josharb87

Yes, Wait! and make sure you get the thin bar too

As above, some motors (motorcross bikes for example) have oil soaked air filters. a little oil in the machine could be due to the mower being tested before shipped, I’d guess a quick drain wouldn’t drain all the oil

Did you use a heat gun to “strip the chairs” ……. of old paint(?)

My bad rich, forgot about the UK freelancer thing

Freelancer. I see it as 2 companies, size is irrelevant. If one co damages another co’s kit, its down to the damager’s co to pay. Downside of being a freelancer who’s earning more coin but a benefit of being an employee taking home less if the damage is sizeable the freelancer should have insurance in place

But doobin, John’s costs don’t change because he only needs a hedge cutter, he can’t say to the bank “sorry I didn’t make this months payments but I only needed a hedge cutter this month so priced for just paying off the hedge cutter” That might not sound fair to the little customers, but they do have a choice-accept or not. Likewise should he then up his prices for the next “big” customer to cover the loss on the little customer’s “fair rate”? That wouldn’t be fair either! retiered climber makes good points too, both of them do. I guess the only way for the OP to gauge wether it was a good price or not is to take his target day rate, divide by 8 then X4 (I rarely priced for 3hours, half days or full days, traveling, tipping etc takes time, early finishes are normally well needed bonuses or time for another wee job) sometimes on the shitty jobs you wish you’d priced more, but when you realize you’ve made your targets, you can’t really complain that hedge doesn’t look too hard or taxing really, I’d have priced 2 men, 1/2 a day, 1 tip fee

Here in Sweden it got up to about £2.30 a liter, since about a month back it now seems to have settled at around £2.08, still twice what it was 6 years ago when I started paying attention! no one seems to be making a fuss though?! Just accepting it 🤷‍♂️

First get a quote for all stumps, and a quote for only the big ones. buy the little grinder if you must, do the smaller stumps yourself. Remember it’ll still cost you in fuel, teeth, rookie mistakes etc (make some diy shields too) you should get half of the purchase cost back, maybe more when you’re finished But still pay someone else to do the big two, or do them yourself if you’re really really bored and then pay a similar amount in back, neck, shoulder and hand therapy

good tip even if they are set right I done it to my old 37hp 530, not that they were set wrong, just personal preference. No stress cut in quicker and didn’t take as long to build up speed again, sounded like a Timberwolf! I thought it worked far better. my 540 however, unless on cord, has the grunt to keep munching, revs drop a bit but not enough to stop the rollers, just digs down and chomps. (got a proper engine in the 540 though 😆)

On the flip side, you needed to work those days in the cold wet snow to help pay for the higher costs of running a pickup 😆

My information is absolutely 100% correct my information is mostly correct 50% of my information may be correct 🤣🤷‍♂️

Yeah I’ve done simmilar, last year with the grinder, on a hot day too

If it’s spinning freely and without play I’d continue to use it. Change the tip when it fails.

That’s not extra, that’s just the norm

Gym 3 times a week only an hour a time but plus 20min stretch/yoga. Three 5km runs a week. been doing the above for 4 years now-since I was starting to get niggles in my back. No back niggles since week 6 of training and the dad bod has been held at bay too 😆 Start karate on Sunday - sons been going a few months and now wants me to join in too. looks great for flexibility and body control

That’s kinda my point, what’s the point in paying yourself a mediocre wage but the business has lots of profit? Isn’t it better to pay your self more, or improve the business and have a smaller profit? I don’t really see why it’s beneficial to have loads of profit which could have been used for investment’s or higher wage

Listened to it yesterday, did find it interesting. be interesting for you to do one in say 5 years too one thing I think could be worthy of a discussion on track with running a business (and from the other thread I enjoyed our dialogue) is the old saying you used, turnover is vanity, profits sanity. is it? my first few years I paid myself on the modest-low side of what a decent climber should be getting on the books. (rough currency conversions-I’m in Sweden) paid myself 30k a year, I (well my LTD co) made 20-40k profit those years. Great! but that profit isn’t my money, I can’t use it, if anything it’s vanity money! …. Yes I could pay the tax on it and take it out as dividends, but that is a short sighted reward - an alternative I done last year, I whacked my wage up (mainly due to buying a farm needing renovation) to about 50k- I wanted to buy a mill privately, build a barn etc. So 20k increase, I pay a little more tax than dividends, but gives me a higher pension and better sick/paternity pay-more benefits! profit last year will be down on previous years to about 5k. (That 20k pay rise cost the company 30k) but my private bank balance looks better, the machine park still grew (like every year) and there’s still a healthy balance in the company’s bank. (Even taking a sabbatical until next summer but keeping the kit. no moneys owed on the kit just a few years of writing it off in the books left) so why is profit sanity? Why does profit benefit us as private individuals?

It sounds like your professional attitude is what customers are willing to pay more for, your niche, that’s their prerogative though. Like choosing a Mercedes’ over a lada, both do the same job and both customers are probably happy for what they paid-you expect more from the merc so are willing to pay more. you certainly should charge more if you can, or the customer wants a reduction an arborist would be proud of (Mercedes’) But some don’t, some just want a smaller tree that billy bob does in half the time for half the price for halving a tree(!). Giving a job worth half the value. But they’ve got what they paid for (lada) invest in some labor saving kit and happy days, good money, efficient and easy working here we come!

I guess another way of looking at it is just because some companies are running inefficient doesn’t necessarily mean the whole industry needs to up its prices/is too cheap maybe 🤔

It’s good to disagree 😊 We cut bits of trees, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, it’s not rocket science. Some of us are good at what we do, some not so. Then there’s shifting material from point A To B something that literally anyone without a disability can do. most tree guys I know aren’t exactly academics 😆 most turn up in scruffy clothes but expect to be paid a premium it is strenuous on the body, but as mick touched on, a tree should cost the same no matter who the company is, to make more money, it’s generally do the job more efficiently. Has the business owner taken the leap to invest in machinery, they should be able to work more efficiently/quicker/earn more profit, as a side to this investment there should be less strain on bodys. I quote with confidence and turn a good profit year on year out. first it was because I was good and quick. In recent years it’s been down to investing in machinery-for speed and to alleviate the stress in my body, something that’s often overlooked. Certainly don’t work late or scrimp on time off. imo it seems that those with a battered old tipper and chipper, who haven’t invested in their own company, and therefore work harder and longer for the same money as the likes of Mick, that moan about the industry’s pay the most

I often wonder, what if the price we work for is actually the going rate? we make a profit, what more can we ask? Should we be making a hideous profit and rubbing shoulders with the upper classes for doing a basic labor job? Realistically (imo) we’re an over saturated industry that’s not as skilled or as elite as we like to think 🤔

Just get a 70cc saw from your preferred manufacture. None of them are bad. I prefer Stihls 46 range, not much in it between the husky 572 and the stihl 462 (even done a film from dueling them against each other in 2017-absolutely no difference!) I would like to try out the new echo, as really impressed with the 2511 but no need for a 4th 70cc saw Perhaps spud on the like could comment but I’ve never heard from mates/colleagues of electro gubbins failing.

It’s the way that they declined your quote/reacted to the price that hurts, like rubbing salt into the wound. Atleast you had a nice ride out and about!

No chance, and certainly not by a machine as crude as that - got one simmilar, it’s ok for “resetting” a knackered big chain but no way near as good as hand sharpened, plus then there’s the depth gauges…… invest more or don’t bother IMO

Take better pics next time (seriously!) Of the whole tree, close ups, twigs (but with good light not like yours!) If that’s flower buds on the twigs I’d lean towards magnolia. If not then apple? Walnut?