kipperfeet

39 has no where near as many questions as 38 so that side should be a beeze. Just get comfy before you take the brake off and cut. Enjoy.

By far the most hard wearing boots i have ever had those. even longer lasting than Haix Pro. Already got some though so two pairs is just greedy.

Nice one little tree, done well as there's alot to learn on the new schedule. Here to doing the 39 training. Remember, work positioning is everything and keep them hands on the saw! Enjoy.

Did the assessments on Saturday and, actually they went very well. The pole rescues where actually fairly straight forward and all were good, probably because the instructor had had a full day spiking and rescuing during training. The assessment schedule seems to run pretty smoothly and, in my mind, is quite alot more comprehensive than the last. All questions were relavant and it is pretty smooth running in the way that is laid out. Alot more work involved for the candidate and a heck of a lot to learn if people are completely new to trees and only doing a five day training course. i think a few will struggle to be, both good at the climbing at learn the background knowlege with out being very dedicated during there training and the time prior to there assessment although we always try to assess within a week of the training. I have some 39 assessments to do next weekend so it will be interesting to see how they go. Still wondering how we will find the trees to do the upright sections? Might have to save standing stems for this and do it off spikes. It may slow down the assessment having to climb two trees but we will see. All in all, not bad:thumbup1:

No, i am useless and clicked submit twice then couldn't work out how to delete the second one:001_rolleyes: A cunning second use of the chimney though! A friend of mine once told me that someone left the cork on when boiling and the cork expanded and the kelly kettle exploded! Not sure how true that is but it would make for an exciting cuppa.

Aahh, comprende. Thank you very much, i can now stop taking up space with my computer bloopers!

Cheers for that. Where is the delete button though Skyhuck?

Sorry to ask the simple but i am a bit rubbish on computor tech stuff. How do i delete a post i have put up? i keep posting twice by mistake! And how do i quote other people but only small paragraphs or sentences and not the whole post? Thanks

My brother bought me one of these for by Birthday a couple of years ago:Woodgas | Camping stoves And it is absolutely fantastic. I use saw dust off the saw with a tiny bit of either birch bark at the bottom, or some fire lighting fluid if i have it withe me, to get it burning if it is wet. i suppose you drip a wee bit of saw fuel on as well. Plug the little battery pack in and it is like a mini air burner. Boils a kettle much faster than gas stove, it is free fuel like the kelly kettle but you can also cook or heat what ever you want. I take in the woods when felling all the time now. and it is free other than two aa batteries, but i haven't changed them since i have had the stove! Trouble with the kelly kettle is its only good for boiling water, although it is great that and its a bit big.

My brother bought me one of these for by Birthday a couple of years ago:http://www.woodgas-stove.com/woodgas-stove/home.php And it is absolutely fantastic. I use saw dust off the saw with a tiny bit of either birch bark at the bottom, or some fire lighting fluid if i have it withe me, to get it burning if it is wet. i suppose you drip a wee bit of saw fuel on as well. Plug the little battery pack in and it is like a mini air burner. Boils a kettle much faster than gas stove, it is free fuel like the kelly kettle but you can also cook or heat what ever you want. I take in the woods when felling all the time now. and it is free other than two aa batteries, but i haven't changed them since i have had the stove! Trouble with the kelly kettle is its only good for boiling water, although it is great that and its a bit big.

Hard plastic things sometimes have a habit of breaking or getting squashed. Over the years i have used a dustbin, shopping trolly, old ladies type shopping box on wheels, airhostess suitcase and a TD 1 (transportation device) which we made for getting brash through buildings while working in European cities. Admitidley, the first few didn't look too proffesional! I also used my Mountain bike and an army bergan for a couple of weeks on one job. Still use the bergan now but something to fit the fuel can and felling levers in would be ace, very cold hands at the moment carrying them in to the woods.

Believe me, good pictures are sent to them and they are asked when ever we are doing interesting stuff to come out. Did a crane job demo for students a while ago, and it should have been video'd but they didn't want to leave there office!! There is a poster on a wall in the Preston cinema with a guy climbing on a three strand rope and full body harness! Shocking, and they get told but never learn. Very annoyed and they will get shouted at this time for making a mockery of the hard work that staff put in. Battle on and do your best eh.

