Bob Rolfe

a good start is to get your nptc cs30,31 38,39 these should get you a foot in the door and will only start you as a trainee its a quick learnig curve at the start and if you get with a good firm that gives you loads of experience within around 3-4 years you should be competent with some people its a little shorter and some its a lot longer depending on your aptitude but seen as youve got a sound knowledge of working with ropes and harnesses you may progress quickly i myself started with rock climbing in the late 70s when i was a young boy. if you do get a few knock backs stick with it and you will get the rewards. this it the best job in the world its hard work you get saw dust every where you go and you smell like a rugby players jock strap after work but its worth it

i think theres a difference between being cheap and being competertive you pikies are very cheap and sometimes they take every thing away from the site but joe bloggs doesnt aways realise that its going to be dumped around the corner turning up to price a job dressed well and being competertive shows you know what you are doing are that you are going to carry out the work in a professional manor this can sway a few quid here and there in your favor. Its a case of are you going to buy your beans at aldi and have a bitter after taste or are you going to buy then at asda.

just things that are no nos that certainly wont get you another job and some that will give you a head start once your foots in the door i know christreeroot gives leaflets out to inform potential clients on good arb practices it shows good will , you know what i mean anyway dont you ?

i have some tips that i personally work to is there any more out there that i dont know about 1. Most important LEAVE THE SITE CLEAN The client most probably doesnt know anything about arb but they do know a dirty site when they see one 2. Dont swear on site 3. Wear all your ppe, no jeans, hivee vests if needed, helmets and if youve got them wear corperate tee shirts 4. Be polite and informative dont loose your temper what ever 5. Try to leave a land based number as well as a mobile 6. Try as hard as possible not to damage any plants

when your on holiday abroad suns up waters loverly and you cant wait to get back to work i know im sad

once had my wicked way with the lodgers wife after they had an argument he was on the settee down stairs i thought he was asleep so i sneaked up stairs, he wasnt asleep and we got caught that was bad enough but he was the brother of my brothers gilfriend you wouldnt believe the b***ocking i got off my mum, my brother, his misses and well every body really except my dad ! it was a long time ago but i cant remember my dad havin to much to say about it he just smirk ps this was a long time ago before i got married still im glad my misses doesnt go on arbtalk or that would be another belated b***ocking :blushing

i remember once watching a mate of mine in a tree about 10 yrs ago using screw gates and his saw strop came undone and fell off flying through the air it banged onto a telephone wire snapping on to it then it proceeded to run off down the wire into the middle of the road ... very funny to watch but damed hard to get the thing back. still laugh at it today

me too i like to experiment with a little mushroom magic in my cookin

Exactly same here i give mine to who evers on the ground to help cutting up

right im taking the pic of the bear ste to copy thats a good one you do good work mate

screw gates imo are a big no no, even on the saw. if your in a tree movin about the gate has a tendency to rub against other objects, yep in the tree you have an obligation to your own safety to keep checking your equipment regular. but sometimes your mind can and will wander thinking about what youve got to do to finish the job. screw gates come undone th ey do its a fact ive done it myself and ive seen it happen to others. on one occassion a friend fell out of the tree from about 30foot fortunaty landing on his feet but it was still a good spell in hospital, your saw costs a lot of money and so does a hefty compo claim if your saw comes off your strop sam0e again done it myself and seen it done on others. get rid of the screw gates there only good for keeping your keys on, hanging rope up with or stopping your combi can from falling over.....if you take anything from arbtalk bin the screwgates!

