monkeybusiness

If it is regularly attached to the tow vehicle I'd imagine you could get away with a relatively small (cheap) car battery on the trailer and lightweight cable with in-line fuse running from the vehicle battery. The small battery would have enough poke to tip the trailer a few times, and would be constantly re-charged off the vehicle when connected.

Sorry Rob, it wasn't meant to be insulting. I hope you don't cut yourself. Stay safe - you can't earn any money whilst your sat in A+E waiting for stitches because the insulation tape/kitchen roll/bandage/plaster combo won't keep your skin from stretching open across your knuckle! As I said, every injury I know of has come about from complacency - don't be complacent and you won't get cut.

You will - I've yet to meet anyone who has been in this game for a few years who hasn't at some point drawn blood with a Silky. I've caught myself a couple of times, the worst was with a brand new blade that cut faster than I was expecting, as I was used to its then-dull predecessor. Complacency has been the reason for all of my scrapes - poor work positioning usually brought on by the thought that it is 'only a Silky' - a spinning chain somehow focuses the mind a bit more... Holding the piece being cut is the primary reason in my case (quicker than slinging, too busy concentrating on profit). We sub-contract to some of the bigger firms in our industry and pruning saw injuries are currently a major issue with the health and safety bods. The reactions and control measures vary quite drastically - one firm insists on users wearing kevlar/stainless steel reinforced 'Ripeur' gloves whilst cutting with a Silky (not massively practical IMO as they are useless for climbing in - constant changing of gloves in the tree is the order of the day). The biggest problem with this is that some operators subsequently shun Silkys and just use chainsaws, as the restrictions don't apply to their use... Another firm have taken a more pragmatic approach, and are pushing the use of secateurs/loppers wherever possible. In terms of gloves, my personal view is that it is wrong to insist that a particular type of glove is used in any situation. I'm not going to start on chainsaw gloves on the ground (that would be a major de-rail) - my thoughts are that anyone being paid to climb and prune/dismantle a tree should be competent to perform that task. One of the most important parts of that whole operation is the climber's hands - these are his/her interface with their ropes, tools, the tree etc. Some climbers wear gloves, others don't. As soon as you insist on a certain type of glove (that may perform one task very well ie silky protection) you massively limit the options available to the operator, compromising dexterity, grip, comfort, warmth etc. As a result you run the risk of introducing additional hazards, when in reality the majority of the time the original problem lies with the operator not doing his/her job properly. I feel that anyone cutting themselves with a Silky should actually have pay deducted as the injury must have come about as a result of them putting themselves in danger in the first place!!!

And then get your operators licence, and then sort out planning permission to keep it at your property, and then organise/pay for 12 weekly checks, and then realise you might as well run a 7.5 tonner if your going to all those lengths and 4.6 tonne is a bit of a pointless size... Get it sold and buy something 3.5 tonne, or unbolt everything you can, go on a diet, put £2 of diesel in it, get it re-weighed and then re-assemble once re-plated but spend every day running illegally overweight. I'd suggest get rid and get something more suitable personally.

He has permission legally to use the woods for his business no probs. The site is used primarily by relatively standard road going 4x4s (no winch challenge trucks etc) and nobody is allowed to stray off the existing tracks. I honestly didn't notice any tree damage when I went for a walk around with him (other than the exposed roots that are the subject of this thread) - there has been a TPO on the woodland as long as my friend has operated his business there and he has been very careful not to damage any trees. The root damage is only occurring in some of the old tracks that have been used for as long as my friend has based his business at the site - these tracks were already well established/used by the land owner and trespassers prior to the business being set up. I would personally argue that any root damage has been done long ago and is unlikely to get any worse through continued usage - the trees affected aren't showing any signs of stress that I could see. None of the affected trees have any other constraining factors within the root area - they are all growing within unmanaged woodland so have unlimited room to grow new roots away from the tracks. The trespassing issue has been stopped, significantly reducing the levels of traffic previously using the site.

Is the new reservoir big enough to cope with you ram? You shouldn't need to do any bleeding - the pressure in the system should be sufficient to sort that itself. It sounds like your ram's oil capacity may be greater than your new reservoir.

I was going to fit one to a 3 litre Iveco Daily and was told not to as it could lead to a damaged crank shaft - apparently the DMF provides cushioning to the crank shaft as well as smoothing the drive take up. This issue was apparently specific to my particular engine however. I know a few people who have successfully fitted solid flywheels to transits and Navaras with no ill consequences. If I were you I'd go for it.

Fire, and then deliver her some chip to the front of her house for her to deal with.

Thanks for the replies everyone, it is all very helpful. The issue that I'm not sure about and I think may be quite grey is that the tracks are all well used and have obviously existed for a long time. There are some roots in evidence across some tracks, and in reality these are the real issue/sticking point. Does a local authority have the power to stop a landowner from using existing/historic access tracks under TPO rules? I can understand them preventing new tracks from being built, but those that already exist are surely outside the scope of the legislation?

