Gnarlyoak

When you take a look at frankstrading fleabay shop, he must have FOUND a container going spare from Stihl. He has 700 saws from ms070's (wots one of them ) to ms380's. Tot up his asking price and £95k for a container load of stihl saws seems like a bargain Also appears to have found a container load of Gucci bags/shoes & t-shirts. Bet there fake though, so I'll give them a miss. This season I be mostly wearing Dolce & Gabana

Ha ha haa. That was mint. Manufacturer had obviously forgotten to do the "sharp pointy corner impact test". Look on BBC reporters face was priceless.

Nice pic SBTC. When it comes to trees growing out of walls, I don't think you can beat the Ankorian temple complexes in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Heres six of the best that I took in Feb.08 Have loads more, so maybe I could do an album if you likes........

Jarnii, and our other antipodean friends, please note that regretfully both the UK and Sweden are very much in and part of the EU - European Union. The main difference is we are desperately clinging on to some semblence of independence by retaining our own currencies (UK - pounds sterling Sweden - Krona) and are not signed up for the Euro that is used else where in other EU countries. And yes, unless you are a resident of one of the 27 EU or EEC member states then you will need a visa/work permit to visit and work in Sweden or the UK for that matter. Hope this clarifies and helps. I remain English first, British last, AND NEVER a European and proud of it. The British governments surrender to the bureaucrats in Brussels is nothing short of a trecherous national disgrace in my opinion. Sorry nothing to do with the thread just my little rant, we should have stuck by the Commonwealth!! (in a non-empirical sort of way I mean, of course....)

Not sure if work location would necessarily attract a premium (ie: motorway) but I would have thought £200 a day, in total, for climber & groundsman would be a fair price. Add 50% for weekend work. That would be just for manpower though, you don't make it clear if its you who is expected to also provide chipper and saws etc. Presumably if you do then you would need to factor in an additional amount to cover costs/overheads, but I could'nt say how much. Sorry I've only just started subbying myself. Just my belief that £100-120 for climber and £80-100 for groundsman would be a fair price as a ball park figure to start from. (My £200 figure would include £120/80 climber/groundy split) Would anyone else care to agree/disagree?

Samladd, please note that the original thread was posted in October. The current responses are in relation to someone wondering if there were still any posts available. The best way to find out what quals/experience you need is to contact Complete Tree Care who have this week posted a new advert on their website for 10 climbers needed in Sweden. Its not known if its even for the same co./project etc. So call CTS or respond online to them directly as its unlikely anyone on here can help answer your query. Good hunting M8.

Doh! It of course should have been for International Vacancies not UK! Never mind go to the site and I'm sure you'll be able to navigate to the correct page, unless you are a sausage fingered as me.......

Hi Gazza, not sure if its for the same company,but as fergus-jones advises, go to Complete Tree Care's (CTC) website, international vacancies. There is an ad there, newly posted, looking for upto 10 climbers for Sweden, paying upto £150 per day! Heres a link: Complete Tree Care Arboricultural Recruitment>UK Vacancies

There have been many interesting and sometimes conflicting help and advice offered to requests in the past to people questioning whether or not they should set-up as a freelancer. Being in a similar position, I would like to request your assistance and the benefit of your combined wealth of experiences, but from a slightly different and hopefully a more practical perspective. Having TAKEN the decision to become a freelance climber (but also willing and able to undertake any other related duties/tasks as required) how do you go about: Setting yourself up as a self employed individual? (Sole Trader, Ltd Co., or some other all encompassing cover?) Registering with HMRC for tax/N.I. purposes. Who, how, where? Or is it best to contact a local accountant to do this for you? Separate bank account? Personal account, business/company account? Or see an accountant? Without wishing to open this can of worms again, as this seems to generate the most contentious and conflicting words of wisdom. INSURANCE: Personal insurance for tools and equipment? Personal injury accident cover? Would it be advisable to have PL insurance for any solo jobs to cover any unfortunate incidents when working on a client’s property? If you can, resist the temptation to elaborate at length on the pros/cons whys/wherefores/whatifs/whatnots on this subject, I know its been done to death many times before. Can you recommend as briefly as possible what the best minimum cover would be to start with, (assuming that I would be sub-y-ing and working under contract for an employer who is already covered). When starting up, what’s the best way of making yourself known and advertising your availability? Letters, phone calls, or door knocking at local tree care companies? (In addition to posting on the Arbtalk forum which is a given). Any particular good methods that worked for you when you started out on your lonesome? Anyone have any experience of working on short term contracts in other EU countries and how this affects taxes/insurances payable to GB and the local foreign authorities? I’m sure there are other pertinent questions I should be asking, so if you have any other recommendations and advice you would like to pass on to a would be start-up, please feel free to add them. Thanks for taking the time to view/respond to this post. Wishing you all a busy; prosperous and safe New Year.

