Gnarlyoak

I expect you'll get few different answers, educated guesses and wide of the mark stabs in the dark on this one..... But FWIW, my two penneth's worth is ideally you should use your mix up within 3/4 weeks.

Sorry Adrian Cook, but I believe you are incorrect in your supposition of how the system currently works. If you price a job, and then employ a sub-contractor outfit to do that job on your behalf independently of any further input from yourself, then they should have the appropriate insurances in place to carry out the works as & when they see fit. And all liabilities for executing the works is theirs. Unless of course you provided a work order which might of said that the tree was safe to climb, yet when it subsequently collapsed under the weight of the climber as a result of an obvious fault in the structure of the tree that you missed. Then there might be some comeback on yourself and your company. If you price a job, and then do the work yourself and employ (lets say) a freelance (labour only subbie) climber for the day, then you are responsible for their welfare and their actions on site for the duration of the job. You can either let them use their own equipment or supply them your company's equipment to use, either way it is upto you to decide if the chosen equipment and PPE is fit for purpose and safe to use. If the freelance climbers provides his own equipment, he can show his climbing equipment is fit for purpose by showing you an upto date LOLER testing/check sheets. You should be able to tell if his saws (if using) and PPE is upto scratch just by quickly giving it the once over. However, IF for whatever reason, it all goes pearshaped and property becomes damaged or god forbid the climber has an accident where they end up in a wheelchair (as you put it), even if this was result of an accident caused by the failure of his own equipment. Then your company would be liable and it would be your insurance company that ends up paying out. That is the way it has been set up in LAW to prevent dodgy company's (and I'm not suggesting that you) from setting up, using casual labour and then disappearing into the night when it all goes PeteTong!

Have you tried going round to their site/yard for a face to face tete-a-tete. Remaining polite & friendly of course. If you can't resolve and they remain un-cooperative, then you could try your LA's trading standards office.

You could try Treestation, just off M60 Jctn: 24 West Gorton/Denton border. They will also take your arb waste. Goto: treestation.co.uk for more info. Hope this helps.

My thoughts exactly.... anybody got a link? Welcome Jojo, more power to your elbow for sticking up for yourself. I've had the rare privilege of working with a lady arb with a firm in the Wirral. She was brilliant to work with, worked 10 times harder & smarter than many blokes I've worked with to be honest, with a wicked grin and infectious giggle. When I moved on from that firm, my only regret was that I would miss being able to work with her again. She had a lot of talent & ability, the only criticism I would have would be the lack of confidence she sometimes demonstrated, which felt as though it stemmed from the chauvinistic attitude she was sometimes subjected to by of some of her male collegues.

Mattf: I would'nt knock any money of the job unless the customer specifically asked for, then I'd just leave the wood behind for them to shift/sell it. See it as a Brucey bonus/another revenue stream if you are able to sell the timber on once you've fulfilled your obligation to your customer to clear up the fallen tree. Se7enthdevil: Just out of curiosity, what would you seal the ends with, and too what purpose. I know you've said to stop cracking, is pear/fruit wood prone to excessive cracking once cut but before its milled?

Aye saw that on the news last night, looked amazing. Also wondered if was possible to recover any of the fossilized tree trunks and mill them with a stone cutter? What would the planks look like I wonder.....

Would it be possible to have a phonetic spelling bracketed after the funghi name to help with the pronunciation? eg: Kretzchmaria deusta (krets - maria due - esta) how I pronounce it in my head! This is how some phrase books teach you how to pronounce words in a foreign language. For example: In Portugese English: What's That? Portugese: O que e aquilo? Phonetic: oo ke e a-kee-loo Just a thought. Would'nt need a major overhaul of the directory would it? Just a tippety tap of a few keys on the keyboard no!?

Mate, unless your gonna be climbing during the next 9 mnths (and not just going over the wall on some knotted bedsheets ) then I'd wait until you get back. Just set aside the money you would have spent on the course now in a safe place until you come back.

No you would'nt mate. You buy one, and Ill trial for you see if its worth it. Save you from any embarrassment. If its pants, I'll just slightly mock you. Must be heated handles though. Might as well be comfy eh!? Looks nice though, liking the new filler caps. How big is the bar on that one in the pic? Looks a bit small, or is it just the angle of the photy.

