Rowden the cowboy

I don't know what your experiences are of using pattern blades in your machines are, but i'm posting here as a warning. I own a TP760 and have had 3 blades literally fall apart on me in the last three months. These blades are from a reputable supplier of pattern blades that Im sure many of you use. I had one blade split down the middle, no damage done to the machine and it was close to the wear line so I just put it down as metal fatigue. However, last week I had a second blade do exactly the same thing, again no damage done to the machine but this time a large lump of the blade had gone missing and these blades had only had 2 sharpens, max. At this point I took all of our sets of blades down to Osbornes for them to have a look at them. I went to hand the owner a blade from the third set of blades and the whole thing literally fell apart in my hand! All these blades were from the same supplier. Needless to say, I have discarded all of them and bought genuine TP blades now. I would urge caution if any of you are using these blades in your machines, as it was only down to luck that no damage was done to my machine and no one was hurt. Also, the blade mounting system in a TP760, which is unlike many other machines, would have played a big part in the whole machine not being damaged. In a new generation TP or a Jensen, the damage would've been fairly catastrophic. If anyone else here has had similar experiences let me know. Personally, I will never use any knives other than genuine TP ones again.

Hi, I'm seeking some work in the Norwich area. I hold the following qualifications: 1.) CS units 30,31,38,39,Chipper and MEWP 2.) CSCS card 3.) First aid certificate. 4.) Clean category B driving license 5.) BTEC national diploma in Arboriculture In addition I have six years of industry experience: 3 years employed as a climber full time, and 3 spent running my own company. I have extensive experience of domestic and commercial work, site work and some utilities experience (although no UA1) and have climbed for a wide range of companies in the Hampshire, Berkshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire areas. I have used various different kinds of arboricultural machinery and have experience of crane work. I'm actually based in the Southampton area where I run my own business. The idea is to get some subby work in the Norfolk area to make it easier to see my girlfriend who lives up there, so ideally any work would be on two or more consecutive days to make it worth my while coming up. As standard I supply my own climbing equipment, climbing saws and PPE, along with my own £10m public liability insurance, but I can supply equipment ranging from lowering kit, big saws, to a brushwood chipper if necessary. Prices start at £120/day. I'm available from the beginning of November. If interested then contact me on 07943366573 Matt Rowden SUB ARB LIMITED TOP FLOOR BUCKLEY HOUSE 31A THE HUNDRED ROMSEY HAMPSHIRE UNITED KINGDOM SO51 8GD Company No. 07474531

Saw seems blunt. And i don't like the look of it simply because when the crane makes the lift i want to get well out of the way, not hang around stropped to the main stem, whilst i control the crane: there is no option of an escape route.

Hi there, I have a problem with our TP760: When a 6"+ bit of timber gets fed into it it bounces around all over the place and the feed rollers don't grip it as the revs drop. Also its not so good at gripping the smaller stuff and tends to get bogged down with conifer. Now, the top feed roller of this chipper really needs replacing: its somewhat blunt and there is some play, but I don't think that explains why large timber would bounce around all over the place. However, the machine has new anvil, sharp blades that are correctly set, and i've just replaced the spring over the top feed roller as well. Any ideas as to why this machine is not performing as it should?

Hi all. I'm just putting it out there, but do you think that as a whole, the tree surgery industry is massively undervalued? Put it this way, a brickie can earn £130/day for laying 600 bricks - a skilled job but not necessarily in the same league as a climber or a groundsman doing this job in terms of risk, skill and investment. Where i'm based the ceiling for a climber is £120/day - It may be possible to get £150/day nearer London. Don't get me wrong, I'm not just a whingeing subby - I run my own business and have done for two years and I appreciate the costs involved.... I spend up to £5k a year on insurances alone, let alone accountancy costs, yard rental, tax, etc etc. The list of costs is endless. So from a lot of you guys it seems that your charging £500-700/ day for a three man team - Is that not too cheap given the risks involved, the investment in plant, the insurances, the years of training and experience? How can that cover three people with a decent daily wage including tax and NI and pay all the costs? The simple truth is it can't. I personally believe that for this industry to advance there needs to be a wholesale rise in prices so that staff can be valued and paid the wage they should be - If a brickie earns around £130/day then a climber is worth £180-200 and a skilled groundsman is worth £150. Cover NI, Tax, holidays and a 3 man team for £700/day looks totally unviable. Stop me if i'm wrong.

Hi all, Our nissan cabstar e120 is on its way to needing a new ram: its got one of those crappy scissor lift rams atm, but we’d like to upgrade it to a multi stage ram that can actually tip when its slightly overloaded. However, no one round here seems to be able to do it! It would require welding another crossmember futher up the chassis to mount the larger ram and power pack, but seems relatively straight forward. Does anyone know of anyone in the Hampshire area ( near Romsey) who is able to do a professional job on it? Vehicle is quite old (y reg). Cheers, Matt

Hi all, Our nissan cabstar e120 is on its way to needing a new ram: its got one of those crappy scissor lift rams atm, but we’d like to upgrade it to a multi stage ram that can actually tip when its slightly overloaded. However, no one round here seems to be able to do it! It would require welding another crossmember futher up the chassis to mount the larger ram and power pack, but seems relatively straight forward. Does anyone know of anyone in the Hampshire area ( near Romsey) who is able to do a professional job on it? Vehicle is quite old (y reg). Cheers, Matt

Hello all, Looking at a TP760 tomorrow, just wondering if anyone here knows if they're any different to the tp200 as I have already owned a 200? they look very similar but the blades for the tp 760 seem different and its got a lombardini engine rather than a hatz lump. Anyone know any specific things to look for with these machines that could go wrong before I buy? Cheers

Hi all, Im looking for a tracked machine for hire in or around hampshire which is capable of dealing with very difficult terrain, ideally with steel tracks and self levelling capability. It will have to negotiate steep banks, stumps, etc. The ordinary rubber tracked chippers are not up to it. Also, the bigger the better up to 14". Any suggestions?

