Taupotreeman

For me it depends on the tree and my safety. Around my area there are also a lot of massacred trees. Heavy topping etc etc so spiking up them isn't going to cause anymore damage than has already occurred through bad pruning. I know that's a pretty feeble excuse but what's the difference between hacking the top off a perfectly good tree year after year until it's rotten to the core, and putting some spike holes in it. No point trying to look after a decidedly sick tree when the land owner can't see sense, take it out and replace it with something more suitable. We also have a lot of big gnarly Poplars that farmers want the tops hacked off to be used as shelter belts. Same reasoning applies.

I studied at Riseholme college back in the late 80's. There were still some big old elms around the grounds there but the Forestry dept was in the process of removing them all as most were dead or half dead. Would have kept some of the fires burning for a while as some of them were huge.

There's a famous case of a chap in prison that had a laurel growing outside his window. He managed to extract the cyanide from the leaves and poisoned the guards before making his escape. I can't remember the full details but it's something along those lines. Try standing in the back of a chip bin full of freshly chipped camphor laurel. Sorts out blocked noses instantly.

Sorry to jump in half way through this thread and I'm afraid I haven't read it all but can some one tell me when it was first obligatory that you had to have qualifications before you were hired? I trained in forestry and conservation at an agricultural college in Lincoln before being hired on as a trainee climber back in loughborough. I never had any qualifications in arb until I came to NZ and needed them for residency. Everybody before that took me on with a probation period while I proved myself, no quals ever really asked for. As for who is better, old school or the new brigade; I've seen the bad and the good in both. The old school boys knew how to make the most of the lesser tools they had, bearing in mind the improvements in gear over the last few years, but some of the new boys seem to expect the gear to do half the job for them and if a piece of gear is left at home they're stumped as how to get up the tree without it. Mind you, a lot of this new stuff sure does make the job easier. Three strand rope with three strand prussicks that locked up in the wet? Not anymore.

Did several local council garden clearance jobs back in blighty before I left. Long grass, washing machines, wasps nests, the usual sort of stuff. The worst part was when I was strimming the gardens and I would hit a pile of barker nests which would be sprayed everywhere by the strimmer and then finely seperated by the face visor on my helmet. Picking bits of dog doos out of your teeth, eyebrows and hair is not fun and the stink seems to hang around in your nostrils for ever no matter how much you shower. Personally if the garden was full of the stuff I'd just move on to the next job until it was cleaned up. It can be a health hazard and I don't quote to clear up turds before starting the job. If it's just one or two I'll shift it myself but I'm not making up for the dog owner's bone idleness. Mind you, tramping it through the house to make a point sounds good but if the garden is in such a state what's the house going to be like and would they even notice?

Forgot about the steering box. Mine leaked aswell but I put some of that metal compound stuff on it and it seems to have stopped the leaks. Sunroof leaked, rear windows don't work, cruise control pleases itself when it comes on and when it doesn't but just like brewx1; if it died today I'd buy another in a heart beat. They cost sweet fanny adams over here and if you get a jap import they won't have the rust. I put up with all the odds and sods that don't work just cos I love landrovers. If you can get past all their little foibles they're a great machine for proper 4WD drive work and real comfy too. No worries about getting stuck in a muddy paddock, unlike some of the toyotas and stuff that have that pretend 4WD system.

Do you think you'll still be allowed to climb them if this Kauri disease gets a real good foot hold? Apparently it's starting to run riot up in Auckland and Northland and there's a major panic on over the future of these giants.

Oh Dear! Renowned for blowing head gaskets. Give the radiator a thorough draining and clean out, and replace the thermostat. I had a thermostat seize up on me, blew the top hose and emptied all the water out of the engine. Blew the gasket clean out. Also make sure that it isn't one of the models with the computer system located just above the rear wheels. Get it dunked in water and it'll blow the electrics and computer. Mind you, better than buying one of those wheezy BMW deisel versions eh? Don't worry about the petrol; I have an old 3.9 V8 Disco and I love driving it so much the fuel bill doesn't bother me in the slightest. Plus, cos it was a cheapy it doesn't matter if it gets bashed around and used for carting saws and stuff to those jobs in the middle of a paddock. Had a Surf before which blew a gasket and the gear box so wouldn't buy another japper anyway. If it puts a smile on your dial life's all good.

some of you guys really do amaze me with your skills. Wish I was half as nifty with my imagination.

