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Andy Collins

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Everything posted by Andy Collins

  1. Andy Collins
    This site is alive!! Its constantly evolving, new members bring new life to the forum, pumping new blood through its veins. Of course some will go, others come in. I think it would soon become pretty dull with us old timers just harping on.
  2. Andy Collins
    That has to be the best advert for this product!! For those with back shoulder and arm problems (most of us!!) I can see benefits of it. This vid shows off far more graphically the advantages, than some bloke randomly walking about at a show looking a complete lemon waving a pole pruner at some imaginary tree. nice vid jammy
  3. Andy Collins
    I have both a tow behind Jensen and a Jo Beau narrow access chipper (similar to the GM youre thinking of) and tbh as Stevie says you save a lot of dragging using the little machine. No dragging saves on a wage for one, it saves clearing every last bit of chip away. I reckon on most jobs the Jo Beau now goes out 3x more often than the bigger one, it paid for itself in next to no time. So its really up to you, how you roll, how you choose to work, there is no real right or wrong way. Find a niche in your area and work to suit it, just cos everyone says its not right, they mean its not for them, and the way they work. PS Big fires beat everything every time
  4. Andy Collins
    Sorry Marc, forgot about you as well:blushing:
  5. Andy Collins
    I think i was 7th, it would have been Steve, Pete McTree, Mr Ed, Buzz Lee Winger, High Scale , and myself, not necessarily in that order. i think the General Pic thread was one of the first threads. Oh and Blue.
  6. Andy Collins
    Things sound positive there, keep that vibe going and youll be fine
  7. Andy Collins
    Sorry, i dont quite agree Tony, i do work for a commercial organic orchard, and mosses are encouraged, and is found on many thousands of trees there. Something to do with Soil Association requirements IIRC
  8. Andy Collins
    I think the problem with a lot of people is they see an old fruit tree thats just got bigger and bigger, too large for the space in the garden. The fruit is all up high out of sensible reach where only the wasps and the birds seem to benefit. So the kneejerk reaction is to hammer them back in one quick move, rather than gently nurture them. The trouble also is that many fruit tree books talk about how to manage younger stock, to train espalier etc but now how to get a neglected tree back into reasonable shape anid size, and productivity. And its no good turning to your local orchard growers for advice, these trees are well past their sell by date for any serious orchard, and would have been felled years ago. So i dont blame the householder for the action he has taken, but the advice given above is probably the best in this situation.
  9. Andy Collins

    Tosh

    Andy Collins replied to Sawthumb's topic in General chat

    Im guessing, just off the top of my head, that it could just be a very Saw Thumb..... Maybe? , welcome to the site Tosh
  10. Andy Collins
    Retain absolute faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND at the same time confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. Never a truer word spoken
  11. Andy Collins
    Ok, lets throw a hypothetical spanner into the works. Lets say you look at a job, using the gear you have every day, and you see 1.5 days work for 2 men, lets say for simplicity sake 2x man day truck and chipper is £400, and £300 for the half day = £700. Then i turn up, look at the job and think, with the kit available to me, 2x men + equipment = £550, but I (hypothetically of course) work faster and more Efficiently than your team can, get the job done in just under a day, done and dusted. Thats a saving to the client of £150, ive seemingly undercut you, but in fact my day rate is higher than yours, but greater experience and skill, more advanced vehicles etc, have won me the day. Now multiply that across every job you price and I win, i build an even bigger, more efficient business, and you blunder along wondering whats gone wrong.
  12. Andy Collins
    I think its horses for courses, if I had a Fastrac with a big chipper on it I wouldnt be faffing around doing little domestic jobs, but large commercial works, where access is not such an issue!i have to agree, I think a Mog is a more multi purpose workhorse for Arb work, with the capacity to have cranes, winches, pto chippers and flails and such like attached, and then tow large loads too.
  13. Andy Collins
    That is some stunning wood work there, top drawer stuff.
  14. Andy Collins
    Its ok, doesnt hurt to revisit this kind of stuff anyway.
  15. Andy Collins
    @ Smurf, although the replies may come across as negative, its because things really are that tight right now. If you are serious, i would look into the utility sector, predominantly where your existing skills lie, ie trackside work and tree maintenance, as I think this maybe where you stand the best chance of getting a start. Unfortunately, the reasons you list for wishing a change of direction will still apply if you choose that route.
  16. Andy Collins
    This thread covered the topic and answers from suppliers included http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/14417-why-we-pay-vat-chainsaw-trousers-2.html in a nutshell, boots and helmets are VAT exempt to end user, other ppe isnt
  17. Andy Collins
    Helmets are Vat exempt if you are the end user, as are workboots. If you are an employer buying boots helmets etc for your staff then you pay the VAT. Vat is chargeable on helmet accessories such as visors and defenders, unless the hlemet is bought with them fitted. If they have conducted a risk assessment, (and by law they should have) and came to the conclusion that safety boota are optional, you can buy them yourself. If they are saying that safety wear is compulsory they have to supply them for you as the law states, "all employers must make available all necessary safety equipment wherever it is required by safety regulation." That's to say, if they don't supply safety wear and your opreational procedures require it, they are in breach of basic HASAWA legislation.
  18. Andy Collins
    ABSOLUTE ARBORISTS - PHOTO GALLERY
  19. Andy Collins
    It filled grain trailers so fast even a 6/7metre box would fill in no time, cant see it would be that beneficial. As I said, most sites the chip was broadcast anyway so why waste fuel carrying it away?
  20. Andy Collins
    Sorry no photos, but we used to run a Fastrac with a 12inch Entec pto chipper on the back, it was a tree gobbler!! No room for a chip bin, but it didnt matter as we chipped into massive grain trailers. Other jobs we just broadcast the chip around the sites. Too big? Excellent visibilty all around, it would cover ground that Mogs feared to tread, and on one site the Mog bogged down and we pulled it out with the Fastrac. Due to a dodgy fuel gauge and slight numerical miscalculation, we ran out of diesel while going through single file roadworks, so I just hopped out and turned the wheels enough to get us rolling between the cones and out of the way. I always thought it a brilliant bit of kit!
  21. Andy Collins
    Now you cant use the Mewp and cant light your fire, brilliant!
  22. Andy Collins
    First point, if she doesnt move the trees when she moves, she will lose them. At least by moving them she has a chance of retaining them. Secondly, is her house in a conservation area? If the dimensions given are diameters at breast height (dbh= stem diameter @1500mm above ground level) then it the council will require notification of intent as you wish to wilfully uproot a tree in a conservation area, just a point worth checking with your local District Council Tree Officer.
  23. Andy Collins
    7foot magnolia and similar Acer? Is the Acer japanese or standard? You are looking at quite a volume of soil and rootball for either I should think, and a lot of weight to move, the logistics of which are quite considerable. Dormant season would be best if possible.
  24. Andy Collins
    In a totally unbiased way, Oldmilltrees, I agree with Huck in the fact I think you will regret this move. Post back in a few months time whether or not it was the right decision though, i think like others a job will come along that you just need a mog for it.
  25. Andy Collins
    May be the developer gets his planning consent etc, doesnt mean he likes it, its just another hoop to jump through as far as he is concerned, but I suspect he will complain to his foreman, who will relay his displeasure to his groundworkers, who will be cantankerous and awkward as soon as youre on site. Still, this is all small fish to them compared to the Archaelogical surveys, and the pita that causes them, so tbh they do need to get over it.

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