Dean Lofthouse

Border Collie ??

...and of course we always... use two hands on the MS200T, do the step cut, and never hold the branch with one hand whilst cutting it

Crossed wires Ed. Totally agree. As you already know, I have 3.5 acres of woodland. There is an access road running thru it. I've deadwooded along the access road where public walk but aren't supposed to. I have however left the remaining woodland untouched. There are broken limbs and deadwood all over. To the point that if it's really windy I wouldn't walk thru without my helmet. As a result I have a huge variety of birds visit and live within the woodland and log piles. I also keep deadwood and rotting roots from jobs and stack it in little piles all over. As a result Wren and robin numbers within the wood have increased. Last week in the winds a Huge Ash snapped in half and took half a small Oak with it. It is hung up but is safe, I am going to leave them as they are rather than take them out. They're in a spot where no public have access. Like you say, there are places and circumstances where this can be done. We just need to make it clear what these circumstance are for the chaps and chappesses just starting out.

:congrats:

one to add 6. It blocks all the light out

I can't. I wonder how many one man bands, such as myself doing domestic work have climbed without a fully qualified groundsman, trained in ariel rescue

I only have a "black and white Attitude" when a customer asks me to cut a tree in half because it blocks out the light to his new conservatory. I also have a black and white attitude when someone moves into a house knowing there a a woodland at the bottom of their garden boundary and then rings me saying that there's not enough light in their back garden and that these trees make a mess when they drop leaves. They ask me how much to chop the tree down or cut it in half so there's not as many leaves. The trees should have been a considerstion when they bought the house. I don't struggle for work round here, so I try and educate the numpties, if I can't do that and they persist in their request I take great pleasure in refusing, telling them it's cowboys they need to ring not tree surgeons and walking away. What you need to remember here Skyhuck and Ed is there are novices reading this board and taking advice. You need to be fairly clear in what you deem as acceptable. I would not, and do not and never have "topped" a perfectly healthy tree in a domestic enviroment. The day I do is the day I will give up Looking after trees. Yes, you can take weight off an ailing tree and reduce weak limbs on an anceint tree, in the right enviroment, provided that an action plan has been put in place to safe guard members of the public or (as another endearing term) "ignorants". I think we all have the same veiws, what has been wrote has been misread or misinterpretted. That is one of the problems with forums and written text. A sentence can be read and taken one way oor totally another. I am trying to be clear on this.

So you would butcher a perfectly healthy tree?? Tut Tut

I am talking domestic customers not commercail or park trees. We are also talking topping healthy trees not Tree Surgery on ailing or damaged trees. I have only ever done domestic work and topped trees in that enviroment are bad, ugly and serve no purpose. They need maintenance, which isn't always guaranteed, so it shouldn't be an option where there could be kids playing under it in years to come You can do what you like to tree in the right enviroment provided you can justify that to yourself. I personally will give up tree surgery before I top a tree, full stop. If you would rather see a tree chopped in half with no branches at the bottom of your garden with the odd grub or two in the rotting stubs, than a nice Acer, then IMO you need treatment. I haven't deadwooded any trees in my wood, only over the access road where public walk. That is the right enviroment to try to extend the life of a tree where there is no public access.

Correct Matt, sorry mate, I wasn't thinking along those lines. That's a very good point. He could always carry a book with him?

I always tell the customer that if you are thinking of topping a tree then that tree is too big for that lacation and should be taken out and a smaller tree species planted. That is of course, after explaining just has you have done, the alternatives, ie Crown lift / reduction / thin etc. It's nice to see you have a conscence I personally have never to date topped a tree I have taken new growth off topped trees and topped Leylandii, but I have lost many jobs because I have done as you have and explained the rights and wrongs. All I say to the customer is that asking a Tree Surgeon to top a tree is akin to asking a Mechanic to cut and shut a car, some will do it but reputable ones won't

Know what your saying but IMO all trees work basically the same and have nearly all the same reaction to bad pruning, sticking to basic training etc 30% rule, they all feed, drink and sleep basically the same, rot basically the same, yes some diseases are specific. All I'm saying is don't panic, tree ident is not a big deal, don't try and learn it over night. If I come across a specific problem with a specific tree, I reference books, I don't try and keep everything in my head. There's not enough room! :wave:

....and a 4 stroke Allen

Have a look here http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=20537#post20537

Basically....... no! If the saw is playing up take it back and ask them to replace it.

There's enough hooligans with big tackle (Mechanical) in Brighouse thankyou

I would end up eating them, this is todays bag. Please note the "proper" Car in the background Mr Ed :wave:

Trees are a bit like Humans, you don't need to know their name to operate on them, color and creed is a factor you don't need to know too often. As long as you know how they work inside out and how, what you do to them, effects their health It'll come in time, there are so many,what I call garden varieties, it takes a very long time to learn them and their varieties.

Thats Sadism

I'm hoping to get the upper grant, but it would still nowhere near cover the costs, I'm waiting for them to contact me to arrange a site visit. My yard is literally the other side of the motorway to your Bradley yard, literally 200m away

Paul told me he had fitted twin webbers to it!! ...and he was thinking of turboing it.

Good idea!! What for filming steve in action. Be good that, filming level with the crown.

MS170 is also great for cutting large discs down the middle, with it only being a thin blade, not as much shavings

I have a brand new car immobiliser with remotes kicking around somewhere, might dig it out and look at the wiring diagrm, should be a straight forward switch open switch closed for the immobiliser Can you just picture it, a remoted controlled electrified shipping container