done a few like that peter the best one was on worsley green it had a massive cavity in the base but a good 5 inch of wood left around the outside so i thought what the hell lets go so i got my gear on and off i went whilst on my accent one of the lads decided to kick the other side of the cavity it caved in and turned to dust so i was left with a 3 foot tunnel at the base of of my 45 ft lime over the road. I tried lowering the first limb down but this cause the tree to sway way to much for my liking so i got the lads to stop the traffic and dropped the rest in the road. I fancied a more controled decent other than the one the tree had in mined for me got it done though it made my backside twitch a little and yes id do it again because thats why we all do the job it makes you feel alive gets the heart pumping and it gives you something to talk about in the pub when youve had a few. youve just got to know when youve gone a little to far and slap yourself a little for even contemplating it lol

right mate this is something i know a little about well ive been fixing and building the thing since win95 and working with them before win3.1. there is a general consensus that macs are the best at all things graphic ie desktop publishging, photo and video manipulation and 3d rendering and so on also they scored great marks on music creation. this was correct and if you was into any of these industries then you had a mac full stop there was no debate. but with the development of faster and cheaper hardware and the development of software to match the hardware this has not been such a clear cut answer. there are champions for both sides. my personal the pc beats the mac on all accounts. a pc is faster buck for buck. if thing gos wrong with it theres more advice to be found because there are more of them. trust me if you have a problem google it and you will find the answer as 4 million other people have had the same problem. the software is more diverse, not all software is compatable with macs. hardware upgrades are cheaper like for like and due to new and ever increasingly proccessing power the macs and the public can never keep up with the changing hardware.

when youve been up a tree for a couple of hours or so and you turn around and twenty or so people have turned up to take pictures for the scary money shot then you pose

when your bath after work looks like cock a leaky soup Your phones got more tree pics on it than pics of the family People know your name and your occupation but you cant remember them cause you was bladdered and you talked to them all night about treework The wife knows which rooms you went in after work Tree books in the toilet

when your bath after work looks like cock a leaky soup Your phones got more tree pics on it than pics of the family People know your name and your occupation but you cant remember them cause you was bladdered and you talked to them all night about treework The wife knows which rooms you went in after work Tree books in the toilet

i did a job once with christreeroot on an estate cuttin up some old limes that had fallen over chris remarked that there may be some reindeer on site. oh yes there was deer..... and wallabys and larmas never worked with larmas before and probably never will again curious creatures lookin over your shoulder whilst youve got an 880 cuttin log half expecting to get gobbed in the face. and the wallabys one albino just wanted to play with his manhood and stare at you with bright red eyes.. looked like something out of doctor who or something. good times :

got no chipper or van but ive got every think else if he needs help ill have a bash im in salford and i need to get my arse off the grouynd ive not climbed for a week im gettin a little tetchy

i cant the foresty commision have only just planted them, i think im goin to have to import a log from another gang and my weekend work seems to have dryed up a little over the last week or two. although i have got my eye on a poorly cherry its dyin off a little. i eyed it up the other day and im sure i heard it gulp like a farmers turkey at christmas

not a problem im learning all the time but next time carve a dam bear the eagle is a little complicated to do maybe and good stumps to try on are a little thin on the ground for me

i would look at the breather on top of the fuel tank they break and fuel leaks out into the air filter its happen to me a few times and ive sent them to be fixed but i wouldnt mind knowing how to fix it my self because its a common fault if you drop the saw into conifers the twigs go under the air filter and damage it. bothe mine are broke with the same thing....doh

if its a black pop you got know worrys there fun to climb and theres loads of places to tie in and there not as snappy as the hybrids or white pops. they hold a gob brilliant and if the winds blowing in the right direction you can direct branches upwards putting the gob on the top of the branch defying gravity but dont try this if your not confident or theres stuff to break underneath. another thing is its nice to see someone reducingh a pop and not bloody topping them they look real good reduced you can get good shape on them and they look even better the next year topping pops looks really naf and imo is not necessay most of the time.

HEADS! or .....oops sorry lads my mistake

ive got a carving bar and to say ive not done any before is not quite true ive carved a 3 foot penis out of the base of a tree i felled. it was asking for it the gonnads and all were already there i just adapted it l wasnt allowed to leave it though cause it was on the main street though the estate so i cut the bell off. It made me cringe a little when i did it. A mushroom is a good idea though cause its eventually will go on some wooded land i maintain

carving. Never done it before but wouldnt mind giving it a bash and i foot really know where to start i fancy doing a bear at first or something similar anyone got any pointers