Steve Bullman

Thanks

Scuse my ignorance, is Dutch elm disease considered a fungal disease? @David Humphries

What chain does your arbdog use? Mines on Stihl ?

Check out Tree life, they have a good reputation. Quite an intensive course though

on a slight tangent....I frequent pinterest a fair bit. If you have an account go and do a search for 'mulchers', theres some amazing images on there

It will be Graham, sorry. Its a bug in the new version of the software and they are working on a patch.

lucky guess

Hi Danos, I have my developer working on it on and off as funds allow, its a complete redevelopment this time due to the new ios unfortunately

Perfect mate, and great editing

Welcome mate. I'd imagine the whats on your bench thread took a bit of getting through

Well worth a watch Alex, can be equally applied to any trade

What Ben said basically Theres 2 ways of doing things. The way you are doing it by using good subcontractors....I'd imagine you are paying them well, you get very few headaches, jobs get done, but the additional outlay for that privilege inhibits growth. The alternative, take on staff, pay them less than your subbies, earn more money....but have a whole bunch of headaches to go with it! What are you doing for advertising etc?

Read this a couple of days ago. Any merit in it or just another persons theory which will be replaced by another, then another? Discuss https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tree-crown-reduction-wind-load-increase-david-s-restrepo/ Arborists often cut back tree branches and reiterates presuming to reduce wind load, but the effect is the opposite. Wind load on the tree is subject to the trees capacity to withstand the load. For many years, Mattheck's analogy of the tree to a sailing boat was left without further research. It assumed that the tree crown behaved in a similar way to a sail with the root system acting as the hull but, relatively recent research has proven this to be false. In particular Ken James' research (Kenneth Ronald James) . Mattheck's literature fosters extensively the idea that the lesser the sail area, the better the tree can stand the wind. Thus, his omnipresent drawings showing cut back branches, with very little foliage. Mattheck's notoriety has contributed massively to this myth. (Image: Claus Mattheck, Guide pratique de la methode V.T.A. - Analyse visuelle de l'arbre (Mattheck et Breloer, 1994) It’s enough to patiently stare at a tree on a windy day and observe how branches sway back and forth independently. Similar to when we momentarily lose our balance we begin to sway our arms back and forth independently. Studies demonstrate that foliage, twigs and the thin flexible tips of branches dampen oscillations and dissipate wind energy for more than 40 %, while the stem contributes to less than 10 %. (Christophe Drénou, 2016 - Beyond Tree Myths - (L'arbre - au delà des idées reçues) Frank Rinn, shows how a 10% pruning reduction of the tree crown increases wind load by 10%. "Frank Rinn Risk mitigation: Bananas, carrots and tree biomechanics. How to understand trees from their body language and measure" Excerpt from video starting at 00:26:33: During the lecture a participant mentions Mattheck's analogy of the tree as a sail and Frank says: "It's TOTALLY wrong!" He also emphasizes on the stiffness generated by bracing and the increase on wind load as a result. Excerpt from video starting at 00:28:48: It's important to leave dynamic cables loose. They're there to hold the load in case of failure but, they stiffen the crown and increase wind load. To go further into the question of crown reduction... arborist often face the dilemma of weight reduction. Here's a lecture by Greg Moore during a Tree Defects Workshop for VTIO (2014). He points out the lack of research concerning weight reduction. Excerpts from video starting at 00:31:39 : "DISADVANTAGES OF WEIGHT REDUCTION by Greg Moore, 2014: • Creates significant wounds • Interferes with carbon cycle • Interferes with water cycle • Effects capacity for mass damping • Alters loads and affects physical stress optimization within canopies" "WEIGHT REDUCTION by Greg Moore, 2014 • Weight reduction aims to reduce excessive weight or load at the end of a long branch • It is a simple lever model • There may be a lack of branch taper and a low foliage to branch ratio • Does not appear consistent with the basic principles of modern pruning practices • Stresses mature trees • No proof that it achieves its objectives • Is an intrusive practice that should be discourages under most circumstances • Should only be considered when there has been significant interference with a mature specimen" Some of you may off course believe that the lack of research that Moore talks about is fake news and you may point out to Gilman's research, where his research exposed trees to four twin turbocharged diesel engines: (From Ed. Gilman's Youtube channel) Tree not pruned blowing in the wind: vs Reduced tree blowing in the wind: Gilman concludes in his video : That increased sway and flexibility on the non pruned tree is exactly what the tree is supposed to do in order to dampen oscillations and dissipate wind energy in an optimal way. Does this kind of research suffice the professional community to conclude that arborists can do better than nature's design by cutting back branches and reiterates? While you think about it, consider the fact that even though the non pruned tree swayed more, it did not fail during the test. Despite the fact that we have made giant steps over the last 40 years in tree pruning, starting with the publication of the CODIT by Shigo and Marxx in 1977, it's imperative for us as arborist to establish the foundation of a sustainable future. Where systematic pruning will henceforth become an archaic practice. There are many other things that we can do for trees as arborists but, we have to come to envision an avant-guard sustainable tree heritage management, where: It may sound simple but, it's something extremely complex to achieve on urban trees. This is an arboricultural principle that may be applied in the management of remarkable trees but, we can nonetheless contemplate applying it to urban trees in a no so distant future. Keeping in mind that in arboriculture: Instead of pruning trees systematically, we can move on to periodical aerial inspections and intervene if there are legitimate structural defects that may compromise the tree's longevity, people's safety or the integrity of urban infrastructure. But Sooner or later we have to come to realize that systematic tree pruning is nothing but the result of our excessive anthropomorphism. Our hair grows and we cut it. In a similar way, tree branches grow and we cut them. Except that there is a colossal difference. While our hair grows at its base, trees grow in their extremities and that... TOTALLY changes all the rules!

You'll be fine mate. From past experience the instructors work hard to draw the knowledge out of you if its in there. I'm the same when put in those situations, my mind just goes blank and I can't remember anything. Thanks for the follow up, and good luck

Its not as nice in the hand as the 150t, and slightly heavier I think. The battery in the back obviously changes the balance slightly but not to a point its particularly noticeable or an issue. I wrote a review of the MSA 160T a while ago

I have it turned off on my computer most of the time, otherwise its constantly throwing notifications up and ruining my workflow

no idea, but it doesn't look much fun!

truecaller is a handy app for your phones

Has this job been done yet?

Haven't had anything for a long long time, till today when i had someone call me up trying to sell me web design services. I kept him talking for a good 10 minutes ?

Not quite sure why they didn't put an off button on. That always worried me slightly, however never had any instances where the chainbreak was knocked the the off position.

STIHL has added to its range of high quality face and ear protective equipment with the introduction of its new bluetooth ear protectors with speakers. The new Dynamic BT ear protectors come with built in speakers to help make work more enjoyable, and are perfect for ground based work such as mowing the lawn, grass trimming or hedge-cutting. Compatible with most mobile phones and tablets, the new wireless ear protectors can be paired to the operator’s device using either a Bluetooth 4.0 or AUX connection. To get connected even quicker, the headset features an easy to use three button interface. As well as being designed with high quality speakers, there is also a microphone built in, allowing professionals to take calls while on the go. Although robust, the headset has been designed to be lightweight to help lower fatigue and promote movement, and the 38 hour battery life gives professionals days of running time before requiring a charge. For more information on STIHL’s extensive PPE range, please visit www.stihl.co.uk. View full record

You like nailed it