No ear defenders - that alone is a health and safety reason to use this where possible. No shouting to get the climber's attention - I think it looks a great idea for utility/pruning works. It obviously isn't the tool for dismantles though. I think a 12v car charger is essential IMO (then it is super green as it gets charged on the way to jobs). I expected it to be rubbish but am really warming to the idea.

I picked one of these up a couple of months ago and had a play with it (no cutting unfortunately) and was really impressed. I thought it would be a mickey mouse toy saw but I came away thinking it was brilliant - I'd be interested to know the price of the saw and extra batteries, and whether a car charger is available.

Make sure you freeze them first, real messy otherwise.

Nasty horrible news.

If you are looking at buying a brand new machine, I think you'd be bonkers to not demo whatever you are considering and then decide once you have tried them all on your own worksites. If you can't get hold of a machine to demo move on to another manufacturer - if there is no initial sales enthusiasm offering you the chance of a trial you may find that there is a similar lacklustre response to any future warranty issues you may encounter.

Wow, what a blow. Those are totally new machines are they not - there can't be many of them about.

I can't believe what a dumbass the guy in the second hay-truck must be!

As I said, my problem isn't with the refresher training itself. It's the amount of time the training takes that is wrong in many cases (i have no doubt that some operatives need more refreshing than others - I don't agree with painting all with the same brush). Evidence of ongoing training/assessment is obviously highly important for an employer - the problem is that it is a one size fits all process that is way too cumbersome and has undoubtably been driven by the training providers as their (profitable) answer to the inevitable hse question.

I don't have a problem with refresher training, my gripe is with the amount of time the op is being forced to spend doing it. Surely a basic assessment by a competent person would quickly determine how much was necessary. Every training course I've ever been on wastes massive amounts of time on site inductions (fire drills/exits), comfort breaks, tea breaks, lunch breaks, and then finish early to avoid the traffic etc. When a working man has to lose 3 days pay to pay lip service to a training provider to tick a hse box I think there is something wrong. So my answer to your question is yes, I believe the problem lies with the training providers as they are promoting their over the top courses to companies who subsequently insist upon them to tick the hse box. The process is cumbersome and in need of sensible streamlining imo.

I've given it too much bold and don't know how to turn it off, please don't judge me.

3 days is the only p##s take here - if you're self employed then you are effectively a business and as a result you need to cover the costs required to deliver your product (your labour) to your customer. If the product you are supplying doesn't meet their requirements (ie you haven't had the refresher training that they insist upon) then they can easily take their business elsewhere. Where this is all wrong (and the blame for this has to lie at the door of the training/assessment providers) is that you have to take a 3 DAYcourse to prove that you are capable of performing your daily tasks. Surely this can/should/must be streamlined somehow. If an assessor comes out for a day, and he knows the job (which to be honest may not be a given) he should be able to determine if you are safe and competent or not within that day. If he isn't happy, he could by all means insist upon some further training; otherwise sign the candidate off as competent and away everybody goes to earn some dosh.

Sounds like you've made your mind up then. Get your hand in your pocket, get it bought and let us know how you get on.

A friend operates an off road site in some woodland covered by a woodland TPO (in effect since the 1950s). The woodland is growing on an old mining slag heap and is largely populated with birch, sycamore and goat willow, but is also home to some mature (even veteran?) beech trees. The land is privately owned, but is easily accessible to 4x4 vehicles and has subsequently been used (unofficially by trespassers) as an off road playground since 2000 (possibly earlier). As a result, it is criss crossed with well used tracks (down to the shale below). The majority of these tracks are root free, but there are several that have damaged tree roots exposed (they have obviously been exposed/damaged over a number of years). My friend has operated a pay and play off road business at the site since 2006 (once a month, sticking to the existing tracks), with permission from the land owner. There appears to be politics at play within the local authority, but the long and the short of it is that they are now forcing my friend to stop operating as a result of the existing TPO and evidential root damage. Does the LA have grounds to stop the current/historic use of this land as a result of the TPO? No trees have been wilfully damaged - the only evidence of damage to any trees is to roots growing across obviously well used tracks. Your thoughts would be welcomed!

That is my machine in the photo, but the ad is legit. He is actually selling a different model and has re-used the photo of my machine for some reason (I bought mine from him originally). Thank you so much for the heads up - maybe next time there will be cash coming your way!

Mach 1.24 - boom!!!

Get a Halfords trade card (tell them you are a self employed mechanic) and buy one of their own brand or Bosch batteries. They come with 3 year warranties, and replace them with no quibbles. And they are super cheap if you get the trade card. Optima are very very good, but they won't give you a new battery 3 years down the line...