I worked in Oz for 11 months and boy, is it hot. You don't realize just how hot it is until you start working in it. We had two days at 50 degrees out in the west of Sydney and it was almost impossible to move never mind climb. The snakes and spiders never bothered me but the ants, especially the bulldog ants, were horrendous. They're worse when they have infested a tree and you then have to dismantle that particular tree. I had ants quite literally in my pants and dance I did. The Ozzies are a good bunch though and there's some cracking scenery but it all looks a bit brown and very Gummy. If you need an easy start point, Asplundh and Treescape are usually looking for workers and it might be easier to get into the country with a large firm then look elsewhere once you've got sorted. From my personal point of view it's NZ all the way. Greener and just a little more acceptable temperature wise for an aging fella like me.

If they can't find a big enough harness they'll just stick him in an EPV. Plenty of them out here, mostly 20m booms so all good fun.

If he can do the job he'll be fine. Asplundh has a drug and alcohol policy so he'll need to be clean too. If he can communicate well rather than mumbling and it's obvious he can think for himself he shouldn't have any issues. Just because they're a big company they're not all suits. Most of the guys there in the upper ranks have all done the job so they know what they're looking for and he'll probably end up being interviewed by a General Manager or Project Manager. The government has also just introduced a 90 day trial period so a company can hire someone on and if they turn out not to be able to walk the talk so to speak, the company can offload them no questions asked. This way a company is more likely to take a chance on someone as if it doesn't work out they don't get lumbered with that particular employee.

Electro acupuncutre. Tenses and then releases the muscle so helping to stop the muscle going in to spasm. Sounds a bit freaky but after doctors, drugs, physio and chiroprators this is the only thing that worked for me and I haven't had an issue since.

According to Mr. Bolstad (if you'd seen him you'd call him Mr.) the worst injuries occur not to the feet but the back of the legs or the back. He reckons he's seen a guy miss the block, swing right through and have the axe hit him in the back. He also reckons the injuries are quick to heal as the axes are so sharp they make a vey neat cut and can be stitched together easily, unlike a chainsaw cut. He's also seen a guy go through the back of his leg when he glanced of a block. Same thing, no major damage but quite a neat incision. I turned up on a site with him a couple of months ago and his young lad was practicing with a full size axe on some Poplar lengths. I reckon his lad is about 5. Must be in the blood. No chainmail socks neither.

Funny this topic should come up. I'm working with David Bolstad on Monday. Anyone who doesn't know who he is; do a quick google search for him. He also drives a mean skidder. I can ask for the gory stories and report back.

Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and Departmen of Conservation.

Ahhh, a man after my own heart. The further away from people the better sometimes. The 100% mortgages went out with the financial crisis. It didn't hit us as hard here but there were several people who got themselves up to the eyeballs in loans to develop sections and houses and then couldn't shift em when the housing market plummeted. Since then the banks have been shy on giving out the 100%. I think it's up to about 90% with some banks but you'd need to have a pretty good credit record. As for DoC and MAF; you have to get a job with them first and the vehicle and house thing depends on where you take the job. I'd imagine there'd be a few in the wop wops as there is plenty of unadulterated land here far away from people but it's just a matter of finding those particular jobs. Sounds like your best option is to come here and have a look, see what's about and work from there. The bonus is, if you find any job in one of the smaller rural towns house prices will be way cheaper than city living.

The days of the 100% mortgage are long gone I'm afraid. It also depends where you are living. If you are in one of the cities or large tourist areas then it's always going to be a little more expensive than everywhere else, hence the reason we moved out of Auckland. The gear, for the good stuff, is more expensive here. Boots, trousers, harnesses etc. If you have good stuff already just clean and disinfect and bring with you. You probably won't need the holiday. Once you get here you won't be leaving I doubt. I figured when I got here in 98 that I'd get residency and move to OZ but they don't call it god's own for nothing here.

