samwise

Panasonic lumix, they own leica now i think so lots of technology crossover! The lx5 being the obvious choice! Just remember high megapixel values dont count for anything if the camera has a poor sensor!

operator error. fail.

found the rayco pretty gutless, the bandit has more grunt i think, no experience of the others.

You surprise me sometimes Mr King, sounds like a good idea, got a spare rigging plate kicking about at work, will give it a bash! Showed a colleauge your timber hitch trick(put wraps in rope before putting around lowering point) the other day and he almost cried, rarely lowered as he said tying that knot took too long, shocker!

No problem with that part of the harness but have found the bridges stitching comes apart pretty quickly. The beefier bridge from my dragonfly made a good replacement though. Out of interest am i voiding any warranties by using a different bridge? It's still load rated equipment so i assumed not. All in all i think it's a good harness, perhaps not as hard wearing as some others but provides good freedom of movement once certain parts of the male anatomy are stowed correctly.

blue polyprop prussic cord on a bit of old 3strad i found in a petrol can. Failing that lockjack sport on tachyon.

Yep Chalky White all the way, based up north norfolk way, top chap, no nonsence to deal with, he has a website of his own, can't remember adress though, perhaps someone else will know it on here....? All the best.

Tachyon, works great in lockjack, can be a bit of a bitch to grip in the cold tho, but wearing gloves i guess effectively increases the diameter of whatever you're gripping.

Hi, do you have a detailed curriculum/Old exam paper/model questions for this course, am looking to start studying for it next year. Do you know if the applicable nptc courses are needed for the lowering/ pruning part of the assesment? Cheers.

Unicorn manes woven by fairies with mithril rings and a gryphon claw at each end for attatchment. Failing that a bungee strop.

oh, you did it already, nice one, on second thoughts that conifers too far away. good one tho!

yes i would, doesn't look that bad to me, maybe anchor in conifer and use a break away lanyard so that in the unlikely event of it falling you will swing clear.

lockjacks the dogs danglies, once it wears in,the can be a bit twitchy to start with but after having mine for 2 years now i would never go back to knots, it's pricey but worth it, it makes my life easier!

bon chance.

Worked in Perth and Melbs, would never work in perth again, it's just so dull. Melbs is awesome tho and the cutters and climbers that side seemed a lot more capable to me. It was a good experience though and if you get an oportunity to go then i'de say go for it, as long as you like biiig trees!

Although some form of thermonuclear device would come a very close second!

Yep, cut lengthways as much as poss to relieve that saw trapping effect, then block down as best as you can, they're absolute bstrds to work on! Not as bad as Cotton palms though in my opinion as they tend to be taller but still hang on to their dead fronds! If you can use a power pruner to get rid of as many fronds from the ground as poss that sometimes makes life easier i found. Good luck with it, hope you have a pokey disc chipper to deal with the stuff when it's finally down, it clogged up the big drum one we where using pretty much instantly!

Fell, sned, and winch into an f* off great chipper in a oner! Bloody nasty things, great habbitat for all sorts of wee beasties over here (perth) which invariably fall onto you when you're cutting! Cant offer much advice, just sympathy!

Genius.

Spot on dude, used to do loads of council work in gardens for said oxygen thieves, which always involved large amounts of dog/cat poop! Used to hate it when you'de turn up at 8.30, start the saws, then get some vested chav pleb hanging out of the window of his free flat complaining about being woken up by the free work he's getting done in his garden! Chipper getting clogged at end of day as you've been rushing poorly snedded bits of conifer through it always used to get me fuming. Muppet groundy bluntening the 394 on ground as he thought he was 'the man' by operating a big saw. Muppet groundy holding saw on full rev's to try to free it when it gets stuck in a stump he's trying to cut down ( The saw usually being blunt by this time from the 1st 25 attempts). Rude people, retard drivers, post office staff, kids who carve their name in trees, people who tell me how to do the job, people who want there trees topped to let more light into there garden! The list goes on, and i glean some satisfaction knowing im not the only person who enjoys a good rant!!!!

sorted, i'll let my boss know. Cheers for the help!

No other signs of fungus on the tree, which appears to be in good health.

its in the root buttresses of a mature fagus sylvatica, the hand is for size comparison.

Go for it, never to old. I used to work as a manager in a local tesco and went to work everyday feeling rubbish, since i changed to tree work 2years ago and i've never been happier. I would say, be prepared to start off on pretty poor money until you're experienced, its frustrating at times, but guess it's the price you pay for doing a job you enjoy, and as you've said, money aint everything. Go for a rec climb first tho, see how you fare for sure!

Even better then! I work for a country estate in Norfolk and we try where possible to use trees, which would otherwise have been felled, as bat and bird habitat.