MattyF
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Everything posted by MattyF
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Your business IMO is worth 10% of any work you have booked up ,half the value of your predicted log pile and the second hand value of your equipment..that's what I sold mine for 7 years ago .. My father got around 10k 20 years ago but then he had staff on paye , council, housing association and numerous other contracts as well as a good company name.. completely different from our set ups of self employed groundies and a just good reputation to go by.
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Definitely , but the power band is slightly different and more torque , the 400 feels more at home in hard woods I think but now I'm used to it I would use it in anything... I was expecting it to Rev up like a 462.. but it does have good instant throttle response just lays the power down but I think the 462 lays it down more like Husqvarna if that makes sense!!? I would say it took a good few tanks of fuel to wake it up as well.. but that's fairly typical of all saws.
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If you can get hold of one ...I would get another tomorrow.
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Love mine , strangely though I didn't really like it for the first 6-8 months as I'm so used to 560's the balance felt off but now I would not pick up anything else , despite my 400 been the unluckiest saw I've owned... ran over , trees rolled off a high stump for the excavator to get hold off last week in a unexpected direction and crushed it ... still working though !!
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I recon it's an early SA 80 with missing front hand guard and iron sights instead of susat, they had shite brittle plastics so could of broken or a Enfield prototype of some weapon as it's not quite an EM2 either .. maybe a design team member took one home , then later chucked it or family member did ...
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Ermmm ........ dunno what to say bud but a tractor mounted 8tonne with wire cable on is going to tear a house down, it’s in a different league to a little petrol winch , and I’ve seen them struggle on some big trees!
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Waterlogged ? Drought , suns scold , Old age , dogs pissing on it , shit pruning from the electric board ,strimmer damage ,phytophera ... they are not a particularly long lived tree any other the aboveand probs some I’ve missed will shorten its life span
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Sad .....as I view the forum through the app in my phone I miss all these things and get no alerts as Arb trader seems not to work on it.
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I had a groundy ten or more years back .. over 6ft and a big heavy lad, he never not once asked or showed any interest to climb , any way after a year or two with me he said he had a new better payed job , no worries mate go for it ... he must of been alright as he did his climbing tickets and is still there as lead climber.. I found that one of the most bizarre things as he showed no interest but must of been picking up a lot in that time to advance as quickly as he did.
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John the qualification is very basic .. it’s not what your thinking of some super human out on 2” twigs stuff , it’s just basic get up the tree and selecting suitable anchors etc... my thoughts are if your doing volunteer work it’s an absolute minimum you should have otherwise no ones insurance is covered... also it will set you up with the basics , it may all seem like common sense but trust me I’ve seen some ridiculously dangerous things being done by folk who should of known better if they had been taught the basics which are pretty foolproof.
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As a minimum qualification to cover your arse for insurance I would recommend you do the course your self too.
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Well John here it comes ... leave it to the professionals ! There are so many rules and BS now involving tree climbing through H&S but there has been one long standing rule that you have to have a qualified second climber if you are performing Arial tree cutting on site to rescue you ... this may be a good opportunity to get a second climber to show you some gear and tricks.
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For me it’s got to be somthing that can double up as a working truck .. so 4x4 and good at towing so use an amorak ... to be honest I’d rather have another single cab pick up but it is nice on longer journeys and can load Nieces and nephews in it.. but basically I don’t get the point in paying thousands, insuring, tax and upkeep of a vehicle when it can’t be used to make a profit for your business.
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As Les says and keep out of the elements , cool dry place with a bit of air flow would be ideal ... I’ve banged up larch cladding green though and it’s barely moved on the three barns / sheds I’ve built. It’s probably the best choice as you know but I find Douglas and WRC a lot easier to mill.. especially dry although I’m not fond of dry Douglas saw dust!
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It’s not a fun timber to mill at the best of times that can cause a few issues on a band saw .....but it’s kind of doubled being harder and slower with dry timber.
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Mill it ASAP .. larch is a nightmare dry to mill.
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I’m with Ian ... I can’t do day rates any more .... I’d rather loose work than do two - three days worth of work in a day,shag kit up and listen too it’s only 4pm I’ve got another tree ... I have in the past and I’ve saved customers thousands over written quotes but they where jobs a mile from my yard and massive costly mistakes when they where not. Also I only have one speed working and I can’t stand being idle , a day rate would be great for training guys up , that is where it comes off maybe but no way am I working to one any more, too much experience,time,mistakes and gear invested so all work now makes a profit... a good profit with the right crew.
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I’ve milled very green ash even 3” it’s warped , split and generally been a waste of time .. been a lot more stable if it’s sat for a year or two .... you could leave it for even longer and try and catch spalting !
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Mill the elm and get under cover!! It’s starting to look a bit spongy ... Maybe leave the ash and oak for a bit though.
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I would put it on the wall and leave it there... is white finger really worth the time and effort of restoring things like this that should not be used for work if they are broken already.
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I still don’t get it.... is every post you make signed off about a song ?
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I like them, good work utes.
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It’s still wood... if I have some hard wood in a pile for 4 years it does not mean it will burn straight away, it will need drying out in sunshine or a barn... Any ash die back I’ve processed in to cages as long as it’s still seasoned is absolutely fine, I’m heating the house and cooking off it right now .. the stems are usually still green on ash felled with die back so it will still need treated to be seasoned properly, all this you can burn ash green is total bollox... it may season quicker but I would not burn green ash.
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You need to bang a cheap 13000lbs winch on the 4x4 mate or have one handy on a chipper , those 4x4 mewps are pretty easy to get stuck, I certainly would not put ours in some where unless I knew there was a plan to get it out... think you will have to suck that up... I’ve got plenty of machines stuck recently, I would just be great full that they don’t charge to reinstate the ground where it’s gone up to its axles.
