jackalope i like your way of thinkin ,, i wish my bars lasted as long , id say a month on average but thats mainly due to snedding alot big branched outsiders

[bella wood]

Yes luftwaffe i realise about them things aswell , im using 18 ish a day going back and forward to sites at the moment and ive just spent my day off replacing brake pads and adjusting rear breaks on navara ,,

 

Id say 45 + a day all in ,,

 

Jackalope i like your way of thinkin ,, i wish my bars lasted as long , id say a month on average but thats mainly due to snedding alot big branched outsiders and getting tip nipped

[steve collins]

Oil = 225 chain 260 bars x6 230 saw 600 files 40 2 stroke 78 fuel 1500 = £2933

Ppe 400 insurance truck and liability 800 diesel ???

I know its under £10,000 for a year so 260 days a year average £38.5 ive got it down to the last few years

[paddy]

50 to 60 a day depends on where job is

[Crazy Cutter]

So if we average out at 45 a day that's roughly 900 a month before your wage. For where I am you need to be returning 25k profit to be considered for a mortgage. As a good cutter I would say you need to be turning over 50k a year to fix the broken and invest in new saws which with modern computer don't last longer than two years. And why shouldn't we for too long forestry and tree work has been seen as lower class and paid with no respect unlike abroad. Ash dieback will see experienced fallers in high demand. I can also see the casualty rate soar, ash is always a nasty one and there are going to be people way out of their depth.

[Gareth_elms]

I agree with crazy cutter, I'd say 900 a month ish before wage, less if I'm closer to where i've got work.

I also agree experienced cutters will see more work for higher wage with ash dieback, but your going to get more inexperienced people starting out on ash, I start all my new sawers on scrub removal gets them a grasp of working in the sector.

[Crazy Cutter]

I agree with crazy cutter, I'd say 900 a month ish before wage, less if I'm closer to where i've got work.

I also agree experienced cutters will see more work for higher wage with ash dieback, but your going to get more inexperienced people starting out on ash, I start all my new sawers on scrub removal gets them a grasp of working in the sector.

 

Ditto I started on small river alder if you felled it in the river you went in after it also it was piecework, not many will do that today. I was talking to my barber yesterday he's been struggling to find someone now for five years it goes across all industries.