Mesterh

As Skyhuck and Roller say get a job with a company to get some experience first mate. Having tickets and climbing equipment doesnt make you a tree surgeon, many years of hard work and dedication to the job do that. As for £80 a day, you would have to be fairly decent with at least a couple of years experience to get that money up hear. Good climbers can get around the 120-140 a day mark but usally only on specificate jobs, you aint gonna get that for droping a few 10 foot conifers . I aint trying to be negative but ALOT of people dont realise the skill involved in doing proper tree work.And I've seen too many Plastic tree surgeons. Good luck anyway mate.

Funny you should bring this up because i was asked about the lagalities on pruning felling trees in the nesting season. I just sort of waffled on abit then side stepped the question since I'm not fully aware of legal stuff. If i get halfway through a conifer hedge and find a nest (only pigeons mind) with eggs or very young chicks then im sorry but most of the time its gone. If there older chicks then i will leave it till theyve flown.

Dunno about that I know someone who's jenson snapped in half while he was towing it Good job he wasnt tonging it down the motorway. Chassis on both sides around the mud guard area just snapped, think it was only about 3 years old, the machine looked fairly mint aswell.

Looked like a 3 day job to me the way we do it over here. Its great having the men/equipment and most importantly the access to do a job that quickly only as long as the work keeps rolling in.

I would have thought that the type of tyre (tread or grip) is way more important than whether it is single or dual wheel. Whenever I've been stuck in a field its the front that sinks the rear duals just turn to slicks and your going nowhere.

I've used a 190 tracked Timberwolf that was fairly good It was about a 2004 model I think but we then used a brand new one that was awfull. They had changed something on the feed roller design and it didnt like pulling in any size branches unless they were straight.

Lol yeah i tried that but they seem to have a life of there own and move about as im climbing and end up in a not a very nice position I did try the harness on and also threw a rope over a beam in work (I could return the harness if it didnt feel right aslong as it was kept clean)to try being suspended in it, It seemed comfy at the time it is only when moving about in the tree that it starts squashing bits that i would rather stay intact For that reason i think trying one on at an arb show wouldnt give a true reflection on how the harness would be when using it properly. It's like when you tune an 020 in the workshop, it only starts cutting out and playing up when its actuallly being used.

What type of gloves are you fellas using? I've never found any that either fit properly or provide enough grip.

Full chisel with plenty of files at hand, and the odd spare chain.

I think I'd go for the thicker stuff tbh, surely the extra weight etc cant make up for having to wear gloves.

Well I gotta say I'm sry I bought this harness now:cussing: Cant get the thing to be comforatable, In the words of my brother "This was designed for a woman" Unless there is some magic adjustment that i havent figured out its either going on ebay or I'm gonna get an OP and be called Susan!

Just wondering whats the benefit of 11m over the old 13mm?

Yeah I know what you mean there but any heavy stuff(axe,wedges,felling bar and tools etc) go in a tool box under the seat or on the floor behind the front seats.The only thing put onto the rear seats is wet weather gear(need lots of this these days ) and sometimes the odd harness,rope etc. Saws allways go on the back of the van, which I suppose I shoulda explained a bit better. Spoken like a true employer and not an employee I Reckon that you probably loose less than about 100kg by the time youve added the extra seats but deducted the extra weight of the body etc.With some decent lightweight sides you can easily get 5-6 cube in the back.

It was abit like a security blanket Lol yeah your probably right but the older I get the less I wanna do I wish! Tbh some of the worst climbers I've seen have all the latest gadgets hanging from there harness, somehow they hope it will improve there climbing!

Gotta say theres some very nice looking equipment there. Makes my stuff look well err like very poor to say the least:bawling: But! without looking through the whole thread again I've noticed that you all prefer single cab trucks against double cabs. Tbh I couldnt/wouldnt buy a single cab as a main truck, there's just not enough space to get a 3 man crew in comfortably never mind all the gear. Horses for courses etc but whats your opinion on using single cabs? Apart from housing a third man we use the double cab to store tool boxes and equipment that isnt allways in use but very handy when its needed. Can also save a lot of effort in throwin climbing gear on and off the back when in not in use.