For ready made off the peg prussics go for 50cm dude. I bought 60cm first time round, and experienced same problem as you, tooooo long. Switched to 50cm and its just fine. If you stick another wrap on a 60 it will hardly move unless on a really wet day when it and your rope are full of tree slime/gunk. Oh and get a pair, always handy to have a spare in your kit bag, especially if one becomes too worn, glazed or damaged to use safely.

Welcome to the forum mate. I guess these days, ie: todays litigous (sp. ?) society, although after 25 yrs you are probably a competent chainsaw user, if you are going to be cutting on behalf of anyone else, or on someone elses property other than your own, then you are going to need to do your CS30/CS31 (sorry these are the old course references, they've changed but not sure what they are called now) certificates of chainsaw operator competency, and fell and process small trees. And if you are planning to cut for anyone else, either for financial reward or as a volunteer, then you will probably need Public Liability insurance. If you are cutting on behalf of your angling club, and they have PL & EL insurance then you should be covered under their policy for any "voluntary" work you do on their behalf on their property. The only other essentials you'll need are proper PPE, as a minimum, chainsaw pants/boots/helmet. Of course in your own backyard you can wear what you want, speedos & flip flops if you desire....! Its a look, but safety first eh...? Hope this helps.

Many thanks to all those that took the time to offer their insightful advise. I have decided to go down the Win 7/Office 10 route. Just appears to be the lesser of of two evils at the moment. My current XP o/s and MSO versions have served me well for approx 7/8 years, so if I get the same level of longevity from my new choice, then I'll be satisfied that I've got my moneys worth. And just for the record, most PC/SW suppliers are still offering Win 7 so there is no problems getting a copy. Given the level of criticism about Win.8 this may continue to be an option for some time. MSO 2010 is less freely available from MS distributors, but there appear to be a plenty of options from resellers on the like of the "Bay" and the like. Cheers all.

Welcome to forum Newbie. As a starter rope, you can't beat Yale XTC. Virtually bomb proof and will last you a long time if looked after properly. Excellent value for the price. And unless you're going to be climbing "big" trees often, (doubtful), then 37m is plenty long enough.

So the time has finally come to replace the old (v old pentium running XP) PC system. I've nailed down, more or less, the hardware spec, but still undecisive about the software as the latest flavours from MS means you are more or less forced to be their "bitch" right from the get go! I'm not a heavy PC user, mainly invoicing/accounts (Word/Excel) using MSO XP Pro., Web browsing, and a bit of gaming now & then. After doing a bit of research I find that the latest versions of MS Windows (8.1) and MS Office (2013), quite literally force you to create an account with MS to be able to use or even download their s/w! Now whilst I appreciate the Windows OS is a necessary evil, for compatability with pre existing s/w & h/w which is already Windows compliant, I do object to being forced to create an account with MS simply to be able to use the software! The latest version of Office does not even come with the s/w on CD-Rom, you buy a licence, which has to be renewed by subscription every year, and then download it from the web. Windows 8 does not get many positive reviews, being as it it primarily designed for mobile and touch screen devices and not desktops, and it too forces you to register with and sign onto a MS network before you can even use the PC standalone!!! WTF!!! So whilst I will buying some bang upto date h/w, I'm considering matching this up with earlier versions of s/w. Win 7.1 and MSO 2010, so that I can retain my autonomy from the all seeing eye of the MS network. Anybody else upgraded recently? I know the h/w I'm considering is backwards compatable with the older versions of s/w, but just how bad is Win 8.1 for desktops, and just how big brother-ish the pre-requisite to have an MS account. Also is MSO even necessary? Open Office seems like it might be a better alternative. I've read that existing MSO files are compatable with this. I really only need word processing and a spreadsheet facility. Anyone else switched from MSO to OO. Any problems or issue you'd care to share. Your thoughts & experiences appreciated ladies & germs. Many thanks.

Hi Sam, You could try NTH (Northern Tool Hire) on Mossley Road, just round corner from Tameside College. They do sell Stihl kit, but not sure how much spare part stock they carry, but they should be able to order it in for you, and not far for you to travel. Whereabouts in Mossley r u? I'm just down the road in Stalyvegas!

