Rupe

I say go for it. A mans got to have a project. Whats the worse that could happen? It turns out to be rubbish? Never mind sell it on e bay or put the tipper back on.

I had a quick go with your method the other day day Marc and the Rads bit works well as it has done in the past but adding the footloop to the ascender does not work IMO. YOu are lifting yourself on the footloop then takign in slack when the whole point is that the rads system allows you to keep a taught line and have a 3;1 system. The footloop negates these two points, I still don't get why its needed. Rads is perfectly good for its purpose. Srt using frog method is great too but for different purpose. rads with footloop still seems to be neither.

All things in small stages. Start with one pantin and exhaust the limitations of it before addign any further complications. (IMO)

I'm not sure thats really "self tending" its works but you are still having to pull the rope through the knot, just so happens that its all done with the same movement that is pulling you up the tree. I find true self tendign only really happens when quite high up and walking back in on a limb. The vt has gone slack enough and there is enough weight of rope below you. If the vt is self tending while pulling yourself up a vertical rope in free space away from the trunk then I would think that the vt is too slack and might not grip in an emergency. This scenario is where a pantin on one foot is a great help, it saves burning your arms out. Against the trunk or on spikes it is still usefull but maybe not as much. If you are in free space with spikes on then its even better because footlocking the tail end is not possible with spikes, or if it is its not much fun!

Yes, it works well, as long as there is enough rope below to pull the slack through but it doesn't need much. Can be put on over spike too. Is very handy but you'll be using one leg too much and you end up not just pullign the slack through because one leg is stronger than both your arms you end up usign your leg strength more.

It says over 750kgs... It look like an old PTO chiper with an engine taken from something else bolted on the side of it. You can see some kind of fittings where the engine should bolt into a gearbox or clutch casing.

Er yes, what you cut might make a difference and milling is the dustiest thing you can do!!

Good enough, but for easy maths replace 7:1 with 10:1 and metals for ppe should be 10:1 also. My previos calc was wrong then you were right swl 600kgs for that thing. Still a bit high IMO. Anyway of you go by the straps 10% of the MBS would do. For the money it looks good to me, I've used home made stuff, still have one somewhere and never worried about SWL and stuff much, just use your common. Sound liek brian is still goign to be natural crotchign anyway so that takes alot of the strian away form the device and into the rope which will probably break before the bollard does.

Its all the same filter isn't it? Not got mine to hand though so can't check.

I've just recently installed the HD filter to the O66, big improvement. Will get oen for the 460 when I'm next at the shop.

CE markis only for selling. SWL is what is important and it is usually a tenth of Minimum breakign strain (MBS) as we all know. So if that thing has been tested to 3t then it has a SWL of 300kgs. So 100kgs snatched onto it is a no no!! The straps in th epicture are not supplied but personally I would just take the SWL of whatever straps you use and stick to that Those holes might break out but I would geuss the strap would go first.

Ha ha ha!! Nice rope used in the demo pic. SWL 100kgs tops.

Yes your right, but I just want to advance to grand master of cantankerousness...

Slicx. Are you tied to him for the three days a week? The same three days every week? If so then you shouldn't be self employed either. He coudl easily employ you part for those three days a week. I doubt you'd pay any tax beign a student and as for holiday pay, well you will be entitled to some and that comes form him paying you a little less each day and not from paying you for days your not working like soem bosses seem to think it is. If your happy beign self employed thne fine, I don't want to stree you anymore than I have! But being SE means that you should tell him waht days you want to work and when and work for others too. Supplying your own PPE is fine. Employed or otherwise thats abetween you and the employer, his only responsibility is to ensure you wear it.

I dont agree with that totally. Being a cowboy is when you say your insured but your not. If you are honest and say your not insured yet as your company is in its first year or not big enough, or not chasing council contracts then thats ok, the customer can decide for themselves. A cowboy does poor work and lies to get the work i.e says trees are dangerouse etc etc.

Hi MArc, you beat me to it. HAve you really been thinkign abou tit all day today? Sorry about my tone yesterday. I am mostly just practising for being a cantanckerous old &*%$ in my old age, and so far the practice is going well!! Don't take anything personally. When I said its your boss that make sthe mistake if you screw up I mean any boss any self employed climber.

