Taupotreeman

The first pioneers felled most of the big Kauris in NZ with axe and cross cut and yes, the dams were used to send the logs from the high points down to collection points at more managable sites. The terrain and bush in NZ is pretty rugged. There are still some of the dams up in the Waitakere ranges west of Auckland, or at least there were, and there are a couple of old pubs around, the main one being at Puhoi, which is full of old saws and pictures of the original pioneers that cleared the forest. They managed to get down massive Kauri so I can't see any of todays trees being a problem in the slightest. I also worked with an old fella, Kieth Wadkin, who had some choice old photos of him doing tree work with axe and cross cut. The boys in those days new a bit about hard labour I'd say. Still haven't found that nuclear powered chainsaw yet so what do people plan to use in the future?

Just wondered what we will use to cut trees down once the oil reserves are depleted. Will we revert to axe and crosscut or has someone designed a solar or nuclear powered chainsaw that I haven't heard about. Sometimes the old ways of doing things shouldn't be discarded....... just in case.

That's exactly what happened at the large company I worked for. The bosses said if you're not happy or confident doing the job then call someone else in that is, someone with more experience. As soon as people started complaining that either the safety gear wasn't up to spec or they were being sent out on jobs that were way beyond the individuals experience the boss came down like a ton of bricks. Some employees had a few words in their ears to the tune of; do the job or you'll be looking for another. The staff turnover was high and the company didn't mind too much as they new there were plenty of other eejits out there that they could train up to do as they were told and not ask questions. We lost a lot of good guys through this. A prime example was a crew that was sent out to do utility clearance. The EPV tests were out of date, the crew had NO experience in line clearance, no communications etc. I sent them back to base, rang the boss and told him to send out a line clearance crew. Next day the first crew turned up on a different part of the netwrok under a different manager. They'd been told; go out and do the job or and don't say a word or you're down the road.

One of the things I miss about Ol Blighty is the abundance of goodies in hedgerows etc. I haven't had Elderflower champagne for yonks and srumping for old english pears and apples was great. You could fill up the freezer on free stuff with the addition of the odd bunny or two. Too much 1080 over here to consider eating rabbit when you don't know where its been feeding.

Now that's a fine idea.

Crikey, first time I've experience that on this forum. Page kept reloading.

Oooh Oooh 10.09 ............10.10!

does it count because it's the 11th here in NZ?

Here they all come, thick and fast now. Still six minutes to go according to my clock.

Can this forum handle everybody trying to reply to the one post at exactly the same time or will it just freeze up?

If I was on the computer at this time on a sunday night the missus would do her nana. Shouldn't you all be tucked up in bed leaving me to win the prize?

Before starting up on my own I worked for a very large company that had an all singing all dancing H&S policy. Problem was that it was only to keep the department of labout happy and once I tried to put it into place with the staff those above me basically cut me off at the knees. Turns out that the order of importance was: Profit, Productivity, Image, Safety. Trying to implement the H&S as detailed by the powers that be eventually cost me my job. I was given a few options before taking redundnacy and one of those options, off the record, was to shut up and get on with the job. There will always be a boss that says one thing but thinks another.

I'd have a couple of concerns. One being that I was always taught not to use saws above shoulder level but the second is that some people may view this and, despite the warnings, would have crack at it themselves without the experience or knowledge and cause a serious injury or fatality. We had a guy here recently that tried to fell a leaning willow. He didn't get the gob cut right, didn't get the back cut right andf the tree barber chaired, speared back and landed on him. Busted lungs, shoulder, chest arm and intensive care and induced coma for several days. If it wasn't for the marshy ground he was working on and the fact that he sunk into it when the trunk hit him he'd have been a goner. Having said that I'm sure most of us on here have done something similar at some time in out working lives to try and get the job done quicker.

you are all feeling verrrrryyyy sleeeepppppyyyy you will all be asleep by 10pm.

It's OK for you lot but I've got to get around the time differnece, day light saving and all that codswallop. Yeah yeah, I know I can jsut Goole the time in London but it's still not the same as looking at your watch is it?

Good job I just upgraded my broadband allowance seeing as I'm going to spend the next couple of hours on here.