Glad the guy did'nt suffer any serious life affecting injuries, and hope he makes a full and swift recovery. But what the dickens was he thinking to work directly from a ladder, leant against a windblown tree and chogging off lumps of it. The article does'nt mention if he was attached with a rope or side strop when the tree collapsed, but he would have well advised to have attempted the dismantle of the windblown tree from a rope & harness anchored in one of the neighbouring trees. Or better still to have just got a rope around it and winch it over, to get it on the deck and dismantle it much more safely.

I am always curious about what witchcraft those who praise 201's use, to make them run "nice", "good", " adequate" !?!? A company I work for regularly, had all their saws stolen during a break in a few weeks ago. Including 4 201's & 1 x 200. The 201's were all a bunch of gutless KAK and there use to be a fight evry day by the crews trying to grab the single 200 for the days job. All the stolen saws have now been replaced with brand new saws, but now they have 5 x 201's. And they are all a bunch of gutless misery without exception. It does'nt matter what you cut, dead oak, euc, lime.... etc..... they all bog down in a heartbeat, slow, horrid machines, even my old granny has got more grunt. And she's been dead 10 years!!!!! Seriously I have'nt yet tried a 201 that was worth its weight in dog crap, let alone gold. On a more positive note. I have tried the new 661 with a 20" bar, and it was gooooooood!

+1 again for just washing your kit. Ropes and harness can be easily washed in the washing machine with a bit of washing up liquid thrown in, without them coming to any harm. Ignore any other myths that you may have heard or think that you know to the contrary, its all a load of old dangling testicles. It may not be in accordance to manufacturers recommendations and I would'nt recommend it on a regular basis, simply because it is'nt necessary, but if you get gunk all over your kit...... Then don't hesitate, strip it down, stick it in the wash, clean it, dry it. Crack on. No Drama!

Very nicely done was that Daimo. And it looks like you had the perfect weather for it.

Good spot Razzle. And/or being smacked by diggers and/or other plant machinery during the construction of the new build, and retaining walls etc. Like has been said, the damage is already done. Either fell or monitor the situation for a couple of years, and then fell when its as plain as the nose on your face that the tree is not going to recover!

There is probably (I am giving the seller the benefit of the doubt) nothing dodgy about this particular sale, however....... This amply demonstrates the bafflingly incompetent decision making behind Stihl's incomprehensible online sales policy. To be honest I could walk into any Stihl dealership, buy 1/2 dozen Stihl saws, get a discount of £60/70/80 per machine (as an example for the sake of making the point) . Then go home and sell them all on Ebay, ad in the local paper, car boot sale, or through any other means for the full retail price, and there is absolutely nothing that Stihl can do to stop me! probably. Once you've bought them, they are yours to dispose of however you see fit! Let us not forget that Stihls online policy has got absolutely nothing to do with making sure that the end user is getting the best possible advice face to face from their local dealer and everything to do with ensuring that a few outstanding online dealers are not cornering the bulk of the market because they are able to offer an unbeatable price, through volume of sales, that a local dealer in some bumchuff backwater cannot hope to meet. Get a few of these struggling dealerships to start complaining to their supplier that they are going out of business because they cannot compete, and the supplier's knee jerk reaction could be to ban all online sales without a face to face handover irrespective of wether you are private individual with no tickets or experience buying an MS880 with a 4ft bar & ripping chain, or a seasoned arboricultural professional wanting to buy a calender showing saucy wenchs holding Stihl 's tools for the office wall and few plastic Stihl keyrings as a Christmas bonus for his workforce!!!!! Just a thought anyway. Did'nt mean to go off and start another anti Stihl sales policy rant............ honest!

Lets hope that the muppets at Petzl fully test this new gizmo every which way to destruction in every conceivable and non-conceivable scenario. Rather than leave it to some poor mug spending his hard earned on another gadget, risking serious injury or death to discover that it's not fit for purpose like the ill fated ZigZag.

Fair play that man. He was determined to win this years Darwin Award. And I think you'd have to agree it was a worthy effort.

Ditto the above. Carbon Monoxide is a stealthy lethal killer which claims many more victims than you ever hear or read about in the media.