Taupotreeman

Just turned 40 and enjoying the work more now than I did when I was younger. I have my days where I cant be arsed but generally speaking I get my weeks exercise in one day, I'm outdoors and I stay active. I also find I don't suffer so much from the neck and back pains I did when I was managing. If you feel young enough give it a crack. What have you got to lose?

Hmmm, tie this in to the youtube video of the idiot using two saws at once one handed and we can see what might have happened. Looks like the quacks did a good patch up job on him though, hope he's better soon.

Perhaps a bonus with an old drum chipper. Had a rope fed through by a groundy while I was still attached up the tree. The blades just cut the rope off once it pulled tight because there's no fly wheel for it to wrap round. Not something I'd want to happen again though.

Not so much with the ring barking around here but plenty of people with drills and a large supply of roundup or grazon. Had a guy caught with a funnel in a bore hole in a large Pine that was blocking his view. He'd just gone back to get the roundup when the next door neighbour snapped him with her camera on his way back to the tree. Unfortunately nothing could be proved. It seems to be a regualr occurence in these Parts.

Skylotec for me. Pretty happy with it so far but can only compare it with the Petzl mini boss I had before.

I think it's almost bred into them in and around the lake that tree must be topped because they must have that view. People pay a lot of money for million dollar views and if there's a tree in the way then they want it topped. I can never understand why they planted the thing in the first place instead of something that wouldn't grow to a height where it interfered with the view. Most people want to see the lake with the snowcapped volcanoes in the back ground and a tree in the way is but an annoyance. Most have them done every year or two and the local council actually have it written into there district plan that the trees are allowed to be topped if there is a situation wherby it might interupt a resident's view. I've tried for 3 years to try and get them to change the plan to no avail. I had to top out some Oaks and Birch quite recently that have been done before and all of them are rotting badly through the old cuts. The Birch especially has hardly any solid wood in it. I suggested taking it out but the councillors don't want a bar of that idea. In the end I get frustrated wasting my breath and I'm not in a situation where I can turn down the work.

Ahhhhh, I don't feel so bad now. Thought I was wasting my breath with some customers, doing my damnest to talk em out of topping but getting nowhere quickly. I always try and tell them of the issues caused or resulting from topping but in the end most have made up their mind what they want, end of story. Refused to do a job for a guy the other day that wanted some Douglas Fir and Pine reduced down to 10 feet from about 50 feet. Was right on the side of the State Highway in full view of everyone. Fortunately he came back to me asking to discuss options.

Working for a customer the other day and saw these. The first couple are privately owned and the second are council. This is the type of thing many customers (including council) are wanting in this area in order to maintain views for residents. What I'm interested to know is; if you would do this kind of work, if not how long would you refuse before relenting, if at all? Most customers in the area are wanting trees topped like this and are happy to move on to somebody that will do it if you aren't. Including the council, this makes up about 60% of requested works so far so would it leave you with a moral quandry?

What type of Palm is it? Cordylines will come back, just leave something green on it but I'd like to know what species it is.

Definately not Liriodendron. Looks more like Acer.

Glad to see Health and Safety is a high priority, yeeesh. Apparently the Belmont Tower in Lincolnshire sways 6 feet at the top in wind. That's 1276 feet up I think. Not sure I'd wanna be free climbing with that kind of sway and at that height.

If it's anyhting like NZ i'd take your climbing harness and more expensive bits and bobs and also take chainsaw pants. I'm not sure if you have to use chainsaw protective gear when climbing (it never used to be compulsory) but the choice of chainsaw clothing was pretty poor. Very much the Clogger type of gear and I've already had a saw cut straight through a pair of these so if you've got good stuff, take it. Wouldn't bother with anything like type c though cos you'll melt if you have something that's too thick or has a heap of layers.

Can't speak for the UK suppliers but I'm pretty sure I've seen them in the Wesspur catalogue. They're based in the states but the service is pretty good.

Never mind the timber, good job he didn't run into the mog. When I worked for Asplundh carrying out line clearance using an EPV we had heaps of people trying to ignore the stop go signs or walking through the taped off area. A small chunk of wood thrown from the bucket usually sorted out the problem. Never actaully hit anyone but certainly gave a few the hurry up.

Just had this problem with my Stihl pole pruner. Turns out that the gearing splines were worn out through trying to cut more than hedges. They're not overly expensive to replace but if you pull the head apart you should be able to tell if the gears are cream crackered.

I have one too but they're no good on concrete (if it's the same type I have) and they can still be unstable if you lean too much at the top. Still good for fine pruning on the ends of branches on smaller trees though.

Geoff Mackley was in Turangi a few years ago and I've been kicking myself ever since that I didn't take the time out for a yarn with him. I reckon he's got one of the most interesting jobs going. i truly am jealous of you going on this trip. Hope you guys have an awesome time bro, really looking forward to seeing the pictures etc.

Boy, do I now have a dose of the green eyed monster. That would be a trip of a lifetime. I still remeber seeing Geoff Mackley going over the erta arle or however you spell it. Thought then that it looked awesome. Can't wait to see the pictures.

What's the female equivalent of gonads of steel?

Well, the guy who did the deadwood dinosaur has been busy again. This is his latest sculpture.

Volcano trip? I hope you don't mean up Ruapehu. It's persisting it down at the moment.

I see a lot of posts that say the lines are insulated but a lot of them aren't they are just weather proofed. Also, it only takes one point of contact from a branch or part of the tree to rub through any insulating cable that may be around the line to render it useless. People working around so called insulated cable are more likely to get a belt because it seems safer to work around them. The only stuff that works well is a neutral screen which is wrapped around the actual live conductor. If you have no skills or experience with powerline work then leave it well alone or get it shut down. I've seen too many horror videos and worked with too many people that have had to deal with fatalities from cocky arborists who didn't show enough respect. Sorry if I've offended anybody but I'm more interested in saving lives.

Useless info;The Pine tree is the one used for the name of the U2 song One Tree Hill (off the Joshua Tree)

I don't have a website link but you could do a web search for details of the lone pine on One Tree Hill in Auckland, NZ. It was attacked twice by some nutcase with a chainsaw, the second time he got about half way through before the tree sat back on the saw. The guy was arrested but the tree couldn't be saved and was taken down a few years ago. It was an iconic land mark in Auckland but (and I might not have my facts correct here) it was a bit of a sore point with some local Maori. The tree hasn't yet been replaced due to arguments over what should be planted. Anyway, enough waffle. You could also do a search under the Maori name: Maungakiekie. Some of the other NZers on here might be able to help out or I do have the details somewhere for the guy that did all the reports and consultation for the removal.

Stihl Hi Flex. Seem Ok so far but took me ages to find the velcro pockets. And yeah, the backside does seem very thin. Not sure how long they'll last.