Stephen Blair

Wade would be the man to ask, he’s been using his grapple saw for a couple of years now. Well worth subscribing to his channel, he really knows how to deal with trees from backyard felling with a grapple saw to huge clear fells. Action starts around 9 minutes.

If you made it £30k a year full time, vehicle, mobile phone and 6 weeks holidays and a pension. You will entice the guys that are doing their own thing with 2 groundies and can’t be arsed with the stress of owning their own business and stuck in the rut of too big for cutting hedges, too small for descent commercial clients. Guys in their early 40s with 15-20 years experience that will appreciate a good boss.

Well done Jonny!

Cool vid Tom

I’ve just ordered a flail for my cat2.7d, any tips on how to keep the thumb rocker switch engaged formworking the flail so I don’t have to hold my thumb on it all the time. I’m not talking altering thenhydraulics and spending a small fortune, more any DIY tricks. Cheers

Long reach digger with a tree shear would do it but I don’t know how many folk would be keen on working with salt water. Maybe a job for LGP Eddie!

Amazing work Erik, you have a frame of a super fit 25 year old man and some serious skills. In 43 and feel broken, inflammation and a bit of arthritis and now asthma is slowing me down so to see a man in his 50’s doing this level of work is inspiring! I’ll keep coming back to this thread and watch all your vids!

I always wondered how I worked with Stihl’s for 2 decades at 25:1 then after 4 years of aspen I read on the side 50:1 mix!

What if the kid stealing the working mans tools was a victim of an asian pedo gang, was now homeless and a drug addict to try and numb the irreversible pscychological and physical pain of his past so now does whatever it takes to get money to pay for his habit. Should he get 10 years hard labour? what i

Thanks Squaredy, you know your stuff. I am having a meeting with my guy in the next month I’ll pat attention this time ?

Nothing wrong with my maths, I know when I’m being taken for a ride. My fund value will be around £130k when I’m 55, I guessed the £180k through rose tinted spectacles for when I was 65. You are too quick to blame me for the math rather than question the people I invested in.

I started mine when I was 16, I was told my pot will be over £450k, 27 years later at £150 a month my pot might make £180k. I put £1800 a year in and my annual payout will be £1500 a year in 2041! The guy who sells your pension won’t be around and it’s mostly just salesman making money. so at 55 I’m cashing it in, pay the tax and hopefully get a couple of deposits for my boys first properties if I’m lucky enough to still be here. Don’t put all your eggs in 1 basket, also don’t try planning everything to the letter, life has ways of interfering. You have to live just now, you are young, enjoy it. I always pensioned what I wouldn’t miss, and I’m a low risk investor so my return is low but steady ish. A £400 hedge cutter can make you a grand a week for 8 months of the year. That’s a better investment imo. If you are a self employed, whatever you put in, the government will add 20%, then at the end they will tax you 25% for getting some of it back. Things in life aren’t as simple as, renting good, renting bad! Difflocks post a few pages back is the best advice I’ve ever read on line. What kind of person are you? Can you handle daily phone calls from a tennant moaning about a door nob? Can you evict a family of 5 on Christmas eve for not paying their rent? i let 3 properties for 8 years and it was a ball ache. Unfortunately I had 2009 in the middle of all that so I never got bargains and when I sold I was happy to just get rid of the credit and stress. I had factors, lawyers, handymen, sparkies, plumbers all on speed dial. i had 2 tenants intentionally damage the properties just to get a newer house by the time I found out, locks were smashed , belongings left and I couldn’t legally access them for 2 months. I did have some excellent tenants, but they also never paid their rent on Christmas Eve , by the time I found out in January when the banks went back to work, I was getting letters from mortgage companies. Did I do everything perfectly, certainly not! What I’d say is take advice on the internet with a pinch of salt, whatever you are going to do, study and learn, do a course on economics, marketing, joinery, plumbing. Bankers will take your deposit and throw you a Set of keys to houses and large machinery. After that it’s up to you to work it out. Good luck!

The second I’m 55 I’m drawing the lot and paying the tax.

It’s hard to keep the flow going when you are stopping and starting, frustration can sap my energy. I’m very impatient, especially when climbing. Great work as always!

Stuff in your eyes is awful! Worse I’ve had was a metal filing on a windy day go into my eye and get stuff, usuall guy thing and left it for a few days until I couldn’t open both eyes 1 morning, got it fished out and spent nearly a week on the couch in the dark feeling sorry for myself. Had a few other bits of sawdust over th eyears but lads on site have managed to wash it out. You have my sympathy J, so easily done. Grab a handful of the safety specs next time your in a tool shop, they are only a couple of pounds each.

My hips are aching just watching that Reg! 3 of those in a day is good going!

Happy new year! Turns out I have asthma and the lung capacity of a 65 year old, I’m 43! I was given a blue inhaler on the 27th, the first day I needed it 10 times, and it was the first night I’d slept right through in my bed for months. Second day used it 6 times and then the 3rd once I think and then didn’t need it again. Luckily I improved after taking an inhaler on a test and managed to squeeze 300ml more air into my lungs when I visited the respitory nurse on Friday. I now have a brown steroid inhaler morning and night and the blue if needed. Simply having a diagnosis is such a relief and I’m back on my pills for my back as I thought they were what was making my breathing worse but apparently not. I’m easily getting 8-10 hours sleep now right through. So it’s time to brush off the walking boots and get the air into my lungs. I’ve to keep a diary now and triggers is 1 of the things, if fuel, exhausts and this work in general are to blame then that will change too. Well worth a trip to the doctors guys if any of you have similar.

Depends on how high I am, under 80’ anything goes, after that I get twitchy!

I looked into the 7.5t beaver tail but the payload wasn’t enough from the standard vehicles I saw. Could always just by a horse box and track it into that, they seem to charge on regardless and a lot of them look hanging heading to the shows over the summer after being pulled out the nettles ?

If it fits on an Ifor Williams it will get moved on 1! Can’t see many folk paying a low loader to shift that about. Maybe do well for building sites.

I’ve got a road tow TW190 I’d sell as it’s geting upgraded in April.

when I had my 8 tonner I used my mate with his Beavertail, £70 an hour and usually he could collect and drop off in an hour as he would tie it in with other stuff.

It’s moved thousands of tons of wood in the 5 years I’ve had it.

Fixed rotating sorting grab

My cat underside is solid the most you do is just get stuck or rock on top of it, and if you get a higher stump you just lift yourself over it. I find anything I’ve been concerned about is because I’ve not got the experience, then when I am faced with the challenge it’s easily overcome or you,pop a track hard against a tree and spend an hour in a tantrum and rage trying to get it back on, luckily with utube on your phone there are plenty of ideas to use and even as a reassurance it happens to others. I crossed 300m of Sitka brash after a harvester and forwarder had finished. I’d of never of thought I’d on managed it a few years ago. It saved me easily an hour tracking around and getting the jeep and trailer so sometimes you just have to give it a bash. This is my last job before Christmas. 19 ton of timber off site for firewood and the brash burnt. Nice 2 day job for 3 of us and not much sweat, once the guys I had on site stopped using their brute strength to hit wedges or move branches they soon got in the way of calling me over to do the work and standing back. It’s always good seeing new guys just smile as the ‘ little digger ‘ comes to the rescue, everyone is always surprised at how much I can do with it. Most ask, how much does it lift doubting its ability, I just say not as much as I can wrestle and roll.