Billy

the sasfest thing you could do atm is deffinatley joint the marines, as any way into this industry involves the hard boring end of the work and rubbish pay for a considerable time, unless you take to it well and get out and practice on your own time alot. as Rob said go and help out osme local companies for a price they can't refuse and you'll get an idea of how it all works and if you'll really like it etc etc.

If your kits not allowed in the house, how and where do you wash it?

what he said. be methodical lay things out as they came apart, maybe take some pictures and you can't go far wrong.

How much does having a new-ish, or shall i say, not a transit or LDV really affect business in the opinions of you guys. I've been running a smiley for a while it does th ejob, bit slow, bit noisy, kind of ugly but it works and was very cheap to buy. I recently bought a Daily to have something more pleasent to drive and a bit better at getting the job done. Unfortunatley I have discovered some relativley expensive problems with it involving warning lights and injectors:sneaky2:. Now i'm gonna have to fix it to use it, or sell it and i'm not sure what to do. A few people i know have got shiny new vans and thought it improved their word of mouth/on the job leads. However I thought i'd seek a broader variety of opinions and experience on the matter here as I know theres a few still running the smileys and LDV's and also the guys with shiny new or slightly more modern 3.5t tippers and then the mogs and the like. I hate when these newer diesels go wrong and need a diagnostic machine as part of the repair process as problems can often be entirley electronic. Of course this isn't a problem with the good old 2.5Di tranny, I can fix anything on the transit for cheap and on my own without any need for a code reader at £50+ VAT a time and no partis more than £100:laugh1:. I'd be interested to hear wether guys think the age/look/general image of your vehicle has a direct affect on customer interest and confidence.

Sounds like it probably just wanted the idle raising slightly if everything else was in order. everyone i know who ever takes their saws, bikes or vans etc to a shop gets their pants pulled down on labour...with a motor its a bit more acceptable but paying a 'garden equipment' mechanic £50 an hour is a joke its not even hard and half the time they don't know whats going on anyway and just accuse you of not mixing oil with your petrol and fit a load of new parts for no reason. not good. Have a go yourself these saws are dead simple, and you can do all the work in the comfort of your own kitchen or living room, i accidentally left a small bit of rubber inthe cylinder of my 200t once using an improvised piston stop, me and my mate had the whole thing in pieces on the table and back together againw ith rubber removed in under 2 hours and we'd never done it before, learn now n save loads of money

just relax and practice, you'll get it. Have fun don't feel under pressure. i presume they've shown you to use a small twig or piece of grass in the angle of the gob to help you line up the back cut?

all the time, but i have never crossed arms to cut and hold, and very rarely hold the saw in my left hand (right handed). Also one hand alot when processing firewood from small diameter poles, cutting and holding on the ground. I do think training should be provided as part of CS39 because as soon as anyone gets onthe job they will be using the 200t one handed every day, and if they were onthe job before getting 39, like me, they would have already been doing it ona daily basis for a while everyone knows it goes on so they may as well teach a best practice for it.

point taken Mark. I'm not old, by any means but started doing this stuff in the woods with real old school guys in their 60's n 70's they're H&S goes as far as ear defender sona good day...but they're still alive! So i guess it rubbed off we didn't have to do much climbing to get stuff down safe for the mill but i rember my first bit of climbing involved a sweet chestnut 18t 360 and a 361 and not alot else! proper job! but times change.

Exactly right, just balance and throw, if it feels safe, If it looks like i wont be able to reach the top without a side strop or other end of the rope i'll take it and use it for switch overs, then usually throw it out once i have a high anchor:confused1: I am a little shocked at the animosity towards me for airing these views, i know for sure that other people work in this way, i've seen it...its now worse than cutting and holding...which no one got that worked up about:001_huh:

Very rarely, it is awesome have two high tie ins for super tricky stuff though. Rupe, no need to be nasty is there, with 1 rope to swing on you can go alot further thant he length of one adult, as i'm sure you know

Correct, throwing a single line from a steady position isn't particularly dangerous imo, or even free climbing to top anchor point if its an easy enough tree why bother? if i free climb to the top sometimes i will weave in and out of a few branches on the way up so if i fall the rope should have enough friction from pulling through the branches to buy me some time...but i've not needed it yet. we all did it as kids and no one said it was bad then or on days off, so if you feel confident why not:confused1:

Interesting views coming through, quite diverse. I'm not saying I never use it but if i feel good jut balancing I will, if i feel theres a good chance i'll fall, rope up for sure. funnily enough in conifer i often do use 2 or none at all if its fairly dense and just topping as its easy to lose track of things, specially when the red mist comes down!

I'm liking the cut and hold thread at the moment and noticed another rule often broken was mentioned in there. So lets hear it how many of you use your side strop? i barely ever do unless i feel particularly unsafe or am struggling to get a good work position, i don't think this poses too much of a risk and saves loads of time, especially if i don't even take it up with me less to get tangled etc. what do you guys think on this?

Now that could be an interesting thread! I'll start it:001_smile:

..depends how far you climb. But generally i mean alreayd positoned getting on then you come across some smaller bits or a short climb away theres some hand sawable stuff...but the chainsaw stays out. Just lazyness i guess...but it is faster. Moving on, does anyone use these? Product Details Stretch Flex Chain saw arm protection | ECHO

that dpeends what you cconsider too big to handsaw through really, if something more than 2 maybe 3" max and theres nothing else affecting my decision i will use the chainsaw.

The few people who claim to use a silky often, do you not find that it feels like an eternity to turn off and secure your 200t, then draw the silky labour through a cut and throw it, compared to jut grabbing it and buzzing it off with the 200? most time si go for the silky that sorta thing runs through my head and the cut and chuck continues, it just seems like such a drawn out process to switch tools when in most cases the chainsaw is faster, also i cut myself/ave alot more close calls with the silky as it commands very little respect...which is a huge danger in itself! Also cut and chuck is very safe as long as your work position leaves you with the saw closest to the stem, if your arms aren't crossed you can hold at least a couple of feet away from the saw in most cases.

I knew a guy who cut into the soft side of his elbow and across a bit of his forearm, he lost the use of the good fingers. just gotta be careful as you do it i guess...it'll never stop.

might give it a try f you didn't have to collect from the peak district!

What was your reply?

Just the way it goes sometimes, a friends grandparents were quoted £80 to take down a large ash and a large Hawthrone in their back garden as they were apparently 'going to fall over next time the wind blew'. they didn't trust him so got me to have a look. tried to assure them the ash probably wouldn't fall down anytime soon but the hawthrone was a liability, but the seed sof doubt had been planted and they wanted them both out, i dind;t know th eother guys price at th eitme but quoted over 3x as much and got the job AND sold them a load of firewood too:lol: doesn;t always go their way:001_smile:

Find a woman who doesn't turn out to be a total nutter after getting involved with them! lol

Love my Iphone 4, can't fault it really, pretty tough too!

Should have let them keep it! i'm sure the delivery charge would have disappeared.

Me too!! crap eh! Happy Birthday