Guo7

I tried to start a DIY club once… but it fell apart as soon as we got to the first meeting

For groups of 3, a medium sized kit with good dressings and a few extras usually works well.. I have been using this one recently and it covers most things https://firstaidkitsuk.co.uk/products/premium-first-aid-kit-240-pcs

Sounds more like a lean start issue than a Husky thing. If they’ve sat that long the carb diaphragms can go crispy and the metering side won’t deliver enough fuel on first fire. That’s usually what scores them. I’ve seen Stihls do the same if they’re left parked up too long. A quick carb kit before starting would probably have saved them.

If you’re comfortable with graft and working outdoors you’ll fit in fine. Plenty of people come into arb in their 30s, and your farming background is a big plus, you’re already used to machinery, weather, early starts, and problem-solving on the fly. With 30/31 you should get some ground-based work pretty quickly, and adding 38/39 will open a lot more doors. Most firms are always short of reliable climbers or decent groundsmen who actually turn up and crack on. First aid + chipper ticket also help and don’t take long to do. South Oxon has loads of firms around so you shouldn’t struggle to get started. Wages vary but you won’t be on the bottom rung for long if you’ve got a good attitude.

I have had good luck with the Nextbase units lately, decent video, easy to wire in and the app actually works. Thinkmine are the 322GW and they’ve been solid. A couple of the lads use Viofo too and rate them highly if you want better night footage..

Yeah, bit of a shame really. The old RRP was simple and did the job without needing to buy half a dozen extras. Feels like they’ve bundled the same features into the pricier setup now. Classic ‘upgrade’ that ends up costing more for not a lot of real world gain..

Seen this happen a few times with saws that have sat a long time. Even if you drain them, the diaphragms in the carbs can dry out and go stiff, and you get lean on first start which is enough to score a cylinder. Husky or Stihl, it can happen either way. I’d be checking the carb and impulse line before writing the brand off completely.

I’m not an expert on the legal side but as far as I understand it, once they’re PAYE you need to make sure they’re at least hitting minimum wage for all the hours they’re classed as ‘working’, and travel time can fall under that depending on where they’re starting from. A lot of firms I know pay something for travel if it’s a long run, even if it’s not the full rate, just to keep things fair. Probably worth having a quick chat with an accountant or HR advisor so you’re covered, especially with 2.5hr drives each way.

Worth trying a couple of the local coppice lads around Herefordshire – a few still cut decent hazel each winter and usually have binders and stakes stacked. Also check with the Small Woods Association groups in the area, they often know who’s got fresh hazel in. For 63m you’ll need a fair bundle, so best to ring ahead before you drive out.

Try giving a shout to a couple of the bigger firewood lads around Cheshire/Staffs, they usually know who’s moving artic loads at the moment. A few mills will deliver mixed hardwood/softwood if you’re not fussy on species, but it depends what’s coming in. Might be worth asking local contractors too, a lot of them have surplus straight off jobs.

I’d go for an adjustable one with rings rather than plain rings each end. Something around 2.5–3m seems to cover most trees I’m on. The prussik makes it easy to snug up whether it’s over a limb or round the stem, and you don’t have to keep retying knots. They are a bit harder to retrieve off a stem if you really crank them tight, but as long as the bark’s not too rough and you don’t jam it in a union they usually pull out fine with a decent flick and a retrieval cone/ball. Big step up in comfort compared to a sling and steel crab, and you can actually get it back from the ground.

Both are decent bits of kit. From what a lot of climbers say, the SAKA feels a bit smoother and lighter, and it’s easy to tweak the bungee so it sits right, while the HAAS tends to give you that longer ‘big step’ feel and is pretty bomb-proof. If you’re already used to 30" of travel on the HAAS you might miss that with the SAKA, but most people seem to find it more efficient over a full day. I’d pick based on which set-up fits your rope diameter and how you like to stand in the harness rather than the spec sheet.

From what I’ve seen, if the council has already flagged them as dangerous because of DED or ash dieback, the FC are usually pretty reasonable about getting a felling licence sorted quickly. Anything that’s clearly diseased or a risk to the highway tends to go through faster, especially if you have photos and a short note from whoever inspected them. Four months should be doable, but I’d get the application in straight away because they do get busy. Also worth checking if some of it falls under an exemption due to safety near a road, that can save a bit of time.

From what I’ve seen in similar situations, the best way to get an accurate value is to ask an arboricultural consultant to do a tree valuation using something like the CAVAT or Helliwell method. They’ll look at size, condition, amenity value, etc. If the timber has already been removed it’s still possible to estimate based on stump size and photos. Replacing them with mature screening trees can get pricey depending on size, even semi-mature stock can run into the hundreds per tree once you factor in planting and aftercare. Fully mature specimens can go into the thousands. Might be worth getting a couple of quotes locally to compare.