First a big thanks to everyone for all the information and advice given. (very much appreciated) Second I've got a new harness now, a Treeflex Tried it out today, well sort of, if you count taking down a 25 foot leylandii:laugh: Allthough it was blowing a gale so that must account for something (just wanted to get it dirty tbh, new gear makes you look like a newbie) Seems alot more comfortable than i was expecting no squashed crown jewels thank god:scared: but allthough it looks very well constructed i doubt if it will last 12 years like the willans, loler inspection or not. I'd prefer a bit heavy/more durable webbing and add an extra bit more weight than go for super lightweight but thats just my opinion and im sure most of the new designs follow the same lightweight design. Anyhow thanks again and i hope i dont change my mind when it comes to a real bit of tree surgeory! Cheers

If you do get pulled and they ask if the cargo is wet say no. you are allowed something like 10% for it getting wet ie pissing it down and adding to the weight. I'd be suprised if most, if not all tree lads are running around way overweight on the vans.Our LDV (soon to be replaced) is 2.6 ton unladen and can carry about 2 ton of chip and 2.5-3 ton of log. Way overweight espec when pulling a chipper but hey what ya gonna do. Cba with a 7.5ton and all the operatores license etc.

Tbh most of the time while im in a tree I dont sweat that much compared to doing groundwork (I must be a slow bloody climber ) but I cba carring 2 pairs of pants about in the summer. Allthough if this year is anything like last year then i wont have anything to worry about

Tbh I have read that article but which is to take priority? I'm guessing the afag308 but why the contradiction? you should either be required to wear type c or not. Two different guidelines from the same place aint doing any1 any favours imo. Thanks for the input though always appreciated, and interesting to know what others use.

I used to climb in front protection only huskies myself and only bought the hiflex because the arse didnt constantly rip out of em Its just that atm we are constantly doing more and more commercial work and are having more and more talks with project site managers on what we can and cant do:banghead: If any1 has worked for Balfour Beaty or Lang o'rourke then you will know what i mean.If we were just doing domestic stuff then I would deffo buy some freedom type A. Allthough i still might just do that and carry a copy of the HSE guidelines about since thats what we are supposed to work to!

I've just been looking at those sip type c not sure if they have 5 or 6 layers, I cant find there web site any1 got a link? Thanks :wave: Yep that about probably sums it up, no one gives a fook till theres an accident then the fingers of blame come's out.Or is it "the of blame"

My brother has an original skybelt (Svensk Tradvard) is the cresto the same but with the added sliding D ? If so I might try and talk him into buying one then try it out

With the super quick replies and info I've just got I thought i would also post this here too Hi all, A quick question about chainsaw pants .As far as I'm aware if you use a chainsaw in a tree you are "required" to use type c pants. Now looking at this guideline from the HSE http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg317.pdf it would seem that it is only "recommended" that you use type c (all round protection) if your an arb or an occasional user. I'm hoping that some1 here can elaborate on this a bit and give a definate yes or no to needing type c while climbing. The only reason im asking is that its time to buy some new kit, harness rope and some chainsaw pants and the Stihl hiflex i have atm are definately pants! :thumbsdown:so if i can get away with something like the sip freedom or stretch air type A then i will. Anyhow any info at all would be very much appreciated. Cheers

Cheers for the info fellas. Theres not that many arb suppliers in Liverpool and i could really do with getting a harness b4 any of the arb shows start. If/when i do buy something and if I end up reverting back to a willans ill post the ebay link for ya all

Looks like its time to hang up the good old willans (T22) , Well it has served me for over 12 years The problem is do i get a new T22 or go for something totally different? I was looking at something like the treemagic,treemotion or treeflex but the last time i tried a harness without a seat I sounded like Aled Jones for half an hour So I'm hoping that some of you fellas who have been long term users of sit belts can give me some advice on whether i should stick with what i know or try something new. If I had the time i would go and try some out b4 buying but you know how it is never a spare 5 mins when your self employed. All my climbing is done using the prussik and life line system ie i dont use flip lines, so i spend alot of time suspended and this is where i had the pinching problem when not using a sit belt. Anyhow any advice would be very much appreciated. Btw I've also posted this on another forum but since this is a UK one I hoped it would be more relevant here , I dont want to annoy any1 thats why I'm adding this bit in. Cheers