As with firewoodman; anything you can put through the books, put through the books. The business pays for wife's fuel in her car. All new clothes etc go through, lunches, morning coffee, insurance, anything you can. My accountant sorts out what's what but even if I go away for a weekend break the accommodation gets put through as a business expense. Because I was made redundant without much notice I had no money saved to set up so it's been a long hard grind but the extra time I get to spend with the wife makes up for it. You suddenly realise that there is more to life than work and I found out how much I'd been neglecting my home life just to try and keep my bosses happy. And that's the other thing; you don't have to take orders from some eejit that doesn't know how to do the job himself. If you cock up there's noone else to blame but yourself either so you learn quickly not to take the short cuts. Allow for more expenses than you think. I didn't realise just how much it cost to run your own company but even taking all that into consideration I wouldn't go back unless I was desperate. Don't be frightened to ask for work if you are short, you'd be surprised what you can get from local authorities if you have a good relationship with them.

So far I've tried the Klimbas, Meindles and Elten aquafells. The Klimbas I found good for dismantles and take downs if you're on spikes all day. They are a very stiff solid boot and very comfy. They can be a bit big for smaller trees with tight crotches though and I found myself getting my foot stuck all the time. I can't speak highly enough of the Meindle airstreams. Waterproof (so far), comfy, warm and excellent for climbing in. Still stiff around the ankles which means excellent support but they are a lot tighter in the toe than the Klimbas which are better for bigger or wider feet. As for the aquafells; I'd leave those for people who just want to do ground work. They started to fall apart after a couple of months and they feel more like a pair of old slippers; comfortable but all floppy around the edges and they offer little support.

I went self employed just over 3 years ago after being made redundant (constructively dismissed) from the last company I worked for. I didn't have much of a choice as to what I did because I live 50kms from the nearest decent size town and jobs are thin on the ground. I still live month to month although I am starting to get a network of regular clients. I was on a good wicket as a manager at the last company so I probably earn a third of what I earnt then but I'm a hell of a lot happier working for myself. I just wish I new about this forum back then and had been able to ask the questions I so deperately needed answers for. So far it's been a massive learning curve, especially as I'm starting out late in my working life, but I don't regret a minute of it. For the newly self employed I'd recommend spending as little as possible on gear until you know you have a regular work base and do as much face to face advertising as you can. I get pretty much sweet fanny adams from my paper adverts and yellow pages and most is from word of mouth. Don't just do a good job do the very best that you can and the customer will come back.

Aren't I lucky that it's a monday morning here in NZ and it's blowing a gale and persisting it down so I have nothing better to do than sit in front of the computer and clock watch. So when do I get locked out or told it's only open to the locals?

Is this open to us foriegners?

I tried a pair of Peltor ones but the recption was bad and the constant interferance evry time I moved drove me nuts. I now use a MP3 player and just stick the earphones in under my normal ear defenders. Works heaps better.

I have two of the last kiwi made swannis and they're excellent for out and about stuff but a bit heavy and thick for climbing in. I use them for ground work or for wearing over just a tshirt in winter as you don't need anything else. They are now made in China and although the company reckons they're of the same quality you can draw your own conclusions from the usual stuff that comes out of China. Not sure if Swazi are still kiwi made either as there was some kerfuffle last year about them maybe going under or selling up. Be careful you don't get the lined swazi jackets as you sweat like a pig in them and then freeze to death. Anything that's made from 100% wool or preferably merino wool should do the job but don't expect it to be a lightweight climbing jacket.

Try a saddlers or something similar. I put my braces through the wash and as soon as I tried to put them back on the leather bit just broke. I took em into the saddlers and they sorted me out a new set for about the equivalent of a fiver. Anywhere that sells horsey stuff should be able to do it for you.

I have managed a few women when I ran part of the arb division of Treescape. One of those was Crissie Spence who is a dead set legend. A few of the other girls were all good workers and more so because they wanted to prove a point to the lads that they could work just as hard as they could. Unfortunately we had a couple of idiots at the company who saw the girls as nothing but eye candy and a few of the more promising ones didn't stick around to take the rubbish the idiots threw at them. If the ladies lacked anything in strength they more than made up for with technique and they had a tendancy to think more about the job first rather than charging in like a bull in a china shop. You don't have to be built like a brick outhouse to do the job anyway. The more the merrier I say.