Andy Collins

My lads just completed a three year Honda apprenticeship as a mechanic. He can strip and rebuild engines, eyes shut, I'm always in awe watching him. But diagnostics are done on a computer, it's the "new way". As such, if the computer can't find a fault, there isn't one, if it does find a fault, there is a charge to fix the fault, and a charge to diagnose the fault. Win win. Another stupid modern example. A friend of mine is driving his huge Deutz Fahr tractor towing a 21tonne excavator, turns left at a junction, indicates and the engine stops working. Dead. Fitter comes out and plugs in diagnostics, engine management failure due to ..... A blown indicator bulb!!!! How ridiculous and stupid is that? A £2 bulb disables many thousands of pounds worth of kit in thie middle of the highway, potentially creating a hazard for other road users. The world has gone mad.

It was the best thing I ever did. Don't be daunted by it. Sort out tax office, sort out DD for NI payments, and IMO take out private sickness and injury cover. Good luck.

Matt was in his own property, his own orchard. So long as it's your own land you can do what you like, in shorts and flip flops if you want.

I get what you're saying, but going on "best practise", it's definitely bad to leave the cut hay lying, I guess the sheep poo is not so dense, and it's liberally sprinkled about as they wander around, giving a less concentrated level. Leaving the hay also stifles many of the wild flowers, allowing only the bay willowherb and sows thistles through. We are trying the grazing this year to see the difference it makes/doesn't make.

Stress is evil, t manifests itself in so many ways. I've been experiencing a horrible prickly sensation lately, couldn't work out what it was. I do three days a week, most weeks, for health reasons. So why would I have this. Yep, it stress related, and it drives me mad. But it's an anxiety stress this time. If I feel I'm late for something, it flares, if I'm in a queue in a shop, or a crowd, it flares. If I get a summons for jury service, it flares, (found this last night). But I've learned a little mind control, if it flares, I stop and clear my mind, whatever I'm doing, and the prickliness evaporates fairly quickly. Don't ignore the symptoms, get help, let others help you, it will make you seriously ill.

Spares are something which we always used to stock, but I guess the progression of the Internet and ease of next day deliveries has reduced the need for this. I still keep spares, saw shops are never open when something breaks, and it's never a bad habit to be in, IMO.

Cutting and raking a flower meadow is not for the faint hearted, I've done it for several years. We have now introduced a flock of Hebridean sheep, which are grazing it down, fertilising at the same time. Stock proofing is electric fencing, and signage to warn the public of the responsibilities of dog control in the countryside. Do not leave the cut hay on the surface, it introduces far too much nitrogen back into the meadow. I think sheep are the best option. Small holders are often looking for alterntive grazing to rest their land, so worth approaching.

Use your answer phone as door to your life. Vet the calls before responding. If it's a regular, good client, respond to e call appropriately. If it's a ridiculous call deal with it tomorrow, it'll wait. Trees don't grow out of control overnight. Or hedges, or lawns. Best message I had this week, during storm clear ups, went along the lines of: "Hi there, my trees dying, it's losing leaves all over the place, can you come out right away and sort it out?" This was left at 9.30pm on Monday night, after I'd worked til dark getting two trees off two separate houses and tarped the holes in their roofs so they could sleep at night. I called her back next day, and explained it was autumn, and deciduous trees lose leaves in autumn, and if she really wanted me to come out there would be a £50 consultation fee. I also explained many many people had far bigger problems with their trees right now than a few falling leaves. Again, people can only get to you if you open the "door" by answering your phone, buy yourself time, and give your sanity a chance, we're in this for the long haul, not short term gain. And we can't do everything, don't try to.

I think each job may be seen as equally important to him, as a business. He needs tree men, he needs grass cutters, so treat them all the same. Of course we'd all like a little more than the other chaps, we all work that little bit harder, have a riskier job, have a more tedious job whatever. At the end of the day, it's about how much each sector earns the business, not about one individual.

I was always on the saws, never considered grass cutting at all. Now I earn equally as much on a mower as I can on the saw, at times more. And it's easier monay, suits me it's not about what job anyone does, but how they do it. I've heard of quite a few cases where grass cutters earn as much if not more than tree workers, I think it's to do with the pay scales? I can't explain it, cos I don't understand how the companies pay structure is worked out.

If you have the facilities and the storage space, you can buy quite a bit in one go. Aspen fuels are represented on here by eddie@aspen, send him a pm for further details.

Lost me a bit here, I have potato boxes here, or chitting trays, or there are the large off-farm potato boxes that must hold a ton or so, can you elaborate? What are the dimensions of the boxes?

Just ask them nicely to be reasonable. I do, and it works. Always.

The 87 storm made a couple of local companies what they became later. It set them up. Storm damage, resulting in insurance claims will result in pro teams getting some good work, and overtime for rail and electrical tree teams will be good. I wonder about the weekend warrior types, with the emphasis on H&S, ppe and so on more and more drummed into people, will there be more of a hesitation or this type to "get out there"?

I put my view across in the othr thread, and that is that I do not view us as a professional level. Semi-skilled labour, on the whole, is a correct (IMO) position. This is not knocking the skills of an adept climber, or groundie (for they can have skills too ) but on average, most tree people are at this level. A few, definitely the minority, have moved on beyond this level, becoming skilled in the use of the Spoken Word, and Writig with a Pen even:stupido: these are still not professionals, just a little bit cleverer than the bloke still grafting on the ground, and they get to sit in the truck out of the rain. Others have far more eloquently described the meaning of a true professional, so I shan't bother.

