Mark Bolam

Let’s hope the umpire sees it that way, the crease seemed to have been moved over right next to the crowd….

That, Michael, was simply not cricket.

Of course, we all screw up. You should join in the pile on though, it’s warranted. If there’s a risk of a tree going across a road you should at least stop the traffic, however legal.

I mainly agree Mick, but knowing what the f you are doing largely mitigates the risk most of the time. These guys were clueless.

Brutal but very, very effective! On a slightly smaller machinery note, just finished a mini clearance for a roadway into a planned new school car park. Loader and little 160 proved a really good combo for getting around a site where inspection pit digs had limited access to 4’. Stumps left high for 360 rip out, forestry fans!

Jesus.

There are some mental people out there. Fair enough, they’re pretty quick and hold the road well, but you can’t fit much chip in and they don’t even tip.

I’ve re-read my post from last night and it implies Stevie, and his climber, aren’t the real deal. It came across badly, and this isn’t what I meant. Stevie is the real deal, obviously, and he has taught me loads over the years we have been pals first through Arbtalk, then met up for beers in real life. I’d kind of got the wrong end of the stick. What I was trying to get across was that base ties, in my opinion, should be kept as simple as possible He’s a pro, and works with pros, so can incorporate these slightly more complicated and maybe better systems. I still sub a bit, so occasionally have to work with retards, so keep stuff like that as basic as possible. No offence intended mate, you know your shit better than I do! It’s good to talk about stuff like this though, a bad base tie could kill you. I KNOW a timber hitch would work, but I’d never use one in this application.

I wouldn’t use a timber hitch as a base tie. What a load of bollocks. Running bowline with stopper, butterfly 1m above just in case as Joe said. That’s it. Access only, then canopy tie. ’my subbie climber says x’ means f-all. I’d rather listen to a genuine working climber and respect his opinion rather than come up with some contrived bullshit.

How dare you assume her gender, you dinosaur.

PM @surveyor above.

Chelsea money?

I was at the BP garage in Hexham last week and they had small nets of kiln dried for £10.99. Some fag packet maths led to the conclusion that my full Transit load at a like for like price would be about £2k!

@monkeybusiness has some big yews coming up.

I’m on Facebook, but often wish I wasn’t. For me, it’s a great tool to keep in touch with mates back in Northumberland, uni mates, and friends and family abroad. I don’t consider it a proper business tool, so while my company has a presence, I don’t promote it. It has led to about 4 decent jobs in the last two years. Most enquiries are ‘Small apple tree to take down, £30 cash waiting’ etc. Must be a fully qualified, insured and cheap tree surgeon. They are invariably followed with 40 recommendations for ‘S&K waste clearance’ or ‘Adams Plumbing Services’ and shit like that. Not the kind of work I want, it doesn’t bother me. What does piss me off is the increasing amount of pro companies popping up on my feed. ‘We welcome your query for a fast, efficient service’. York. Humberside. Macclesfield. Nottingham. Rayleigh. Penzance. I’m in Kent ffs, why are you splattering your desperate shite all over FB? You’re obviously paying for this blanket saturation, could your money not be better spent on more targeted, local marketing? A lad who started working with us last year who showed a fair bit of promise has decided FB is the Holy Grail, and set up his own company. Said he could sub us in at top dollar. It’s cringeworthy to say the least. 2 months in - ‘But it’s not fair on me pricing, because you’ve got all the trucks, chippers, loaders and stumpgrinders.’ Imagine that! He got arsesy when I pointed out that I knew the difference between a birch and a eucalyptus before I set up my own ‘tree care company’. It seems to be a modern phenomenon, and not a good one.

String them along Mark. Get them to email their promises and screenshot them here, might open a few eyes.

I used them back in the day because my Yellow Pages advertising sort of morphed into them. I realised they were shit, and massive liars. I cancelled my direct debit and they threatened to take me to court for £1500. I told them I would welcome a court appearance and would defend myself as I had plenty of evidence of them being lying scum. Funnily enough I never heard from them again.

It’s a tough gig for sure Dan. I doubt they are ever called in to find anything nice. No search is ever foolproof, especially in those conditions. I can often fail to find my truck keys/vape/glasses etc. after a detailed search of my workbench, so it’s a bit of an ask in muddy, flowing and tidal conditions. Simplest explanation is a tragic accident, but we may never know for sure. RIP, anyway.

Some good suggestions here. I could certainly do with a new compressor before my cheapo 20 year old one blows up. It just keeps on going though, exclusively for tyres and blowing out saws. A quiet one would be nice. As Dan has mentioned, I’ve done the naked walk of shame to the workshop a couple of times when I’ve forgotten to turn it off! It always makes me laugh when people slag off a particular saw and I ask what compressor they use? ’What compressor?’ How you can properly maintain a saw without one is completely beyond me?

I picked one of these up at the APF as well. Not for saws, but a lovely little thing. Can fold flat to your harness if required. Micro Vault | Accessories | DMM Wales DMMWALES.COM Browse Micro Vault products in Accessories. Available to buy online, delivered direct from DMM Wales.

The locker is great for this very reason!

Good point mate!

This figure is provided by Yell themselves. * * It may not be accurate or true

Oh no, imagine having to take a tree down in sections. Nightmare. I think I’ve got the same picture in my head as everyone else of the ‘Tree Surgeon’ passing sections down to his ‘assistants’.

That looks good for slinging a big saw by the handle. I use a large caritool with the gate removed for this, with my Vault on the other side.