Hey Kinojango, I would definately go for CS38/39 as your next tickets. Climbing ability is about your desire, aptitude, fitness as much as any natural ability, but even if you decide to stay on the ground being able to perform an aerial rescue makes you a far more attractive prospective employee than some brash rat who can't! As for your age, as Paulsbrash says "you are not too old". I started at 38 and eight years later I still love it and IMHO, I've worked with many lads younger than me who have climbed for longer and feel that I am as equally competent; confident and as productive as them. Of course I may ache abit more at the end of the day and sometimes feel the need to hit my bed before midnight if I have'nt already fallen asleep in front of the telly first. But I know the following morning I am gagging to climb my next tree...... So go for it, you've nothing to lose and you just might like it.... at lot!!

Any budding DIY self-builders out there who use natural materials, who can possibly help with this conundrum. Got myself involved with a chap who is planning to build an eco building using clay plastered straw bales and various other recycled bits and bobs and timber. He is struggling to acquire a suitable 10m stem to use as a roof truss beam, which will run diagonally (corner to corner) across the bale walls and support the roof which will be layed with soil and plants to create a green eco-roof. There is a mature Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) on site with a large straight secondary stem and he has asked me if this could be removed and used as the beam. Now I'm clueless as to the structural integrity of wild cherry wood used for construction in this way. The idea is to use it green and in the round, the diameter of the stem along its length, is 26cm at the base, graduating evenly to 15cm at the 10m mark. He is unable to givem me an estimate of how much weight the beam will ultimately have to bear, but he did give me some idea of material volumes. Timber weight 61m3 Soil weight 2m3. Anyone have any ideas as to wether the stem as described would be a suitable candidate to support the proposed roof, or is he barking up the wrong tree and creating a recipe for disaster?

Yep. Does indeed sound similar to mine, half choke when warm trying to get it to restart is definately another symptom that I recognise. Sorry m8 bite down hard on that bullet and take her in. You might get lucky and find out its something trivial......... maybe!

Sounds very similar to recent problem with my MS200T, same kind of age & use. Does it also cut out when idling and then struggle to restart? If so then it could be carb and/or piston rings. Took mine to local stihl dealer after weeks trying to re-tune the begger to get her to run right! The verdict was a worn rings and goosed carb £100+ plus VAT for repairs Doh! Off to pick her up this afternoon, just need some bloody work to pay for it.

Hi Tom, Have u tried Bartletts at Capesthorne Hall. V local to u.

Just a quick update, first of all thanks to all the replies and advice given. Tried to empty the oil tank and flush it out with a derv thinned mix to no avail. In the end I had to strip it down and traced it to a blocked nipple, where the oil pipe feeds into chassis outlet. Bit of a poke with a bent paper clip and a squirt of WD40 (that little plastic straw on the side of the can was a perfect fit..... how did they know!?1?). Job done, now she's oiling up a treat. Brum brum. Whilst searching the T'internet also came across handy Stihl manual with useful blown up cross sections of the inner workings of the MS200. I also came across the same manual on an American site being sold in the same PDF format sent to you by email for $14.95. So if your thinking of stripping down your MS200 in the near future you can get your free copy (or download it and sell it to some Yank with more money than sense) from the following site: http://bricomeca.free.fr/Stihl/stihl%20MS200T%20IPL.pdf

Hiya M8, Do a search on Nesting Birds. This subject was covered in great depth two weeks ago on this forum, with over 50 replies (differences of opinion) But in a nutshell birds and their nests are protected, even working in a tree with a "live" nest is illegal. In the past, I've had the RSPCA drag me out of a tree, because a neighbour had telephoned to complain I was disturbing a pair of nesting crows!! At the time I was removing deadwood and storm damage from the other side of the canopy.