TO SLICX Sure, forget my little rant, I'll try and help. I'm sure that any genuine sub contractors that he (your future boss) uses would have to have PL and that that would be a condition of his insurance policy, thats fine that all makes sense. The problem is in the understanding of what a sub contractor is. And you are definaltly not a sub contractor. Your boss may be confused here, when he says you will be workign as a sub contractor and self employed he's wrong. He either wants to not have the hassle of paying your tax and holiday pay etc. in which case he's taking advantage of you or if your genuinly going to be self employed i.e. workign for other people and free to work as many or as few days for him as YOU choose then thats fine to be self employed but your not a subcontractor. If I win a huge contract to do railway line work all round the country, I would find suitable companies in each area and give them the work for percentage of what I get and those companies would be sub-contracting to me and responsible for their own actions and require public liability etc. On a smaller scale, if I win a job cutting down a tree for mrs smith down the road for 500pounds and I got you in as a subcontractor, I would give you that job for say 400 pounds and you would go and do it. You woudl then be a sub contractor and you would have to go with your own staff, truck, chipper and of course insurance. Working with a company as a groundie is not sub contracting. You are not taking the job from them and going off to do it in your own time. You are workign for that company self employed or not you are covered by there insurance and by the employees liability. The boss takes responsiblity for the job beign done and if you screw up then its his fault, the same for freelance climbers etc. its up to the boss to decide who to employ and how to get the job done, if they screw up then he screwed up and his insurance covers it or finds him negligable in some way. So to summarise, your boss is right and sub contractors he uses must have PL. I'm sure that is written very clearly in his insurance policy. But you are not a sub contractor. Does that help?

Yes of course they are if the job warrants it (in the customers opinion that is, fences don't really warrant it IMO!). But leave that to companies that need insurance for larger things and for employees and council work etc. There seems to be many people payign for insurance when they work SE for other comapnies and do a few bits on the side. Who's making money out of tree work these days? Us, or the insurance companies? So now we need insurance for advertising and our reputation? Forgive me for repeatign myself but insurance should be for insurance, not for the tax man, or to help others get a contract. Or for advertising or reputation. "oh, he must be good he's insured" crap!

MArc, all my responses were aimed at the original poster, except the one which started with your name no 9 and partially no.8 althougth that was a general response to your response and not aimed at you directly. You do whatever feels right for you mate, theres no problem with you having PL if thats what you want. I'm sure that you are good and safe at your job, but the buck stops with the company who quoted for the job. Don't take offence by it, thats how it is, you don't need to prove anything to anyone.

Good. The job should go to someone who is insured, but they should be insured because of the other work they do. Don't get insurance because it will help you get a job where a fence might get broken! What I'm saying is don't give money away to an insurance comapny for something that you will never claim on anyway.

Also , you use the words "probably" and "might". Just wait and see what you end up doing, test the water so to speak and you might find you just don't need it. Also insurance companies base the cover on last years income and how you earned that income, climbign, ground work etc. So you are better waiting a year then gettign cover based on that past year and carry on like that, otherwise you'll be paying way over the odds for a policy based on what you might earn of maybe 100k per year which is unlikley. At the end of the year if you've earned 20K the next years policy will be cheaper but the amount you overpaid will not be refunded.

Yes he would still need employers liabiltiy if you are working for him and you would be covered by his PL if he has the EL, if he hasn't EL then he can't do any work cos industry best practice is to not work alone and you can't really both work for the customer, that just not going to wash. Insurance companie will take your money, but so will car insurance companies. It doesn't mean you are covered if you don't have everything in place as required by the HSE. Just don't do any jobs over roads or houses. Cutting down small trees in back garden does not really require PL. MOst policies have 800 quid excess so any minor mishaps, broken window, gutter, gate post etc are gonna come out of your pocket anyway. ALl this insuracne is for companies doing work over roads etc. and for tenderign to larger companies, councils and the like. 18 yr olds and students gettign PL cover is mental!

I think 85% ir 85%. where you turn up to and what hours you keep is not really relevant.

In the first point Peter, he would only know if you were investigated and the query of your actuall SE status came up, then you could show a certificate and that would help you. Investigations are random or if they are suspicious. Generally if you are payign tax and they don't investigate you then they would never know or care about insurance. SEcondly. I agree!

MArc, if you do 85% work for one company but you have PL insuracnce cos you do some private work yourself, you would need EL insurance too to cover theguy you get in to help you on your private jobs? No?