arbogrunt

fair enough.......let her run, but watch out for that tight crotch...

how about natural fracture pruning, veteranising, leaving stubs...the whole environmental arb side of things...I know a lot of people who don't like it!. Also, crown reduction - is it really necessary?...shouldn't we be thinning trees instead?...now thats controversial...we all need the money from reductions!

indeed a 'hot potato' thread. My take is, vote Labour out!. I want to live a country with its own sovereignty, that won't go bankrupt, that has a robust immigration policy, an armed forces that is still capable of defending it, that lives by its OWN cultural values, that doesn't suffer from 'political correctness' in every avenue of its daily life.....that leaves the Tories I reckon, if I voted for anyone else, I'd be contributing to a hung parliament...and I'm not sure theres enough lamp-posts in Westminster for that!!

now thats nice, whats her safe working load?

A few years ago, I was short of work and also wanted to 'get in' to a lucrative, high property value area, about 15 miles from my yard. I set up an 0800 number (my dialling code is different from the target area) and set about designing a leaflet. I put a lot of thought in the leaflet itself, emphasizing correct pruning techniques, insurance, qualified Arbs etc. I had a couple of slogans I'd seen here and there such as 'let tom, dick and harry cut the grass' and 'a correctly pruned tree should look like its been manicured, not had its fingers cut off'. I had a link to my website and a few drawings of rigging/speedlining...it was quiet 'busy'!. I spent half a day posting them with my blokes and then we went down the cafe!. We ended up getting 2 weeks work out of that drop (with spin offs and a couple of very nice section fell jobs). So in answer to your question...YES!, I don't think theres a stigma involved in leafleting, as long as your leaflet sets your business aside from any 'garden waste also cleared' do-as-you-likey companies.

used a brand spanking new 394XPG the other day and was extremely impressed:thumbup1:

Stihl Bio 2 stroke or Aspen. Any bio chain oil (do lots of work for the local Wildlife trust).

no, I would'nt climb them. I'd get a MEWP in.

Interesting thread. I think that the ability to do a days manual work is a vital part of a young mans life. Too many people sit on their arses all day in offices etc and have no experience of physical work. I've got 3 teenage boys, when I get the chance, I take them on site and make them work their nuts off. I pay them well and they appreciate the value of 'earning' money, not just getting it given to them for nothing. This is a fundemental flaw in our country today, people (and not just kids), expect things for nothing!

of course, we all think 'I'd get myself out of the tree', I've self-rescued before and I know most of the guys who've cut themselves on here have done the same. What we've got to remember is, if your unconcious or in shock - your going nowhere!. Add the foul-weather we've all been working in the last few months (hypothermia a real threat to a static casualty) and aerial rescue seems a very welcome option. I know a young lad who passed his CS38 just before Xmas who rescued his brother in law after he got his foot trapped in a fork and ended up inverted - a month after his course!. We all hate risk assessments, but if the brown stuff hits the fan, I want all that info to hand, delays like 'where are we' are going to add minutes to a situation when they cannot be spared. I had a stinker of a tree to climb today - so I installed a second rescue line I don't often do it, but it was a slow climb and there was Ivy growing up into the upper crown. We never complain about not having to be rescued!

Mr Creosote for PM!...oh hang on, we've already got him!

blimey, lucky you went into the crown and not the other way mate. Stuff like this worries me, I trust my experience and 'gut feeling' on a lot of trees like this. Lets face it, we all get away with a lot of stuff like this, but maybe the customer should be paying for a days MEWP hire a bit more. My life is worth more than a days pay.

I'd like to try one, throwbags stress me out big time!

do it the other way round, buy her a treepedo and pinch it to install lines on tricky jobs...thrill two birds with one stone!

heres my 'Ladies Landrover' earning its keep today, give me a shout next time you need your highlights doing Dean, I do a good discount for Arbtalkers!

Hmmm, give it 10 or 15 years of treework, do I enjoy my job...yes, am I addicted to it?....has a snake got elbows???

I've shifted em that size before. The root ball is a bit of a ball breaker!..weighed so much that when we eventually managed to lift the thing, it totally flattened the wheel-barrow!. One that I moved is doing very well in my own back garden now:001_smile:

Anybody got any pics of this tree?, I'd love to see it.

...That would be 'Hairy Clam McStovey' would it, the infamous tea-brewing Scottish streaker?!

A few from the last few years, Essex and Wiltshire...sunrises not sunsets!

Shame on you Gareth.....unpaid, unclothed and no teabreaks!

Go for it mate!. There are lots of ex-military blokes doing treework. Get as many resettlement courses as you can in. Your age is more an advantage than a handicap as an ex-squaddie, I didn't start till I was 30 and I'm still shinning up trees at 46 without too many probs. I don't what Corps you've served with, but one thing to take into account is that this trade will make you DEAF!. If your already suffering from service-induced hearing loss, get a compensation case going with the British Legion before you start hammering what you've got left with saws and chippers. Good luck mukka!

Try the BTS shop at Needham Market.

I've used a very similar winch called a 'Zollern'. Very useful bit of kit, it had a good amount of pull with double/treble purchase block set up.

fella's, you've been patting the wrong end of your dogs....