A garden machinery dealers got one of these down the road from me for sale at a bit of a bargain. Anyone know if they're any good? they've only got the single feed roller. You never see anyone with them, is there a reason for that? Would be interested to know your thoughts... ECHO Bear Cat | Products

TP200 or TP250. Best chippers out there for their size. TP200 is only 1.3 tons and pretty good on fuel, chips like a beast and throws the chip better than any timber wolf.

TP200. Best chipper on the market for its weight (1.3 tons) there is no contest its worth two of the timberwoilfs

just noticed that whilst the park range of tp chippers have horizontal feed rollers the forest range have vertical feed rollers. Why is this? What does it gain? Why are vertical feed rollers not normally available on domestic chippers?

How about it gentlemen? I seriously believe that there is a market for a luxury tipper that can tow a serious amount, carry a decent load, and transport the workers like theyre p diddy or something. Obviously the current rangie is based on a monocoque construction and air suspension. Could this be worked with? Would uprated air springs work as better weight carriers? Can it actually be done? I reckon ideally it would be based on the current 5.0 litre supercharged petrol version, keeping the front seats and cab, and then cutting the rest off to make way for a tipping body, complete with power take off, a winch and a front end ram. The motor would need to be uprated to 3.5 tons too. Im thinking something like this, but as a tipper on a brand new rangie: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/12/2009/12/range_rover_pickup_02_01.jpg So hows that for a silly idea? Now can someone with money to burn go and do it cos im intrigued to see it.........

Has anyone tried this new addition to the tw armoury? It looks wicked but at 64 horse it sounds underpowered to me? Has anyone used one? How does it compare say to a tp200 or a bandit 90? Both of which are more powerful incidentally... Would be interested to know your thoughts http://www.timberwolf-uk.com/images/350%20fronton.JPG

Anyone used one? Is it any good? how does it compare say to the TP200 or equivalent? Also is it a total pain in the arse to maneuver? And what about maintenance? does it use the standard TW 6" blades?

youre all wrong..... strip the ivy, crown raise and a 4m crown reduction and actually make the tree look nice. I think thats probably the best idea.

is it just me who thinks that there were a huge number of errors and near misses in that vid? Fine, he nearly dropped a top on the chipper at 2.20, but when he felled the butt it rolled out into the road and was completely uncontrolled: looked like it could have smashed that fire hydrant and probably knocked a few holes in the tarmac. Also they could have left a mat to drop the timber on as they blocked down the stem cos that ground looked gouged to hell. Combined with the nice PPE it looks like the sort of job a gyppo could be proud of.

you're all wrong the saw to do it to is the 066.... it can be fitted with anything from a 18" bar to a 36" bar and its reasonably lightweight. Thats a true all rounder. if there were two saws i couldnt live without its the 200 and the 066

am i the only person here who thinks that £150 for the lockjack is totally insane?? Does it really speed up your work that much to the extent that it can be justified? we could all do the work with a blakes or a prussik, let alone a vt/ hitch climber. Before anyone says anything, i have tried all of the systems mentioned in this thread and i still think that the lock jack/spider jack are a waste of money and that the vt system can be tricky if tied wrongly, although can be handy in certain applications. Ultimately for total consistency, simplicity and cost effectiveness, get a prussik or a blakes.

Not only that but how much is it costing you in gear? Two blocks, two lowering ropes, one pull rope and a friction bollard? Its all a little bit extravagant and for the time it must take you to rig each cut you could just ring it down in smaller pieces and just put a pull rope on them to make sure they didn't roll down the hill: just as safe, more ergonomic and efficient for the ground crew, and you wouldn't be taking £1000+ worth of gear into the tree with you. Then that way you could have one groundy on the pull rope and the other two could actually do some clearing up instead of lowering stupidly big bits of wood.

Burn it mate If its in a small garden then just have the fire in an oil drum and continuously feed it, otherwise just pile it all up and get it going with a few tyres. that should work in central london

realistically do unimogs make financial sense in any way whatsoever? Cos were talking about £30k for a half decent one and odds are that will break and cost a fortune to maintain, then theres the fuel consumption....what do you get about 10mpg tops? Plus the authorities are cracking down on supposedly agricultural vehicles being used for urban tree work so you may not be able to run it on red diesel for much longer. Fine, there off road abilities are good, and the pto will power a decent sized chipper, but then that rig would have limited application in urban areas.... it is unlikely it would even fit on acacia drive. What is the point of getting one of them when for the same price you could get 2 landrover 130s which would have the same off road abilities and the same load carrying ability between the 2 of them. Or even better, you could get a whole fleet of transits which would do 90% of the work youd use the mog for, only for less money and more conveneince and just better in every way. So, what are unimogs good for apart from site clearances with very poor access? Or are they just a very expensive penis enlargement? Im waiting unimog owners.........

Its gotta be a toss up between macrocarpa, leylandii or false acacia. Or maybe stone pine?

oh yeah i forgot about that. I'll email him later