Quickthorn
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Everything posted by Quickthorn
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I'm sure it was removed from sale in 2007, with a final date of 22 May 2008 for everyone to use existing stocks up. You can search on that pesticides site for withdrawn products, and there should be a notice giving final dates and reasons for revocation. Anyone selling the stuff is probably breaking the law, as is anyone who uses it.
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Spraying a square metre or so around newly planted trees using glyphosate is very, very common forestry practice, and is often done for the first three years after planting. I do a lot of this each spring, and I can't say I've noticed that it's been having a bad effect. If I choose the herbicide, I normally choose glyphosate because the risk of run-off is lower, the product breaks down into reasonably safe compounds and it is normally the safest for the operator (some glyphosate products do not even carry a CHIPS label). My personal belief is that a directed spray will not harm young trees, providing it is applied as instructed on the label. 4 l/ha product is normally enough for most situations; lower doses can often be used, depending on what weeds are present.
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I looked at the D80 a while ago, and it was something like £700 or so..amazing how prices have come down. It's rumoured that jessops might be one of those high street chains that are on the brink of collapse. If I was buying from them, I wouldn't pay for anything in advance then wait for them to deliver, just in case they do fold. Far better to go into a store and make sure you walk out with everything you've paid for.
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I don't do much over summer, david. Come March, it starts to dry up. There's a few day's spraying here and there, plus a few days pa6 assessing, but apart from that, I spend summer putting back together all the stuff that broke during the winter season! One problem now is that so many clients now believe that the bird nesting season starts earlier, and so they want everything done by the end of February. At the moment,I wish there was 2 of me!
Do they keep you busy over summer?
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This is what similar things are fetching on ebay mini cricket bat on ebay How much did you pay for the raffle ticket?
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I've got plenty to do in Winter, luckily..I'm actually flat out til end March. It's summer that's slow, and to earn decent money in this line of work, you need to be flat out all of the time!
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I've got a load of WRC which I split for kindling..it's the best I've ever used. Logs really do spit, though.
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I'm self employed..I'm sure I'd be better off as an employee, but I used to feel pretty trapped working for others. If you're self employed, you get to choose what jobs you take on, what gear you use (if you can afford it), how well you maintain it all, etc. Since I moved to Lincs, I'd probably be better off on the dole, really, but if you enjoy what you do for a living, you don't need money to spend on holidays, hobbies etc. because you don't need all that stuff.
If I ever gave up self employment, the next best thing would be working for the right estate. I did think of trying to get in here, but it's a good job I didn't, because they've sacked all the woodmen and now contractors do it all!
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Hi Matt
I've just been going through your epic 130 thread again. I'm thinking of retiring my 110 at the end of this season and going for a 130. I know where you got it from, but can you tell me what sort of price you paid, who had it before you and what sort of mileage it had on it? I've seen a few at dealers for £7-8k ex Environment Agency, with about 120000 or so on the clock. Did you try approaching the utility co direct, or auctions, to cut the dealer out before going to Drake's?
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I've heard the hazel thing too. It's a crying shame that there's so much overstood, getting on for 50-60 years old. I'd cut a lot more if I knew there was a market, but I'd need to ask 50p for, say a 5' hedgelaying stake, and an awful lot of people turn their noses up at that.
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I think you've hit the nail on the head there.
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There are supposed to be dormice in one of the woods I coppice. They now leave uncut margins between coupes, to act as corridors for them. In one way, it would be nice if they were there, but I wouldn't look forward to the possible restrictions that might come if they were found. I mean, they'd be there partly because of the way the place is managed..if they stop us managing it, won't it change their habitat?
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This is where he went wrong..he should have cut and split it, then seasoned it, and where the wind can get through it..not in a dark shed. It's amazing just how long uncut logs take to dry out
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yes, that's me., messing about with my camera when I should of been working. There's hedging work around, but i get the feeling there's less now since they scrapped countryside stewardship. The new els doesn't tie the landowner into a particular task, such as hedgelaying. There are still grants, though. It can sometimes be 50% of my season, though I'm glad to finish some jobs. First job this season, after cutting hazel for it, was a 400 yd hedge with no vehicle access except for one end. Towards the end, I must have been walking a couple ofmiles a day just carrying materials!
Good idea to create that woodman's group. I like all the coppice crafts and stuff, but earning money always has to come first, unfortunately.
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I've got both types..prefer the semi clear stihl, if only because you can see whether you've remembered to put the 2/ oil in. You also have to be careful with the husky one in the rain. One of my employees was using one years ago in steady rain, and just left the nozzle on, as you do; what he didn't notice was that rain was gathering around the bottom of the nozzle, where the thread is, so he was putting in a couple of teaspoons of water in with every fill, until the saw packed up.
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That's my experience of ebay, even on simple stuff for the house or garden..the price just shoots up at the end. As for auctions, I've heard from people who go to farm sales etc. that some stuff (eg. batches of fencing materials etc.) fetch more than they would new! Best tip is to bid on stuff that will finish during the day in the week..when most of joe public are still at work at the office.
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I know someone who runs one of these Alstors. he brings it to site behind a L200 pickup or something, and he's shifted 30 tons in a day, though he does work very hard. Although not cost effective compared to bigger kit on a lot of sites, it's incredibly nimble, and doesn't leave the site looking like a WW1 battleground. However, that's a huge wad of money to be tied up in a machine that will only forward. You could get some sort of compact tractor plus trailer for that, and then the tractor's available for other implements. I wonder why this small kit is so expensive..it it because they are not produced in the same numbers as bigger stuff, or is it because the intended market is relatively wealthy small wood owners and hobbyists etc. who would find bigger stuff a bit of a handful?
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How do the Fourtracks compare to Landrovers, off-road and for towing? I like my Landrover, but it's getting on a bit, and anything decent with a Tdi in it means tying up an awful lot of money..plus decent ones seem to be very popular with thieves.
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I used to do domestic, but it's all groundwork now, hedgelaying, forestry and the like, for councils, wildlife trusts and such. I sub as well, in particular to one company that does work for the Forestry Commission.
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Busy til end Feb, with 2 weeks booked in for March. Work's a little bit better than previous years if anything, but then I'm not exposed to domestic work really. If I didn't own a radio or telly, I wouldn't know that there was a recession on. I did notice the boom though, mainly because of the upwardly spiralling house rent.
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Is that JBweld easily available? I haven't had time to comb all of east lincs, but the local shops didn't have any..I'm using plastic padding "leak fix"..it doesn't sound too encouraging, but that's all I can get hold of in the time available..
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farmers don't often give you bargains. Did you see what condition it was in? Low mileage, yes, but if he's been driving it round the farm through slurry and all sorts, it might have been totally rotten.
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Well that doesn't sound too bad. You can manage woods for wildlife etc. and still get shooting out of it. It's a shame they don't do a bit more of that here really; most work in the woods is decided on by either the gamekeeper or a forestry consultant they have, whose main motivation is making as much money out of the woods as possible.
Does he have any coppice - especially hazel or ash, for stakes and such? A 7-8 year rotation's good for wildlife, gives cover for game, and can even bring in an income if the quality is right.
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Well, this is it..this is the only thing a lot of woodland owners care about. I agree that most of these initiatives are a bit of a waste: half of the money available will be swallowed up by the costs of administering it all. However, if I lived in that area, I'd certainly be looking into what I could get out of it in the way of kit..before the remainder of the money disappears into the pockets of the usual suspects.