Wow, sweeping statement! When did you last visit the college? Be carefull, please dont make your general statements without any knowledge of the work that goes in to trying to keep college students up to date and real world to get them fit for the industry! Especially over a picture that a suited marketing bod approved without consultation! Don't want an argument but think before you are sure about something when actually you are guessing!

Just thought i'd better pull this one up quick! The marketing team at Myerscough have a magical inability to communicate with the rest of the college! Myerscough has been using Edelrid helmets prior to the legislation and recomendations of the revised AFAG guide. Unfotunately Marketing keep putting these promotional type things out without consultation from the Arb staff. If you see some of the pictures, there are people still wearing full body harness'!! Rest assured the trainees are up to date in all legislative ways. There are still old style helmets in use for chainsaw and felling because to replace 40 helmets in one go at £100 a pop! Decided against the Kahn (stien now) and the starwars things from a factory in Oldham due to robustness and looking silly!!

I usually take the whole kit up in a rope bag with pockets and a draw string closing top. cut it by taping the cobra tight and using a very sharp knife to cut the taped bit. Two climbers is so much easier if it is multiple braces and we don't usually put the shockers in, it reduces the breaking strain by quite a surprising amount due to the sharp diameter change from the two ends of the shocker. Two people really helps getting the tension too.

I use a 3m New England flip line but with open eyes and attatched a maillon and a captive eye steel krab. Use a distil with a small edelrid pulley behind it and its been spot on for quite some time. Only use it on take downs though.

Will keep you posted bob, if i get chance tommorow afternoon i might do two then, if there ready and the other two on Saturday morning. It seems to flow pretty well so shouldn't be too much different. There does seem abit more for the students to do though, what with the idents if they are completely new to the job.

We had that problem in a small stove we had in the tipi over new year. The chimney was well chogged up with black gunk and bellowing smoke in side. Took the chinamans hat off the top and it was an amazing difference. The draw was 100% better and it burned a treat after that. May be chimney pot change might help?

Good luck with it littletree, good fun eh? You doing the training in Bridgewater?

Yep, i agree Kev, we have always trained for pole rescue's but never insisted on it during assessment. I will see how the assesments go on Saturday. Just been making an ident booklet up, but will wait for the leaves to return and make a really good one with pressed leaves then. Having read it through properly now it is full systems go, they don't have to do rescue A any more, just B and pole rescue. Good as i always thought that A was a bit pointless if they did B anyway!

Ha, good story that. My old bus never had such an exciting ending, although it did have a late night, slightly tipsy race around a field at a trade show at Highclere castle one. It got bought by a mad as a hatter old, slightly upperclass excentric English lady thet lived in the hills in Wales, and turned up to buy it in an absolutely battered old subaru 1800 estate that was full of hay, stank like a farm yard, and i kid you not, the two wings were tied on with bailing twine! She test drove mine by pulling out in front of truck, driving up a kerb taking to 95mph on the dual carraige way. I cacked my pants!! How the hell her car got to Oxford From Mid wales i will never know? She left it with me for a week and took my car home and sent her very annoyed son to fetch the death trap of an 1800. I bet my old one is right old shed now. Yep, good car that. Buy one now, it will do your job well.

I had a 1993 subaru legacy estate a few years ago. It was a 2L non turbo and never put a foot wrong. I worked out of it and went sub contract climbing around Germany and Austria in it for a year. Loads of room in the back with the seats down and long enought to sleep in, the 4x4 low range came in handy a few times and was fantastic on the mountain roads in the snow. Pretty damn quick when need be too, travelled back from Vienna to Leicester in about11 hrs including the ferry! Was doing 120mph most of the way through Germany throught the night. It drank fuel though so i would advise to drive frugally and there not to bad on petrol. Shame Subaru never did a deisel engine really. Good wagon if you can find a good one for cheap money. The Foresters are getting more affordable now as well, i know a few people who swear by them and the extra ground clearance would be very usefull in the woods. Get one with the winter pack, heated seats etc!!