I'm not making any excuses, and I certainly don't recommend my techniques to others. My saw is either cutting, or off. I had a chap a few years back fresh off his course, followed the correct approved procedure step by step thinking I would be impressed. I wasn't, he did everything right until he realised he'd left the bar cover on, and after taking off the brake, he blipped the throttle, oh then grabbed the bar cover. Bare handed. In the pursuance of trying to get it all perfectly right, he could have got it oh so terribly wrong. Ok that's not an excuse to not use the chain brake, but it's similar to watching the speedo to keep to the speed limit, and hitting the child cos you didn't look up in time.

Sadly, this is fact. Any makes perfect sense, the gear has to go somewhere, it can't all go abroad.

I've got the cut and climb, and the new Stein jackets. The best? All round of the two? Clark's. But the Stein is a good budget jacket that will keep you dry. I was hedge trimming in a deluge the other day, pants soaked top dry actually this thread reminds me I must check I haven't grown out of the Cut and climb, don't want to have to buy another yet!! Update: hmmm a little snug, but it'll keep...for now:)

IMO, you can use the Echo trimmer with the original extension out, but if you add the extra additional extension you can only run the saw head. I have a 30 something year old Power pruner (forerunner of the echo) superb, well built, last for years. And all the modern bits bolt straight on!! best pole saw on the market IMO. Heavy? Well that's why I developed a gut as a counterbalance

I'm bad for this, and openly admit it, and won't encourage anyone to copy me, but I rarely use a chain brake after every cut. If I'm snedding, finger off throttle to change footing, keep fluid. If felling, engine running, or off. Basically, if I'm not cutting, the engine is not running at all. I know is is not best practise, and others will probably sit and frown at the screen. Of course, if it's uneven terrain, on slopes, lots of trip hazards, I'll use it. And I hate the "clunk" of a chain brake at full revs after every single little cut, so irritating. But that's just me, and I'm wrong. Adjust chain properly so it doesn't creep, use off switch more, it doesn't need to run when you're not cutting all the time. Right, going back to the trench to take cover from the flak.

I guess the term "professional" is taken in so many ways, and that leads to a separate issues. I do not class myself as a professional, as I said, a professional IMO is the level of doctors, solicitors, scientists and so on, the majority of us are therefore not "professionals". However, I talk to my clients in a professional manner, I carry out my work in a professional manner, and I try to maintain a professional standard, is still does not make me, a tree cutter/arborist/faller/lumberjack a professional, it makes me bloody good at my job, that's all. I/we in general, aRe not on the same level as someone who has studied for years to get a doctorate, or become a lawyer, or even landscape architects. My son studied and is a landscape architect, the level of depth of knowledge across the subject matter blows me away, he IMO is more professional than a tree cutting personage. How are we perceived by the public then? Well most think you're the type of bloke who hacks trees so the power lines don't get fouled, and "I hope you're not going to do that to my tree!!" Is generally the sort of comment I hear.

Btggaz, personally, I am not controlled by the ICF, the AA, the ISA or any other "representative" of this fragmented industry. I am controlled by the purse of the client. That is the long and the short of it. Does wearing a tie and giving yourselves a fancy title make you any more the professional, or is it better to do a good job, day in day out? I like to think I can stand shoulder to shoulder with any true professional, hold my head up without pretending to be something that i certainly am not.

[quote=btggaz;981507I've read on other posts that what we do isn't rocket science:001_rolleyes: That sort of self opinion is so damaging to ourselves. It doesn't do us any favours. . But it isn't rocket science, it is the ability to climb a tree, cut a bit off, throw it down or drop it accurately in a given space, or fell it from the bottom. It's an ability, achieved through practise. Nor is it a profession. A profession is such as a doctor, a lawyer, or a vetenary surgeon. This is more of a vocation, that anyone with the minimum of training can go out and do, with the appropriate saws and ropes. Trying to dress it up as anything else also does nothing for the "image", the only people we are kidding are ourselves, no one else really cares less. Don't get me wrong, I love this job I do, and I do it to the best of my abilities, but I don't pretend to be something greater than I actually am.

Tbh, I thnk Arb is seen as a bit of a joke. Pouncing about, snipping little bits off trees, been everyone thinks they need hoofing great bits cut off, it's the only way to let more light in, isn't it? Then there's the farmer type group, you don't need all that fancy kit to cut bits off trees, just boiler suit, preferably John Deere, flat cap and wellies is adequate ppe. Then there's all the fuss about disposal, expensive chippers and trucks, you can just light a fire and get rid, can't you? We're seen as tree-huggers, and a hindrance, by the construction industry, who have to suffer us and our little ways to keep the planning depts happy. Not what you want to hear?

Ditto that! Been there and had the displeasure. All very amiable on first meeting, nice as pie, get you to chat a little about things and open up, after all they're there to help you after all It's not a case of having something to hide, it's a case of they do not believe that you could actually be honest. Then the second meeting, they run through all the official stuff that was discussed, and then go over the little details that they thought they gleaned from you. I believe they have a theory that everyone is cheating the system, in some way, even a perfectly innocent way. Eg, you don't accept any cash payments for firewood? At all? Ever? Then prove it! How do you prove that you don't have something? Did you have a nice holiday this year? How much was that? Oh I guess times are a little tight with a baby aren't they? Price of nappies and stuff. Yet you can afford a holiday, for two adults and 2kids, for 2weeks in Egypt? Must be pocketing a little cash for that, spending money etc everyone does it. see where I'm coming from? Best thing I ever did was took on a Chartered Accountant, someone who knows how to play their games.