Rupe

For them to clear them up they would have to come onto your property so this is unlikley! I guess you would have to clear them up but you could give them back to your neighbour, for them to dispose of them. You could take this to the extrem and just throw them back over the fence/boundary but do you really want to casue friction with neighbours? It can't be classed as "littering" because leaves are a natural product, in no way can they be considered litter!! In the same way as an apple core thrown on a verge is not littter. Just get on with clearing them up. I'm sure you wash your car and hoover the carpet.

Have you been shown how to make a throwing knot with your rope, or "handbag" as we used to call it?

I get 20-25% off everything stihl? You should haggle!

In fact Lister wilder are good for getting deals on saws and parts but that is it really!

They used to do mine but the price went from 12 to 20 pounds a pair in one move!!!!! I had used tewkesbury saw before with my bandit blades and others so I went back to them and they had got cheaper!

Will they collect them from me for a pound? I'm not driving to that Tewksbury, its rough as up there!

I use Tewkesbury saw company. They do my TW150 blades at £3.00 each, a bit more if they are really blunt i.e. one sharpen £3.00 but to go over them twice £6.00. Simples. They collect/deliver mine for £1.00 each way cos they have avan that goes to the industrial restate where I am each week. So I send 3 pairs at a time costs £20.00 bargain! I guess the postage costs woudl be higher for you. Here thye are Tewkesbury saw company, Suppliers of woodworking machinery and tooling

I would possibly guess that maybe the "spikes" comment was a potentially, slightly sarcastic remark! Don't you think?

Yes I agree, and for the record I don't think you or any of us are not doing the right thing. I don't think we should be more insured, I wish we could all be less insured and just not worry about it. We just need to insure (ensure) that we don't screw up in the first place. Reasonable steps is what its all about! Will bear (or is it bare) you in mind if we get anything good.

Thats £2.50 well spent!

I hope I'm wrong and just taking my nit picking too the limit. Genuinly sub contractign out work to companies who provide all the stuff for the job must be ok surely? But I think if the companyh subbing it out are actually satelite installers (just my example) then they would find it difficult to prove that they knew what they were doign when passing on the contract. Remember that by definition sub-contract means that the original company are still part of the agreement from the client and therefore the first port of call in the event of something going wrong. The only 100% way to be sure is to allow the sub contracting company to deal direct with the client, therefore you are stepping outside of the contract. You could still be financilly rewarded though but that would be a seperate arrangement, and quite legal. The client would take responsibility in deciding whether or not to go with the company you suggested, whereas in a sub contracting scenario you have not allowed the client to be involved in that decision. I would like to hear it directly from an insurance company though. Not much rigging jobs coming up. Have been doing lots of Poplars recently but none of them were particularly interesting/difficult/complicated.

Throw a line to another tree miles away, then attach grapnel to line with a prussik loop, let the line drop down the other tree and grapnel goes accross, give it some flicks and it hooks the downside of the throwline and pull it back. There you have a line to another tree you can tightrope walk accross. Now I'm beign a knobhead, I should go to the pub!

Stevie... Have you ever seen the grapnel in action? Its v.clever but american and therefore gay! You'd love it.

Not that easy in the tree, and doesn't improve your climbing technique either.

Knob heads! How does that help a guy learn to climb a tree in his spare time??

I think tree cutter stu meant, throwline into the top of the crown, install rope and footlock up it. That is what most of us would do, but it requires practice. Plane are quite easy, Poplars and hairy limes are the hardest! For weighting the end of your rope a heavy throwbag will do. It might not seem heavy enough but it will help. THrow bags come in a range of sizes. Most climbers have a light one for thrownig and a heavy one at the other end of the throwline for positioning the line. Get one of the heavy ones clipped to your line it will help. I think if the limbs are small enough to get a 60cm sling round then you would just climb up them? Slings are no good for climbign large trees. IMO they are for positioning high in the crwon or at limb ends.

Dean, can we have an update? Have you manged to mount it ok etc?? Do you look a prat with it on!?