An interesting and intelligent thread that seems to be taking the industry head on. Good call that man. Just to a follow up to the excellent bit of investigating in to the number of members of the many organisations supposedly representing our industry, Lantra (the Sector Skills Council for the envronmental and landbased sector, of which the trees and timber sector falls under) sums up the industry according to there 2007 skills assessment as follows: (just been redone in 2009 but i can't download the report for some reason!) "The environmental and land-based sector comprises 17 industries across the UK, representing in excess of 235,000 businesses and employing over 1 million people. Within the trees and timber industry, it is estimated that there are over 10,000 businesses employing around 30,000 people. For the purposes of this document, the term ‘trees and timber industry’ includes the care and management of trees, woodlands and forests and the production of wood and timber products, and is comprised of many different types of businesses including arboricultural, forestry establishments, forestry harvesting and timber processing. It should be noted however, that a proportion of trees and timber businesses will be actively involved in more than one area – for example, one business may predominantly undertake arboricultural work but also be involved in forestry establishment operations. A survey of Scottish forestry and arboricultural businesses published in 20031 indicated that around 10% of companies worked in this way. Of the remainder, 60% worked solely in forestry and 30% in arboriculture. Within England however, it is estimated by the Arboricultural Association that some 15,000 are employed directly within arboriculture." 30,000 people working within the industry! What they have found is nearly 90 of the companies working employ, less that 9 people, an 40% employ no full time staff. That means one heck of a lot of companies doing, pretty much the same thing! I know alot has been said so far on the interactions between the vast amount of organisitions involved in Arb and forestry, but the simple fact is, the lack of communication and the inability of people to take responsibility for any positive action is failing to keep the industry a sustainable and economically viable option to work in. Which surely must lose us credability in the wider picture? I, like others have a fairly diverse knowlege and experience of the industry but gained in a relatively short time (12 years) from dragging brash in jeans and trainers, climbing abroad, training, assessing and the retail and service provider side of things. None in Consultancy or L.A. although i also did do a foundation degree but just for the fun to keep me noggin working really! The amount of people working in the industry, even in the short amount of time i have worked in it, seems to have increased masively. A scan down the yellow pages shows that, and all are out to make a living. The root to keeping the industry viable, in my humble opinion, surely must be the youngsters. Those that are time served, self employed hard grafters are already making a good living and will never change thier opinions of those that write the rules. The many that set up small contracting companies will bicker and scrap for the same old work. How many companies actually do replant, or try to pursuade a customer to replant after a tree is taken down unless it is protected? The reason why the Woodland trust wins the massive share of members is because the majority are interested in looking after the land and not Arboriculture as an industry. The problem that Lantra have had is actually engaging the normal Arbs (you and I) in working out what is best for the industry to take it forward. No one is interested deep down, they are just interested in there own agenda's. (I speak for the masses, not the few on here!) New legislation, NPTC, industry best practice documents, sector agreements and policies etc goes out for consultation and the few people that bother to respond either do so negatively or wait until it has been passed through and then have a good old winge when its too late. Modern apprenticeships from larger companies, like the Forestry commission used to do all those years ago, would surely get rid of the need for all of these one man bands setting up now, chasing the big bucks, and under cutting the small amount of work there is. Sure the colleges are bums on seats and will capitalize on it like 99.9% of everyone else, but they only do so because they feed a hunger from the youngsters for the fun we all desire. It just isn't sustainable. So in answer to the original questions - yes the industry does have an overinflated opinion of its self in the wider picture, because there are so many people pretending to do the job for the greater good but too caught up inthe little Arb world of politics to make a massive impresion on the real important wider picture. Of course non arbs manage trees without us, we have gone round circle as to best practice on the actual health of trees (not H and S) in a hugely short space of time And the country has been managed according to the current needs for thousands of years. We are merely custodians and all that! I think the Forestry commision is an organisation that should be involving The bigger companies that do the real essential work. Utilities and highways etc. They keep the country running quietly in the background and creme the profit for themselves, that has the nock on effect to the Arb and forestry contractors. Quite why the Arb industry is not more involved in such a powerfull organisation is probably because no ones got any bollocks to do it, and thier to busy argueing amonst themselves. Our local beat forester round here has a fantastic job and is doing wonders to regenerate a terrible FC strategy from years ago with monoculture forestry and terrible biodiversity in to an area worth living in. Like he Humbly says " i can play god on the landscape and do it my way for my interests" How good a job is that? Right, i'm off to Arbjobs to look for jobs in the Forestry commision!

:thumbup:no worries john, whats your day rate for sitting on spikes while people climb past you and then manhandle you to the ground between there legs a few times a day?

Any one any ideas what 20-25 ton of birch would be worth? Not to sure wether its worth selling roadside, or keep it and fire wood the lot for next year? Its all about 8-16" and straight enough to run through a processor.