Chris Sheppard

How can it degrade fast wrapped in a plastic bag? Biodegradable plastic or not it's going to hang around for a while

By the time you've done a bit of brashing and cut off the obvious dead and skinny then chances are you're about right at first thin IME. It's amazing just how much better it will look after a prune. Chances are the field maple and hazel will never make decent crop trees anyway. Really depends on what final outcome you want.

Not me, but saw it go over. We had it back on it's wheels in a few minutes and running again within the hour (would have been quicker but gave it time for the oil to settle)

Or hanging the bag in a hedge - nice

Not seen that one before but Technorton used to do a similar machine as they had one on a local estate. Had it been built better it would have not been a bad machine. Never going to be as quick as a normal processor but if it's cheaper to buy it might offset the slower production time enough. EDIT: Just seen the second video from a different angle - looks pretty much just a saw and elevator with a splitter bolted to it - shouldn't be too bad to put together using off the shelf models.

Guessing you're not at S.T's any more then Nat?

I really like the idea of the Alstor and have been looking at them on and off over the last 8 years or so. I understand the economies of scale, but I really just can't see why they retail for so much. I realise it's not a particularly great comparison, but I've always liked the idea of the Vimek 606. It looks to be a productive small machine too, but is more expensive at £70,000 ish. But despite the extra cost I can't help but think it looks the better value for money with having a bigger crane, reverse drive, full cab, more robust tyres and a diesel engine as standard. Talking to Caledonian at the APF they reckon there are operators in the UK managing to legally move them on trailers behind a normal 4x4 (just). As a lower cost (and admittedly less agile) alternative to an alstor, I think a small 4wd tractor (an alpine or kubota/iseki etc) and one of the driven Vahva Jussi trailers with the new extending crane would be a useful little tool and the tractor could come in for other stuff too, from skidding to running a splitter etc. I got a bit sidetracked in my previous post - I don't have anything against using Horses and if it came across that way it was unintentional. From what I've seen there's little mechanically that could deal with the sideslopes that a horse could. What I do like about machinery though is it can be parked up and forgotten about if need be, whereas a Horse can't. Totally agree with Nathan's last paragraph in the post before this

I like that The problem I have with scientific/accademic findings like this, is that no two sites are ever going to be exactly the same, and figures can be made to say whatever you want them to. My approach to softwood thinnings is usually Logs and chip/firewood and where possible forwarding straight from stump, fast in and fast out with minimal handling. Worst case is skid, convert and then forward. Chip is at the highest it's been round us and pretty much makes it not worth bothering with bars or pallet and especially not fencing blanks as they are too fiddly to bother with. Our current machines are all under 5ft 6 wide and tread lightly - we were recently leading timber off of a scheduled monument and made less impact in 3 days of forwarding than another contractor did in a couple of passes with conventional tractor and a teleporter. On first thinnings, generally timber's going to be small enough to hand stack everything without too much bother so minimal rack cutting needed, by the time second thin comes round we can usually ride right through the stand. I do think the low impact motor manual methods have been making a bit of a comeback and there is a wide range of kit out there to do the work but before long I don't think there is going to be the men on the ground to do the work well. Plenty of colleges churning out supposedly ready made "tree surgeons" with enough tickets to fill a pack of andrex, but clueless when it comes to cutting efficiently in the woods, but then how many of them really want to chew their nads off in the woods?

No sign of it here yet. Our local dealer doens't even know anything about the 543xp that's been talked about on here yet either.

Youch, no mid christmas trail riding then?

What about mixing smaller batches? Sure I've seen some bottles where you put like a litre of petrol in and then top up to a mark with 2 stroke oil. Bit of a faff but a whole lot cheaper than Aspen

Dunno, most of what I've used with it in's been older saws. Reckon you'll be fine though

Home made Carrot and Corriander soup for starter, Followed by Turkey Crown, proper sausagemeat stuffing, pigs in blankets mashed carrots, cauliflower cheese, roast taties and roast carrots, swede and parsnips. and then some sort of home made fruit crumble for afters. Me and Mrs cooking it between us - Mum's off her feet still after knee replacement so her and Dad are coming to us this year.

We've never put our on rats, don't think it's a right nice thing to do really as I'd half expect rats to retaliate a bit more than a rabbit. Did have a big Hob who would probably have done quite well though.

They are awesome, and make a fair bang if you fire it down a decent bit of steel pipe apparently................

154 is good going 1m Newsprint - There was an estate round us still cutting that as little as 8-10 years ago. Never encountered anywhere else doing it so don't know if it was always as big diameter as they did but I didn't fancy shoving it through the peeler all day and hand stacking like they did.

From my fairly limited experience, yes it's doable. Once it runs nice on Aspen it seems that you just need to adjust the tickover when swapping between. Really did like the smell of it. Our local Husky dealer used to be half sensible with Aspen price so it found it's way onto arb jobs a bit. Not any more though as too dear

This thread is ace Only skimmed through the last 10 pages (and for some reason can't see most of the videos) or so but seems like people are falling into one camp or the other. Plenty of posts I agree with but too many pages back to quote them all I'm still of the opinion that there's a time and a place for cuts that aren't perhaps conventional and am unlikely to change that opinion just because some people don't like it. I think location/situation/type of work play a big part too - on an arb job, where not only there's as likely to be more targets but the vehicle is likely to be closer and most importantly the job will have been priced to reflect the tree, you are likely to have a bit more time to deal with the tree. Out in the woods where every stick counts, given the choice of either trekking back to the truck to cart a tirfor/lugall or go and drag the tractor over, I'm going to be looking at other options before that which could get the tree down on the floor quicker and if I felt that there wasn't a safe way to do it without mechanical assistance then I'd get mechanical assistance. I'd like to think that nobody's going to make a cut if they weren't sure of what was going to happen.

That's why I like bank side work - crash, sned, repeat til out of fuel and then start again - roll an odd top out the way and leave the stacking for the machine once the wood reaches the top later on

Taking into account the bank and the fact they sound like they need winching up to the top before forwarder can lead them out, I reckon it's going to be somewhere mid £20/T to roadside - could be miles out though without seeing it. IMO Tonnage is the only way to go to avoid any potential arguments later on - volume is too easy to manipulate to sut either party. I'd be more inclined to go down the standing sale route - gives you more control and takes more hassle off the landowner. Bit more of a gamble as markets can change mid job but on the whole will give a better return with less earache.

How long's a piece of string? Are you quoting to the owner to do the felling and extraction, he'll pay you and sell the wood himself? Or are you looking for a standing price to pay the land owner and you'll market the timber?

Sounds like a guy I used to work for.

Hopefully finish tomorrow and back on the second or third. There's more to life than working right through Christmas

We loaded one up onto a dropside transit before usign a combination of the old Botex and the loader tractor - it was only a 300 series crane and couldn't manage the whole thing off the ground no matter how much riving Was only a little pug 205 as well.

I think it's a good idea for places like shops and petrol stations where people will just grab a bag on the way home. One of those firelighters in their own wrapper and it's a complete night's fire pack