Stephen Blair

If you are naturally very good at climbing and fearless then it’s easy! Just monkey up and cut it down! That’s all I’ve ever had in my head, as far as tree knowledge, waste of time! Focus on pull ups and dips, It’s Scotland, no such thing as arborists, it’s climbers and grounders and good climbers do takedowns, learn how wood works under the saw, every cut tells you a different story, if you can stick it 1 year, no days off, no pub, no holidays just graft then you should make it. You need to be in the gym 5 nights a week after work and that’s you working minimum 12 hours a day! You are over 30 so it’s going to hurt in the morning, you will need a good Ostiopath, good sports massager and painkillers. If you want to be Mr Ninja Climber and TOP of your game and somehow manage it, nobody will know, there’s no badge or trophy’s, just a bank balance that’s either full or empty. To become a good climber you need to do big trees, you need to find out who does the big trees and get a job with them, so a big company where you will just be a guy who sits in a cab with other guys who hate their job and won’t even blink at the thought of an 80’ dead elm removal on a railway in the dark! There’s no montage music when you are tripping over your gaffs falling head first into brambles and dragging your rope through dog shite before you even start getting off the ground plus you will be doing it in water proofs over ballistics 9 days out of 10 in the central belt after taking 2 hours to get anywhere and same again at night trying to get back to the yard to unload before heading home in further traffic then home soaked to then dry your ropes and harness out before the morning. Charge on and just do it is my way of thinking.

This! I only became self employed so I didn’t have to work with idiots and the lazy.

Known as ‘ Double Dogs ‘ .

I’ve had the boots for nearly 2 months now, lightest comfiest boots I’ve ever had. I don’t understand the panic about the lace system, laces are rubbish, lots of flaws, snap easy, gets soaked in crud and when your hands are freezing and your back is sore, it’s a pita tying and un tying them, they have been needing an improvement for decades. The Boa system is great, twist and go!

Chipper went to Sweden. tail lift the scrap heap and A lad from London bought the lorry and I bet she’s never missed a beat in the last 9 years!

Found a pic of my old Merc

In the fuel tank there is a filter on the fuel hose, it’s called the ‘ clunk ‘ as it always falls to to the lowest part of the tank where the fuel will be so it can work at any angle. That’s what I’d check first and also if the fuel cap is leaking or the breather for the tank under the air filter protective cover. I’d start there then work my way to the carb. If it’s an older saw with older caps there is a sprung V shaped piece of metal to stop the cap getting lost, it’s on a wee chain, it can get caught up on that.

When I bought the flail the company owner/fitter spent over an hour making and fitting the hoses and wrapping them up, it was a work of art! Onsite then he tested the machine. Proper job!

Monkey business I don’t envy your position! No hoses! Wtf!

Not sure the model number, just like for like for my machine. Dealer service is on point so I’m not fussed about machine tbh. CAT have been useless, salesman working with numbers, without even sitting in a machine, 4 months on a as nd still haven’t had a price for a new machine, offered me £10k for mine and said he’d sell it for £16.5k!!same machine in their websites for £21.5k. Jokers!

What to watch out for is when towing, the spray from the pick up can go straight into the radiator on the digger when it’s on the trailer, it does on the CAT through the plastic hood, I regularly blast it back out with the compressor.

I heard that about JCB, nuts. i was told my machine had both, turned up with 1! what do you do when you have work piled up, a restocking fee of £1500 for a grab and a billion pound company with your money just ignoring your concerns? You just suck it up and live with the compromise. I’m going Yanmar next from independent dealer.

I’ve got the battery grinder now and that’s saved so much time with wire!

Cat were the same with me, they said my demo grab would work. So paid for grab and paid for Cat. Then it would only work with no crowning. Fast forward 4 weeks of stale mate and eventually they paid for electro hydraulic valve and pedal. It’s been a weak link from day 1, cables, grabs and brash just don’t work. I’ve now got a shortened hip flexor on my left side due to the pedal and that’s what’s caused my back trouble for near 6 years. Now it’s £100 a week physio and rest from machine work. There’s no excuse for bad business, if you can’t deliver then don’t bullshit people and take their hard earned money.

Only things that were a problem were big hits of polythene wrapping around. It easily came off just pulling it off by hand . An old metal pole that hand been gas axed off 8” from the ground gave the teeth a good ding and a mattress full of springs under the Ivy brought things to a halt. Word of warning, if there’s a big new shiny sign, there will of been an old 1 removed?

Brambles and grass effortless, up to 4” takes a bit of practise. I cover a 15’ radius and up to 10’ high I reckon so no need to track at the same time. Use the largest rams the least and the flail spins as fast as possible. Keep the teeth sharp.

The 5 day course is the start of a persons journey into tree work. Are they any good with a saw? Good enough to fell some trees on an estate or grounds job and give them the ability to sned brash on a driveway beside a chipper and it’s up to them to work out the rest if they want a career in the industry. Fast forward them 10 years and they will have their own story on how they got there or they will of taken a different path. Some people simply grab a saw and learn as they go and toughen up and spend the rest of their lives sore, exhausted and owed money!?

That Sir is a work of Art!!!

Great reply, I use my 3cx for doing stuff rather than making money if that makes sense. The more I use it the less I feel the need for grabs and shears. The power and design just means I can do whatever I need to, I feel a JCB brain doesn’t come naturally to me but I’m catching on. 20 odd years ago when I worked alongside a 3cx there was never a thought on attachments, the driver could do anything we needed, I was lucky to work with an amazing operator who could make her dance!

Great looking machine Eddie! Apart from larger wheels,rear hydraulics what are the advantages of the 4cx? There’s nothing I’ve not tackled that the 3cx hasn’t coped with ease, I’m the weak link every time until I find the best way to do it. The joys of self teaching!

How’s your grab going Gray? Is it taking the abuse with big sticks and wrestling about with stumps ok?