Reg uses a seperate camera/recorder, but they are both designed for the purpose. They cost a lot more (500 ish) but that is about the same as this one would cost once you've added a camcorder. The one Dean has just got is looking very good for the money so far.

Another things that beginners tend to do wrong is to follow the trunk up the tree. Sometimes you can climb branches to get you higher instead, but this brings you away from the trunk which can be unnerving. This often works best on Lime trees though! Big throwbag clipped to the end of your rope is best IMO. Or throwline from the ground, doesn't need to be high, just higher than the difficult bit!

Recording device not included.(e.g. digital camcorder, MPEG4 recorder, etc) Its a camera lens but not a recorder. Image resolution not great and feild of view 92 degrees is ok. BAttery pack is seperate from the camera and then you need a camcorder shoved somewhere too..

Go for the lightweigh pole extensions if you can. Same price but much lighter. The handbook says no more than 2 extensions to be used but we have managed 3 but only just, it gets wobbly at that length.

Definatly! Unless I'm not a proffessional which is a possible argument!!!! I take mien out to nearl yevery job, just in case but it doesn't get used every day. I have bent one extension pole in the last 5 years, not the 1m extension but the one that comes with the saw head which was cheap to replace. Get the biggest 4 mix engine unit, lots of power. The chainsaw attachment is the same as the one that comes with the pole pruner, and all the hedgetrimming attachments are the same. The poles may be a bit more flexible and likly to bend if mistreated, but as each section is replaceable its not the end of the world. PLus you can get the blower attachment and that will fit in the roof box too. The blower is actually really impressive!

I have been giving this some thought!! In the first examples I think you are correct, but if you are insured for groundsmaintenance and you completely sub out the tree work-are YOU insured to sub out tree work?? Would you be insured to sub out satelite installation or anything else you chose that you didn't fully understand? In the example in the fourth paragraph above, I think it is still a grey area but I hear what you are saying. The guy is offering a complete service and his own rigging gear and insurance. Whos on the other end of the riggign line?? That person has responsibility for the lowered sections and the climbers safety (not letting run/ swing backs etc). If the guy provided his own groundy then the area is less grey......but, what if his guy is busy lowerign and your guys allow a perosn or car into the work area which gets hit then its your responsibilty agian. Another problem is that you would still need to check all the tickets etc. Anyone can get insurance, that doesn't make it valid. And unless YOU are qualified to carry out all the work, how can you be qualified to check tickets etc? Another example: A grounds maintenance company "subs out" a rigging job to me and they clear up. I tell them I'm insured and show them climbing tickets and insurance certificate. I don't show them a rigging ticket or loler tickets because they don't know such things exist and don't ask for them and for the purposes of this example I haven't got them! I damage a load of property and my insurance isn't worth the paper its printed on. The groundmaintenance company try and claim on their insurance and there is no chance cos they shouldn't have been doing that kind of work. Do you see where I am coming from?? I'm not suggesting you have done anything wrong, just made up scenarios. There is very little "grey areas" where insurance companies are concerned. They will or won't pay out, there is no maybe pay outs.

No. You would need the combi system which is more versatile IMO. You cna get the same size engign as you would for the pole pruner and lots of accessories. Its is slower to adjust to different lenghts though.

I agree with Dean. If you buy a house with a significant tree then you should look after it in the same way you would look after the house for the duration of your ownership. In some case the tree(s) will actaully add to the value of the property, if providing shade/privacy as long as it doesn't cause damage/obstruction. I have often explained to people that cheap tree work can cost £££'s in devalueing the property. Often I am explaing this to people who have nice cars and will happily pay servicing costs even though the car is depreciating in value quicker than enything else they will ever own, wheras good tree care will increas ethe value of the trees/property. My biggest gripe is with poeple wanting to remove trees due to the leaf drop which makes them have to do something on a saturday!!! They will wash the car and walk the dog but not pick up after the tree!! Muppets. Morgtgage company surveyors are the worst though, any cracks in a wall and the nearest tree must be removed prior to purchase. That saves them the effort of investigating the structural quality of the building - blame it on the tree, tick the box and go home early!!