Mark Bolam

He should know better then shouldn’t he? Let’s hope he never has to chase a cut with a 20” bar on a 25cc saw. Even if it’s running on nitrous. Probably just done it to get more clicks on Youtube anyway.

Only in America. No one else would be so stupid.

Good to read you again Paul!

Get a vid up doing it, that’s impressive. Those ST8’s must go nearly 1.5t with full tanks?

There’s probably a lesson here. ’Work’s so busy I’m considering setting up a second team’ should really be ‘Work’s so busy I’ll put my prices up to where they should be and let the gyppos and lowballers fight over the scraps’. Work has always been an ebb and flow, the newly expanded companies shit themselves when it goes quiet and start quoting low which has a knock on. Keep your standards and your prices high. Because we’re worth it.

Fair play on getting it done Paddy. I’d be wanting 2 days money for a situation like that.

You wouldn’t be anywhere near the VAT threshold on £150/day freelance though?

What sort of money are monks on these days?

Of course it will rise quickly, and they deserve every penny. Not a job I could do, for sure. No one is in arb for the money, just for the chicks and the likes.

Of course we should be on that Paddy, I totally agree. The problem is that the bottom feeders drag the price down and we all suffer. The shitbags can’t compete on quality arb work, but a lot of what we do is pretty simple. Medium sycamore takedown with a decent dropzone? Easy day for 3 running 3 loads. Are they going to take my £800 or the £450 bid by the new college boys who have had a new chipper for their birthday? We will both leave a tidy site with everything gone. The college boys haven’t got insurance yet, but it’s something they will definitely get round to. The public are generally ignorant, they don’t give a toss. The £450 wins all day. Who can blame them? Everyone likes saving money. I’ve been doing this for a while and avoid the ‘cheapest quote wins’ bunch as best as I can, but it’s taken a long time. I freely admit I was the college boy once as well.

Doctors start on about £40k after a 6 year degree. We aren’t doctors. I’m all for more money for everyone, but the only way to earn a small fortune in arb is to start with a large one!

Big difference between want and get mate.

I totally agree mate, you’re spot on. Industry rates have been depressed for years, across the board. It’s like anything though, if enough people are prepared to endure it nothing will ever change. I would stretch to £160/day for the OP freelance, not on the books. I’ve got some good customers, but still need to win jobs on price, and I’m in fat, minted Kent. The dream of £1k/day for standard 3 men truck and chipper would just find an empty diary.

£160/day is £41.6k on the books.

I love the manoeuvreability of my 160 and it’s a great machine, but an ST6 will outchip it all day every day.

The sooner Bark f off and die the better.

Maybe those lads will check out arb courses later. My mate just sent me this.

Fair play Jamie.

I had two 17 year olds dragging for me this morning and I showed them this. They are researching arb courses this afternoon.

Thanks for your input Chris and Jules, I’ve been living in the dark ages a bit!

Were the blades flat ground instead of hollow ground perhaps? As Jase said it makes a huge difference to a gravity fed machine.

B985DVK - my parents VW Polo from when I was about 10! I keep a picture of my current reg on my phone so I can remember it in car parks etc!

Memory is a very weird thing. I can forget names within 30 seconds yet recite Pogues lyrics perfectly from 30 years ago. There’s a few on here that I’m sure could contribute a lot more than I can, but I can’t remember who they are! Age is a factor, of course, but I don’t think it’s as simple as old age = bad memory. There’s a lot more to it than that. I’d value the opinion of the Village Idiot, but I can’t seem to tag him? Appreciate it if someone could, I’ll forget tomorrow! You’re not alone mate.

And I’ll bare my arse in Burtons if that hasn’t heaved. (Sorry to go into ‘80’s speak).

I’d apply for a fell under a 5 day DDD and await response. Get on the phone to the TO tomorrow.