andrew

Apologies if this is stating the obvious, but if you have a longer bar on your 550 then try it with a 13" before shelling out for a new saw - you may find it much less tiring to use. A.

Don't think Carrs do LOLER, though they do have names / cards for a couple of people who do, think one of them was Terry McGovern - http://www.treeschool.co.uk/ ( don't know / haven't used him though ) or you could try Vince Cainey, might be a little bit far away, but could work if he had another job near you. http://www.atwortharboriculture.co.uk/Contact.html A.

I suspect a court might rule that the hypothetical notice was invalid, as Mr A clearly intended all along to remove a specifiec tree(s), and therefore the notice was not a reasonable representation of that intention ?

If you don't need anything too huge, could try Roy Francis Hire Bushwackers - Roy Francis Plant Not cheap (but don't expect anyone else is either) but not too far away. A.

I've been wondering about this too! Have replaced spings and bands on various stihls without problem, but haven't dared / needed to open the chainbrake mechanism on my 346 yet!! Even if you can put the spring back, if the chain brake is on, how do you re-fit the side cover ? Is it possible to operate the chainbrake by putting something in the little 3 toothed wheel ?

try treesource :- Treesource Tree Health, Disorders & Hazard Assessment

A cheap padlock ??

You say the garage is new - how new? If the pear is much older it is unlikely to be the (main) culprit, and also the garage should have been designed with foundations that were deep enough to allow for some seasonal change in soil moisture content - *if* it is clay soil. So really it is the garage owner / builder / designer's problem , not the tree or tree owner!

Normally self employed people pay Class 2 and class 4 National insurance. If you are only doing it as a sideline, you probably don't need to pay class 2, which is the fixed amount per week bit, but you need to fill in a form and get a "small earnings exemption certificate". Might also want to check doing this doesn't affect benefits / pension, but think it is ok. Class 4, the % bit, will come out in the wash with your income tax, but budget a bit extra for this! some info here: HM Revenue & Customs: Class 2 National Insurance contributions

Bump!! Still stuck on this one, and should get back to the owners ...... Looked at the HSE guidelines i could find about chipper safety, but was mainly the stuff from a few years back about roller fed chippers (which is what i'm familiar with too) and retro-fitting stop bars. Obviously the modern " gloria " type hand / gravity feed machines have at least a big red button to stop them, would this now be required (probably a good idea even if not ....) on an older machine ) ? Thanks A.

Does anyone recognise this machine?? Came across it while helping someone with some estate work. Also - are parts available - manuals?? ( I should be so lucky!?) - is it missing a cover on the shredder out ? - and a chute on the chips out? - what kind of emergency stops would a machine like this need to be legit these days. - are they any good? worth spending money to service / tidy / sharpen it? any info gratefully recieved - got very little from google searches! thanks

Could try Rob Blake near bridgewater - did some training for CS38/9 with him a while back. Rob Blake Arb Training - Bridgwater, Somerset

Took these at w'birt in autumn 2004 - wonder if it was the same tree? mature pine nearish to the entrance to the old arboretum if i remember right! sorry, can't find any with more of the tree to give context:

I've done a little bit of this, and sometimes wonder if there is a market to do it as a sideline to normal tree work. You are probably best to find a theatre / events lighting company. You could then either just hire the stuff, and set it up yourself, or work out some sort of collaboration. They should have suitable kit, along with cables with outdoor connectors etc. Should also all be PAT tested (electrical equivalent of LOLER!) - saves you from hassles and liablity on that side of things. If you are going the fairy light route you would need 1000s of them, but could look really good. Alternatively just uplighting with floods or outdoor par cans works well, tho then you can't charge for climbing! Also think about colour - could use gel (coloured filter sheets) - lighting hire co. should give you a sample book, or there are some neat colour changing LED lights out now, tho not sure how many of them are outdoor rated. Keep it quite simple, pick one or two ideas and go for it, rather than trying to do lots of different stuff which will look messy. A.

Saw this on the BBC, don't think anyone has posted here, and thought it might cause a few smiles - or heckles ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7791155.stm the content didn't load properly for me, so if you don't see anything, try pic: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45312000/jpg/_45312329_pudding512use_still.jpg short vid: http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/2_8_6928_7030/9player.swf or http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7791499.stm Also - if anyone is passing through Melksham (Wilts.) lookout for Santa in a MEWP - in lights!! sorry, didn't have a camera with me, and not likely to go back that way in time. Andrew.