Evening Ladies and Germs, Can anybody out there recommend a really useful, handy and practical guide book that encompasses a broad range of problems, pests and diseases, that we might experience with trees and shrubs common to the UK. Thanks in advance friends. Rick

If your really set on giving it a try then do it. I made the drastic career change 6yrs ago from office based IT (after 22yrs) to tree work at the grand young age of 38. I climb and can easily give the young uns a run for their money on the ground and in the air at 44 and my only regret is that I did'nt do this sooner. Yeah I feel the aches and pains, arthritis in the hips and all, but I never felt so alive than when I'm sweating my nads off, sawdust up my nose, tree sap and crap under my fingernails, and a throbbing chainsaw in my hands. And each day I can't wait to get out there and do it all again. Good luck to you mate.

I've had an MS200 sat on the shelf, not used for 6-8mths. Fitted a new bar last week and started her up. A bit reluctant to start at first, and then had to twiddle and tweak the carb until she seemed to be running sweet again. Now I've noticed that it does not seem to be oiling properly, there is a miscroscopic amount coming through, but after a tank full of fuel the oil resevoir has barely cleared the bottom of the filler cap thread. I have tried adjust the the oil flow screw but this has no noticeable affect. When I run the chain near an object, there is no oil visibly being flicked off and the chain appears to be bone dry. Phew and hot!! Anyone any ideas? Cheers peeps.

Thanks for your input lads, the concensus of your collective recommendations appears to be Roundup Pro. Given the vigorous regenertaive qualties of Buddleia, can it be used neat, (or is this overkill?) or best to stick to manufacturers instructions and dilute 20/80 with water? And if the client isn't willing to pay the price for Pro would I be wasting time and money using the weaker garden centre variety of Roundup? Thanks agian. Rick

I am in the process of removing a number of Buddleia shrubs growing out of a wall approx 15 feet up. These shrubs are well established and the root growth is causing a supporting brick buttress to become seperated from the wall that it is supporting. I have strongly recommended to the client that they will need to partly demolish the supporting column to remove the roots completely and then rebuild before the whole thing collapses. In the short term though I would like to treat the stumps with an effective posion to prevent/restrict re-growth this year. Can anyone recommend an effective, easily obtainable remedy that will do the job. Many thanks in advance chaps & chapesses. Rick

Gregsie, Hedge Laying is a dying art but a useful skill that can be easily attained with a bit of practice. So you don't need years of experience to get started you just need to know the basics then get stuck in. A local course may be useful, as there are regional variations same as with dry stone walling. Then its practice practice practise until perfect, or at least until you are proficient. Concur with other responses, you could expect £10-£15 per 10m. Once proficient you could reasonably do 10-20m /day. Not sure what demand is like though these days, originally a living hedge was layed for marking out field boundaries and stock control, these days thats been taken over by barb wire and electric fences, then bob the land owner flails a standing hedge to within an inch of it life with his tractor. Job done in about an hour! Enviromentally and ecologically a hand layed hedge is immeasurably better for flora and fauna than the huge open tracts of sterile land we get these days. Hence the reason for the polpulation crash of birds and small mammals in the countryside these days. BTCV have a really good book that is very useful. You can purchase from BTCV or view it online in a PDF format at http://handbooks.btcv.org.uk/handbooks/index/book/6 One thing to be aware of is that it is seasonal, the season usually being from Oct - Mar.

H&S NIMBY's Programme called The Fun Police. Channel 4 9pm Thurs 4th dec.