Yes, there is an Arb industry and last time I looked there were plenty of jobs advertised on trademe. The big outfits like Treescape and Asplundh are always looking for staff but be careful you don't just become a number. The wages aren't great; a top notch climber at the bigger companies (last time I looked) were offering anywhere from $18 to $25. There may be some changes to that but you have to know your stuff and you'll have to prove you're capable before you get paid that much. Mind you, that might all have changed now but talking to guys who still work for them that seems to be the norm. Probably best to negotiate a start wage and then get a review after you've had chance to prove yourself. There's lots of smaller outfits about that are usually looking too as they seem to pick up oversees workers who are here on a working holiday. Once the worker's visa runs out they need new staff. Once you're here you'll realize that money isn't everything and a lot about NZ revolves around the lifestyle. BRING YOUR GEAR WITH YOU.

I always wanted to work as a park ranger in Canada or somewhere so did a course on Forestry and then another on Conservation. When I left college I realized that all the work in Conservation in the UK was pretty much voluntary and if you wanted paid work you needed either a couple of years of volunteer work or a degree. I couldn't afford to work for nothing while trying to pay off a student loan so hooked up with a company in my home town of Loughborough doing tree work not too long after the guy had set up. It was all a bit rough and sometimes a bit dodgy but I had a lot of fun and it was a very fast learning curve. After working for him and a couple of others for four years the travel bug bit. The arb industry got me to Australia, back to North Wales and the finally to NZ which is now home. I don't know how to do anything else now but like tree man tom; I couldn't get behind a desk now unless I was forced into it.

Here we come!!! What advice do you want? I could go into paragraphs of details but bore the daylights out of everybody. Do you want advice on living here, working here, moving here, how to do a Haka? Or do you just want to know if it's worth the effort and cost to come over to work for a while?

Those guys in the vid were just messing about with it. Grab a big branch, walk it up onto the feed tray and then carry on walking as you push it in. Easy. They really are easy to work with when you know how to use em and you don't have to stand there waiting for the first branch to finish chipping before you can throw the next one in because they go through so fast. I suppose it's like anything; it's just what your used to working with. If you think the one in the vid is bad imagine what the V8 version is like. 16" in feed apparently.

There's a reason they have the nickname chuck and duck. If you're still holding on to the branch when the blades grab the other end something is going to get hurt. Same when you feed larger branches; you have to put the branch in and walk off to the side. None of this hanging around at the back. They are no more scarey than using a chainsaw for the first time and once you get used to what you can and can't do with them they're sweet as. They also churn through branches like you wouldn't believe and like I said before; production is high. If you ask the Yanks or most people who worked for the likes of Asplundh they probably started on these and are quite happy to use them because they know HOW to use them without becoming dogfood. They look evil but believe you me, if you want to get rid of branches fast then this machine does it. And rally, who thinks if they get sucked into a disc chipper, is going to be quick enough and agile enough to pull the emergency lever. Plenty of people have gone through them before but you have a bit more respect for one of these things.

Awww, c'mon guys. I have one of the older Asplundh chuck and ducks because I couldn't (and still can't) afford anything better. A second hand bandit costs about $20,000 upwards where as the drum chipper was $8,000. I learnt on these things at Asplundh in Australia and as long as you are careful about feeding them they do the job just fine and dandy. No hydraulics to go wrong and a 4.0l straight six Ford engine so as long as the blades are sharp it'll take stuff six to eight inches no sweat. My groundy can't keep up with it when it's at full bore. OK so if you get caught up in a branch you're probably going through but there's enough people gone through disc chippers to negate the safety arguments. Just don't wear loose clothing or something that can catch (like your climbing harness). If it goes wrong it's easy to fix and spares are pretty easy to get for the engine as it's basically a car engine. Because it's a bit bashed people think twice about tail gating whcih is a bonus. Had a few whacks around the ears, neck and back but if you're into a bit of S&M you get used to it. It doesn't like Ivy and vine or really bushy stuff like Cryptomeria but otherwise it's been worth its weight in gold. Don't knock em till you've tried em.

Been in to the opticians 3 times in the last couple of months to have seeds, sawdust etc removed from my eyes. Anti fog glasses seem pretty expensive to me so has anybody tried the ESS Advancers and if so do they work (as in not fogging up)?